“…35−37 Taking advantage of these biological characteristics, there is ongoing investigation of the applications as apatite carriers for pharmaceuticals, including bioimaging, 36,38 protein delivery, 36,39 and nonviral gene delivery. 36,40,41 Our group has successfully synthesized the apatite carriers combined with methylene blue, 42 citric acid, 43−49 folic acid, 43 (oxyethylene)cholesterol, 50 and mesoporous silica. 51 The other interfacial interactions with the apatite for the hybrids by covalent bonding using silane coupling agents, 52,53 hexamethylene diisocyanate, 54,55 and poly(acrylic acid) 56 have also been reported.…”