Carbonic Anhydrase-Assisted CaCO(3) Film Deposition at the Air-Solution Interface

Abstract

We observed that carbonic anhydrase lowered the surface energy of the aqueous solution by way of enhanced CO2 hydration from the air. In the presence of carbonic anhydrase, CaCO3 was deposited at the air-solution interface by a reaction between calcium ions in the solution and carbonate ions formed by the dissolution of CO2 from the air. This observation suggests that a carbonic anhydrase would facilitate CaCO3 crystal nucleation and growth at the interface via heterogeneous nucleation at the air solution interface by controlling the surface energy of solution.