Ultra-Structural Study of the Laminin-Apatite Composite Layer Formed on Ethylene-Vinyl Alcohol Copolymer by a Biomimetic Process

Abstract

Mechanism of formation of a laminin-apatite composite layer on the surface of an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) using a liquid phase coating process was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In this coating process, an EVOH substrate is alternately dipped in calcium and phosphate solutions, and then immersed in a laminin-containing calcium phosphate (LCP) solution. From the results obtained by the present study, formation of the laminin-apatite composite layer on EVOH is likely to proceed via the following events. By the alternate dipping process, particulate amorphous calcium phosphate, which is a precursor of apatite, was deposited onto the EVOH surface. When the specimen was subsequently immersed in the LCP solution, the amorphous calcium phosphate on the specimen transformed itself into needle-like apatite crystal, and then grew into a layer. During this process, laminin molecules contained in the LCP solution were incorporated into a matrix of the apatite crystals to produce a laminin-apatite composite layer on the EVOH surface.