Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Amorphous Precursors in Biomineralization.

Objective

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a widely studied inorganic compound very abundant in nature as a mineral and a biomineral. It is an important building block of biological bodies, making up the structure of invertebrate organisms. CaCO3 is also a key compound for CO2 sequestration strategies. Recent investigations have reported a so-called non-classical pathway for CaCO3 formation, which involves the formation of an amorphous precursor: amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), which acts as an intermediate in the formation of the final CaCO3 crystalline polymorphs (calcite and aragonite). This has been reported for biominerals such as the sea urchin spicules, which are made of calcite and the shells of Haliotis tuberculata made of aragonite. However, despite these advances on the characterization of the amorphous precursor, little is known about the polymorph selection mechanism. Amorphous carbonates have also been discovered in several strains of cyanobacteria some of these cyanobacteria mineralize CaCO3 internally even in solutions that are under-saturated with respect to all CaCO3 polymorphs. These cyanobacteria have the ability of concentrating elements from the culture medium in the amorphous carbonates. They have also shown chemical selectivity, and interesting core-shell chemical distributions of some ions such as Ba2+, Ca2+ and Sr2+. These carbonates may serve as a storage reservoir of Ca and inorganic C for the cells if they can be stable on one hand under certain conditions but easily remobilizable as well on the other hand. However, the structural characteristics of these carbonate formations inclusions and their impact on the crystallization pathway are poorly known. Therefore, the goal of this project is to shed light into the role of the AAC in the (bio)mineralization process. This aim will be tackled under two approaches abiotic and biogenic induced conditions, which correspond to the two different parts proposed for the development of this project.

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITE GRENOBLE ALPES
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 173 076,00
Address
621 AVENUE CENTRALE
38058 GRENOBLE
France

See on map

Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 173 076,00
My booklet 0 0