Protein-mineral interactions at the organic-inorganic interface in biominerals

骨骼、牙齿、耳蜗、蛋壳、蜗牛和海贝壳、珊瑚和许多其他植物和动物王国的生物矿化结构都是由共存的有机（通常是蛋白质）和无机矿物相之间的协同作用产生的。这些复合材料具有特殊的性质，并且具有分层组织的超分子组装，为生物矿化提供了框架。带负电荷的蛋白质可能通过在有机-无机界面与矿物钙结合而获得调节的化学互补-这是一种影响晶体生长过程的机制。据推测，这种有机-无机界面相互作用的分子精度调节晶体的生长。我的生物矿化研究项目侧重于调节矿物质生长的特定蛋白质/肽（特别是骨桥蛋白）。

Bones, teeth, otoconia, eggshells, snail and sea shells, corals and many other biomineralized structures in the plant and animal kingdoms arise from synergistic interactions between co-existing organic (usually proteins) and inorganic mineral phases. These composites have specialized properties, and hierarchically organized supramolecular assemblies that provide a framework for biomineralization. Negatively charged proteins may attain regulatory chemical complementarity by binding to mineral calcium at the organic-inorganic interface − a mechanism to influence crystal growth processes. It is hypothesized that the molecular precision of such organic-inorganic interfacial interactions regulates crystal growth. My biomineralization research program focuses on specific proteins/peptides (notably osteopontin) that regulate mineral growth.