Invertebrate organisms that use calcium carbonate extensively in the formation of their hard tissues have the ability to deposit biominerals with control over crystal size, shape, orientation, phase, texture, and location. It has been proposed by our group that charged polyelectrolytes, like acidic proteins, may be employed by organisms to direct crystal growth through an intermediate liquid phase in a process called the polymer-induced liquid-precursor (PILP) process. Recently, it has been proposed that calcium carbonate crystallization, even in the absence of any additives, follows a non-classical, multi-step crystallization process by first associating into a liquid precursor phase before transition into solid amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) and eventually crystalline calcium carbonates. In order to determine if the PILP process involves the promotion, or stabilization, of a naturally occurring liquid precursor to ACC, we have analyzed the formation of saturated and supersaturated calcium carbonate–bicarbonate solutions using Ca²⁺ ion selective electrodes, pH electrodes, isothermal titration calorimetry, nanoparticle tracking analysis, ¹³C T₂ relaxation measurements, and ¹³C PFG-STE diffusion NMR measurements. These studies provide evidence that, in the absences of additives, and at near neutral pH (emulating the conditions of biomineralization and biomimetic model systems), a condensed phase of liquid-like droplets of calcium carbonate forms at a critical concentration, where it is stabilized intrinsically by bicarbonate ions. In experiments with polymer additive, the data suggests that the polymer is kinetically stabilizing this liquid condensed phase in a distinct and pronounced fashion during the so called PILP process. Verification of this precursor phase and the stabilization that polymer additives provide during the PILP process sheds new light on the mechanism through which biological organisms can exercise such control over deposited CaCO₃ biominerals, and on the potential means to generate in vitro mineral products with features that resemble biominerals seen in nature.

Accurate and reliable quantification of brain metabolites measured in vivo using 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a topic of continued interest. Aside from differences in the basic approach to quantification, the quantification of metabolite data acquired at different sites and on different platforms poses an additional methodological challenge. In this study, spectrally edited γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) MRS data were analyzed and GABA levels were quantified relative to an internal tissue water reference. Data from 284 volunteers scanned across 25 research sites were collected using GABA+ (GABA + co-edited macromolecules (MM)) and MM-suppressed GABA editing. The unsuppressed water signal from the volume of interest was acquired for concentration referencing. Whole-brain T1-weighted structural images were acquired and segmented to determine gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid voxel tissue fractions. Water-referenced GABA measurements were fully corrected for tissue-dependent signal relaxation and water visibility effects. The cohort-wide coefficient of variation was 17% for the GABA + data and 29% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. The mean within-site coefficient of variation was 10% for the GABA + data and 19% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. Vendor differences contributed 53% to the total variance in the GABA + data, while the remaining variance was attributed to site- (11%) and participant-level (36%) effects. For the MM-suppressed data, 54% of the variance was attributed to site differences, while the remaining 46% was attributed to participant differences. Results from an exploratory analysis suggested that the vendor differences were related to the unsuppressed water signal acquisition. Discounting the observed vendor-specific effects, water-referenced GABA measurements exhibit similar levels of variance to creatine-referenced GABA measurements. It is concluded that quantification using internal tissue water referencing is a viable and reliable method for the quantification of in vivo GABA levels.

Proteins found in mineralized tissues act as nature’s crystal engineers, where they play a key role in promoting or inhibiting the growth of minerals such as hydroxyapatite (bones/teeth) and calcium oxalate (kidney stones). Despite their importance in hard-tissue formation and remodeling, and in pathological processes such as stone formation and arterial calcification, there is little known of the protein structure-function relationships that govern hard-tissue engineering. Here we review early studies that have utilized solid-state NMR (ssNMR) techniques to provide in situ secondary-structure determination of statherin and statherin peptides on their biologically relevant hydroxyapatite (HAP) surfaces. In addition to direct structural study, molecular dynamics studies have provided considerable insight into the protein-binding footprint on hydroxyapatite. The molecular insight provided by these studies has also led to the design of biomimetic fusion peptides that utilize nature’s crystal-recognition mechanism to display accessible and dynamic bioactive sequences from the HAP surface. These peptides selectively engage adhesion receptors and direct specific outside-in signaling pathway activation in osteoblast-like cells.

Extracellular matrix proteins play key roles in controlling the activities of osteoblasts and osteoclasts in bone remodeling. These bone-specific extracellular matrix proteins contain amino acid sequences that mediate cell adhesion, and many of the bone-specific matrix proteins also contain acidic domains that interact with the mineral surface and may orient the signaling domains. Here we report a fusion peptide design that is based on this natural approach for the display of signaling peptide sequences at biomineral surfaces. Salivary statherin contains a 15-amino acid hydroxyapatite binding domain (N15) that is loosely helical in solution. To test whether N15 can serve to orient active peptide sequences on hydroxyapatite, the RGD and flanking residues from osteopontin were fused to the C terminus. The fusion peptides bound tightly to hydroxyapatite, and the N15-PGRGDS peptide mediated the dose-dependent adhesion of Moα_v melanoma cells when immobilized on the hydroxyapatite surface. Experiments with an integrin-sorted Moα_v subpopulation demonstrated that the α_vβ₃ integrin was the primary receptor target for the fusion peptide. Solid state NMR experiments showed that the RGD portion of the hydrated fusion peptide is highly dynamic on the hydroxyapatite surface. This fusion peptide framework may thus provide a straightforward design for immobilizing bioactive sequences on hydroxyapatite for biomaterials, tissue engineering, and vaccine applications.