Her master's research focused on the causes and consequences
of vaterite deformations in the sagittal otoliths of farmed salmonids, and was primarily conducted at the Institute of Marine Research field station in Matre, Norway.
Without the polymer, they saw crystals
of vaterite and a little calcite forming randomly under the microscope.
Other potential uses
of vaterite include improving the cements used in orthopaedic surgery and as an industrial application improving the quality of papers for inkjet printing by reducing the lateral spread of ink.
The solubilities (Fig. 3) show a discrete differentiation of the ACC phases in between pH 9.50 and 9.75, whereas distinct amounts
of vaterite are precipitated when the ion product is still dominated by ACC I (pH = 9.40)(fig.
Also given are the solubilities
of vaterite, aragonite, and calcite (27)(SOM section 2.5.)
Not exact matches
WAXS (wide angle x-ray scattering) analysis
of the crystalline particles finally formed at ambient conditions shows that pure calcite (the stable polymorph
of calcium carbonate) forms at pH - values corresponding to high binding strength in clusters and that predominantly
vaterite (the least stable polymorph) and traces
of calcite form at pH - values corresponding to low binding strength in clusters (fig.
This makes it even more remarkable that we have found
vaterite in such large quantities on the surface
of plant leaves.»
The microscope analysis
of the plant material came up with the exciting discovery that some plants were exuding
vaterite from «chalk glands» (hydathodes) on the margins
of their leaves.
Scientists at Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University have found that the mineral
vaterite, a form (polymorph)
of calcium carbonate, is a dominant component
of the protective silvery - white crust that forms on the leaves
of a number
of alpine plants, which are part
of the Garden's national collection
of European Saxifraga species.
The laboratory's Microscopy Core Facility Manager, Dr Raymond Wightman, said
vaterite was
of interest to the pharmaceutical industry: «Biochemists are working to synthetically manufacture
vaterite as it has potential for use in drug delivery, but it is not easy to make.
But in some cases, droplet - like particles
of uncrystallized material known as amorphous calcium carbonate, or ACC, formed first and then transformed into either aragonite or
vaterite.
All
of the common crystal forms, including calcite (found in limestone), aragonite (found in mother -
of - pearl), and
vaterite (found in gallstones), crystallized from solution, often at the same time.
Multiple forms often nucleated in a single experiment — at least one calcite crystal formed on top
of an aragonite crystal while
vaterite crystals grew nearby.