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arXiv · 2210.10478

Helical microstructures in molluscan biomineralization are a biological example of close packed helices that may form from a colloidal liquid crystal precursor in a twist-bend nematic phase

Katarzyna Berent·Julyan H. E. Cartwright·Antonio G. Checa·Carlos Pimentel·Paula Ramos-Silva·C. Ignacio Sainz-Díaz
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Abstract

We demonstrate that nature has produced a close-packed helical twisted filamentous material in the biomineralization of the mollusc. In liquid crystals, twist-bend nematics have been predicted and observed. We present and analyse evidence that the helical biomineral microstructure of mollusc shells may be formed from such a liquid-crystal precursor.

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Katarzyna Berent, Julyan H. E. Cartwright, Antonio G. Checa, Carlos Pimentel, Paula Ramos-Silva, C. Ignacio Sainz-Díaz. 2022-10-19. Helical microstructures in molluscan biomineralization are a biological example of close packed helices that may form from a colloidal liquid crystal precursor in a twist-bend nematic phase. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevmaterials.6.105601

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