School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
Nat Commun. 2019 Oct 18;10(1):4758. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12616-5.
The outermost surface of insect cuticle is a high-performance interface that provides wear protection, hydration, camouflage and sensing. The complex and inhomogeneous structure of insect cuticle imposes stringent requirements on approaches to elucidate its molecular structure and surface chemistry. Therefore, a molecular understanding and possible mimicry of the surface of insect cuticle has been a challenge. Conventional optical and electron microscopies as well as biochemical techniques provide information about morphology and chemistry but lack surface specificity. We here show that a near edge X-ray absorption fine structure microscope at the National Synchrotron Light Source can probe the surface chemistry of the curved and inhomogeneous cuticle of the African flower scarab. The analysis shows the distribution of organic and inorganic surface species while also hinting at the presence of aragonite at the dorsal protrusion region of the Eudicella gralli head, in line with its biological function.
昆虫外骨骼的最外层是一种高性能界面，能提供耐磨保护、保湿、伪装和传感功能。昆虫外骨骼的复杂和不均匀结构对外骨骼分子结构和表面化学的研究方法提出了严格的要求。因此，对昆虫外骨骼表面进行分子理解和可能的模拟一直是一个挑战。传统的光学和电子显微镜以及生化技术提供了有关形态和化学的信息，但缺乏表面特异性。我们在这里表明，国家同步辐射光源的近边 X 射线吸收精细结构显微镜可以探测非洲花金龟弯曲和不均匀外骨骼的表面化学。分析表明了有机和无机表面物种的分布，同时也暗示了在 Eudicella gralli 头部的背突区域存在方解石，这与其生物学功能一致。
Zotero 插件
