Effects of Peptides on CaCO3 Crystallization: Mineralization Properties of an Acidic Peptide Isolated from Exoskeleton of Crayfish and Its Derivatives

Acidic proteins play key roles in biomineralization processes. Herein, we report on the effects of an acidic peptide, calcification associated peptide-1 (CAP-1), isolated from the exoskeleton of the crayfish and its derivatives on crystallization of CaCO3 on glass and chitin substrates. The morphologies of CaCO3 crystals depended on the chemical structure of the peptides. On chitin matrices, uniaxially oriented CaCO3 crystals were formed due to the effects of the specific chitin binding region of the peptides. It was revealed that the C-terminal acidic region and the 70th phosphoserine exerted great effects on CaCO3 crystallization.