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Letter. Observation of nano-clustered calcite growth via a transient phase mediated by organic polyanions: A close match for biomineralization

  • Ingo Sethmann EMAIL logo , Andrew Putnis , Olaf Grassmann and Peer Löbmann
Published/Copyright: March 28, 2015
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 90 Issue 7

Abstract

We present a process of organic polyanion-mediated CaCO3 precipitation similar to biomineralization. Detailed insight into the formation pathway of nano-structured calcite crystals was gained through direct observation with an atomic force microscope (AFM). Essentially depending on a minimum saturation state, a primarily precipitated gelatinous film of polyaspartate calcifies as a transient, apparently amorphous phase, which gradually crystallizes as a calcitic single-crystalline nano-cluster of semicoherent domains. The similarity of this precipitation mechanism with that of biominerals and a striking consistency of materials properties of the synthetic precipitate with sea urchin calcite, investigated as a prime example of biomineralization, qualify our experiment as a functional model of biomineralization. The substantial role of water-soluble organic polyanions in biomineralization is elucidated.

Received: 2004-10-18
Accepted: 2005-2-24
Published Online: 2015-3-28
Published in Print: 2005-7-1

© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. A synthesis of systematic mineralogy
  2. Oxidation/alteration of pentlandite and pyrrhotite surfaces at pH 9.3: Part 1. Assignment of XPS spectra and chemical trends
  3. Oxidation of pentlandite and pyrrhotite surfaces at pH 9.3: Part 2. Effect of xanthates and dissolved oxygen
  4. X-ray Rietveld refinement and FTIR spectra of synthetic (Si,Ge)-richterites
  5. Influence of crystal chemistry on ideal plastic shear anisotropy in forsterite: First principle calculations
  6. High-temperature Mössbauer study of Fe-substituted mullite
  7. Pressure and temperature-dependence of water solubility in Fe-free wadsleyite
  8. Quartz exsolution in clinopyroxene is not proof of ultrahigh pressures: Evidence from eclogites from the Eastern Blue Ridge, Southern Appalachians, U.S.A.
  9. The visible and infrared spectral properties of jarosite and alunite
  10. Wakabayashilite, [(As,Sb)6S9][As4S5]: Crystal structure, pseudosymmetry, twinning, and revised chemical formula
  11. Compression of albite, NaAlSi3O8
  12. Effect of polymorphic transition on oxygen isotope fractionation between aragonite, calcite, and water: A low-temperature experimental study
  13. Effect of current density on the electron microprobe analysis of alkali aluminosilicate glasses
  14. A high-pressure polytypic transformation in type-I chlorite
  15. Experimental determination of crystal growth rates in highly supercooled aluminosilicate liquids: Implications for rate-controlling processes
  16. P-V equation of State, thermal expansion, and P-T stability of synthetic zincochromite (ZnCr2O4 spinel)
  17. Niksergievite, [Ba1.33Ca0.67Al(CO3)(OH)4][Al2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2]·nH2O, a new phyllosilicate related to the surite-ferrisurite series
  18. The crystal-chemistry of holmquistites: Ferroholmquistite from Greenbushes (Western Australia) and hints for compositional constraints in BLi amphiboles
  19. Dissakisite-(La) from the Ulten zone peridotite (Italian Eastern Alps): A new end-member of the epidote group
  20. Mazzite-Na, a new zeolite from Boron, California: Its description and crystal structure
  21. Low-temperature illitization of smectite in the late eocene and early oligocene of the Isle of Wight (Hampshire basin), U.K.
  22. First reported sedimentary occurrence of berlinite (AlPO4) in phosphate-bearing sediments from Cioclovina Cave, Romania—Comment
  23. Optical and near infrared spectra of ringwoodite to 21.5 GPa: Implications for radiative heat transport in the mantle
  24. Letter. Observation of nano-clustered calcite growth via a transient phase mediated by organic polyanions: A close match for biomineralization
  25. Letter. Aluminum coordination and the densification of high-pressure aluminosilicate glasses
  26. Letter. Crystal chemistry of a high-pressure C2/c clinopyroxene with six-coordinated silicon
https://doi.org/10.2138/am.2005.1833

Articles in the same Issue

  1. A synthesis of systematic mineralogy
  2. Oxidation/alteration of pentlandite and pyrrhotite surfaces at pH 9.3: Part 1. Assignment of XPS spectra and chemical trends
  3. Oxidation of pentlandite and pyrrhotite surfaces at pH 9.3: Part 2. Effect of xanthates and dissolved oxygen
  4. X-ray Rietveld refinement and FTIR spectra of synthetic (Si,Ge)-richterites
  5. Influence of crystal chemistry on ideal plastic shear anisotropy in forsterite: First principle calculations
  6. High-temperature Mössbauer study of Fe-substituted mullite
  7. Pressure and temperature-dependence of water solubility in Fe-free wadsleyite
  8. Quartz exsolution in clinopyroxene is not proof of ultrahigh pressures: Evidence from eclogites from the Eastern Blue Ridge, Southern Appalachians, U.S.A.
  9. The visible and infrared spectral properties of jarosite and alunite
  10. Wakabayashilite, [(As,Sb)6S9][As4S5]: Crystal structure, pseudosymmetry, twinning, and revised chemical formula
  11. Compression of albite, NaAlSi3O8
  12. Effect of polymorphic transition on oxygen isotope fractionation between aragonite, calcite, and water: A low-temperature experimental study
  13. Effect of current density on the electron microprobe analysis of alkali aluminosilicate glasses
  14. A high-pressure polytypic transformation in type-I chlorite
  15. Experimental determination of crystal growth rates in highly supercooled aluminosilicate liquids: Implications for rate-controlling processes
  16. P-V equation of State, thermal expansion, and P-T stability of synthetic zincochromite (ZnCr2O4 spinel)
  17. Niksergievite, [Ba1.33Ca0.67Al(CO3)(OH)4][Al2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2]·nH2O, a new phyllosilicate related to the surite-ferrisurite series
  18. The crystal-chemistry of holmquistites: Ferroholmquistite from Greenbushes (Western Australia) and hints for compositional constraints in BLi amphiboles
  19. Dissakisite-(La) from the Ulten zone peridotite (Italian Eastern Alps): A new end-member of the epidote group
  20. Mazzite-Na, a new zeolite from Boron, California: Its description and crystal structure
  21. Low-temperature illitization of smectite in the late eocene and early oligocene of the Isle of Wight (Hampshire basin), U.K.
  22. First reported sedimentary occurrence of berlinite (AlPO4) in phosphate-bearing sediments from Cioclovina Cave, Romania—Comment
  23. Optical and near infrared spectra of ringwoodite to 21.5 GPa: Implications for radiative heat transport in the mantle
  24. Letter. Observation of nano-clustered calcite growth via a transient phase mediated by organic polyanions: A close match for biomineralization
  25. Letter. Aluminum coordination and the densification of high-pressure aluminosilicate glasses
  26. Letter. Crystal chemistry of a high-pressure C2/c clinopyroxene with six-coordinated silicon
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