Oriented growth of calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals beneath phospholipid monolayers

Oriented calcium oxalate crystals have been grown beneath phospholipid monolayers at the air-solution interface from supersaturated calcium oxalate solutions. Mature calcium oxalate crystals grown beneath zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers exhibit the characteristic morphology of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals with the elongated (101) crystal face preferentially oriented parallel to the plane of the monolayer. Calcium oxalate crystals grown beneath negatively-charged dimyristoylphosphatidylserine (DMPS) monolayers also show a preferential orientation with respect to the monolayer; they do not, however, exhibit the characteristic COM morphology. Raman spectroscopy strongly suggests that the crystals grown beneath either DPPC or DMPS monolayers are the monohydrate phase of calcium oxalate; therefore, differences in crystal morphology are not due to differences in the crystalline phase. Dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE), dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA), eicosanoic acid (C20), and eicosanol (C20-OH) monolayers have also been studied to help elucidate the mechanisms of interaction between the lipid monolayers and the calcium oxalate crystals. We discuss the roles of lattice matching, hydrogen bonding, stereochemistry and electrostatics on crystal orientation and morphology.