Marine Biomineralization: from Biomolecules to Biofunctional Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Biomineralization occurs in many living organisms, in particular in aquatic systems. It encompasses all biological pathways leading to the formation of a condensed inorganic phase. As such it includes both biologically-induced and biologically-controlled precipitation. Specific organic molecules control the composition, shape, organization, properties and functions of the inorganic phase. One of the key properties of biomineralizing molecules is their self-assembly ability, either as a single component or cooperatively with others. The possibility to control the formation and organization of inorganic particles from the nano- to the macroscale using soft matter principles raised great hopes for the development of chemically-diverse, structurally-complex and bio-responsive devices. These processes have contributed to the merging of numerous applications in chemistry and material science. A new promising area is in the application of human health, such as production of bio-based mineral systems to be used in controlled delivery application. In this issue, we focus on recent knowledge on biomineralization processes and molecules involved in marine organisms and on recent uses for pharmaceutical and nutritional purposes, as well as the use of biomimetic-bioinspired synthetic materials for medical applications.

Dr. Véronique Martin-Jézéquel
Dr. Thibaud Coradin
Guest Editors

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• Biomineralization
• Biomimetism
• Aquatic organisms
• Biofunctional materials