Biomineralization

This open access book is the proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Biomineralization (BIOMIN XIV) held in 2017 at Tsukuba. Over the past 45 years, biomineralization research has unveiled details of the characteristics of the nano-structure of various biominerals; the formation mechanism of this nano-structure, including the initial stage of crystallization; and the function of organic matrices in biominerals, and this knowledge has been applied to dental, medical, pharmaceutical, materials, agricultural and environmental sciences and paleontology. As such, biomineralization is an important interdisciplinary research area, and further advances are expected in both fundamental and applied research. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

Biomineralization is a natural process by which living organisms form minerals in association with organic biostructures to form hybrid biological materials such as bone, enamel, dentine and nacre among others. Scientists have researched the fundamentals of these processes and the unique structures and properties of the resulting mineralized tissues. Inspired by them, new biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have been developed in recent years. Biomineralization and biomaterials: fundamentals and applications looks at the characteristics of these essential processes and natural materials and describes strategies and technologies to biomimetically design and produce biomaterials with improved biological performance. Provides a thorough overview of the biomineralization process Presents the most recent information on the natural process by which crystals in tissues form into inorganic structures such as bone, teeth, and other natural mineralized tissues Investigates methods for improving mineralization Explores new techniques that will help improve the biomimetic process

This first comprehensive overview of the modern aspects of biomineralization represents life and materials science at its best: Bioinspired pathways are the hot topics in many disciplines and this holds especially true for biomineralization. Here, the editors -- well-known members of associations and prestigious institutes -- have assembled an international team of renowned authors to provide first-hand research results. This second volume deals with biometic model systems in biomineralization, including the biomineral approach to bionics, bioinspired materials synthesis and bio-supported materials chemistry, encapsulation and the imaging of internal nanostructures of biominerals. An interdisciplinary must-have account, for biochemists, bioinorganic chemists, lecturers in chemistry and biochemistry, materials scientists, biologists, and solid state physicists.

Biomineralization is the process that produces the skeletons, shells, and teeth of most animals. It is also involved in magnetic orientation, gravity detection, and the storing of ions. This book compares a diverse number of systems, including mineral deposition of invertebrates, vertebrates, algae, and microorganisms. Emphasis is placed on the systems responsible for converting ions to minerals and the mechanisms and control of mineral form.

In nature, biological organisms produce mineralized tissues such as bone, teeth, diatoms, and shells. Biomineralization is the sophisticated process of production of these inorganic minerals by living organisms. Construction of organic-inorganic hybrid materials with controlled mineralization analogous to those produced by nature has recently received much attention because it can aid in understanding the mechanisms of the biomineralization process and development of biomimetic materials processing. The biomineralization ? processes use aqueous solutions at temperatures below 100 C and no toxic intermediates are produced in these systems. From a serious global en- ronmental problem point of view, the development of processes inspired by biomineralization would offer valuable insights into material science and en- neering to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. One of the most challenging scienti'c problems is to gain greater insight into the mol- ular interactions occurring at the interface between the inorganic mineral and the macromolecular organic matrix. Model systems are often regarded as a straight-forward experimental approach toward biomimetic crystallization. Hierarchical architectures consisting of small building blocks of inorganic cr- tals are often found in biominerals. Studies of nanocrystal self-organization in solution systems would also be helpful for understanding biomineralization. In these volumes, we focus on construction of organic-inorganic hybrid - terials with controlled mineralization inspired by natural biomineralization. In the'rst volume, thereader will ?nd contributionsproviding abasic scopeof the mineralization process in aqueous solution.

Biomineralization is a hot topic in the area of materials, and this volume in the Metals Ions in Life Sciences series takes a systematic approach, dealing with all aspects from the fundamentals to applications. Key biological features of biomineralization, such as gene directed growth and the role of enzymes are covered, as are new areas, including copper/zinc in the jaws of invertebrates or magnetic biomaterials that help birds with navigation

This series presents critical reviews of the present position and future trends in modern chemical research. The short and concise reports on chemistry are each written by world renowned experts. This series is still valid and useful after 5 or 10 years. More information as well as the electronic version of the whole content available at: springerlink.com.