Factors Affecting the Transformation of Octacalcium Phosphate to Apatite in vitro

A fresh octacalcium phosphate (OCP) precipitate without drying and three kinds of dried OCP powders were soaked for 3 weeks in 11 kinds of physiological solutions consisting of different combinations of Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, HCO3-, HPO4(2-), F-, albumin, collagen and alkaline phosphatase, in three different pH values and at three different temperatures. X-ray diffraction study showed that most of the OCP had been transformed to apatite with low crystallinity after soaking in the solutions without Mg2+. The IR absorption spectra revealed that CO3 was incorporated in the apatite formed from OCP in the solution without Mg2+, whereas OCP changed little after soaking in the solution containing Mg2+. These results suggest that the presence of Mg2+ in the solution is one of the most effective means of inhibiting the transformation of OCP to apatite by interrupting the precipitation process of apatite.