Morphological Evolution of Calcite Grown in Zwitterionic Hydrogels: Charge Effects Enhanced by Gel‐Incorporation

Abstract

The incorporation of charged biomacromolecules is widely found in biomineralization. To investigate the significance of this biological strategy for mineralization control, gelatin-incorporated calcite crystals grown from gelatin hydrogels with different charge concentrations along the gel networks are examined. It is found that the bound charged groups on gelatin networks (amino cations, gelatin-NH 3 + and carboxylic anions, gelatin-COO À ) play crucial roles in controlling the single-crystallinity and the crystal morphology. And the charge effects are greatly enhanced by the gel-incorpo-ration because the incorporated gel networks force the bound charged groups on them to attach to crystallization fronts. In contrast, ammonium ions (NH 4 + ) and acetate ions (Ac À ) dissolve in the crystallization media do not exhibit the similar charge effects because the balance of attachment/ detachment make them more difficult to be incorporated. Employing the revealed charge effects, the calcite crystal composites with different morphologies can be flexibly prepared.

Multi‐Functionalization of Single crystals Mediated by Gel‐Incorporation: A Bioinspired Strategy

“…Recently, the zwitterionic hydrogel (gelatin hydrogel) is used to further investigate the significance of gel-incorporation for crystal morphology control. [22] Differently, the charged groups (amino cations, gelatin-NH 3 + and carboxylic anions, gelatin-COO À ) are covalently bound on gel-fibers, which further enhances their charge effects on crystal morphology control. Therefore, in the further experiments, the gelatin-incorporated calcite crystals are prepared in gelatin hydrogels with different charge concentrations along gel-networks.…”

“…Recently, the zwitterionic hydrogel (gelatin hydrogel) is used to further investigate the significance of gel‐incorporation for crystal morphology control [22] . Differently, the charged groups (amino cations, gelatin‐NH 3 + and carboxylic anions, gelatin‐COO − ) are covalently bound on gel‐fibers, which further enhances their charge effects on crystal morphology control.…”

“…More importantly, recent research has indicated that the incorporation of the gel-networks enhances their charge effects on the crystal morphology control. [22] Therefore, preparing the single crystal with gel-incorporation is a remarkable strategy for synthesizing functionalized crystals with optimized mechanical property and controllable morphology.…”

“…And the incorporated NPs and dye molecules can endow single crystals with non‐intrinsic properties, which greatly expands the potential application of these crystals. More importantly, recent research has indicated that the incorporation of the gel‐networks enhances their charge effects on the crystal morphology control [22] . Therefore, preparing the single crystal with gel‐incorporation is a remarkable strategy for synthesizing functionalized crystals with optimized mechanical property and controllable morphology.…”

New Nano-Crystalline Hydroxyapatite-Polycarboxy/Sulfo Betaine Hybrid Materials: Synthesis and Characterization

“…The cooperative effect of interactions between proteins and inorganic ions in biomineralization is being extensively investigated. Thus, it has been reported that the particular charge distribution in terms of concentration and distribution along the biomacromolecule may affect the orientation, polymorph and morphology of the biomineral [ 21 , 22 ].…”