title: DNA-mediated morphosynthesis of calcium carbonate particles.
abstract: Calcium carbonate microspheres with different surface structures were successfully prepared by the reaction of sodium carbonate with calcium chloride in the presence of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) at room temperature. The as-prepared products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC) and fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The effects of concentration of DNA on the morphologies of the prepared CaCO(3) were investigated and discussed. The results show that the surface morphology or texture of CaCO(3) microspheres can easily be adjusted by varying the concentration of DNA. A critical implication was that DNA molecules could mediate the nucleation and growth of the inorganic phase and probably induce biomineralization in the biological system. This research may provide new insight into the control of morphologies of calcium carbonate and the biomimetic synthesis of novel inorganic materials.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Material Synthesis and Processing and Materials College, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122#, Wuhan 430070, PR China.
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Weiquan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Jiaguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D008863:Microspheres; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D002119:Calcium Carbonate