Synthetic dental composite materials inspired by shark tooth enameloid

H. Fabritius, J. Enax, M. Epple, D. Raabe

This multidisciplinary work is aimed at the development of novel biomimetic dental materials based on the results of a detailed characterization of the structure and composition of shark tooth enameloid. The basic constituents for the composites are hydrothermally synthetized fluoroapatite crystallites with different morphologies that resemble those of the natural model and PMMA based polymers to mimick the organic matrix present in the enameloid. Concurrently, the fracture behavior of the enamel will be investigated both experimentally and theoretically in order to adjust the properties of the synthetic composites accordingly.^[1]

Fig. 1. Schematic depiction of the spatial arrangement and SEM micrograph of fluoroapatite crystallite bundles in the enameloid of the Mako shark Isurus oxyrhynchus. While their orientation is strongly anisotropic, both elastic modulus and hardness of the crystallite bundles are isotropic. — Fig. 1. Schematic depiction of the spatial arrangement and SEM micrograph of fluoroapatite crystallite bundles in the enameloid of the Mako shark *Isurus oxyrhynchus*. While their orientation is strongly anisotropic, both elastic modulus and hardness of the crystallite bundles are isotropic.

© Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH

Fig. 1. Schematic depiction of the spatial arrangement and SEM micrograph of fluoroapatite crystallite bundles in the enameloid of the Mako shark *Isurus oxyrhynchus*. While their orientation is strongly anisotropic, both elastic modulus and hardness of the crystallite bundles are isotropic.

© Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH

References

[1] Enax, J., Janus, A.M., Raabe, D., Epple, M. and Fabritius, H.-O. Ultrastructural organization and micromechanical properties of shark tooth enameloid. Acta Biomater., 10:3959-3968, 2014.