Biomineralization of Functional Marine Materials

This proposed effort is aimed at revealing the mechanisms that enable the blue-rayed limpet Patella pellucida to form a translucent protective shell with an integrated photonic structure. We will use time-resolved micro-scale imaging and sensing approaches to study the formation mechanisms employed by the limpet to control the growth of its hierarchical functional shell morphology and quantify the impact that environmental parameters have on the underlying biomineralization processes. This will provide insight into low-temperature strategies for synthesizing biological and bio-inspired multifunctional materials and allow for the quantification of the influence of anthropogenic ocean acidification on the abilities of marine organisms to form shells.