Nano-FTIR chemical mapping of minerals in biological materials

• Sergiu Amarie,
• Paul Zaslansky,
• Yusuke Kajihara,
• Erika Griesshaber,
• Wolfgang W. Schmahl and
• Fritz Keilmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 312–323, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.35

• crystals in an organic matrix [18][19][20], and laminates of calcium phosphate nanoparticle reinforced chitin fibers [21][22]. FTIR spectroscopic microscopy is a well-established method and has been extensively used to study bone biominerals at several micrometers spatial resolution [23][24][25][26][27][28

• phase effect is on the order of 30° for strong polymer vibrations [8][9] but on the order of 400° for strong crystal phonons [3][6]. For molluscs the employment of phosphate in shell architecture has not been reported, but the radula (tooth structure) of the chitons is known to contain calcium phosphate