In order to shed some light on DNA preservation over time in skeletal remains from a physicochemical viewpoint, adsorption and desorption of DNA on a well characterized synthetic apatite mimicking bone and dentin biominerals were studied. Batch adsorption experiments have been carried out to determine the effect of contact time (kinetics), DNA concentration (isotherms) and environmentally relevant factors such as temperature, ionic strength and pH on the adsorption behavior. The analogy of the nanocrystalline carbonated apatite used in this work with biological apatite was first demonstrated by XRD, FTIR, and chemical analyses. Then, DNA adsorption kinetics was fitted with the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich, Ritchie and double exponential models. The best results were achieved with the Elovich kinetic model. The adsorption isotherms of partially sheared calf thymus DNA conformed satisfactorily to Temkin's equation which is often used to describe heterogeneous adsorption behavior involving polyelectrolytes. For the first time, the irreversibility of DNA adsorption toward dilution and significant phosphate-promoted DNA desorption were evidenced, suggesting that a concomitant ion exchange process between phosphate anionic groups of DNA backbone and labile non-apatitic hydrogenphosphate ions potentially released from the hydrated layer of apatite crystals. This work should prove helpful for a better understanding of diagenetic processes related to DNA preservation in calcified tissues. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.