title: Theoretical detection of a dark contrast line in twinned apatite bicrystals and its possible correlation with the chemical properties of human dentin and enamel crystals.
abstract: Electron microscope images of twinned apatite bicrystals oriented along the [1120] crystallographic direction have been simulated for various experimental conditions, and the validity of the calculation has been checked. These images show a dark contrast line similar to the one observed experimentally in enamel and dentin crystals and therefore strongly suggest the presence of a twin plane parallel to the (1100) crystallographic planes, in these crystals. The presence of a twin boundary in teeth and bone crystals is of prime importance for the adsorption and the dissolution properties of the calcified tissues as a whole.
mesh_terms: D001031:Apatites; D003461:Crystallography; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003804:Dentin / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D001031:Apatites