Acidic Monosaccharides become Incorporated into Calcite Single Crystals. Issue 70 (9th November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lang, Arad; Mijowska, Sylwia; Polishchuk, Iryna; Fermani, Simona; Falini, Giuseppe; Katsman, Alexander; Marin, Frédéric; Pokroy, Boaz
• Is Part Of: Chemistry. Volume 26:Issue 70(2020)
• Page Start: 16860
• Page End: 16868
• Publication Date: 2020-11-09
• Subjects: bioinspired synthesis -- calcium carbonate -- carbohydrates -- crystal growth -- X-ray diffraction; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.202003344
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0947-6539

Abstract

Abstract: Carbohydrates, along with proteins and peptides, are known to represent a major class of biomacromolecules involved in calcium carbonate biomineralization. However, in spite of multiple physical and biochemical characterizations, the explicit role of saccharide macromolecules (long chains of carbohydrate molecules) in mineral deposition is not yet understood. In this study, we investigated the influence of two common acidic monosaccharides (MSs), the two simplest forms of acidic carbohydrates, namely glucuronic and galacturonic acids, on the formation of calcite crystals in vitro. We show here that the size, morphology, and microstructure of calcite crystals are altered when they are grown in the presence of these MSs. More importantly, these MSs were found to become incorporated into the calcite crystalline lattice and induce anisotropic lattice distortions, a phenomenon widely studied for other biomolecules related to CaCO3 biomineralization, but never before reported in the case of single MSs. Changes in the calcite lattice induced by MSs incorporation were precisely determined by high‐resolution synchrotron powder X‐ray diffraction. We believe that the results of this research may deepen our understanding of the interaction of saccharide polymers with an inorganic host and shed light on the implications of carbohydrates for biomineralization processes. Abstract : CaCO3 biomineralization : The ability to incorporate acidic monosaccharaides into calcite single crystals has been demonstrated for the first time. Such incorporation induces lattice distortions in the calcite host, along with noticeable changes in the morphology of the calcite crystal. The extent of incorporation strongly depends on the concentration of the intracrystalline monosaccharides.