Amorphous layer around aragonite platelets in nacre.
We reveal that the aragonite CaCO3 platelets in nacre of Haliotis laevigata are covered with a continuous layer of disordered amorphous CaCO3 and that there is no protein interaction with this layer. This finding contradicts classical paradigms of biomineralization, e.g., an epitaxial match between the structural organic matrix and the formed mineral. This finding also highlights the role of physicochemical effects in morphogenesis, complementing the previously assumed total control by biomolecules and bioprocesses, with many implications in nanotechnology and materials science.
Nassif
Nadine
N
Colloid Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Research Campus Golm, D-14424 Potsdam, Germany. nadine.nassif@mpikg.mpg.de
Pinna
Nicola
N
Gehrke
Nicole
N
Antonietti
Markus
M
Jäger
Christian
C
Cölfen
Helmut
H
D000818:Animals; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008974:Mollusca / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011485:Protein Binding
D002119:Calcium Carbonate