Abstract

Natural composite bioceramics such as bone, teeth, carapaces and shells contain organic and inorganic moieties, with the organic matrix components directly involved in the precise formation of these structure. We have previously shown that chicken eggshell contains two main sulfated polymers (proteoglycans), referred to as mammillan and ovoglycan which are involved in nucleation and growth of the eggshell calcite crystals. They differ on their anionic properties due to the carboxylate and sulfate content of their glycosaminoglycan component. Based on biological and biochemical evidences, the putative role of mammilan, a keratan sulfate proteoglycan, is in the nucleation of the first calcite crystals, while that of ovoglycan, a dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, is to regulate the growth and orientation of the later forming crystals of the chicken eggshell. In this communication, a systematic study of the influence of variable concentrations of glycosaminoglycans differing in their sulfation status on the morphology, size and number of calcium carbonate crystals after crystallization on microbridges from a calcium chloride solution under an atmosphere of ammonium carbonate at different pH is presented. Depending on the pH and concentration, the variation of sulfation status drastically changed the morphology, size and number of calcite crystals. The produced calcite particles with various morphologies are promising candidates for some novel materials with desirable shape- and texture-depending properties.