Biomineralization Sourcebook

Elaine DiMasi is a physicist and synchrotron x-ray scattering expert, and has made her career at Brookhaven National Laboratory since 1996. Research for her PhD (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) and postdoctoral appointment (BNL) focused on structure and electronic properties in metallic condensed matter systems. Since 1999 she has investigated numerous aspects of Biomineralization including: mineralization at Langmuir films, assembly and mineralization of extracellular matrix proteins, structures of organics assembled on mineral surfaces, and microbeam diffraction mapping of mineral-organic composites and biological minerals. More recent areas of interest include lipid-mineral interactions and soft X-ray microspectroscopy. DiMasi currently is engaged in building a state of the art synchrotron x-ray scattering facility at the National Synchrotorn Light Source II, dedicated to soft- and bio-materials, specializing in aqueous interfaces, providing the capabilities to measure hierarchical structures of biominerals for a wide range of length scales and in realistic material environments. Laurie B. Gower is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, and supervisor of the Biomimetics Laboratory at the University of Florida. Her Master’s degree from University of Utah was in the area of Bioengineering (1990), and doctoral degree from UMASS at Amherst was in the area of Polymer Science & Engineering (1997). In the latter case, her dissertation was focused on biomineralization, making use of model systems to examine the interactions between polypeptides and crystal growth, and correlating features observed in the in vitro systems to those observed in biominerals. Most of the research in her academic career has continued along these lines of examining potential mechanisms involved in biomineralization. She discovered a novel crystallization process that relies on a polymer-induced liquid-precursor (PILP) phase, and was one of the first to suggest that biominerals might be formed from a hydrated amorphous precursor. She has built a line of evidence to suggest that this polymer-directed crystallization process may play a fundamental role in both calcium carbonate (marine exoskeletons) and calcium phosphate (bones and teeth) biomineralization, as well as calcium oxalate precipitation in kidney stones.

Characterization of Atomic and Molecular Structure: Diffraction and Scattering

Synchrotron X-Ray Scattering: Probing Structure for the Structure-Function Relationship In situ X-ray scattering from molecular templates and nucleating minerals at organic-water interfaces Electron Backscatter Diffraction for Biomineralization

Characterization of Atomic and Molecular Structure: Spectroscopy and Spectro-MicroscopyInfrared Spectroscopy and Imaging Raman Spectroscopy in Biomineralization
Chemical Mapping with X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Local Structure Development; Characterization of Biominerals Using X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Soft x-Ray Scanning Transmission Spectro-Microscopy Photoemission Spectromicroscopy for the Biomineralogist
Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy: A Tool for Molecular-Level Structure Analysis and Dynamics The Realities of Disordered or Unfolded Proteins: Relevance to Biomineralization Imaging Morphology and InterfacesExploring Dynamics at the Biomolecule-Crystal Interface Using Real-Time In Situ Atomic Force Microscopy
In situ Atomic Force Microscopy as a tool for investigating assembly of protein matrices Transmission Electron Microscopy in Biomineralization Research: Advances and Challenges X-Ray Computed Tomography SIMS Method and Example of Applications in Coral Biomineralization Properties of the Composite: Energetics and Forces in AssemblyMolecular Simulation of Biomineral Nucleation And Crystal Growth: Modern Computational Challenges and Approaches Application of Enhanced Sampling Approaches to the Early Stages of Mineralization Direct Measurement of Interaction Forces and Energies with Proximal Probes Properties of the Composite: Materials Approaches to Tissues and Whole OrgansMeasuring Forces between Structural Elements in Composites: From Macromolecules to Bone Mechanical and Interface Properties of Biominerals: Atomistic to Coarse Grained Modeling Whole Organ Deformation Analysis by Digital Optical Metrology Methods Illustrating Biodiversity: The Power of an Image