title: Silicatein: from chemical through enzymatic silica formation, to synthesis of biomimetic nanomaterials.
abstract: Silicateins are the enzymes that had been identified in sponges, then sequenced and expressed. They are not only the enzymes facilitating biosilica synthesis but also function as structure-guiding and structure-forming proteins. The three minireviews highlight the principles of silicatein-mediated biosilica formation and outline the bionic strategies which might be used for the design and fabrication of novel materials.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Physiological Chemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Werner E G
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011161:Porifera / Q000201:enzymology; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D002403:Cathepsins