Amino Acid Composition of Natural Enamel Pellicle

摘要

The amino acid composition of the total natural pellicle (collected by decalcification of the superficial enamel) was determined and compared with that of its relatively acid-soluble supernate and acid-insoluble sediment fractions. In all three materials, glycine, glutamic acid, and serine were present in higher concentrations than any of the other amino acids. The total pellicle and both fractions contained similar percentages of acidic, neutral, and sulfur amino acids. By comparison with the supernate, the total pellicle and the sediment fraction contained more basic, aromatic, and imino but less hydroxy amino acids. The amino acid composition indicated that the total pellicle was composed of approximately equal proportions of the supernate and sediment fractions. The insoluble sediment fraction was quite different from supposedly similar material analyzed by other investigators. Significant differences in composition between the supernate and sediment fractions indicated a preferential dissolution of part of the organic material from the surface enamel. (Author)