Packing of particles in biominerals formed by crystallization of amorphous particle attachment

Crystallization by amorphous particle attachment, a non-classical crystal growth mode, is prevalent in minerals formed by living tissues. It is also responsible for the formation of mineral building blocks in various molluscan shell ultrastructures that are stacked together in a hierarchical manner to provide the organisms with the necessary mechanical functionality. Whereas the sub-particulate morphology in molluscan shells was previously well documented, it was never described as having a periodic packing suggesting another hierarchical level in this highly mineralized tissue. We apply to use the SAX/WAX setup on BM26 to study the nanoparticles packing properties in various ultrastructures in molluscan shells and thus, to provide information on another hierarchical level in these complex biomineralized functional tissues. The premise of this application is supported by high resolution AFM images of various molluscan ultrastructures suggesting a periodic nanoparticle packing.