Biomineralization Research

This book presents over two decades of the author’s research on biomineralization, covering biominerals derived from vertebrates, invertebrates and algae. The book explains the systematic method for extraction, purification and characterization of various functional organic matrices from biominerals, and also describes in detail the new methodology of bioactive compounds chemistry for the identification of important organic matrices in various biominerals, which was introduced by the author for the first time in this research area. Assay methods to search for important organic matrices have been explored.
The Chapters describe representative biominerals such as crayfish gastrolith, its exoskeleton, fish otolith, its scale, coccolith, gastropod shell, coral skeleton and so on. The interdisciplinary approach, including chemistry, molecular biology, and immunohistochemistry, proved essential for the characterization of organic matrices. Through these characterizations, a common model for the regulation of biomineralization in various biominerals was proposed. This book also provides remaining issues and perspectives not only in basic but also in applied sciences.
The book is intended for students and researchers in biomineralization and related fields, including materials science, paleontology, dental and bone science, environmental science and aquaculture.

Hiromichi Nagasawa is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. He has discovered many new organic matrices from calcified tissues of various organisms and identified a common mechanism of calcification reactions across species by elucidating the role of these organic matrices in calcification. He was awarded the Japan Academy Prize in 2023 for his studies on the “Bio-organic Chemistry Studies on the Regulation Mechanism of Biomineralization.” He has also received the Japan Prize for Agricultural Science, the Yomiuri Prize for Agricultural Science, and the Medal with Purple Ribbon in recognition of his achievements.