Identification of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate deposited during osteoblast mineralization in vitro.

The hydroxyapatite (HAP) with variable chemical substitutions has been considered as the major component in the mineralized part of bones. Various metastable crystalline phases have been suggested as transitory precursors of HAP in bone, but there are no consensuses as to the nature of these phases and their temporal evolution. In the present study, we cultured rat calvarial osteoblasts with ascorbate and β-glycerophosphate to explore which calcium phosphate precursor phases comprise the initial mineral in the process of osteoblast mineralization in vitro.