Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst

Ion desolvation is an important kinetic step in the growth of divalent ionic crystals - a category that encompasses numerous materials relevant to biomineralization. It has recently been shown for one such divalent ionic crystal that the rate-limiting desolvation of the cation can be assisted by the...

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Main Authors: Piana, Stefano, Jones, Franca, Gale, Julian
Format: Journal Article
Published: The Royal Society of Chemistry 2007
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8542
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author Piana, Stefano
Jones, Franca
Gale, Julian
author_facet Piana, Stefano
Jones, Franca
Gale, Julian
author_sort Piana, Stefano
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Ion desolvation is an important kinetic step in the growth of divalent ionic crystals - a category that encompasses numerous materials relevant to biomineralization. It has recently been shown for one such divalent ionic crystal that the rate-limiting desolvation of the cation can be assisted by the anion and that this process can be surface specific. Here we show that even a simple biological molecule, such as aspartic acid, can have a measurable catalytic effect on barite crystal growth and that this effect is related to the lowering of the activation barrier for cation desolvation. We therefore suggest that growth rate enhancement on specific faces through catalysis of the cation desolvation step may be a viable mechanism for the positive control of biomineralization.
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publishDate 2007
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-85422017-09-13T16:02:37Z Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst Piana, Stefano Jones, Franca Gale, Julian Ion desolvation is an important kinetic step in the growth of divalent ionic crystals - a category that encompasses numerous materials relevant to biomineralization. It has recently been shown for one such divalent ionic crystal that the rate-limiting desolvation of the cation can be assisted by the anion and that this process can be surface specific. Here we show that even a simple biological molecule, such as aspartic acid, can have a measurable catalytic effect on barite crystal growth and that this effect is related to the lowering of the activation barrier for cation desolvation. We therefore suggest that growth rate enhancement on specific faces through catalysis of the cation desolvation step may be a viable mechanism for the positive control of biomineralization. 2007 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8542 10.1039/b708260f The Royal Society of Chemistry fulltext
spellingShingle Piana, Stefano
Jones, Franca
Gale, Julian
Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst
title Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst
title_full Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst
title_fullStr Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst
title_full_unstemmed Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst
title_short Aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst
title_sort aspartic acid as a crystal growth catalyst
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8542