Fig. 6
From: Protein disorder–order interplay to guide the growth of hierarchical mineralized structures
Dental applications of the hierarchical structures. a Application of the in-situ cross-linked ELR membrane conformed over the rough and uneven surface of exposed human dentin, exhibiting the hierarchical mineralized structures as a coating on top of the native tissue. SEM images depicting b a removed section (white square) of the mineralized membrane with c the nanocrystals infiltrating, binding, and occluding the open dentinal tubule structures. d FIB milling of the mineralized coating at different depths to observe the dentin-membrane interface, which exhibits infiltration of nanocrystals occluding the dentinal tubules. e SEM images revealing the effect of the acid attack at different time-points (15 min, and 7 days) on both human dental enamel and the hierarchical mineralized structures. f Graph illustrating the Young’s modulus and hardness of the human enamel and mineralized structures after the acid attack. g DDC-SEM images of the hierarchical mineralized structures after the enzymatic digestion, showing a partially remaining organic material (arrow). Scale bars: a, b 50 µm; c 3 µm; d 10 µm; e 1 µm; g 500 nm. Error bars are represented as SD, n = 10
