Abstract
Investigations of the micro‐ and nanostructures and chemical composition of the sponge skeletons as examples for natural structural biocomposites are of fundamental scientific relevance. Recently, we show that some demosponges (Verongula gigantea, Aplysina sp.) and glass sponges (Farrea occa, Euplectella aspergillum) possess chitin as a component of their skeletons. The main practical approach we used for chitin isolation was based on alkali treatment of corresponding external layers of spicules sponge material with the aim of obtaining alkali‐resistant compounds for detailed analysis. Here, we present a detailed study of the structural and physicochemical properties of spicules of the glass sponge Rossella fibulata. The structural similarity of chitin derived from this sponge to invertebrate alpha chitin has been confirmed by us unambiguously using physicochemical and biochemical methods. This is the first report of a silica‐chitin composite biomaterial found in Rossella species. Finally, the present work includes a discussion related to strategies for the practical application of silica‐chitin‐based composites as biomaterials.
Highlights
This is the second paper on naturally occurring silica-based biocomposites of sponges origin
In the case of R. fibulata, we have not observed any visible signs of demineralization of these materials using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after 14 days and at the similar experimental conditions as in the study on H. sieboldi and Monorhaphis sp
Spicules of R. fibulata show high resistance to alkali treatment even after 3 months of demineralization. This was similar the resistance observed for E. aspergillum [3]
Summary
This is the second paper on naturally occurring silica-based biocomposites of sponges origin. Biocomposites of marine origin including sponge skeletal formations are a constant source of inspiration for finding solutions to a variety of technical challenges in bionics, architecture, optics, engineering, as well as materials science and biomedicine (reviewed in [2, 3]). (i) hexactinellid spicules as natural glass-based composites with specific mechanical properties [4, 5];. (iii) basal spicules of Hexactinellida as biological glass fibers with specific optical properties [8,9,10];. In case of hexactinellid spicules, it is reported that they are highly flexible and tough, possibly because of their layered structure and the hydrated nature of the silica as suggested earlier [15], but of the presence of collagen [16] or chitin [17]. According to paleontological and molecular data, the sponge class Hexactinellida may be the oldest
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