The Surface Structure of Hydroxyapatite Single Crystal and the Accumulation of Arachidic Acid.
Single crystals of hydroxyapatite (HAp) were grown by a flux method using beta-tricalcium phosphate and Ca(OH)(2) under hot isostatic pressure. After chemical etching by 0.05 N HCl aqueous solution, the HAp crystal surfaces were observed by an atomic force microscope (AFM) and shown dominantly to consist of steps with heights corresponding to a lattice distance d(100) or its 2/3. Arachidic acid films were accumulated on the etched HAp crystal by a Langmuir-Blodgett method. From section analyses by AFM, a distance between the carboxyl groups of arachidic acid and the HAp surface was estimated to be approximately 0.04 nm, sufficiently adjacent for a chemical interaction to take place. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Sato
K
National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0044, Japan
Suetsugu
Y
Tanaka
J
Ina
S
Monma
H