Abstract
The chemical composition of biominerals is essential for understanding biomineral formation and is regarded as an attractive subject in bio-mineralogical research on human kidney stones (urinary calculi). In order to obtain more geochemically interpreted data on biogenic minerals, mineralogical compositions and major and trace element concentrations of sixty-six kidney stone samples derived from kidney stone removal surgeries were measured. Infrared spectroscopy results showed that calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) and calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) were the two main mineral components of kidney stones. Geochemical results indicated that major and trace element concentrations were present in the following order: Ca > Mg > Na > K > Zn > Fe > Pb > Ba > Cu > Ti > Mo > Cd > Cr. With the exception of Ca, Mg was the second-most abundant element. Zn exhibited higher concentrations relative to other trace elements, which suggests a potential substitution of calcium by metal ions with a similar charge and radius rather than by metals in kidney stone formation. Pb appeared in significantly higher concentrations than in previous studies, which indicates Pb enrichment in the environment. In order to discern multi-element relationships within kidney stones, principal component analysis was applied. Three principal components (PCs, eigenvalues >1) were extracted to explain 64.4% of the total variance. The first component exhibited positively correlated Na-Zn-Cr-Mo-Cd-Pb, while the second component exhibited more positively weighted Mg-K-Ba-Ti. Fe-Cu demonstrated a positive correlation in the third component. This study suggests that Ca exhibits a preference for uptake by oxalates during human urinary stone crystallization, while other alkali metals and alkaline earth metals precipitate with phosphate.
Highlights
IntroductionAs one of the most typical biominerals, the biomineralogy of human kidney stones (urinary calculi) has rapidly developed in recent years [1,2,3]
In order to obtain more geochemically interpreted data of biogenic minerals, this study investigated mineralogical, major, and trace element compositions of human kidney stones obtained from patients in Beijing and assessed the potential effects of elements on nucleation, or any other crystallization process, of the main components of kidney stone formation
Infrared spectra obtained by using an infrared spectrometer can identify the following crystalline compounds in collected kidney stones: calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM, CaC2 O4 ·H2 O), calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD, CaC2 O4 ·2H2 O), carbonate apatite (CA, Ca10 (PO4 )6 CO3 ·H2 O), uric acid (UA, C5 H4 N4 O3 ), and ammonium acid urate (AAU, C5 H7 N5 O3 )
Summary
As one of the most typical biominerals, the biomineralogy of human kidney stones (urinary calculi) has rapidly developed in recent years [1,2,3]. Kidney stones, regarded as one of the most challenging medical issues, have become a global scourge and can even result in the deterioration of renal function and permanent kidney damage [4,5,6,7]. Some of the causes of kidney stone formation remain unknown [4,6,8,9,10]. Kidney stones can be classified according to mineral composition, which includes four most common types: calcium phosphate, calcium oxalate, uric acid, and struvite kidney stones [2,5]
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