Effects of functional groups and soluble matrices in fish otolith on calcium carbonate mineralization

Calcium carbonate mineralization is significantly influenced by organic matrices in vivo. The effect mainly relies on functional groups in proteins. In order to study the influence of functional groups on calcium carbonate mineralization, −OH, −NH2 and −COOH groups were grafted onto single crystal silicon chips, and such modified chips were used as substrates in in vitro mineralization experiments. An x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) test was conducted to examine the grafting efficiency, and the three groups were successfully grafted. Calcium carbonate mineralization on a modified silicon substrate was examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD), and the results showed that the effects of −OH, −NH2 and −COOH groups were quite different. Furthermore, a water-soluble protein matrix (WSM) and an acid-soluble protein matrix (ASM) extracted from fish otolith were adsorbed onto the −COOH-modified silicon substrate, and the effects of the protein matrices on calcium carbonate mineralization were studied. The results showed that both WSM and ASM of lapillus could mediate aragonite crystallization, but the size and morphology of the formed crystals were different. The WSM and ASM of asteriscus adsorbed on the silicon substrate had little effect on calcium carbonate mineralization; almost all the crystals were calcite, while both asteriscus WSM and ASM in solution could mediate vaterite crystals, and the morphologies of vaterite crystal aggregates were different.