Microstructure and crystallographic texture of the chitin-protein network in the biological composite material of the exoskeleton of the lobster Homarus americanus

By Dierk Raabe, P. Romano, C. Sachs, H. Fabritius, A. Al‐Sawalmih, S. Yi, G. Servos, H. Hartwig. 2006

282 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract The exoskeleton of the lobster Homarus americanus is a multiphase biological composite material which consists of an organic matrix (crystalline α-chitin fibers and various types of non-crystalline proteins) and minerals (mainly calcite). In this study we discuss experimental data about the mesoscopic structure and the crystallographic texture (orientation distribution) of the α-chitin–protein fiber network in this material. The synchrotron measurements reveal very strong crystallographic textures of the α-chitin. According to these data, a large fraction of the α-chitin lattice cells is arranged with their longest axis parallel to the normal of the surface of the exoskeleton. Additionally, a smaller fraction of the α-chitin cells is oriented with their longest axis perpendicular to the cuticle surface. These structural investigations reveal the pronounced role of crystallographic orientation distributions in mineralized biological composite materials which may be of relevance for an improved understanding of biological and bio-inspired nano-composites.

Subfields: Biomaterials, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Surfaces, Coatings and Films

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6d2e6058c01edb6037f2972353b2c82abe2c759e

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Biomaterials

1. A. Salaberria
2. J. Labidi
3. S. Fernandes
4. H. Fabritius
5. X. Duan
6. Philip Eisenlohr
7. Dierk Raabe
8. Yu Zhou

In Electrical and Electronic Engineering

1. Philip Eisenlohr
2. Dierk Raabe
3. Duancheng Ma
4. Franz Roters

In Surfaces, Coatings and Films

1. H. Fabritius
2. S. Fernandes
3. Dierk Raabe
4. A. Salaberria
5. J. Labidi

Citations in the corpus

• Preparation and anisotropic properties of textured structural ceramics: A review (2019, background): “Most of the α-chitin lattice cells are oriented with the long crystallographic axis towards the surface of the exoskeleton to provide mechanical support for the body [44].”
• DAMASK – The Düsseldorf Advanced Material Simulation Kit for modeling multi-physics crystal plasticity, thermal, and damage phenomena from the single crystal up to the component scale (2018, background): “63(b)) differ in their stacking height and the size and distribution of pore canals [323,324].”
• Different routes to turn chitin into stunning nano-objects (2015, background): “At the micrometer level, a network of bundles is formed, creating a twisted plywood structure (so-called ‘Bouligand structure’), which is embedded in proteins and calcium carbonate [33–40].”