This study evaluated nanohardness, elastic modulus and surface roughness of human enamel after contact with citric beverages. Human enamel samples were assigned to 3 groups according to the type of beverage used: carbonated drink, orange juice and tap water (control). Surface roughness was assessed using a profilometer, and nanohardness and elastic modulus were recorded using a nanoindenter. The pH of the beverages was measured before and after citric contact during 5 weeks. Means(SD) were as follows: Carbonated drink: elastic modulus decreased from 111.6(14. In conclusion, soft drink exposure caused a significant decrease in nanohardness and elastic modulus. The pH of the soft drink was more acidic from 5°C to 37°C. Orange juice showed a similar trend but, surprisingly, it had less effect on hardness, elastic modulus and roughness of enamel than the carbonated drink.

The polymer/bioceramic composite materials attract much attention for the development of bioresorbable implants and tissue engineering scaffolds. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is the most commonly used bioceramic material due to its similarity to the major mineral component of the hard tissue. We synthesized carbonated and Mg-substituted HA nanocrystals with various concentrations of CO32− and Mg2+ ions by chemical precipitation in the range of the process temperatures from 25 °C to 100 °C.The HA nanocrystals were mixed with several polymeric materials (PCL, PLA, PVA, collagen) to fabricate bulk and nanofiber polymer/HA nanoparticle composites with the HA loading up to 80 % by weight. The HA nanocrystals and polymer/HA composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. Mechanical properties of the composites were investigated using nanoindentation technique.