Shear-mediated crystallization from amorphous calcium phosphate to bone apatite

The contribution of fluid shear stress (FSS) on the conversion of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) to bone apatite is investigated. The ACP precursors are prepared by using a wet-chemistry method and further exposed to the constant FSS environment with values of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 Pa. At the designated time points, the apatites are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy. The results show that, the low FSS (≤1.0 Pa) has positive effects on the transition of ACP, characterized by the accelerated crystallization velocity and the well-organized calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) structure, whereas the high FSS (>1.0 Pa) has negative effects on this conversion process, characterized by the poor CDHA crystal morphologies and the destroyed structures. The bioactivity evaluations further reveal that, compared with the FSS-free group, the CDHA prepared under 1.0 Pa FSS for 9 h presents the more biocompatible features with pre-osteoblast cells. These results are helpful for understanding the mechanism of apatite deposition in natural bone tissue.