Proton Environments in Biomimetic Calcium Phosphates Formed from Mesoporous Bioactive CaO-SiO2- P2O5 Glasses in vitro: Insights from Solid-State NMR

When exposed to body fluids, mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) of the CaO{SiO2{P2O5 system develop a bone-bonding surface layer that initially consists of amorphous calcium phosphate(ACP), which transforms into hydroxy-carbonate apatite (HCA) with a very similar composition as bone/dentin mineral. Information from various 1H-based solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments were combined to elucidate the evolution of the proton speciations both at the MBG surface and within each ACP/HCA constituent of the biomimetic phosphate layer formed when each of three MBGs with distinct Ca, Si, and P contents was immersed in a simulated body fluid (SBF) for variable periods between 15 min and 30 days. Directly excited magic-angle-spinning (MAS) 1H NMR spectra mainly reflect the MBG component, whose surface is rich in water and silanol (SiOH) moieties. Double-quantum{single-quantum correlation 1H NMR experimentation at fast MAS revealed their interatomic proximities. The comparatively minor H species of each ACP and HCA component were probed selectively by heteronuclear 1H{31P NMR experimentation. The initially prevailing ACP phase comprises H2O and "non-apatitic" HPO2