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Direct Observation of the Distribution of Gelatin in Calcium Carbonate Crystals by Super‐Resolution Fluorescence Microscopy
Author(s) -
Fu Meifang,
Wang Anhe,
Zhang Xiaoming,
Dai Luru,
Li Junbai
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201508010
Subject(s) - vaterite , calcite , gelatin , calcium carbonate , chemical engineering , fluorescence , materials science , carbonate , phase (matter) , nanoparticle , microscopy , fluorescence microscope , mineralogy , chemistry , nanotechnology , aragonite , organic chemistry , optics , composite material , physics , engineering , metallurgy
Biological organic–inorganic hybrid materials often achieve excellent properties and provide inspiration for the design of advanced materials. The organic phase plays a key role in determining the properties of biogenic materials, and the spatial arrangement of organic and inorganic phases provides direct evidence for interaction between the two phases. Super‐resolution fluorescence microscopy was used to visualize the gelatin distribution in two different crystalline polymorphs of calcium carbonate (vaterite and calcite) and to investigate the process by which gelatin is excluded from the crystals. The results demonstrated that gelatin is distributed through vaterite microspheres in the form of nanoparticles, whereas it tends to accumulate on the edges of the calcite rhombohedra.