The strategic role of adsorption phenomena in biomineralization

The processes by which organisms deposit a mineral phase imply always the existence of an organic interface, does not matter the degree of control exerted. Thus adsorption phenomena, chemical and/or physical, are pivotal in the understanding of biomineralization processes. In this paper a general overview of the biomineralization is presented, paying attention to what occurs at the interface and at the forces involved in the adsorption phenomena. Several case of studies are presented with the aim to illustrate the variety of strategies that nature can adopt to form mineral structure with unique chemical and physical properties and so far not obtainable by abiotic processes under ambient conditions