Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 339, Issue 6125, Pages 1298-1302Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1216260
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Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [SPP 1420]
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst scholarship
- Center for Complex Matter
- [SFB 625]
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Silicatein-alpha is responsible for the biomineralization of silicates in sponges. We used silicatein-alpha to guide the self-assembly of calcite spicules similar to the spicules of the calcareous sponge Sycon sp. The self-assembled spicules, 10 to 300 micrometers (mu m) in length and 5 to 10 mu m in diameter, are composed of aligned calcite nanocrystals. The spicules are initially amorphous but transform into calcite within months, exhibiting unusual growth along [100]. They scatter x-rays like twinned calcite crystals. Whereas natural spicules evidence brittle failure, the synthetic spicules show an elastic response, which greatly enhances bending strength. This remarkable feature is linked to a high protein content. With nano-thermogravimetric analysis, we measured the organic content of a single spicule to be 10 to 16%. In addition, the spicules exhibit waveguiding properties even when they are bent.
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