Ancient, single-celled organisms that are lowly anchors in the marine food chain may soon be integral players in the lofty realm of nanotechnology, National Geographic reports.
Diatoms have a unique ability to pull silica from seawater and mill it into intricately-structured, rigid shells. The organisms create their shells by employing special proteins and subcellular organs to first assemble silica nanoparticles. The proteins and subcellular organs then orchestrate the assembly of those nanoparticles into shells.
Researchers at Oregon State University will try to develop a process that harnesses diatom shell-construction to create nanostructured materials. They aim to incorporate elements such as silicon, germanium, titanium, and gallium into the diatoms' silica shells. At the nanoscale, these elements follow the laws of quantum mechanics instead of Newtonian physics, giving them unique and commercially desirable properties.