Crystallographic control on the substructure of nacre tablets.

Nacre tablets of mollusks develop two kinds of features when either the calcium carbonate or the organic portions are removed: (1) parallel lineations (vermiculations) formed by elongated carbonate rods, and (2) hourglass patterns, which appear in high relief when etched or in low relief if bleached. In untreated tablets, SEM and AFM data show that vermiculations correspond to aligned and fused aragonite nanogloblules, which are partly surrounded by thin organic pellicles. EBSD mapping of the surfaces of tablets indicates that the vermiculations are invariably parallel to the crystallographic a-axis of aragonite and that the triangles are aligned with the b-axis and correspond to the advance of the {010} faces during the growth of the tablet. According to our interpretation, the vermiculations appear because organic molecules during growth are expelled from the a-axis, where the Ca-CO3 bonds are the shortest. In this way, the subunits forming nacre merge uninterruptedly, forming chains parallel to the a-axis, whereas the organic molecules are expelled to the sides of these chains. Hourglass patterns would be produced by preferential adsorption of organic molecules along the {010}, as compared to the {100} faces. A model is presented for the nanostructure of nacre tablets. SEM and EBSD data also show the existence within the tablets of nanocrystalline units, which are twinned on {110} with the rest of the tablet. Our study shows that the growth dynamics of nacre tablets (and bioaragonite in general) results from the interaction at two different and mutually related levels: tablets and nanogranules.

Tissue responses to nacreous implants in rat femur: an in situ hybridization and histochemical study.

The interface of bone and aragonite nacre (Margaritifera, fresh water pearl mussel) was studied by in situ hybridization and a tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) histochemical assay. Columnar implants were inserted into rat femora for 4, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days. In medullary region, a burst of transient bone formation was observed, which propagated from the periphery towards the nacre implant. A fused interface of bone and nacre was observed at 14 days. Later, the new medullary bone was resorbed and bone marrow was re-established while a thin layer of bone tissue remained covering the implant surface. Expressions of collagen alpha1(I), osteocalcin, osteopontin mRNAs and TRAP in the surrounding tissue were monitored. Correlated with the histology events, a strong transient induction of collagen alpha1(I) and osteocalcin mRNAs as well as TRAP expression, exhibiting a peak signal intensity on day 7 and subsequent down-regulation after day 14 was observed. Osteopontin mRNA, in contrast, was expressed continuously. The degrading nacre surface appeared in direct contact with macrophages and multinucleated giant cells at both days 14 and 28. These cells expressed osteopontin mRNA intensively and some TRAP enzyme activity occasionally.