1
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Schmidt CA, Tambutté E, Venn AA, Zou Z, Castillo Alvarez C, Devriendt LS, Bechtel HA, Stifler CA, Anglemyer S, Breit CP, Foust CL, Hopanchuk A, Klaus CN, Kohler IJ, LeCloux IM, Mezera J, Patton MR, Purisch A, Quach V, Sengkhammee JS, Sristy T, Vattem S, Walch EJ, Albéric M, Politi Y, Fratzl P, Tambutté S, Gilbert PUPA. Myriad Mapping of nanoscale minerals reveals calcium carbonate hemihydrate in forming nacre and coral biominerals. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1812. [PMID: 38418834 PMCID: PMC10901822 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46117-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is abundant on Earth, is a major component of marine biominerals and thus of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and it plays a major role in the global carbon cycle by storing atmospheric CO2 into solid biominerals. Six crystalline polymorphs of CaCO3 are known-3 anhydrous: calcite, aragonite, vaterite, and 3 hydrated: ikaite (CaCO3·6H2O), monohydrocalcite (CaCO3·1H2O, MHC), and calcium carbonate hemihydrate (CaCO3·½H2O, CCHH). CCHH was recently discovered and characterized, but exclusively as a synthetic material, not as a naturally occurring mineral. Here, analyzing 200 million spectra with Myriad Mapping (MM) of nanoscale mineral phases, we find CCHH and MHC, along with amorphous precursors, on freshly deposited coral skeleton and nacre surfaces, but not on sea urchin spines. Thus, biomineralization pathways are more complex and diverse than previously understood, opening new questions on isotopes and climate. Crystalline precursors are more accessible than amorphous ones to other spectroscopies and diffraction, in natural and bio-inspired materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor A Schmidt
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Eric Tambutté
- Department of Marine Biology, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 98000, Monaco, Principality of Monaco
| | - Alexander A Venn
- Department of Marine Biology, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 98000, Monaco, Principality of Monaco
| | - Zhaoyong Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | | | - Laurent S Devriendt
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Hans A Bechtel
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | | | - Carolyn P Breit
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Connor L Foust
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Andrii Hopanchuk
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Connor N Klaus
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Isaac J Kohler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | | | - Jaiden Mezera
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Madeline R Patton
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Annie Purisch
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Virginia Quach
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | | | - Tarak Sristy
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Shreya Vattem
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Evan J Walch
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Marie Albéric
- Sorbonne Université/CNRS, Laboratoire de chimie de la matière condensée, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Yael Politi
- B CUBE - Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter Fratzl
- Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sylvie Tambutté
- Department of Marine Biology, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 98000, Monaco, Principality of Monaco
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- Departments of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and Geoscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
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2
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Lew AJ, Stifler CA, Tits A, Schmidt CA, Scholl A, Cantamessa A, Müller L, Delaunois Y, Compère P, Ruffoni D, Buehler MJ, Gilbert PUPA. A Molecular-Scale Understanding of Misorientation Toughening in Corals and Seashells. Adv Mater 2023:e2300373. [PMID: 36864010 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Biominerals are organic-mineral composites formed by living organisms. They are the hardest and toughest tissues in those organisms, are often polycrystalline, and their mesostructure (which includes nano- and microscale crystallite size, shape, arrangement, and orientation) can vary dramatically. Marine biominerals may be aragonite, vaterite, or calcite, all calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) polymorphs, differing in crystal structure. Unexpectedly, diverse CaCO3 biominerals such as coral skeletons and nacre share a similar characteristic: Adjacent crystals are slightly misoriented. This observation is documented quantitatively at the micro- and nanoscales, using polarization-dependent imaging contrast mapping (PIC mapping), and the slight misorientations is consistently between 1° and 40°. Nanoindentation shows that both polycrystalline biominerals and abiotic synthetic spherulites are tougher than single-crystalline geologic aragonite, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of bicrystals at the molecular scale reveals that aragonite, vaterite, and calcite exhibit toughness maxima when the bicrystals are misoriented by 10°, 20°, and 30°, respectively, demonstrating that slight misorientation alone can increase fracture toughness. Slight-misorientation-toughening can be harnessed for synthesis of bioinspired materials that only require one material, are not limited to specific top-down architecture, and are easily achieved by self-assembly of organic molecules (e.g., aspirin, chocolate), polymers, metals, and ceramics well beyond biominerals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Lew
- Laboratory for Atomistic and Molecular Mechanics (LAMM), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Alexandra Tits
- Mechanics of Biological and Bioinspired Materials Laboratory, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Connor A Schmidt
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Andreas Scholl
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Astrid Cantamessa
- Mechanics of Biological and Bioinspired Materials Laboratory, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Laura Müller
- Mechanics of Biological and Bioinspired Materials Laboratory, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Yann Delaunois
- Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Morphology (FOCUS Research Unit) and Center for Applied Research and Education in Microscopy (CAREM), University of Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Philippe Compère
- Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Morphology (FOCUS Research Unit) and Center for Applied Research and Education in Microscopy (CAREM), University of Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Davide Ruffoni
- Mechanics of Biological and Bioinspired Materials Laboratory, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Markus J Buehler
- Laboratory for Atomistic and Molecular Mechanics (LAMM), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Geoscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
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3
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Deng Z, Loh HC, Jia Z, Stifler CA, Masic A, Gilbert PU, Shahar R, Li L. Corrigendum ‘Black Drum Fish Teeth: Built for Crushing Mollusk Shells’ [Acta Biomaterialia 137 (2022) 147-161]. Acta Biomater 2022; 153:632-633. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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4
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Schmidt CA, Stifler CA, Luffey EL, Fordyce BI, Ahmed A, Barreiro Pujol G, Breit CP, Davison SS, Klaus CN, Koehler IJ, LeCloux IM, Matute Diaz C, Nguyen CM, Quach V, Sengkhammee JS, Walch EJ, Xiong MM, Tambutté E, Tambutté S, Mass T, Gilbert PUPA. Faster Crystallization during Coral Skeleton Formation Correlates with Resilience to Ocean Acidification. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:1332-1341. [PMID: 35037457 PMCID: PMC8796227 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c11434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
![]()
The mature skeletons
of hard corals, termed stony or scleractinian
corals, are made of aragonite (CaCO3). During their formation,
particles attaching to the skeleton’s growing surface are calcium
carbonate, transiently amorphous. Here we show that amorphous particles
are observed frequently and reproducibly just outside the skeleton,
where a calicoblastic cell layer envelops and deposits the forming
skeleton. The observation of particles in these locations, therefore,
is consistent with nucleation and growth of particles in intracellular
vesicles. The observed extraskeletal particles range in size between
0.2 and 1.0 μm and contain more of the amorphous precursor phases
than the skeleton surface or bulk, where they gradually crystallize
to aragonite. This observation was repeated in three diverse genera
of corals, Acropora sp., Stylophora pistillata—differently sensitive to ocean acidification (OA)—and Turbinaria peltata, demonstrating that intracellular particles
are a major source of material during the additive manufacturing of
coral skeletons. Thus, particles are formed away from seawater, in
a presumed intracellular calcifying fluid (ICF) in closed vesicles
and not, as previously assumed, in the extracellular calcifying fluid
(ECF), which, unlike ICF, is partly open to seawater. After particle
attachment, the growing skeleton surface remains exposed to ECF, and,
remarkably, its crystallization rate varies significantly across genera.
The skeleton surface layers containing amorphous pixels vary in thickness
across genera: ∼2.1 μm in Acropora,
1.1 μm in Stylophora, and 0.9 μm in Turbinaria. Thus, the slow-crystallizing Acropora skeleton surface remains amorphous and soluble longer, including
overnight, when the pH in the ECF drops. Increased skeleton surface
solubility is consistent with Acropora’s vulnerability
to OA, whereas the Stylophora skeleton surface layer
crystallizes faster, consistent with Stylophora’s
resilience to OA. Turbinaria, whose response to OA
has not yet been tested, is expected to be even more resilient than Stylophora, based on the present data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor A Schmidt
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Emily L Luffey
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Benjamin I Fordyce
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Asiya Ahmed
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | | | - Carolyn P Breit
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Sydney S Davison
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Connor N Klaus
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Isaac J Koehler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Isabelle M LeCloux
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Celeo Matute Diaz
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Catherine M Nguyen
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Virginia Quach
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Jaden S Sengkhammee
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Evan J Walch
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Max M Xiong
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Eric Tambutté
- Department of Marine Biology, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 98000 Monaco, Principality of Monaco
| | - Sylvie Tambutté
- Department of Marine Biology, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 98000 Monaco, Principality of Monaco
| | - Tali Mass
- Marine Biology Department, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States.,Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.,Departments of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and Geoscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
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5
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Salman J, Stifler CA, Shahsafi A, Sun CY, Weibel SC, Frising M, Rubio-Perez BE, Xiao Y, Draves C, Wambold RA, Yu Z, Bradley DC, Kemeny G, Gilbert PUPA, Kats MA. Hyperspectral interference tomography of nacre. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2023623118. [PMID: 33833057 PMCID: PMC8053970 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023623118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural characterization of biologically formed materials is essential for understanding biological phenomena and their enviro-nment, and for generating new bio-inspired engineering concepts. For example, nacre-the inner lining of some mollusk shells-encodes local environmental conditions throughout its formation and has exceptional strength due to its nanoscale brick-and-mortar structure. This layered structure, comprising alternating transparent aragonite (CaCO3) tablets and thinner organic polymer layers, also results in stunning interference colors. Existing methods of structural characterization of nacre rely on some form of cross-sectional analysis, such as scanning or transmission electron microscopy or polarization-dependent imaging contrast (PIC) mapping. However, these techniques are destructive and too time- and resource-intensive to analyze large sample areas. Here, we present an all-optical, rapid, and nondestructive imaging technique-hyperspectral interference tomography (HIT)-to spatially map the structural parameters of nacre and other disordered layered materials. We combined hyperspectral imaging with optical-interference modeling to infer the mean tablet thickness and its disorder in nacre across entire mollusk shells from red and rainbow abalone (Haliotis rufescens and Haliotis iris) at various stages of development. We observed that in red abalone, unexpectedly, nacre tablet thickness decreases with age of the mollusk, despite roughly similar appearance of nacre at all ages and positions in the shell. Our rapid, inexpensive, and nondestructive method can be readily applied to in-field studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jad Salman
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Alireza Shahsafi
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Chang-Yu Sun
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | | | - Michel Frising
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Bryan E Rubio-Perez
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Yuzhe Xiao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | | | - Raymond A Wambold
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Zhaoning Yu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Daniel C Bradley
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | | | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Mikhail A Kats
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706;
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
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6
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Stifler CA, Jakes JE, North JD, Green DR, Weaver JC, Gilbert PUPA. Crystal misorientation correlates with hardness in tooth enamels. Acta Biomater 2021; 120:124-134. [PMID: 32711081 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.07.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The multi-scale hierarchical structure of tooth enamel enables it to withstand a lifetime of damage without catastrophic failure. While many previous studies have investigated structure-function relationships in enamel, the effects of crystal misorientation on mechanical performance have not been assessed. To address this issue, in the present study, we review previously published polarization-dependent imaging contrast (PIC) maps of mouse and human enamel, and parrotfish enameloid, in which crystal orientations were measured and displayed in every 60-nm-pixel. By combining those previous results with the PIC maps of sheep enamel presented here we discovered that, in all enamel(oid)s, adjacent crystals are slightly misoriented, with misorientation angles in the 0°-30° range, and mean 2°-8°. Within this limited range, misorientation is positively correlated with literature hardness values, demonstrating an important structure-property relation, not previously identified. At greater misorientation angles 8°30°, this correlation is expected to reverse direction, but data from different non-enamel systems, with more diverse crystal misorientations, are required to determine if and where this occurs. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: We identify a structure-function relationship in tooth enamels from different species: crystal misorientation correlates with hardness, contributing to the remarkable mechanical properties of enamel in diverse animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, United States
| | - Joseph E Jakes
- Forest Biopolymers Science and Engineering, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, United States
| | - Jamie D North
- Department of Chemistry, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, United States
| | - Daniel R Green
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - James C Weaver
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, United States; Departments of Chemistry, Geoscience, Materials Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, United States.
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7
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Sun CY, Gránásy L, Stifler CA, Zaquin T, Chopdekar RV, Tamura N, Weaver JC, Zhang JAY, Goffredo S, Falini G, Marcus MA, Pusztai T, Schoeppler V, Mass T, Gilbert PUPA. Crystal nucleation and growth of spherulites demonstrated by coral skeletons and phase-field simulations. Acta Biomater 2021; 120:277-292. [PMID: 32590171 PMCID: PMC7116570 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Spherulites are radial distributions of acicular crystals, common in biogenic, geologic, and synthetic systems, yet exactly how spherulitic crystals nucleate and grow is still poorly understood. To investigate these processes in more detail, we chose scleractinian corals as a model system, because they are well known to form their skeletons from aragonite (CaCO3) spherulites, and because a comparative study of crystal structures across coral species has not been performed previously. We observed that all 12 diverse coral species analyzed here exhibit plumose spherulites in their skeletons, with well-defined centers of calcification (CoCs), and crystalline fibers radiating from them. In 7 of the 12 species, we observed a skeletal structural motif not observed previously: randomly oriented, equant crystals, which we termed "sprinkles". In Acropora pharaonis, these sprinkles are localized at the CoCs, while in 6 other species, sprinkles are either layered at the growth front (GF) of the spherulites, or randomly distributed. At the nano- and micro-scale, coral skeletons fill space as much as single crystals of aragonite. Based on these observations, we tentatively propose a spherulite formation mechanism in which growth front nucleation (GFN) of randomly oriented sprinkles, competition for space, and coarsening produce spherulites, rather than the previously assumed slightly misoriented nucleations termed "non-crystallographic branching". Phase-field simulations support this mechanism, and, using a minimal set of thermodynamic parameters, are able to reproduce all of the microstructural variation observed experimentally in all of the investigated coral skeletons. Beyond coral skeletons, other spherulitic systems, from aspirin to semicrystalline polymers and chocolate, may also form according to the mechanism for spherulite formation proposed here. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of spherulite nucleation and growth has broad ranging applications in the fields of metallurgy, polymers, food science, and pharmaceutical production. Using the skeletons of reef-building corals as a model system for investigating these processes, we propose a new spherulite growth mechanism that can not only explain the micro-structural diversity observed in distantly related coral species, but may point to a universal growth mechanism in a wide range of biologically and technologically relevant spherulitic materials systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Yu Sun
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - László Gránásy
- Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, PO Box 49, 1525 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Tal Zaquin
- University of Haifa, Marine Biology Department, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - Rajesh V Chopdekar
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Nobumichi Tamura
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - James C Weaver
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Jun A Y Zhang
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Stefano Goffredo
- Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 3, I-40126 Bologna, Italy; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research on Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies, viale Adriatico 1/N, 61032 Fano, Pesaro Urbino, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Falini
- Department of Chemistry "Giacomo Ciamician", Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research on Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies, viale Adriatico 1/N, 61032 Fano, Pesaro Urbino, Italy
| | - Matthew A Marcus
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Tamás Pusztai
- Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, PO Box 49, 1525 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Vanessa Schoeppler
- B CUBE-Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Tali Mass
- University of Haifa, Marine Biology Department, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Departments of Chemistry, Geoscience, Materials Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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8
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Sun CY, Stifler CA, Chopdekar RV, Schmidt CA, Parida G, Schoeppler V, Fordyce BI, Brau JH, Mass T, Tambutté S, Gilbert PUPA. From particle attachment to space-filling coral skeletons. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:30159-30170. [PMID: 33188087 PMCID: PMC7720159 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2012025117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Reef-building corals and their aragonite (CaCO3) skeletons support entire reef ecosystems, yet their formation mechanism is poorly understood. Here we used synchrotron spectromicroscopy to observe the nanoscale mineralogy of fresh, forming skeletons from six species spanning all reef-forming coral morphologies: Branching, encrusting, massive, and table. In all species, hydrated and anhydrous amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles were precursors for skeletal growth, as previously observed in a single species. The amorphous precursors here were observed in tissue, between tissue and skeleton, and at growth fronts of the skeleton, within a low-density nano- or microporous layer varying in thickness from 7 to 20 µm. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements, however, indicated that the mature skeletons at the microscale were space-filling, comparable to single crystals of geologic aragonite. Nanoparticles alone can never fill space completely, thus ion-by-ion filling must be invoked to fill interstitial pores. Such ion-by-ion diffusion and attachment may occur from the supersaturated calcifying fluid known to exist in corals, or from a dense liquid precursor, observed in synthetic systems but never in biogenic ones. Concomitant particle attachment and ion-by-ion filling was previously observed in synthetic calcite rhombohedra, but never in aragonite pseudohexagonal prisms, synthetic or biogenic, as observed here. Models for biomineral growth, isotope incorporation, and coral skeletons' resilience to ocean warming and acidification must take into account the dual formation mechanism, including particle attachment and ion-by-ion space filling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Yu Sun
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Rajesh V Chopdekar
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Connor A Schmidt
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Ganesh Parida
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Vanessa Schoeppler
- B CUBE-Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Jack H Brau
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Tali Mass
- Marine Biology Department, University of Haifa, 31905 Haifa, Israel
| | - Sylvie Tambutté
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 98000 Monaco, Principality of Monaco
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
- Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
- Department of Materials Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
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9
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Albéric M, Stifler CA, Zou Z, Sun CY, Killian CE, Valencia S, Mawass MA, Bertinetti L, Gilbert PUPA, Politi Y. Growth and regrowth of adult sea urchin spines involve hydrated and anhydrous amorphous calcium carbonate precursors. J Struct Biol X 2019; 1:100004. [PMID: 32647811 PMCID: PMC7337052 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjsbx.2019.100004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Revised: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
In various mineralizing marine organisms, calcite or aragonite crystals form through the initial deposition of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) phases with different hydration levels. Using X-ray PhotoEmission Electron spectroMicroscopy (X-PEEM), ACCs with varied spectroscopic signatures were previously identified. In particular, ACC type I and II were recognized in embryonic sea urchin spicules. ACC type I was assigned to hydrated ACC based on spectral similarity with synthetic hydrated ACC. However, the identity of ACC type II has never been unequivocally determined experimentally. In the present study we show that synthetic anhydrous ACC and ACC type II identified here in sea urchin spines, have similar Ca L2,3-edge spectra. Moreover, using X-PEEM chemical mapping, we revealed the presence of ACC-H2O and anhydrous ACC in growing stereom and septa regions of sea urchin spines, supporting their role as precursor phases in both structures. However, the distribution and the abundance of the two ACC phases differ substantially between the two growing structures, suggesting a variation in the crystal growth mechanism; in particular, ACC dehydration, in the two-step reaction ACC-H2O → ACC → calcite, presents different kinetics, which are proposed to be controlled biologically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Albéric
- Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Zhaoyong Zou
- Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.,State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, 430070 Wuhan, China
| | - Chang-Yu Sun
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.,Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Christopher E Killian
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Sergio Valencia
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialen & Energie, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Luca Bertinetti
- Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.,Departments of Chemistry, Geoscience, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Yael Politi
- Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany
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10
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Stifler CA, Wittig NK, Sassi M, Sun CY, Marcus MA, Birkedal H, Beniash E, Rosso KM, Gilbert PUPA. X-ray Linear Dichroism in Apatite. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:11698-11704. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b05547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cayla A. Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Nina Kølln Wittig
- Department of Chemistry and iNANO, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Michel Sassi
- Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States
| | - Chang-Yu Sun
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Matthew A. Marcus
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Henrik Birkedal
- Department of Chemistry and iNANO, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Elia Beniash
- Departments of Oral Biology and Bioengineering, Center for Craniofacial Regeneration, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, UPitt, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Kevin M. Rosso
- Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States
| | - Pupa U. P. A. Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
- Departments of Chemistry, Materials Science, and Geoscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
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11
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Marcus MA, Amini S, Stifler CA, Sun CY, Tamura N, Bechtel HA, Parkinson DY, Barnard HS, Zhang XXX, Chua JQI, Miserez A, Gilbert PUPA. Parrotfish Teeth: Stiff Biominerals Whose Microstructure Makes Them Tough and Abrasion-Resistant To Bite Stony Corals. ACS Nano 2017; 11:11856-11865. [PMID: 29053258 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b05044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Parrotfish (Scaridae) feed by biting stony corals. To investigate how their teeth endure the associated contact stresses, we examine the chemical composition, nano- and microscale structure, and the mechanical properties of the steephead parrotfish Chlorurus microrhinos tooth. Its enameloid is a fluorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3F) biomineral with outstanding mechanical characteristics: the mean elastic modulus is 124 GPa, and the mean hardness near the biting surface is 7.3 GPa, making this one of the stiffest and hardest biominerals measured; the mean indentation yield strength is above 6 GPa, and the mean fracture toughness is ∼2.5 MPa·m1/2, relatively high for a highly mineralized material. This combination of properties results in high abrasion resistance. Fluorapatite X-ray absorption spectroscopy exhibits linear dichroism at the Ca L-edge, an effect that makes peak intensities vary with crystal orientation, under linearly polarized X-ray illumination. This observation enables polarization-dependent imaging contrast mapping of apatite, a method to quantitatively measure and display nanocrystal orientations in large, pristine arrays of nano- and microcrystalline structures. Parrotfish enameloid consists of 100 nm-wide, microns long crystals co-oriented and assembled into bundles interwoven as the warp and the weave in fabric and therefore termed fibers here. These fibers gradually decrease in average diameter from 5 μm at the back to 2 μm at the tip of the tooth. Intriguingly, this size decrease is spatially correlated with an increase in hardness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Marcus
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Shahrouz Amini
- Biological and Biomimetic Material Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 637553 Singapore
| | - Cayla A Stifler
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Chang-Yu Sun
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Nobumichi Tamura
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Hans A Bechtel
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Dilworth Y Parkinson
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Harold S Barnard
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Xiyue X X Zhang
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - J Q Isaiah Chua
- Biological and Biomimetic Material Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 637553 Singapore
| | - Ali Miserez
- Biological and Biomimetic Material Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 637553 Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University , 637551 Singapore
| | - Pupa U P A Gilbert
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
- Departments of Chemistry, Geoscience, Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
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