Shaping it up

Our awe about shapes and colors do not stop with our eyes; bound with imagination and curiosity, humanity has peered into these materials as symbols of strength, wisdom, as well as tranquility. We peer into its luster as our forefathers have done in the past and our children will in the future, to revel in what we see from its reflection in the present. We can rest to the solace and calm of its organization and its permanence will be present for generations to come. Crystals come in all forms, sizes, and colors. Whether they be of the metallic, ionic, covalent, or molecular kind, the word “crystal” denotes order and stability. A material that is “crystalline” is composed of well-organized and “packed” constituent subunits. The crystals from a biological source intercalate this crystalline order with organic macromolecules to endow the assemblies with other physical characteristics to regulate form and function (i.e., size, hydrophobicity, electronegativity, and functional bonding). In this chapter, ionic crystals of biogenic origin as well as the biological mechanisms involved in the formation and growth of these diverse crystalline materials from Nature will be explored.