Bio-inspired mineralization of CO2 gas to hollow CaCO3 microspheres and bone hydroxyapatite/polymer composites

Abstract

We present the utilization of gaseous carbon dioxide (CO₂) with increased mineralization rate in the presence of dopamine, a biomimetic molecule of adhesive foot protein secreted from mussels, to synthesize hollow calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) microspheres and their composites with biodegradable polymer fibers. This CO₂-consuming route was applied to the development of highly porous electrospun polycaprolactone scaffold hybridized with CaCO₃ vaterite crystals that were readily transformed to bone hydroxyapatite minerals in a simulated body fluid.