Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Calcium Carbonate Formation in the Presence of Biopolymeric Additives
Published on: May 14, 2019
Amorphous calcium carbonate: A precursor phase for aragonite in shell disease of the pearl oyster
Jingliang Huang1, Chuang Liu2, Liping Xie1
1Protein Science Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Abstract:
Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) has long been shown to act as an important constituent or precursor phase for crystalline material in mollusks. However, the presence and the role of ACC in bivalve shell formation are not fully studied. In this study, we found that brown deposits containing heterogeneous calcium carbonates were precipitated when a shell disease occurred in the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata. Calcein-staining of the brown deposits indicated that numerous amorphous calcium deposits were present, which was further confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectrum and X-ray difraction (XRD) analyses. So we speculate that ACC plays an important role in rapid calcium carbonate precipitation during shell repair process in diseased oysters.
More Related Videos
11:14Two-way Valorization of Blast Furnace Slag: Synthesis of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate and Zeolitic Heavy Metal Adsorbent
Published on: February 21, 2017
12:14A Converging Strategy for the Generation of a Virtually Sequenced cDNA Library from Unreferenced Pacific Oysters
Published on: June 13, 2019
Related Concept Videos
The Carbon Cycle
Phase I Reactions: Oxidation of Aliphatic and Aromatic Carbon-Containing Systems
Oxidation reactions are fundamental in aromatic carbon-containing systems. An example is the hydroxylation of phenobarbital, a process that transforms it into...
Phase I Reactions: Oxidation of Carbon-Heteroatom and Miscellaneous Systems
In carbon-nitrogen systems, aliphatic and aromatic amines can undergo oxidative reactions. Secondary and tertiary amines, like those found in tricyclic antidepressants, can undergo N-dealkylation, a process that involves the oxidation of the alkyl group. In addition, oxidative...
Phase Diagrams
Factors Affecting Dissolution: Polymorphism, Amorphism and Pseudopolymorphism
Some polymorphic crystals possess lower aqueous solubility than their amorphous counterparts, leading to incomplete absorption. For instance, the oral suspension of Chloramphenicol, which...
Carbon Skeletons