Measurement of Calcium Activity in Oral Fluids by Ion Selective Electrode: Method Evaluation and Simplified Calculation of Ion Activity Products

Published

March 1, 2000

Author(s)

Clifton M. Carey, Gerald L. Vogel

Abstract

The activity of calcium in plaque fluid is needed to calculate the saturation level of that fluid relative to the tooth mineral. One method to determine the calcium activity in very small plaque fluid samples is by micro ion-selective electrode (ISE). Two commercially available calcium ionophores, a neutral-carrier and charged-carrier, were evaluated in micro ISEs and compared to a commercially available macro ISE using saliva as a model for plaque fluid. The neutral-carrier containing ISEs gave results consistent with those of the macro ISE. Calcium activity measurements made with micro ISEs that contained the neutral ion-carrier of whole plaque samples and plaque fluid samples obtained by centrifugation of whole plaque showed that the activities did not change due to centrifugation. Estimates of the saturation with respect to hydroxyapatite were made from these measurements. A simplified calculation method is presented to estimate the ion activity product (IAP) of the calcium-phosphate minerals. The method is based on the relative abundance of some of the possible calcium-binding species and a fixed ionic strength for plaque fluid. Calculations show that within a normal pH range for plaque fluid (5.0 to 7.5) the differences in the IAP calculations for hydroxyapatite using the simplified method are less than those estimated from propagation of uncertainty calculations.

Citation

Journal of Research (NIST JRES) -

Volume

105

Issue

2

NIST Pub Series

Journal of Research (NIST JRES)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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Keywords

calcium, calcium ion-selective electrode, mineral saturation, plaque fluid, saliva

Citation

Carey, C. and Vogel, G. (2000), Measurement of Calcium Activity in Oral Fluids by Ion Selective Electrode: Method Evaluation and Simplified Calculation of Ion Activity Products, Journal of Research (NIST JRES), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=851600 (Accessed April 19, 2024)