Alpines yield rare mineral
Arare mineral of commercial and pharmaceutical importance is being created naturally on a race of European alpine plants, UK scientists have found. This is the first time the mineral vaterite, an unstable form of calcium carbonate, has been found in any great quantity, and for the first time on plants.
Crystals of the substance were found in the white deposits exuded from glands on leaf edges of encrusted saxifrages, particularly in the section porphyrion, which live in mountainous regions of Europe. One species, Saxifraga
sempervivum from Greece and Turkey, was found to produce pure vaterite, scientists from Cambridge University discovered after microscopic analysis of their Plant Heritage National Plant Collection of the species.
The mineral is produced in minute amounts in bird eggs, in the inner ears of salmon, sea crustaceans and in meteorites and rocks.
“Vaterite is not easy to make,” said researcher Dr Raymond Wightman. “It also has special properties that make it a potentially superior carrier for medications. For instance, vaterite nanoparticles loaded with anti-cancer drugs appear to offload the drug slowly only at the sites of cancers, therefore limiting the negative side-effects of the drug.”
The crystal could also improve cements used in orthopaedic surgery and the quality of inkjet printing on paper.