Elucidating the role of water molecules during the incorporation of organics into the lattice of inorganic crystals

The vast majority of biomineralization processes takes place in aqueous media, in the presence of different proteins, organic molecules and hydrated inorganic ions. The outcome, among other characteristics, is the incorporation of the proteins and organic molecules within the inorganic crystal host. We have shown that this incorporation leads to lattice strains in the host crystal. Recently, it is becoming evident that water plays a cardinal role in biomineralization, specifically affects the mode of organic molecules incorporation and gets incorporated together with the organics. We now take another step forward and propose to study the effect of trapped water on the incorporation of organic species, and on the crystalline host’s structure and microstructure. We aim to answer the following questions: What is the effect of the water molecules on the lattice? What is the relative contribution of strain and microstructural changes that is derived from the water molecules?