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Diatom frustules as a biomaterial: effects of chemical treatment on organic material removal and mechanical properties in cleaned frustules from two Coscinodiscus species

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Abstract

The three-dimensional structure of silica diatom frustules offers a great potential as nanoporous material for several nanotechnological applications, but the starting point for these applications is the ability to obtain clean frustules with sufficient mechanical strength and intact structure. Here, frustules from the diatoms Coscinodiscus centralis Ehrenberg and Coscinodiscus wailesii Gran et Angst are characterized with respect to their structural integrity, content of residual organic biomaterial and their mechanical properties after two cleaning methods using either hydrogen peroxide as oxidizing agent or a combination of a surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate) and a complexing agent. Fluorescence microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) analysis revealed clear differences regarding the amount of organic residual within the frustules depending on the cleaning process, with little organic material left after the oxidizing method. This method, however, induced a partial cracking of the frustules suggesting an embrittlement due to the cleaning. Nanoindentation confirmed this and showed that the oxidizing method resulted in more brittle frustules compared to the surfactant/complexing method. More efficient cleaning of organic biomaterial may result in more fragile frustules, and the choice of cleaning method must be based on the planned application.

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Acknowledgments

The Research Council of Norway is acknowledged for financial support through the SOLBIOPTA Project (Contract #10358700). Egil S. Erichsen, Laboratory for Electron Microscopy, University of Bergen is acknowledged for his help in SEM/EDS analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Julien Romann, Gabriella Tranell & Mari-Ann Einarsrud

  2. SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Trondheim, Norway

    Sidsel M. Hanetho

  3. Department of Engineering Design and Materials, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Marius Vebner & Christian Thaulow

  4. Department of Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Matilde Skogen Chauton & Olav Vadstein

  5. Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Post box 7803, 5020, Bergen, Norway

    Mikal Heldal

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  1. Julien Romann
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Correspondence to Mari-Ann Einarsrud.

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Romann, J., Chauton, M.S., Hanetho, S.M. et al. Diatom frustules as a biomaterial: effects of chemical treatment on organic material removal and mechanical properties in cleaned frustules from two Coscinodiscus species. J Porous Mater 23, 905–910 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-016-0147-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-016-0147-6

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