Computer modelling techniques have been employed to qualitatively and quantitatively investigate the uptake and distribution of carbonate groups in the hydroxyapatite lattice. Two substitutional defects are considered: the type-A defect, where the carbonate group is located in the hydroxy channel, and the type-B defect, where the carbonate group is located at the position of a phosphate group. ...

This study investigates the in vitro formation of Ca-oxalates and glushinskite through fungal interaction with carbonate substrates and seawater as a process of biologically induced metal recycling and neo-mineral formation. The study also emphasizes the role of the substrates as metal donors. In the first experiment, thin sections prepared from dolomitic rock samples of Terwagne Formation (Car...

The growth of molluscan shell crystals is generally thought to be initiated from the extrapallial fluid by matrix proteins, however, the cellular mechanisms of shell formation pathway remain unknown. Here, we first report amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precipitation by cellular biomineralization in primary mantle cell cultures of Pinctada fucata. Through real-time PCR and western blot analys...

The deactivation of Au/CeO2 catalysts during low-temperature water–gas shift reaction and the underlying physical origin were investigated, comparing the deactivation in different reaction atmospheres and subsequent regeneration of the catalysts by reactive treatment in O2/N2 or H2O/N2 gas mixtures. Based on TEM and XRD measurements, Au and ceria particle sintering (irreversible deactivation) c...

Discovery of Fe-carbonate precipitation in Rio Tinto, a shallow river with very acidic waters, situated in Huelva, South-western Spain, adds a new dimension to our understanding of carbonate formation. Sediment samples from this low-pH system indicate that carbonates are formed in physico-chemical conditions ranging from acid to neutral pH. Evidence for microbial mediation is observed in second...

The majority of invertebrate skeletal tissues are composed of the most stable crystalline polymorphs of CaCO(3), calcite, and/or aragonite. Here we describe a composite skeletal tissue from an ascidian in which amorphous and crystalline calcium carbonate coexist in well-defined domains separated by an organic sheath. Each biogenic mineral phase has a characteristic Mg content (5.9 and 1.7 mol %...