Fluoride deposition in the bones of rats determined by fluoride and X-ray diffraction analysis.

Rats were given drinking water containing up to 300 parts/10(6) F and the conversion of hydroxyapatite to fluoridated apatite was estimated chemically and by X-ray diffraction. The differences of the mean fluoride uptakes from the very different concentrations of fluoride given were significant. Prolonged washing of the bones with demineralized water released 5-10 per cent from the fluoride uptake. Formation of fluoridated apatite was evident by decreases in the a parameter of the hydroxyapatite phase. In the washed bones, there was no appreciable transformations in the a parameters. The co-existence of Mg-containing beta-Ca3(PO4)2 with the apatite phase was detected in heated bone samples. The amount of beta-Ca3(PO4)2, its dependence on the age of the bones and its Mg content are interdependent.