whitlockite and Urinary-Calculi

Topics: Apatites; Calcium Compounds; Calcium Oxalate; Calcium Phosphates; History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; Humans; Magnesium Compounds; Minerals; Names; Phosphates; Struvite; Urinary Calculi

Mechanical properties of renal calculi dictate how a stone interacts and disintegrates by shock wave or intracorporeal lithotripsy techniques. Renal stones of different compositions have large variation in their mechanical strength and susceptibilities to shock waves. Operated urinary stones and artificially developed stones using pharmaceutical methods, composed of phosphates were subjected to tensile, flexural and compressive strength studies using universal testing machine. The infrared spectra confirmed the presence of hydroxyapatite in both the natural stones and struvite with calcium oxalate trihydrate in one stone and struvite with uric acid in the other. The X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed their crystalline nature. It has been observed that the flexural properties depend on the size of the sample even for the samples cut from a single stone. The compressive strengths were almost 25 times larger than the tensile strengths of the respective natural stones as well as the artificial stones prepared.

Topics: Biomechanical Phenomena; Calcium Oxalate; Calcium Phosphates; Durapatite; Humans; Lithotripsy; Magnesium Compounds; Materials Testing; Phosphates; Spectrophotometry, Infrared; Struvite; Tensile Strength; Urinary Calculi; X-Ray Diffraction

Using transmission and scanning electron microscopy, we have studied the ultrastructure of a number of urinary calculi, mainly composed of calcium phosphate. Three fundamental kinds of calcium phosphates were detected: nonstoichiometric carbonate apatite, nonhexagonal octacalcium phosphate, and calcium-magnesium whitlockite. The influence that the organic matter, substitutions in the phosphate lattice of CO3 and Mg, and apatitic stoichiometry have on the ultrastructure of the calcium phosphate calculi has been detailed. An originating apatitic unity named U2 is assumed to be the responsible for all the different structures of calcium apatites appearing in renal calculi. On the basis of our observations, a mechanism whereby apatites grow is postulated; magnesium functions as an inhibitor for the growing mechanism.

Topics: Apatites; Calcium; Calcium Phosphates; Carbonates; Crystallography; Humans; Hydroxyapatites; Magnesium; Microscopy, Electron; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Urinary Calculi