Netherlands, March 12 -- Project Id: 126007
Description: Objective
Collagen mineralization in bone is one of the most crucial processes in our body as it supplies the skeleton on which we depend for support and protection. Bone's impressive mechanical properties arise from the hierarchical organization of the organic collagen matrix that is mineralized with ultrathin, aligned inorganic crystals of carbonated hydroxyapatite.
Despite its importance to the human body, relatively little is understood about collagen mineralization and how the proteins govern mineral growth with such precision. This is because the matrix development is a complex process with different stages that occur over multiple length scales and depends on many different ...