Modelling the Impact of Organic Molecules and Phosphate Ions on Biosilica Pattern Formation in Diatoms

TL;DR

This paper models how organic molecules and phosphate ions influence biosilica pattern formation in diatoms, revealing how molecular interactions and phase separation drive complex nanostructures.

Contribution

It introduces a mathematical and computational framework to understand diatom biosilica patterning driven by organic molecule phase separation and phosphate ion interactions.

Findings

Pattern diversity depends on dissociation degree and initial concentrations.

Organic templates serve as silica precipitation sites.

Prepatterns influence final biosilica structures.

Abstract

The rapid and complex patterning of biosilica in diatom frustules is of great interest in nanotechnology, although it remains incompletely understood. Specific organic molecules, including long-chain polyamines, silaffins, and silacidins are essential in this process. The molecular structure of the synthesized polyamines significantly affects the quantity, size, and shape of silica precipitates. Experimental findings show that silica precipitation occurs at specific phosphate ion concentrations. We focus on the hypothesis that pattern formation in diatom valve structures is driven by phase separation of species-specific organic molecules. The resulting organic structures serve as templates for silica precipitation. We investigate the role of phosphate ions in self-assembly of organic molecules and analyze how the reaction between them affects the morphology of the organic template. Using mathematical and computational techniques, we gain an understanding of the range of patterns that can arise in a phase-separating system. By varying the degree of dissociation and the initial concentrations of reacting components we demonstrate that the resulting geometric features are highly dependent on these factors. This approach provides insights into the parameters controlling patterning. Additionally, we consider the effects of prepatterns, mimicking silica ribs that preexist the pores, on the final patterns.