Publikováno:
2012, Chemické listy, 106 (S3), p. 523-524), ISSN 0009-2770
Anotace:
The leech's sucking apparatus is an amazing instrument - it has 3 jaws and 300 teeth made for easily cut into the skin of the host animal. In this study, we used nanoindentation and atomic spectroscopy to reveal composition and material properties of leeches' teeth. Five samples of leech's jaws obtained from adult subjects of Hemopis sanguisuga were investigated. Main constituents of leeches' teeth have been identified. The tooth is composed mainly of calcium (41.9%), oxygen (41.2%) and carbon (11.4%), other constituents are present in small quantities (F, Na, P, 0 and S), therefore, a substance typical for mineral component in bones hydroxyapatite is likely present in the teeth among other substances. Material properties, which are independent on indentation depth, examined by nanoindentation provided average reduced modulus Er = 27.54 +/- 3.71GPa
Typ:
Článek v periodiku excerpovaném SCI Expanded