Novel time-resolved techniques to study mechanisms of biomineralisation

Biomineralisation is a fundamental phenomenon in Nature crucial to many living organisms. For example it is the process by which humans and mammals use minerals such as calcium phosphate in the body to produce bones and teeth, and the way sea creatures use calcium carbonate dissolved in seawater to make their shells. So how do hard minerals emerge from the soft living tissue of an organism? This is one of the key questions asked by biologists, biochemists and biophysicists alike. The answer lies in the behaviour of proteins in and around the cells which generate the biominerals. Each biomineralisation process has a different set of proteins associated with it. Understanding how these proteins interact with each other and with surfaces during biomineralisation holds the key to understanding this process. The formation of tooth enamel is an excellent example of biomineralisation and is model system to study this process. A novel technique to study the interaction of certain proteins with tooth structure surfaces (either natural or artificial) is neutron reflectometry. The advantage of this technique is that it is possible to measure the amount of order or disorder at buried interfaces which cannot be accessed by topological techniques. It is also possible to observe processes in real-time using neutron reflectometry, so that the process of biomineralisation can be recorded as it takes place. I propose to study the interaction of various proteins known to be involved in enamel formation on artificially architected enamel surfaces using a combination of real-time neutron reflectometry experiments and two-dimensional x-ray diffraction. There is great interest in the area of biomineralisation across a variety of disciplines because a deep understanding of this process could have a profound impact on the way technological advances shape the future of electrical, optical and chemical devices. My project lies at the boundary between physics and the life sciences and would be beneficial to both communities. The research draws together international collaborates with expertise in biomineralisation (at Leeds and Michigan) and neutron and x-ray scattering techniques (at the ILL and ESRF in Grenoble, France). This research addresses one of the fundamental puzzles in biology using novel techniques and a physicist's perspective to understand to mechanism of biomineralisation.