Functional adaptation of crustacean exoskeletal elements through structural and compositional diversity: a combined experimental and theoretical study.
The crustacean cuticle is a composite material that covers the whole animal and forms the continuous exoskeleton. Nano-fibers composed of chitin and protein molecules form most of the organic matrix of the cuticle that, at the macroscale, is organized in up to eight hierarchical levels. At least two of them, the exo- and endocuticle, contain a mineral phase of mainly Mg-calcite, amorphous calcium carbonate and phosphate. The high number of hierarchical levels and the compositional diversity provide a high degree of freedom for varying the physical, in particular mechanical, properties of the material. This makes the cuticle a versatile material ideally suited to form a variety of skeletal elements that are adapted to different functions and the eco-physiological strains of individual species. This review presents our recent analytical, experimental and theoretical studies on the cuticle, summarising at which hierarchical levels structure and composition are modified to achieve the required physical properties. We describe our multi-scale hierarchical modeling approach based on the results from these studies, aiming at systematically predicting the structure-composition-property relations of cuticle composites from the molecular level to the macro-scale. This modeling approach provides a tool to facilitate the development of optimized biomimetic materials within a knowledge-based design approach.
Department Microstructure Physics and Alloy Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Helge-Otto
HO
Fabritius
Andreas
A
Ziegler
Martin
M
Friák
Svetoslav
S
Nikolov
Julia
J
Huber
Bastian H M
BH
Seidl
Sukhum
S
Ruangchai
Francisca I
FI
Alagboso
Simone
S
Karsten
Jin
J
Lu
Anna M
AM
Janus
Michal
M
Petrov
Li-Fang
LF
Zhu
Pavlína
P
Hemzalová
Sabine
S
Hild
Dierk
D
Raabe
Jörg
J
Neugebauer
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D060105:Animal Shells / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D032701:Biomimetics; D002119:Calcium Carbonate; D002686:Chitin; D033321:Isopoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D008903:Minerals; D008953:Models, Anatomic
D008903:Minerals; D002686:Chitin; D002119:Calcium Carbonate