Induction of ring-shaped calcium oxalate patterns by boundaries between liquid expanded phase and liquid condensed phase in Langmuir-Blodgett film

The formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones was related to injuries of renal epithelial membranes. The liquid condensed (LC) domains in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were used as a model system to induce crystal growth of urinary mineral calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM). The circular defective boundaries between the LC and liquid expanded (LE) phases of the DPPC monolayer could provide much more nucleating sites for crystallization of COM crystals. It induced ring-shaped or solid circular patterns of COM crystals on hydrophobic quartz substrates depending on the crystallization time.