Three model proteins, bovine serum albumin, hen's egg lysozyme and bovine serum fibrinogen, were adsorbed from aqueous solution onto finely dispersed ceramic particles, namely different kinds of alumina and hydroxyapatite particles. The influence of adsorption on protein secondary structure was investigated. The FTIR spectroscopic findings were compared with the results of DSC measurements. In almost all cases it was found that adsorption results in destabilisation and structural loss of the bound protein. A decrease in transition enthalpy is correlated with a loss in alpha-helical structure, which seems to be the most sensitive structure on adsorption-induced rearrangements. A total collapse of structure in the adsorbed proteins was not determined on any ceramic surface. Some residual structure is always retained. Structural changes in the D-or E-domains of fibrinogen could be independently observed by two different calorimetric signals. The two techniques applied in the present study-micro-DSC and FTIR spectroscopy-can be concluded to provide complementary information on adsorption-induced structural changes on both the molecular (thermal stability, overall structure) and the sub-molecular level (secondary structure). (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.