Nucleation at surfaces : The importance of interfacial energy

The nucleation and growth of stone-forming minerals on the surfaces of other crystalline phases, cellular material, and immobilized macromolecules must be important in the formation of stones in the urinary tract. The nucleation and growth of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals were studied u...

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Published inJournal of the American Society of Nephrology Vol. 10; no. 11; pp. S355 - S358
Main Authors WENJU WU, GERARD, D. E, NANCOLLAS, G. H
Format Conference Proceeding Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.11.1999
Subjects
Biological and medical sciences
Calcium Oxalate - chemistry
Crystallization
Humans
Medical sciences
Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases
Urinary Calculi - etiology
Urinary lithiasis
Kidney disease
Human
Urinary system disease
Nucleation
Calcium
Pathophysiology
Growth
Oxalate
Crystallization
Hydroxyapatite
Experimental study
In vitro
Kidney
Urinary stone
Lithiasis
Surface properties
Kinetics
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Summary:The nucleation and growth of stone-forming minerals on the surfaces of other crystalline phases, cellular material, and immobilized macromolecules must be important in the formation of stones in the urinary tract. The nucleation and growth of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals were studied using the constant composition kinetics technique, in solution supersaturated with respect to COM (sigmaCOM = 1.44). The solid phases during the reaction were examined by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Human serum albumin was found to nucleate COM crystals when immobilized on hydroxyapatite (HAP) surfaces. The induction period for nucleation of COM on HAP surfaces preadsorbed with albumin significantly decreased to about 65 min from about 230 min for pure HAP particles. The initial growth rate of COM on pure HAP particles, Rm approximately/= 0.56 X 10(-7) mol/min per m2, was slower than that for HAP surfaces preadsorbed with albumin, 2.14 x 10(-7) mol/min per m2. The surface properties were characterized using contact angle measurements by sessile drop and thin layer wicking. The thermodynamic results suggested that surfaces with high Lewis base parameter values (gamma-) and low interfacial tension with water (gammaSL) are more effective in the nucleation and growth of crystal phases.
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ISSN:1046-6673
1533-3450