Spiral and target patterns in bivalve nacre manifest a natural excitable medium from layer growth of a biological liquid crystal

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 106; no. 26; pp. 10499 - 10504
• Main Authors: Cartwright, Julyan H.E, Checa, Antonio G, Escribano, Bruno, Sainz-Díaz, C. Ignacio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 30.06.2009; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Algorithms; Animals; Aragonite; biocomposites; Biological Sciences; Bivalvia; Bivalvia - chemistry; Bivalvia - growth & development; Bivalvia - ultrastructure; Calcium carbonate; Calcium Carbonate - chemistry; Carbohydrates; Cell growth; Cell membranes; Chitin; Crystal growth; Crystallites; Crystals; Liquid crystals; Liquid Crystals - chemistry; mechanical properties; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Minerals - chemistry; Models, Biological; Molecular structure; Molecules; Mollusks; Nucleation; Physical Sciences; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Proteins; Proteins - chemistry; Raw materials; Shells

Nacre is an exquisitely structured biocomposite of the calcium carbonate mineral aragonite with small amounts of proteins and the polysaccharide chitin. For many years, it has been the subject of research, not just because of its beauty, but also to discover how nature can produce such a superior pr...