Biomimetic Mineralization of Tooth Enamel Using Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite under Various Dental Surface Pretreatment Conditions.

In this report, we demonstrated the formation of a biomimetic mineralizing layer obtained on the surface of dental enamel (biotemplate) using bioinspired nanocrystalline carbonate-substituted calcium hydroxyapatite (ncHAp), whose physical and chemical properties are closest to the natural apatite dental matrix, together with a complex of polyfunctional organic and polar amino acids. Using a set of structural, spectroscopy, and advanced microscopy techniques, we confirmed the formation of a nanosized ncHAp-based mineralized layer, as well as studying its chemical, substructural, and morphological features by means of various methods for the pretreatment of dental enamel. The pretreatment of a biotemplate in an alkaline solution of Ca(OH) and an amino acid booster, together with the executed subsequent mineralization with ncHAp, led to the formation of a mineralized layer with homogeneous micromorphology and the preferential orientation of the ncHAp nanocrystals.

Characterization of Pb₂₄Te₇₆ quantum dot thin film synthesized by inert gas condensation.

Air-stable and thermal-stable lead telluride quantum dot was successfully prepared on glass substrate by inert gas condensation (IGC) method. Argon (Ar) is the inert gas used during deposition process with a constant flow rate of 3 × 10(-3)Torr. The effect of heat-treatment process at different times was studies for structure, optical and electrical properties for nanocrystalline thin films.