The course of evolution on our planet has resulted in the appearance, diversification, and
proliferation of organisms capable of producing complex structures from hard inorganic …

Diatoms are single-celled algae that produce intricately structured cell walls made of
nanopatterned silica (SiO2). The cell wall structure is a species-specific characteristic …

The ability to selectively kill cancerous cell populations while leaving healthy cells
unaffected is a key goal in anticancer therapeutics. The use of nanoporous silica-based …

The silicified cell walls of diatoms have inspired the interest of researchers for several
centuries, and our understanding of their properties and formation has developed in synch …

Diatoms are eukaryotic unicellular microalgae with cell walls made of a composite of organic
material, and silica which is often intricately and ornately shaped (Figure 1). Diatoms take up …

Diatoms are eukaryotic, unicellular algae that are ubiquitously present in almost any water
habitat on earth. Diatoms dominate phytoplankton populations and algal blooms in the …

Colloidal silica is used in many applications including catalysis, pharmaceuticals, and
coatings. Although naturally formed silica materials are widely available, they are often in …

In a previous review of biological and bioinspired silica formation (SV Patwardhan et al.,
Chem. Commun., 2005, 1113 [ref. 1]), we have identified and discussed the roles that …

Diatoms represent the major component of phytoplankton and are responsible for about 20–
25% of global primary production. Hundreds of millions of years of evolution led to tens of …

Formation of complex inorganic structures is widespread in nature. Diatoms create intricately
patterned cell walls of inorganic silicon that are a biomimetic model for design and …