Biomineralization: an overview.

Biomineralization describes the deposition of mineral within or outside the cells of living organisms. Examples include iron and gold deposits in bacteria and other unicellular organisms, silicates in algae and diatoms, carbonates in diatoms and nonvertebrates, and calcium phosphates and carbonates in vertebrates. The formation of these deposits involves similar mechanisms, but there are distinctions in each case, and those similarities and distinctions are the subject of this overview. A comparison of the apatitic mineral in bones and teeth is presented as a model for understanding these factors.