title: Biomimetic mineralization of collagen fibrils induced by amine-terminated PAMAM dendrimers--PAMAM dendrimers for remineralization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Achieving biomimetic mineralization of collagen fibrils by mimicking the role of non-collagenous proteins (NCPs) with biomimetic analogs is of great interest in the fields of material science and stomatology. Amine-terminated PAMAM dendrimer (PAMAM-NH2), which possesses a highly ordered architecture and many calcium coordination sites, may be a desirable template for simulating NCPs to induce mineralization of collagen fibrils. In this study, we focused on the ability of PAMAM-NH2 to mineralize collagen fibrils.
  
  
  METHODS
  Type-I collagen fibrils were reconstituted over 400-mesh formvar-and-carbon-coated gold grids and treated with a third-generation PAMAM-NH2 (G3-PAMAM-NH2) solution. The treated collagen fibrils were immersed in artificial saliva for different lengths of time. The morphologies of the mineralized reconstituted type-I collagen fibrils were characterized by transmission electron microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No obvious mineralized collagen fibrils were detected in the control group. On the contrary, collagen fibrils were heavily mineralized in the experimental group. Most importantly, intrafibrillar mineralization was achieved within the reconstituted type-I collagen fibrils.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we successfully induced biomimetic mineralization within type-I collagen fibrils using G3-PAMAM-NH2. This strategy may serve as a potential therapeutic technique for restoring completely demineralized collagenous mineralized tissues.
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610041 , China.
authors.forename: Kunneng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jianshu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Shimeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Xuedong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jiyao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000737:chemistry*; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D012464:Saliva, Artificial / Q000737:chemistry; D012996:Solutions; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
chemical_list: D024042:Collagen Type I; D050091:Dendrimers; C104700:PAMAM Starburst; D012464:Saliva, Artificial; D012996:Solutions; D002244:Carbon; D006046:Gold; D002118:Calcium
keywords: amine-terminated PAMAM dendrimer; biomaterial; biomimetic mineralization; collagen fibrils; intrafibrillar mineralization