RESUMO
Quasi-percolated nanostructured silver thin films are used as the starting morphology for inducing simultaneously changes in shape and ordering effects by laser irradiation. The complex fingered nanostructures are transformed into nanospheres which in turn are arranged in micro-circular patterns when irradiated through a pinhole. These transformations are characterized by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The observed effects are explained using Fresnel diffraction theory. Good agreement with the experimental results is obtained. These results suggest that precise patterning engineering can be achieved through control of the spatial parameters such as the pinhole diameter and the distance from the mask to the sample.
RESUMO
The ultrastructure of the human tooth enamel from a patient diagnosed with hypoplasia (HYP) was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and compared with the surface of normal human tooth enamel. Hypoplasia is a hereditary defect of dental enamel in which the enamel is deficient in either quality or quantity. AFM results presented for the HYP tooth enamel clearly demonstrate that the apatite crystal morphology in hypoplasia tooth enamel is perturbed in the diseased state which could result from a defective synthesis of the extracellular matrix proteins, e.g., amelogenin, by the ameloblasts. HYP enamel consisting of loosely packed, very small grains does not present a tendency for association, as in the case of the normal healthy tooth. Indeed, the enamel surface affected by HYP is porous and is made of much smaller grains. In some samples, the HYP part of enamel surface appeared in the form of a point-defect, which we believe may be associated with the early stages of the HYP deformation.
Assuntos
Hipoplasia do Esmalte Dentário/ultraestrutura , Esmalte Dentário/ultraestrutura , Microscopia de Força Atômica/métodos , Apatitas , Criança , Feminino , Humanos , Propriedades de SuperfícieRESUMO
The ultrastructure of human tooth enamel from a patient diagnosed to have amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and compared with normal human tooth enamel. AI is a hereditary defect of dental enamel in which the enamel is deficient in either quality or quantity. Tissue-specific proteins, especially amelogenins, have been postulated to play a central role in amelogenesis. The secondary structure of amelogenin has been assigned an important role in directing the architecture of hydroxyapatite (HA) enamel crystallites and an alteration of the secondary structure of amelogenin is expected to result in an altered architecture of the mineral phase in human enamel. Previous studies have shown that the human amelogenin gene encodes for a mutant protein in which a conserved Pro is mutated to a Thr residue (Pro-->Thr); such a mutation should be expected to cause a disoriented pattern of the mineral phase in enamel. AFM results presented for the AI tooth enamel clearly demonstrate that the apatite crystal morphology in AI tooth enamel is perturbed in the diseased state; this might result from a defective synthesis of the extracellular matrix proteins, e.g. amelogenin, by the ameloblasts.