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Biogenic Silica Patterning: Simple Chemistry or Subtle Biology?
Author(s) -
Coradin Thibaud,
Lopez Pascal Jean
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.200390044
Subject(s) - nanotechnology , chemistry , chemical biology , synthetic biology , biochemical engineering , computational biology , biology , materials science , biochemistry , engineering
Silica chemistry in the living world . Some microorganisms, such as diatoms (see figure), have learned to build up finely patterned mineral structures by using the many possibilities of silica chemistry and adapting themselves to its constraints. Association of biomimetic chemical approaches with molecular biology techniques should lead to a better understanding of the strategies used by natural systems and should thus provide novel guidelines for material design.