Repair of tooth enamel by a biomimetic mineralization frontier ensuring epitaxial growth

• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw9569
• Publication Date: 2019-08-30T23:15:28Z
• Authors: Changyu Shao; Biao Jin; Zhao Mu; Hao Lu; Yueqi Zhao; Zhifang Wu; Lumiao Yan; Zhisen Zhang; Yanchun Zhou; Haihua Pan; Zhaoming Liu; Ruikang Tang
• Keywords: Tooth enamel; Amorphous calcium phosphate

The regeneration of tooth enamel, the hardest biological tissue, remains a considerable challenge because its complicated and well-aligned apatite structure has not been duplicated artificially. We herein reveal that rationally designed material composed calcium phosphate ion clusters can be used to produce precursor layer induce epitaxial crystal growth enamel apatite, which mimics biomineralization crystalline-amorphous frontier hard tissue development in nature. After repair, damaged recovered completely hierarchical mechanical properties are identical those natural enamel. suggested phase transformation-based follows promising strategy for and, more generally, biomimetic reproduction materials with structure.