London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Biomaterials. 2010 Jul;31(19):5275-86. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.03.025. Epub 2010 Apr 9.
In this work, analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to study the nanostructure of mineralised ivory dentine, in order to gain a clearer understanding of the relationship between the organic (collagen fibrils) and inorganic (calcium phosphate apatite crystals) components. Thin sections prepared by both focused ion beam (FIB) milling and ultramicrotomy, in the longitudinal and transverse planes, were investigated using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a monochromated field-emission gun scanning TEM (FEI Titan 80-300 FEGSTEM). Both low- and core-loss spectroscopy were used in the investigation, and the signals from phosphorous, carbon, calcium, nitrogen and oxygen were studied in detail. A combination of HAADF (high-angle annular dark-field)-STEM imaging and EELS analysis was used for simultaneous acquisition of both spatial and spectral information pixel by pixel (spectrum imaging). Across the collagen D banding in longitudinal sections, the relative thickness of the bright bands was significantly higher than that of the dark bands. Core-loss spectroscopy showed that the bright bands were richer in apatite than the dark bands. However, no ELNES variation was observed across the D banding. In transverse sections, significant changes in the carbon edge fine structure were observed at the interface between the extra- and intra-fibrillar regions.
在这项工作中,我们使用分析型透射电子显微镜(TEM)研究了矿化象牙牙本质的纳米结构,以便更清楚地了解有机(胶原纤维)和无机(磷酸钙磷灰石晶体)成分之间的关系。通过聚焦离子束(FIB)铣削和超薄切片法在纵向和横向上制备的薄片,使用单色场发射枪扫描 TEM(FEI Titan 80-300 FEGSTEM)中的电子能量损失光谱(EELS)进行了研究。在研究中同时使用了低能损失和核心损失光谱,详细研究了磷、碳、钙、氮和氧的信号。使用 HAADF(高角度环形暗场)-STEM 成像和 EELS 分析的组合,实现了逐像素(光谱成像)同时获取空间和光谱信息。在纵向切片中穿过胶原 D 带,亮带的相对厚度明显高于暗带。核心损失光谱表明,亮带比暗带富含磷灰石。然而,在 D 带之间没有观察到 ELNES 变化。在横切面上,在原纤维内外区域之间的界面处观察到碳边缘精细结构的显著变化。