Amorphous layer around aragonite platelets in nacre

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Abstract
We reveal that the aragonite CaCO3platelets in nacre ofHaliotis laevigataare covered with a continuous layer of disordered amorphous CaCO3and that there is no protein interaction with this layer. This finding contradicts classical paradigms of biomineralization, e.g., an epitaxial match between the structural organic matrix and the formed mineral. This finding also highlights the role of physicochemical effects in morphogenesis, complementing the previously assumed total control by biomolecules and bioprocesses, with many implications in nanotechnology and materials science.