Spontaneous growth of a laminin-apatite nano-composite in a metastable calcium phosphate solution

Abstract

We have previously reported that a laminin-apatite composite layer is formed on an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) in a laminin-containing calcium phosphate (LCP) solution. In this work, the stability of the LCP solution and growth process of the laminin-apatite composite layer have been investigated. Dynamic light scattering technique revealed that the LCP solution was stable for periods as long as 24 h; it did not induce homogeneous precipitation of laminin or calcium phosphates in the solution. Analysis of the EVOH surface and the LCP solution showed that the laminin-apatite composite layer was formed via coprecipitation of laminin and apatite on the EVOH plate, i.e., spontaneous growing of apatite and simultaneous immobilization of laminin molecules or laminin–calcium phosphate nano-complexes onto its surface. Transmission electron microscopy also revealed that the laminin molecules in the resulting composite layer were not localized or aggregated, but were dispersed on a nano-scale in the entire layer. Because of this nano-composite structure, a large number of laminin molecules were stably immobilized on the EVOH plate. This may be responsible for the excellent cell adhesion properties of this type of composite material.