Melanin and Glycera jaws: emerging dark side of a robust biocomposite structure |
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Authors: | Moses Dana N Harreld John H Stucky Galen D Waite J Herbert |
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Institution: | Program of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106, USA. moses@lifesci.ucsb.edu |
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Abstract: | Defining the design principles guiding the fabrication of superior biocomposite structures from an assemblage of ordinary molecules is a key goal of biomimetics. Considering their low degree of mineralization, Glycera jaws have been shown to be extraordinarily resistant to abrasion based on the metric hardness3/Young's modulus2. The jaws also exhibit an impressive chemical inertness withstanding boiling concentrated hydrochloric acid as well as boiling concentrated sodium hydroxide. A major organic component largely responsible for the chemical inertness of the jaws has been characterized using a spectrophotometric assay for melanin content, 13C solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, IR spectroscopy, and laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and is identified here as a melanin-like network. Although melanin is widely distributed as a pigment in tissues and other structural biomaterials, to our knowledge, Glycera jaws represent the first known integument to exploit melanin as a cohesive load- and shape-bearing material. |
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