{
  "abstract": "Colors in biominerals often arise from the occlusion of low-molecular-weight organic pigments within calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) mineral phases during biomineralization processes; however, the physicochemical origin of these colors has been overlooked. Here, inspired by the growth of colored sea urchin spines that occurs through amorphous CaCO 3 (ACC) precursors, we show an in-vitro halochromic modulation of ACC crystallization. In this mechanism, the deprotonation of a natural red pigment naphthazarin (NZ) is driven by pH variations during mineral formation and subsequently stabilized within CaCO 3 - hybrid pigments. The latter show lavender-blue to violet-blue hues upon crystallization. Deprotonated NZ has a minimal impact on ACC formation and crystallization, which occurs through local dissolution and reprecipitation mechanisms; however, it limits the formation of vaterite, and calcite distorted nanodomains. Deprotonated NZ nano-inclusions that interact with calcite through water are thus formed. Overall, this study brings insights into the processes behind the coloration of biomineralized organisms.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 18,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Vaskar Sardhalia"
    },
    {
      "name": "Claudio dos Reis Ferreira"
    },
    {
      "name": "Guillaume Laurent"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mohamed Selmane"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anne Vallée"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mathieu Frégnaux"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xiaoyan Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marta de Frutos"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrew Fitch"
    },
    {
      "name": "Clemens Schmitt"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shahrouz Amini"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhaoyong Zou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Iryna Polishchuk"
    },
    {
      "name": "Boaz Pokroy"
    },
    {
      "name": "Peter Fratzl"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thierry Azaïs"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nadine Nassif"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marie Albéric"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/02jem4eh5y2qa.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-75888-8",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "02jem4eh5y2qa",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723",
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05746905v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.chim"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2502|Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7172348248",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-75888-8_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-03",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/02jem4eh5y2qa.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:33Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05746905",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05746905v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2502|Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Halochromic modulation of amorphous calcium carbonate crystallization driven by pH-responsive bioinspired pigments",
  "title_text": "Halochromic modulation of amorphous calcium carbonate crystallization driven by pH-responsive bioinspired pigments",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/02jem4eh5y2qa",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}