China University of Science and Technology: Artificial bionic structural materials were prepared by simulating the growth process of natural mother-of-pearl.

For the first time, professor Zhai Shuhong of the University of Science and Technology of China prepared artificial bionic structural materials by simulating the growth process of natural mother-of-pearl, which has the characteristics of chemical composition and microstructure which are highly similar to natural mother-of-pearl, and has good strength and toughness.
the results were published in the american journal Science.
the inner layer of the shell has a unique and complex microscopic layer structure, which allows the mother-of-pearl to have both extraordinary hardness and toughness at the macro level, which are not available in many synthetic materials.
first built a similar layered
frame with the same organic material as in a natural shell and placed it in an artificial "cavity" by way of orientation freezing and acetylation conversion.
Unlike shellfish, which spend years secreting the organic substance and mineralizing calcium carbonate on its frame, the team designed a "circular system" in which saturated calcium bicarbonate solution is pumped into the frame of the cavity through a peristaltic pump acting like the human heart, while producing residual waste from the reaction, which can "replicate" the natural formation process of the mother pearl for several years in two weeks, more than a hundred times faster.
electron microscope and other detection means show that this artificial material prepared by a material growth method highly similar to natural strategy, in composition and microstructure are similar to the height of natural mother-of-pearl, on multiple scales to reproduce the micro-grade structure and mechanical properties of natural mother-of-pearl, and macro-level also showed good strength and toughness.
, the human bone and tooth development process is the same as the mother-of-pearl formation process, the difference is that the main component of mineralization is calcium hydroxyphosphate rather than calcium carbonate.
The use of similar strategies to synthesize artificial bones or teeth, is expected to highly reproduce the strength and toughness of human bones, and because the composition is highly similar, can effectively avoid the material implanted in the human body's excreation reaction, but also to avoid the previous metal components into the human body to remove the pain.
source: ScienceDaily.