Issue 2, 2011
From the journal:

Nanoscale

Biomineral nanoparticles are space-filling†

Li Yang,a   Christopher E. Killian,bc   Martin Kunz,d   Nobumichi Tamurad  and  P. U. P. A. Gilbert*b  

* Corresponding authors

a Earth Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, CA, USA

b Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
E-mail: pupa@physics.wisc.edu

c Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

d Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, CA, USA

Abstract

Sea urchin biominerals have been shown to form from aggregating nanoparticles of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), which then crystallize into macroscopic single crystals of calcite. Here we measure the surface areas of these biominerals and find them to be comparable to those of space-filling macroscopic geologic calcite crystals. These biominerals differ from synthetic mesocrystals, which are invariably porous. We propose that space-filling ACC is the structural precursor for echinoderm biominerals.

Graphical abstract: Biomineral nanoparticles are space-filling

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C0NR00697A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Sep 2010
Accepted
11 Oct 2010
First published
17 Nov 2010

Nanoscale, 2011,3, 603-609

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Biomineral nanoparticles are space-filling

L. Yang, C. E. Killian, M. Kunz, N. Tamura and P. U. P. A. Gilbert, Nanoscale, 2011, 3, 603 DOI: 10.1039/C0NR00697A

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