Structure and Growth in the Living Tissue and in Carbon Nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper explores the structural similarities between living tissue crypts and carbon nanotubes, proposing that their growth mechanisms share common topological and lattice transformation features, with implications for understanding nanotube growth.

Contribution

It introduces a unified topological model linking tissue crypts and carbon nanotubes, suggesting new growth mechanisms based on crypt models and lattice transformations.

Findings

Topological organization of tissue crypts is identical to that of carbon nanotubes.

Growth mechanisms of both structures share common elements and transformations.

Proposes new initiation mechanisms for nanotube growth based on crypt models.

Abstract

The topological organisation of cells in a model of living tissue (the crypt of intestinal epithelium) is identical to the topological organisation of atoms in carbon nanotubes. The existing models of growth of these two structures contain identical elements. It is proposed that the growth of carbon nanotubes can depend also on other mechanisms postulated in the crypt model where the growth in the bottom is transmitted to the cylinder, and, in this case, the growth of nanotubes should involve the same peculiar lattice transformations as the ones found in the crypt models. The crypt models also suggest a possible initiation of growth in the nanotubes by the loss of carbon atoms. We consider the crystalline structures that can be formed from graphene and the structures of the living tissues as one distinct class of structures.