Schaad P, Paris E, Cuisinier F J, Voegel J C
Centre de Recherches Odontologiques, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France.
Scanning Microsc. 1993 Dec;7(4):1149-52.
Human enamel features from individual crystals up to prisms were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Low magnification images of vestibular tooth surfaces show the existence of enamel prisms appearing as deep holes. Individual, parallel enamel crystals show lateral faces elongated and formed by the (100) planes of hydroxyapatite (HA). Height differences between (001) faces create the roughness of enamel surface. Individual (001) crystal faces can be observed clearly at higher magnification and show the characteristic hexagonal shape with 60 degree angles between (100) faces. This study confirms the applicability of AFM for studying biological hydroxyapatite crystals.
通过原子力显微镜（AFM）观察了从单个晶体到棱柱体的人类牙釉质特征。前庭牙表面的低倍图像显示存在呈深孔状的牙釉质棱柱体。单个平行的牙釉质晶体显示出由羟基磷灰石（HA）的（100）平面形成的拉长的侧面。（001）面之间的高度差异造成了牙釉质表面的粗糙度。在更高放大倍数下可以清楚地观察到单个（001）晶面，并显示出在（100）面之间具有60度角的特征六边形形状。本研究证实了AFM在研究生物羟基磷灰石晶体方面的适用性。
