0000000000013132
AUTHOR
Dietmar Schwahn
Nucleation and Growth of CaCO3 Mediated by the Egg-White Protein Ovalbumin: A Time-Resolved in situ Study Using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
Mineralization of calcium carbonate in aqueous solutions starting from its initiation was studied by time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). SANS revealed that homogeneous crystallization of CaCO 3 involves an initial formation of thin plate-shaped nuclei which subsequently reassemble to 3-dimensional particles, first of fractal and finally of compact structure. The presence of the egg-white protein ovalbumin leads to a different progression of mineralization through several stages; the first step represents amorphous CaCO 3, whereas the other phases are crystalline. The formation and dissolution of the amorphous phase is accompanied by Ca (2+)-mediated unfolding and cross-link…
Mesoscopic structure of marble determined by combined USANS and SANS
Marbles, carbonatic (i.e. calcitic–dolomitic) rocks deriving from the metamorphic evolution of previous carbonates, are often rather similar to each other in many respects (i.e. mineralogical, physical–structural and chemical), and thus difficult to identify. In search for a diagnostic method to provenance marbles, we have selected a limited number of Italian white marbles representing a wide array of metamorphic (i.e. thermal) levels. The mesoscale structural arrangement of these samples was derived by means of combined Ultra Small Angle and Small Angle Neutron Scattering experiments. The parameters of the model used to fit the data have been correlated with the metamorphic history of the …
Crystallization of the CaCO3 mineral in the presence of the protein ovalbumin
Abstract The kinetics of CaCO3 mineralization was studied by SANS in a 0.1 M aqueous CaCl2 solution in the presence of the protein ovalbumin found in chicken eggs. As the scattering from the protein and the mineral was observed within different Q regimes the evolution of the protein and mineral could be followed independently. It is observed that ovalbumin denaturates during the first 3 h and leads to a strong enhancement of mineralization.