Role of transition metals in sclerotization of biological tissue

Broomell, Chris C.; Zok, Frank W.; Waite, J. Herbert

doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2008.06.017

Cited by 78 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Studies on metal replacement in Nereis jaw, however, suggest that specific mechanical properties are bestowed only by certain metals in well-defined locations (Broomell et al, 2008). …”

Section: Water Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing environments and structure–property relationships in marine biomaterials

Waite

Broomell

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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survival measures might produce inferior biomaterials; (2) during an abrupt and extreme environmental stress, one or more factors (e.g. waves and acidic run-off) might combine to briefly undermine the performance of materials in service, or (3) during a sustained change in the environment that is not physiologically stressful, the quality of normal biomaterials might deteriorate (Fig.1). To date, it remains unknown whether the first, second, third, or some combination of the three represents the most realistic perturbation of biomaterials serving an individual or community.Of the many different properties exhibited by extra-organismic biomaterials in the extended organism, many research groups including ours have focused on those with mechanical or load bearing properties. These are necessary in biomaterials that function in, for example, support, shelter, feeding, prey capture and adhesion. This review is about structure-function relationships in the load-bearing biomaterials of extended organisms and the hypothesis that the functional performance of biomaterials is linked to structures that are perturbed by a changing environment. The proposition is somewhat rhetorical because the toolkits to properly test it are incomplete and few are suited to field ecology. Notwithstanding this, the overview will briefly survey old and new techniques for studying structures and mechanical properties in marine biomaterials, survey how different test conditions affect structure and function in byssal threads, and speculate on what these studies might contribute to ecomechanics. Approaches to structure-function analysisA major goal in experimental biology is discovering relationships between structure and function. This goal is equally relevant to studying biomaterials, except that mechanical properties are used as proxies for function. It is understood that the measured mechanical properties may only be one of many in a multifunctional material. The conventional wisdom in materials science is that structure determines properties; thus, altering structure is likely to alter Accepted 31 May 2011 Summary Most marine organisms make functional biomolecular materials that extend to varying degrees ʻbeyond their skinsʼ. These materials are very diverse and include shells, spines, frustules, tubes, mucus trails, egg capsules and byssal threads, to mention a few. Because they are devoid of cells, these materials lack the dynamic maintenance afforded intra-organismic tissues and thus are usually assumed to be inherently more durable than their internalized counterparts. Recent advances in nanomechanics and submicron spectroscopic imaging have enabled the characterization of structure-property relationships in a variety of extraorganismic materials and provided important new insights about their adaptive functions and stability. Some structure-property relationships in byssal threads are described to show how available analytical methods can reveal hitherto unappreciated interdependences between these materials and their prevailing che...

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“…Studies on metal replacement in Nereis jaw, however, suggest that specific mechanical properties are bestowed only by certain metals in well-defined locations (Broomell et al, 2008). …”

Section: Water Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing environments and structure–property relationships in marine biomaterials

Waite

Broomell

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Broomell and co-workers probed the relationship between the presence of various transition metals, such as zinc, copper and manganese, and the hardness and stiffness of biological materials through differential zinc chelation and its replacement with different metals in a model marine polychaete annelid jaw, Nereis virens (Broomell et al, 2006;Broomell et al, 2008). Using nanoindentation of treated jaw material, they showed an increased hardness in materials that had about 8% weight of zinc.…”

Section: Materials Properties Of Pollinator and Parasitoid Ovipositorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomechanics of substrate boring by fig wasps

Kundanati

Gundiah

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Female insects of diverse orders bore into substrates to deposit their eggs. Such insects must overcome several biomechanical challenges to successfully oviposit, which include the selection of suitable substrates through which the ovipositor can penetrate without itself fracturing. In many cases, the insect may also need to steer and manipulate the ovipositor within the substrate to deliver eggs at desired locations before rapidly retracting her ovipositor to avoid predation. In the case of female parasitoid ichneumonid wasps, this process is repeated multiple times during her lifetime, thus testing the ability of the ovipositioning apparatus to endure fracture and fatigue. What specific adaptations does the ovipositioning apparatus of a female ichneumonoid wasp possess to withstand these challenges? We addressed this question using a model system composed of parasitoid and pollinator fig wasps. First, we show that parasitoid ovipositor tips have teeth-like structures, preferentially enriched with zinc, unlike the smooth morphology of pollinator ovipositors. We describe sensillae present on the parasitoid ovipositor tip that are likely to aid in the detection of chemical species and mechanical deformations and sample microenvironments within the substrate. Second, using atomic force microscopy, we show that parasitoid tip regions have a higher modulus compared with regions proximal to the abdomen in parasitoid and pollinator ovipositors. Finally, we use videography to film wasps during substrate boring and analyse buckling of the ovipositor to estimate the forces required for substrate boring. Together, these results allow us to describe the biomechanical principles underlying substrate boring in parasitoid ichneumonid wasps. Such studies may be useful for the biomimetic design of surgical tools and in the use of novel mechanisms to bore through hard substrates.

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“…In contrast to vertebrate hard tissues, which are highly mineralized (>70% by dry mass), several marine-derived hard tissues contain significantly less mineral (<10% by dry mass) [5] but maintain comparable mechanical properties to those of their highly mineralized counterparts in vertebrates [5,6]. In addition, the marine environment has much in common with body fluids; both systems are naturally saline and experience variations of fluid flow and temperature, are prone to surface fouling via macromolecules, and exhibit cell-mediated catabolism and turnover of circulating organic solutes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both jaws have similar shapes and mechanical properties that resemble those of human dentin but without a similar reliance on mineral. Glycera jaws consist of melanin ($37 dry wt.%), protein ($50%), copper-based minerals and metal ions (up to 10%), whereas Nereis jaws are a composite of halogenated proteins (70-90% of the total dry mass) and metal ions [1,4,[6][7][8][9][10]. Melanin, which is usually associated with pigmentation, has significant load-bearing properties in Glycera jaw [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine hydroid perisarc: A chitin- and melanin-reinforced composite with DOPA–iron(III) complexes

et al. 2013

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a b s t r a c tMany marine invertebrates utilize biomacromolecules as building blocks to form their load-bearing tissues. These polymeric tissues are appealing for their unusual physical and mechanical properties, including high hardness and stiffness, toughness and low density. Here, a marine hydroid perisarc of Aglaophenia latirostris was investigated to understand how nature designs a stiff, tough and lightweight sheathing structure. Chitin, protein and a melanin-like pigment, were found to represent 10, 17 and 60 wt.% of the perisarc, respectively. Interestingly, similar to the adhesive and coating of marine mussel byssus, a DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) containing protein and iron were detected in the perisarc. Resonance Raman microprobe analysis of perisarc indicates the presence of catechol-iron(III) complexes in situ, but it remains to be determined whether the DOPA-iron(III) interaction plays a cohesive role in holding the protein, chitin and melanin networks together.

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Role of transition metals in sclerotization of biological tissue

Cited by 78 publications

References 20 publications

Changing environments and structure–property relationships in marine biomaterials

Changing environments and structure–property relationships in marine biomaterials

Biomechanics of substrate boring by fig wasps

Marine hydroid perisarc: A chitin- and melanin-reinforced composite with DOPA–iron(III) complexes

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