Figure 5.
Scanning electron microscopy images of surfaces of acid-etched enamel cut in a direction parallel to the enamel rods before (A and D) and after exposure to the inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi)–stabilized supersaturated calcium phosphate (CaP) solution in the absence (B, at ×1K and C, ×20K) and in the presence (E, at ×1K and F, ×20K) of 0.04 mg/mL leucine-rich amelogenin peptide (LRAP). In the presence of 0.04 mg/mL LRAP (E, F), crystal growth was not observed, while in the absence of LRAP (B, C), plate-like crystals were found to randomly cover the entire exposed enamel surface.