Control of Calcium Carbonate Crystallization by a Serum Protein

Abstract

Calcium carbonate crystals occur in a variety of shapes, each morphology having differing physicochemical properties. This problem involves the formation of calcium carbonate crystals in a gas diffusion process. Experiments showed the formation of clear shapes in the presence of a serum protein. These structures appear to be formed from calcium carbonate fibers arranged in cones, fiber bundles, discs, and other shapes. Some characteristics of the crystals, such as the layering of self similar structures, suggest a process which regulates crystallization. Here we propose a mechanism for the formation of calcium carbonate fibers and their assembly in the complex structures. We describe this process in two systems of partial differential equations. We aim to simulate the growth of these crystals in order to understand the effect of the concentrations and diffusion of the different elements and compounds that are present in the reaction, in the global regulator of the crystallization process.