Toothpick: New molecular tag IDs bone and tooth minerals

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Deposits of hydroxyapatite crystal (l.) and the same mineral in a cross section of a human tooth (r.) light up bright green where theyve been tagged with a new peptide created at NIST to bond specifically to the compound. The peptide has been linked ...
Deposits of hydroxyapatite crystal (l.) and the same mineral in a cross section of a human tooth (r.) light up bright green where they've been tagged with a new peptide created at NIST to bond specifically to the compound. The peptide has been linked to a fluorescent stain for imaging. Credit: NIST
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Enlisting an army of plant viruses to their cause, materials researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have identified a small biomolecule that binds specifically to one of the key crystal structures of the body—the calcium compound that is the basic building block of teeth and bone. With refinements, the researchers say, the new molecule can be a highly discriminating probe for a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic applications related to bones and teeth.


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