Publication | Closed Access
The atomic structure of fluor-apatite and its relation to that of tooth and bone material. (With Plates XVI-XVIII.)
129
Citations
0
References
1946
Year
Materials SciencePo 4Extensive X-ray DataEngineeringHydroxyapatiteUltrastructureAtomic StructureDental BiomechanicsBone MaterialX-ray Crystal AnalysisBioceramicCrystallographyBone DensityPlates Xvi-xviiiOsteoporosisMicrostructure
It is well established by X-ray crystal analysis that the mineral constituent of bone and of the enamel and dentine of teeth is essentially hydroxy-apatite Ca 5 OH(PO 4 ) 3 , and that hydroxy-apatite has a structure differing only in small details from that of the well-crystallized mineral fluor-apatite Ca 5 F(PO 4 ) 3 . The main difference, and in fact the only fully established one, between the two structures is that the hydroxy-apatite has a slightly larger unit cell than that of the fluor-apatite. The structure of the latter has been determined by Náray-Szabó, and by Mehmel who finally agrees with Náray-Szabó. We have made what is probably a more accurate determination of the structure, using more extensive X-ray data.