Halochromic modulation of amorphous calcium carbonate crystallization driven by pH-responsive bioinspired pigments
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.
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BibTeX
@article{sardhalia2026halochromic,
title = {{Halochromic modulation of amorphous calcium carbonate crystallization driven by pH-responsive bioinspired pigments}},
author = {Vaskar Sardhalia and Claudio dos Reis Ferreira and Guillaume Laurent and Mohamed Selmane and Anne Vallée and Mathieu Frégnaux and Xiaoyan Li and Marta de Frutos and Andrew Fitch and Clemens Schmitt and Shahrouz Amini and Zhaoyong Zou and Iryna Polishchuk and Boaz Pokroy and Peter Fratzl and Thierry Azaïs and Nadine Nassif and Marie Albéric},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-75888-8},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05746905v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Halochromic modulation of amorphous calcium carbonate crystallization driven by pH-responsive bioinspired pigments
AU - Vaskar Sardhalia
AU - Claudio dos Reis Ferreira
AU - Guillaume Laurent
AU - Mohamed Selmane
AU - Anne Vallée
AU - Mathieu Frégnaux
AU - Xiaoyan Li
AU - Marta de Frutos
AU - Andrew Fitch
AU - Clemens Schmitt
AU - Shahrouz Amini
AU - Zhaoyong Zou
AU - Iryna Polishchuk
AU - Boaz Pokroy
AU - Peter Fratzl
AU - Thierry Azaïs
AU - Nadine Nassif
AU - Marie Albéric
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/03
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-75888-8
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05746905v1
AB - 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.
SN - 2041-1723
SN - 2041-1723
ER -