Table 1.

Comparison of two self-replicators: CNP and inorganic apatite crystals

Properties	CNP	Inorganic apatite crystals
Culture in DMEM under mammalian cell culture conditions	Increase in number (Çiftçioglu et al 1997)	No increase in number and size (Çiftçioglu et al 1997)
Size	Very narrow range (Kajander et al 1997; Çiftçioglu et al 1997) S-CNP: 80–500 nm SF-CNP: 0.5–10 μm	Very wide range 2 nm to centimeters or more
Ultramicroscopic morphology	Always have closed membranous vesicles involved with budding-like or septa-like formations (Kajander et al 1997; Çiftçioglu et al 1997)	No “cell like” structure
Chelation with EDTA or acids	Release and precipitation of organic matter (Çiftçioglu and Kajander 1999; Kumar et al 2006)	Dissolves totally without any residue (Kumar et al 2006)
Antibiotic/chemotherapeutic effect on cultures	Sensitive to tetracycline, aminoglycosides, nucleic acid synthesis inhibitors, bisphosphonates, etc (Çiftçioglu et al 2002; Kajander et al 2003; Kumar et al 2006)	No effect (Kajander et al 2003; Çiftçioglu et al 2002; Kumar et al 2006)
Metabolic labelling (S-methionine, uridine)	(+) (Kajander et al 1997; Miller et al 2004)	(−)
Recognition by monoclonal antibody for CNP (8D10)	(+) (Çiftçioglu and Kajander 1998)	(−)
Infectivity	+ (Increased antibody level) (Çiftçioglu et al 2007)	- No immune response
Adaptation to physiological condition (morphological changes with protein concentration, antibiotics, heat)	(+) (Bjorklund et al 1998; Çiftçioglu and Kajander 1999; Çiftçioglu et al 2002, 2005)	No effect (Çiftçioglu and Kajander 1999; Kumar et al 2006)
Stainability with pico-green, ribo-green, and Hoechst	(+) (Kumar et al 2006)	(−)
When injected intravenously to the rabbits	Goes to kidney (Akerman et al 1997)	No specific organ (Donaldson and stone 2004)
Polarized light treatment	Reduces biofilm formation (Sommer et al 2002)	No response (Kajander et al 2003; Sommer et al 2002)

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