Biomimetic nanocrystalline apatites are major candidates for biomedical applications including bone tissue engineering due to their high analogy to bone mineral. In particular, as for biological apatites, synthetic biomimetic analogs exhibit a structured but metastable non-apatitic surface layer which is at the origin of the exceptional reactivity of these compounds. This reactivity can be exploited for example by functionalizing the surface of apatite nanocrystals with drugs and biomolecules or interest in view of various biomedical applications, or by incorporating biologically-active ions within the apatite lattice, thus conveying new properties, or else for "low" temperature consolidation (typically in the range RT - 300°C).

In the last decade, significant advances have been made in the fine characterization of apatite nanocrystals (whether of biological or synthetic origins), enabling one to better understand the behavior of apatite nanocrystals when placed in varying conditions (upon drying, when re-immersed in aqueous media, ...) as well as biomineralization phenomena. Also interfacial events involving nanocrystalline apatites are bound to be directly related to their surface peculiarities (presence of a non-apatitic hydrated layer on the surface of the nanocrystals).

In this contribution, we will recall the specific surface state of biomimetic apatites which is at the origin of their very peculiar reactivity, and we will then overview the main interfacial aspects of interest in view of biomedical applications.

C. Drouet's brief biography:

http://science24.com/resources/paper/28802/0_Christophe_Drouet.doc

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1. X-ray and IR micro-analysis studies of bone mineral and related biological samples