title: Multilevel hierarchically ordered artificial biomineral.
abstract: Living organisms are known for creating complex organic-inorganic hybrid materials such as bone, teeth, and shells, which possess outstanding functions as compared to their simple mineral forms. This has inspired many attempts to mimic such structures, but has yielded few practical advances. In this study, a multilevel hierarchically ordered artificial biomineral (a composite of hydroxyapatite and gelatine) with favorable nanomechanical properties is reported. A typical optimized HAp/gelatin hybrid material in the perpendicular direction of the HAp c-axis has a modulus of 25.91 + 1.78 GPa and hardness of 0.90 + 0.10 GPa, which well matches that of human cortical bone (modulus 24.3 + 1.4 GPa, hardness 0.69 + 0.05 GPa). The bottom-up crystal constructions (from nano- to micro- to macroscale) of this material are achieved through a hard template approach by the phase transformation from DCP to HAp. The structural biomimetic material shows another way to mimic the complex hierarchical designs of sclerous tissues which have potential value for application in hard tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, PR China; State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, PR China, Fax: (+)86-21-52413903.
authors.forename: Xiaoguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Kaili
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chengtie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yueyue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhaoyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry*; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005780:Gelatin; D017886:Durapatite
keywords: biomimetics; biominerals; hard templates; hierarchical structures; hydroxyapatite