Code center > Suggestions

New molecules vs new properties

<< < (3/3)

Numsgil:
That'd be my vote.  The only problemis what kinds of shells do what?  Do we just decide arbitrarily?  I'm not against doing that, but any more specific ideas could be pretty cool.

PurpleYouko:
Well as we have already figured out, shell comes in all shapes sizes textures and whatevers, so we need to decide in exactly which form it will be found and what type of enzyme can dissolve it.

Calcium shells are prone to attack by anything acidic. Many shells of tiny creatures like Foraminafera are made up of CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate). The solubility of this stuff in sea water depends on CaCO3 concentration in the surrounding water, acidity of the water and pressure in the water. As the shells of these creatures fall to the bottom of the ocean they often dissolve before they reach it, particularly if the depth is great enough.
Basically, anything acidic will attack this type of shell. Acidic enzymes are easy enough to imagine.

Silicate shells. Much much harder to dissolve than CaCO3 shells. Also need to be very expensive to build and very heavy to boot, as a robot clad in this will be able to kick ass in a BIG way. The only thing that can really dissolve Silicates is HydroFluoric acid (HF). The reaction is actually controlled by the concentration of F- anions in the solution. This kind of reaction could theoretically be catalyzed by an enzyme with an electronegative fluorinated hydrocarbon group in combination with an acid of some kind. I don't know of any such enzyme but it should be possible.

Protein shells. Vary from Chitin (fingernails etc.) to acid resistant rubbery layers. Variouis enzymes can work on these. Finding the right one for a specific type of shell will be interesting.

 :D  PY  :D

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page