Effect of Charge State of L‐Aspartic and L‐Arginine Amino Acids on Morphology of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate Crystals

Abstract

AbstractThe influence of amino acids of different nature (L‐aspartic acid (L‐asp) and L‐arginine (L‐arg)) on the morphology and size of calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals (COM), one of the main components of pathogenic organomineral aggregates in the human organism, is studied. Addition of L‐asp and L‐arg is found to inhibit the processes of COM crystal growth, thereby decreasing the crystal size by more than twice compared to pure COM crystals. The increase in the concentration of L‐asp and L‐arg amino acids in the reaction mixture to 4 × 10−3 m and higher leads to the appearance of individual COM crystal. At 20 × 10−3 m concentration of the amino acid, individual crystals of size between 3 to 5 µm are mainly formed. L‐asp and L‐arg amino acids can block the growth of the {121} face due to the formation of hydrogen bonds, and the growth of the {100} and {010} faces by electrostatic interaction.