关键词: 矿化作用, 碳酸钙, 芦荟, 细胞壁

Aloe plant makes "non-natural" biomineralized structure formed from inorganic precursor species, CaCl_2 in cell walls of leaf spicules by culture techniques. The quadri-prisms of CaCO_3 biominerals were formed in aloe leaf spicules when CaCl_2 was supplied. Quadri-prisms typically ranged in length from 40 μm to 60 μm and were ca. 2～3 μm in width. Prolonged exposure to electron beam in field-emission SEM and fractured using a cooled razor blade can induce a series of artifactual curvatures and cracks on the structure surfaces. Such unique flexibility and rigidity features that typically distinguish biominerals from their counterparts that precipitate abiotically. Supramolecular recognition interactions between organic precursor molecules and the cell wall matrix may provide greater opportunities for structural control by the underlying molecular substrates of cell walls.

Key words: MINERALIZATION, CALCIUM CARBONATE, ALOE, CELL WALL