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The effect of lead upon urate nucleation
Arthritis and Rheumatism
|October 1, 1981
Summary
Lead urate crystals form readily, even at low urate concentrations. This suggests lead can promote urate crystal nucleation under physiological conditions, potentially impacting conditions like gout.
Area of Science:
- Crystallography
- Biomineralization
- Urology
Background:
- Monosodium urate nucleation is critical in conditions like gout.
- Lead ions are known to interact with urate, but nucleation mechanisms are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the nucleation of lead urate crystals.
- To determine the influence of lead on urate crystallization under physiological conditions.
Main Methods:
- Crystallization of lead urate from solutions containing urate and lead chloride.
- Characterization of lead urate crystals using X-ray diffraction and birefringence.
- Assessing monosodium urate nucleation on lead urate seed crystals.
Main Results:
- Lead urate crystallized from solutions with 0.595 mM urate and 0.297 mM PbCl2.
- Lead urate crystals exhibited negative birefringence and a unique X-ray diffraction pattern.
- Monosodium urate nucleation occurred on lead urate seeds at 10 mg% urate concentration, significantly lower than spontaneous nucleation thresholds.
Conclusions:
- Lead urate can spontaneously nucleate under physiological conditions.
- Lead significantly lowers the urate concentration required for nucleation.
- These findings suggest a potential mechanism for urate deposition in lead-exposed individuals.