Are Hydroxyl-Containing Biomolecules Important in Biosilicification? A Model Study

To understand the roles of hydroxyl-containing biomolecules in biosilicification, theoretical and experimental studies of silica formation utilizing biological and model organic additives have been undertaken. However, the role of hydroxyl functionalized biomolecules in silica formation is still not fully understood. To address this problem, we performed a systematic in vitro study of silica formation in the presence of two proteins rich in...