Morphology of the mineral phase of bone

Structural organization of the bone mineral

“…It should be noted that the crystals located in fibrils and interfibrillar spaces filled with the ground substance form contacts with each other. This ensures the integrity and ruggedizes the bone mineral phase [1] that constitutes bone lamellae and entire bone.…”

“…Bone fragments for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were split off perpendicularly to its long axis. Specimens (1-2 mm thick) were cut out from the bone below the fracture, organic components were removed by incubation in sodium hypochlorite and hydrazine solutions [1,2], routinely processed, and examined under an SEM-515 scanning electron microscope (Philips). The absence of organic matter was confirmed as described previously [12], Hydrazine-and hypochlorite-treated specimens were frozen-fractured in a BAF-400D installation (Balzers) and shaded with platinum and carbon.…”

“…Mechanical and physicochemical properties of mineralized tissues strongly depend on the interactions between the organic matrix and embedded mineral crystals [1,8]. Some aspects of these interactions still remain unclear.…”