| Cuttlebone of Sepia esculenta is studied comprehensively and systemically by the technologies of Electron microscope, Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP), Fourier Transform spectra (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and histochemical analysis. The results indicate that:1. The mineralization of cuttlebones started after the protoconch formed completely. The growth style of cuttlebone is the protoconch strenching horizontally with development of calcification by layers vertically.2. Cuttlebone is mainly composed of calcium carbonates (CaCO3) which are chiefly made of the crystals of aragonite. It is the first time to find a little of calcite in the dorsal shield of cuttlebones. It is at {111} plane that the aragonite crystals develop best. There may be a little of dolomite in the spongy body.3. High content of Sr and low content of Mg found in cuttlebone is contributed to the formation of aragonite.4. The major components in acid-SM are identified by SDS-PAGE. The primary bands run at about 106,87,67,53,4538,33,26 and 14kDa. In addition, there are 6 other components in water-soluble matrix (WSM). The principal bands of acid-ISM are located in the ranges of 34~37kDa, 67~94kDa, 20~30kDa, 14~20kDa.5. In FTIR studies, a lot of polysaccharidev are verified to exist in organic matrix. Protein conformations of both -helix and -structure are found.6. The ratio of acidic amino acids to basic amino acids is high in all of the spongy body, acid-SM and acid-ISM. There are high contents of Glycine (Gly) and Serine (Ser), which are usually related to the function of framework in the mineralization.
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