Probing Material Formation in the Presence of Organic and Biological Molecules

Mineralization in living organisms generates structures different from abiotic crystal growth. Mimicking biomineralization in vitro may become a way of synthesizing inorganic materials with useful microstructures. For example, the growth of calcium carbonate crystals in the presence of certain sea urchin proteins gives rise to microporous crystal lattices. Addition of organic chemicals, e.g., hexanol, modifies the structure and yields defect patterns.