The Non‐Classical Crystallization Mechanism of a Composite Biogenic Guanine Crystal

Wagner, Avital; Ezersky, Vladimir; Maria, Raquel; Upcher, Alexander; Aflalo, Eliahu D.; Lubin, Yael; Palmer, Benjamin A.

doi:10.1002/adma.202202242

Cited by 28 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Eventually, the growing crystal contacts with both sides of the iridosome, pulling the membrane around the growth front of the crystal. The re-shaping of the iridosome vesicle by the growing crystal was also observed in spiders 17 and lizards 29 , and again shows that crystal habit is not dictated by physical confinement by the vesicle membrane.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…3G). Similar merging of crystal platelets during guanine formation in spiders 17 and lizards 29 , indicates that this may be a universal feature of guanine bio-crystallization.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…This finding reveals how organisms inhibit crystal growth along the thermodynamically favored π-stacking growth direction to preferentially form optically functional (100) plates. Observations of intercalating sheets in guanine crystals in spiders 17 suggests that templated growth could be a general feature of biogenic guanine formation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preparation of ultra-thin tissue sections for TEM and STEM imaging of iridosomes Chemically fixed scallop eyes were washed with 0.1M cacodylate buffer for 2 h and post fixed with 1% osmium tetroxide and 2% uranyl acetate according to the method published in Wagner et al 17 . Ultra-thin sections were prepared with an ultra-microtome (RMC, Arizona, USA) and imaged with HRSEM Gemini 300 SEM (Zeiss) STEM detector, and Thermo Fisher Scientific High Pressure Freezing, sample preparation, and conventional EM imaging of melanosomes MNT1, highly pigmented melanoma cells were seeded on carbonated sapphire discs and grown for 2 days.…”

Section: Optical Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, guanine crystals grown in vitro from aqueous solutions grow along the thermodynamically favored, π-stacking direction resulting in the expression of low-index (~1.45) crystal faces. It is not known how organisms exquisitely regulate crystallization to generate optically useful morphologies, but recent studies have ruled out several hypotheses: (i) the use of purines as intracrystalline growth additives 16 , (ii) molding of amorphous precursors 17 , and (iii) physical confinement by membranes 17 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The Formation of Biogenic Guanine Crystals Closely Resembles Melanosome Morphogenesis

Wagner

Upcher

Maria

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Animals precisely control the morphology and assembly of highly reflective guanine crystals to produce diverse optical phenomena used in coloration and vision. However, little is known about how organisms regulate crystallization to produce optically useful crystal morphologies which express highly reflective crystal faces. Guanine crystals form inside iridosome vesicles within specialized chromatophore cells called iridophores. By following the formation of iridosomes in developing scallop eyes we show that, despite their different physical properties, the morphogenesis of iridosomes bears a striking resemblance to melanosome morphogenesis in vertebrates. A key finding is that pre-assembled intravesicular fibrillar sheets template crystal nucleation, growth, and orientation, dictating the formation of optically functional, but thermodynamically disfavored plate-like habits. The common control mechanisms for melanin and guanine formation inspire new approaches for manipulating the morphologies and properties of molecular materials.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…3G). Similar merging of crystal platelets during guanine formation in spiders 17 and lizards 29 , indicates that this may be a universal feature of guanine bio-crystallization.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Optical Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Formation of Biogenic Guanine Crystals Closely Resembles Melanosome Morphogenesis

Wagner

Upcher

Maria

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Biopolymer Photonics: From Nature to Nanotechnology

Vogler‐Neuling,

Saba,

Gunkel

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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Biopolymers offer vast potential for renewable and sustainable devices. While nature mastered the use of biopolymers to create highly complex 3D structures and optimized their photonic response, artificially created structures still lack nature's diversity. To bridge this gap between natural and engineered biophotonic structures, fundamental questions such as the natural formation process and the interplay of structural order and disorder must be answered. Herein, biological photonic structures and their characterization techniques are reviewed, focusing on those structures not yet artificially manufactured. Then, employed and potential nanofabrication strategies for biomimetic, bio‐templated, and artificially created biopolymeric photonic structures are discussed. The discussion is extended to responsive biopolymer photonic structures and hybrid structures. Last, future fundamental physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology challenges related to biopolymer photonics are foreseen.

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Ribbontail Stingray Skin Employs a Core–Shell Photonic Glass Ultrastructure to Make Blue Structural Color

Surapaneni,

Blumer,

Tadayon

et al. 2024

Advanced Optical Materials

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Structural blue colors are common in animals, with the tissue nanostructures and material systems that produce them—especially bright blues—typically based on highly ordered nano‐architectures. In this study, we describe an unusually bright and angle‐independent structural blue from the skin of ribbontail stingray, arising from a more disordered array of scattering elements with a previously undescribed core–shell ultrastructure, involving nano‐vesicles enclosing guanine nano‐platelets. We show that this skin architecture functions as an intracellular photonic glass, coherently scattering blue, while broadband absorption from closely associated melanophores obviates the low color saturation typical for photonic glasses. Our characterization of skin ultrastructure and color in a stingray demonstrates how disordered systems can be harnessed to produce brilliant hues while illustrating that the capacity for guanine‐based colors likely arose extremely early in vertebrate evolution. Moreover, the material‐structure‐function associations underlying ribbontail stingray coloration, employing two distinct photonic phenomena, illustrate how the evolution of nanoscale architectures can have profound effects at much larger size scales (e.g., in visual ecology and communication), and provide fundamental guidelines for color‐saturated manmade photonic glasses.

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The Non‐Classical Crystallization Mechanism of a Composite Biogenic Guanine Crystal

Cited by 28 publications

References 57 publications

The Formation of Biogenic Guanine Crystals Closely Resembles Melanosome Morphogenesis

The Formation of Biogenic Guanine Crystals Closely Resembles Melanosome Morphogenesis

Biopolymer Photonics: From Nature to Nanotechnology

Ribbontail Stingray Skin Employs a Core–Shell Photonic Glass Ultrastructure to Make Blue Structural Color

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