An international team has found how some molluscs create their complex structures.
Their work provides new tools for novel bioinspired and biomimetic bottom-up material design.
Nature serves as a source of inspiration for scientists and engineers thanks to the complex material architectures that make up some living organisms. These materials carry out essential functions, ranging from structural support and mechanical strength, to optical, magnetic or sensing capabilities. One example of this are molluscan shells, made of mineralized tissues organised in mineral-organic hierarchical functional architectures.
Molluscs appeared more than 500 million years ago, and they have developed hard and stiff mineralised outer shells for structural support and protection against predation. Their shells consist of mineral-organic composite structures made of calcium carbonates, mostly calcite and aragonite. The different shells exhibit a large variety of intricate three-dimensional assemblies with superior mechanical properties.