Urolithiasis is a disease in which urinary stones form in various parts of the kidney or bladder. Recently, an increase in the incidence of kidney stones has been observed in industrialized countries, and scientists have renewed their interest in clarifying the pathophysiology of stone formation, focusing particularly on calcium oxalate stones. Calcium oxalates crystallize in the form of hydrated salts: thermodynamically stable calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM, CaC2O4-H2O, whevellite) and metastable dihydrate (COD, CaC2O4-2H2O, weddellite) and trihydrate (COT, CaC2O4-3H2O, caoxite). Under biological conditions, kidney stones can occur as a result of various metabolic disorders, such as hypercalciuria, hypocitraturia, hyperoxaluria or a change in the acidity of the urine. The mechanisms and conditions under which they form in the urine and turn into stones are not yet fully understood.

In order to investigate the formation and properties of calcium oxalate hydrate under laboratory conditions, experiments on spontaneous precipitation under conditions of hyperoxaluria are being carried out. The research is carried out in a simple model system, without supplementation and with the addition of amino acids thought to be relevant to pathological biomineralization.