Extensive efforts have been made to improve the understanding
of
hard tissue regeneration, essential for advancing medical applications
like bone graft materials. However, the mechanisms of bone biomineralization,
particularly the regulation of hydroxyapatite growth by proteins/peptides,
remain debated. Small biomolecules such as amino acids are ideal for
studying these mechanisms due to their simplicity and relevance as
protein/peptide building blocks. This study investigates the binding
affinity of four amino acids including glycine (Gly), proline (Pro),
lysine (Lys), and aspartic acid (Asp) to the hydroxyapatite (HAP)
(100) surface through molecular dynamics simulations. Our findings
reveal that aspartic acid exhibits the most energetically favorable
binding affinity, attributed to its additional carboxylate group (−COO–), which facilitates stronger interactions with Ca2+ ions on the HAP surface compared to other amino acids with
single carboxylate groups. This highlights the critical role of specific
functional groups in modulating binding strength, emphasizing that
the presence of multiple binding sites in amino acids enhances binding
stability. Interestingly, the study also uncovers the significance
of water-mediated interactions, as the compact water layer above the
HAP surface acts as a barrier, complicating direct binding and underscoring
the need to consider solvation effects in simulations. Glycine, due
to its small size, demonstrates a unique ability to penetrate this
tightly bound water monolayer, suggesting that molecular size influences
binding dynamics. These simulations offer detailed insights into the
atomic-level interactions, providing a deeper understanding of binding
affinity and stability. These insights are pertinent for designing
peptides or proteins with enhanced interactions with biomaterials,
particularly in mimicking natural bone-binding processes.