Unveiling the role of Zn in biomineralization processes by XANES and anomalous SAXS/WAXS

Biomineralized tissues like bone and the bone-tendon interface (enthesis) play a crucial role in the functioning of our body. Bones are subject to constant remodelling throughout our life to maintain their performance. The enthesis adapts their mineralized areas to changes in the mechanical loading. While the mineralization process to adapt to different load conditions differ substantially between bone and enthesis, common features exist. Both tissues exhibit zones at the interface of mineralization differing in composition from the surrounding mineralized tissue. In both cases, an accumulation of Zn is visible. This prompts questions on (1) the role of Zn, (2) its generality in biomineralization and (3) the form of Zn incorporation in the structure. We aim at investigating the local chemistry around the Zn site with XANES at ID21 and then study the structural localization of Zn with anomalous SAXS/WAXS at ID13 to see if the Zn is incorporated into the bone mineral/collagen portion.