Extreme Biomineralization and Extreme Biomimetics

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 6837

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The uncontroversial superiority of biological materials both as sources and as models for the creation of a new generation of composite materials has been well acknowledged by the modern research community due to their pre-existence in nature and evolutionary approved chemical compositions, including that originating from extreme environments. The origins of extreme biomineralization are found in the first ancestral unicellular organisms that evolved under the harsh environmental conditions of ancient oceans. Both biologically induced and controlled mineralization promoted the development of protective structures to shield cells from thermal, chemical, and ultraviolet stresses. Such conditions have also allowed the adaptation of unique extremophilic and polyextremophilic biomineralizers, which are still found today. Psychrophilic, thermophilic, anaerobic, alkaliphilic, acidophilic, and halophilic conditions, as well as forced biomineralization arising in environments with very high or toxic metal ion concentrations are special locations for development of unique and poorly investigated structures.

Extreme biomimetics is based on the utilization of specific thermostable biopolymers, found in hydrothermal deposits, in a broad variety of hydrothermal reactions for the in vitro preparation of new inorganic–organic materials. It is not surprising that the skeletal structures of extremophiles are examples of biocomposites where biopolymers with high resistance to chemically harsh and thermally extreme conditions are the main players as specialized templates. The goal is to design a bridge between extreme biomimetics and bioinspired materials science, where the basic principle is to exploit chemically and thermally stable, renewable biopolymers for the development of the next generation of biologically inspired composite materials never reported, or even suggested before with sizes and properties which will allow their application in the extremes of modern, industry including large scale level. When it comes to the raw materials used in extreme biomimetics, there is absolutely no conflict with the global green processes strategy, where one of the principles advocates the use of renewable raw materials instead of a variety of plastic materials, and at that point to waste away the waste materials. Especially such renewable structural biopolymers as cellulose, chitin, and structural proteins (spongin, silk, keratin) can be used as thermostable biopolymeric scaffolds with 3D architecture for the nucleation and growth of a wide range of novel nanoorganized inorganic-based composites.

Prof. Dr. Hermann Ehrlich
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • hydrothermal synthesis
  • composites
  • thermostable biopolymers
  • hyperdense biominerals
  • extremophyles
  • forced biomineralization
  • carbonized biomaterials

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

30 pages, 2520 KiB  
Review
Forced Biomineralization: A Review
by Hermann Ehrlich, Elizabeth Bailey, Marcin Wysokowski and Teofil Jesionowski
Biomimetics 2021, 6(3), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics6030046 - 12 Jul 2021
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 5993
Abstract
Biologically induced and controlled mineralization of metals promotes the development of protective structures to shield cells from thermal, chemical, and ultraviolet stresses. Metal biomineralization is widely considered to have been relevant for the survival of life in the environmental conditions of ancient terrestrial [...] Read more.
Biologically induced and controlled mineralization of metals promotes the development of protective structures to shield cells from thermal, chemical, and ultraviolet stresses. Metal biomineralization is widely considered to have been relevant for the survival of life in the environmental conditions of ancient terrestrial oceans. Similar behavior is seen among extremophilic biomineralizers today, which have evolved to inhabit a variety of industrial aqueous environments with elevated metal concentrations. As an example of extreme biomineralization, we introduce the category of “forced biomineralization”, which we use to refer to the biologically mediated sequestration of dissolved metals and metalloids into minerals. We discuss forced mineralization as it is known to be carried out by a variety of organisms, including polyextremophiles in a range of psychrophilic, thermophilic, anaerobic, alkaliphilic, acidophilic, and halophilic conditions, as well as in environments with very high or toxic metal ion concentrations. While much additional work lies ahead to characterize the various pathways by which these biominerals form, forced biomineralization has been shown to provide insights for the progression of extreme biomimetics, allowing for promising new forays into creating the next generation of composites using organic-templating approaches under biologically extreme laboratory conditions relevant to a wide range of industrial conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Extreme Biomineralization and Extreme Biomimetics)
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