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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 international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201508010
Subject(s) - vaterite , calcite , gelatin , calcium carbonate , materials science , chemical engineering , fluorescence , carbonate , phase (matter) , fluorescence microscope , mineralogy , chemistry , 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.