Tuesday Publication Post! 📖 Understanding how calcium phosphate (CaP) layers form on titanium dioxide is an essential step in improving bone implant integration. However, this has long been limited by the lack of techniques that can capture nanoscale processes in liquid and in real time. Using the Poseidon AX TEM holder, this newest study from Jing Zhang, Liza-Anastasia DiCecco, Alyssa Williams, Alessandra Merlo, and Kathryn Grandfield bridges that gap.
By combining in situ liquid-phase TEM with correlative ex situ analysis, the authors from #WaterlooUniversity directly visualize the three-step mineralization pathway on TiO₂ nanoparticles:
1️⃣ Nanoparticle aggregation in solution
2️⃣ Formation of an amorphous CaP (ACP-like) coating
3️⃣ Gradual crystallization into hydroxyapatite (HAP)
Poseidon’s liquid-cell capabilities made it possible to observe nucleation, aggregation, structural evolution, and phase transitions as they unfold. This provided insight into the physicochemical interactions driving CaP–TiO₂ mineralization.
Want to read the entire work? Find it here!
https://www.doi.org/10.1002/smll.202505317
