Supercontinuum Generation in Naturally Occurring Glass Sponges Spicules

The complex process of supercontinuum generation (SG) is known to be exploitable for designing spatially coherent white light sources emitting light simultaneously in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared ranges. Herein the first natural material able to generate in laboratory conditions a supercontinuum similar to those known from man‐made photonic crystal fibers is described. The ability resides in siliceous 20–50 cm long spicules of the glass sponge Sericolophus hawaiicus. By shedding into the spicules optical peak intensities ranging from 1 to 100 TW cm−2 the generation of a SG is revealed. The SG involves wavelengths between 650 and 900 nm and shows a maximum spectral spread for excitation at a wavelength of 750 nm. It is hypothesized that the SG is favored by spicules being a biocomposite that incorporates together isotopically pure biogenic silica (δ30Si = −3.28) and 15.2 ± 1.3 μg N‐acetyl‐glucosamine (chitin) per mg of silica. The internal organization of these spicules is distinguished by a solid silica core with a 1 μm wide axial channel as well as a highly ordered silica–chitin composite. Such a composition and organization pattern may be of potential interest for the design of low temperature synthesis of future materials for light guidance.

[1]  P. Fratzl,et al.  Eshelby Twist as a Possible Source of Lattice Rotation in a Perfectly Ordered Protein/Silica Structure Grown by a Simple Organism. , 2015, Small.

[2]  J. Weaver,et al.  Glassin, a histidine-rich protein from the siliceous skeletal system of the marine sponge Euplectella, directs silica polycondensation , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[3]  P. Fratzl,et al.  Electron microscope analyses of the bio-silica basal spicule from the Monorhaphis chuni sponge. , 2015, Journal of Structural Biology.

[4]  Viktoria Greanya,et al.  Bioinspired Photonics: Optical Structures and Systems Inspired by Nature , 2015 .

[5]  J. Aizenberg,et al.  New functional insights into the internal architecture of the laminated anchor spicules of Euplectella aspergillum , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[6]  P. Fratzl,et al.  Composition and Mechanical Properties of a Protein/Silica Hybrid Material Forming the Micron‐Thick Axial Filament in the Spicules of Marine Sponges , 2014 .

[7]  T. Link,et al.  Dissection of the structure-forming activity from the structure-guiding activity of silicatein: a biomimetic molecular approach to print optical fibers. , 2014, Journal of materials chemistry. B.

[8]  P. Fratzl,et al.  A Perfectly Periodic Three‐Dimensional Protein/Silica Mesoporous Structure Produced by an Organism , 2014, Advanced materials.

[9]  P. Schwille,et al.  Discovery of 505-million-year old chitin in the basal demosponge Vauxia gracilenta , 2013, Scientific Reports.

[10]  Haohua Tu,et al.  Coherent fiber supercontinuum for biophotonics , 2013, Laser & photonics reviews.

[11]  D. Pisignano,et al.  Metazoan circadian rhythm: toward an understanding of a light-based zeitgeber in sponges. , 2013, Integrative and comparative biology.

[12]  Yasutake Ohishi,et al.  Management of OH absorption in tellurite optical fibers and related supercontinuum generation , 2013 .

[13]  Y. Kulchin,et al.  Supercontinuum generation and filamentation of ultrashort laser pulses in hybrid silicate nanocomposite materials on the basis of polysaccharides and hyperbranched polyglycidols , 2013 .

[14]  V. Couderc,et al.  Compact supercontinuum sources and their biomedical applications , 2012 .

[15]  A. Polini,et al.  Optical properties of in-vitro biomineralised silica , 2012, Scientific Reports.

[16]  K. Hendry,et al.  The relationship between silicon isotope fractionation in sponges and silicic acid concentration: Modern and core-top studies of biogenic opal , 2012 .

[17]  A. Couairon,et al.  Multi-octave supercontinuum generation from mid-infrared filamentation in a bulk crystal , 2012, Nature Communications.

[18]  Alexander K. Epstein,et al.  Bacterial biofilm shows persistent resistance to liquid wetting and gas penetration , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[19]  D. Pisignano,et al.  Flashing light signaling circuit in sponges: Endogenous light generation after tissue ablation in Suberites domuncula , 2010, Journal of cellular biochemistry.

[20]  S. Afshar,et al.  Light confinement within nanoholes in nanostructured optical fibers. , 2010, Optics express.

[21]  M. Lubeck,et al.  Mineralization of the metre-long biosilica structures of glass sponges is templated on hydroxylated collagen. , 2010, Nature chemistry.

[22]  Corinne Da Silva,et al.  Phylogenomics Revives Traditional Views on Deep Animal Relationships , 2009, Current Biology.

[23]  Y. Wang,et al.  Luciferase a light source for the silica-based optical waveguides (spicules) in the demosponge Suberites domuncula , 2009, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.

[24]  F. Brümmer,et al.  Light inside sponges , 2008 .

[25]  H. Ehrlich,et al.  First evidence of the presence of chitin in skeletons of marine sponges. Part II. Glass sponges (Hexactinellida: Porifera). , 2007, Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution.

[26]  J. Dudley,et al.  Supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber , 2006 .

[27]  C. Young,et al.  The natural diet of a hexactinellid sponge: Benthic–pelagic coupling in a deep-sea microbial food web , 2006 .

[28]  C. Geppert,et al.  Novel photoreception system in sponges? Unique transmission properties of the stalk spicules from the hexactinellid Hyalonemasieboldi. , 2006, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[29]  G. Mayer,et al.  Rigid Biological Systems as Models for Synthetic Composites , 2005, Science.

[30]  M. Maldonado,et al.  Siliceous sponges as a silicon sink: An overlooked aspect of benthopelagic coupling in the marine silicon cycle , 2005 .

[31]  Joanna Aizenberg,et al.  Biological glass fibers: correlation between optical and structural properties. , 2004, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[32]  J. Aizenberg,et al.  Fibre-optical features of a glass sponge , 2003, Nature.

[33]  C. D. L. Rocha,et al.  Silicon isotope fractionation by marine sponges and the reconstruction of the silicon isotope composition of ancient deep water , 2003 .

[34]  E. Gaino,et al.  Biomimetic model of a sponge-spicular optical fiber—mechanical properties and structure , 2001 .

[35]  M. Maldonado,et al.  Decline in Mesozoic reef-building sponges explained by silicon limitation , 1999, Nature.

[36]  Andrew R. Parker,et al.  Colour in Burgess Shale animals and the effect of light on evolution in the Cambrian , 1998, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[37]  G. Shields,et al.  Ediacarian sponge spicule clusters from southwestern Mongolia and the origins of the Cambrian fauna , 1997 .

[38]  E. Gaino,et al.  Optical fibres in an Antarctic sponge , 1996, Nature.

[39]  J. Partridge Light and Life in the Sea , 1989, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

[40]  M. Maldonado,et al.  Nutrient fluxes through sponges: biology, budgets, and ecological implications. , 2012, Advances in marine biology.

[41]  A. Stentz,et al.  Visible continuum generation in air–silica microstructure optical fibers with anomalous dispersion at 800 nm , 2000 .

[42]  M. Schultze Die Hyalonemen : Ein Beitrag zur Naturgeschichte der Spongien , 2022 .