The mineralization of CO3−2 ions in crab shells, and their mimetic composite materials

Abstract The fixation of CO 3 −2 ions dissolving in the water-sphere on the surface of chitin, chitosan, and their derivatives and composite materials was examined as a mimetic model for the mineralization of CO 2 in crab shells. 1) An SEM detection of crystalline CaCO 3 on the surface of chitin-protein fibrils in the cuticles of crab shells, 2) the preparation of novel composite materials which are mimetic of crab shells, 3) a method for the detection of CO 3 −2 ions by an attenuated total reflectance (ATR) apparatus attached to a FT-IR spectrometer, and 4) a non-enzymatic mineralization of CO 3 −2 ions on the surface of these materials.