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Evidence for Direct Physical Bonding between the Collagen Fibres and Apatite Crystals in Bone

Abstract

THE exact relationship between the mineral crystals and the collagen fibres in bone has not been determined. While the present consensus is that the collagen fibres initiate mineralization1,2, and that the initial crystallites have a specific spatial relationship to the collagen fibres3, evidence of the exact physical relationship between the fibres and crystals is lacking. This question pertains chiefly to the initial crystallization phase, because subsequent secondary mineralization is believed to occur on the basis of inter-crystalline bonding.

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References

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  3. Fell, H. B., The Biochemistry-Physiology of Bone (edit. by Bourne, G. H.) (Academic Press, New York, 1956).

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MARINO, A., BECKER, R. Evidence for Direct Physical Bonding between the Collagen Fibres and Apatite Crystals in Bone. Nature 213, 697–698 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/213697a0

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