Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Corresponding author. The skeletons of demosponges, such as Ianthella basta , are known to be a composite material containing organic constituents. Here, we show that a filigree chitin-based scaffold is an integral component of the I. These chitin-based scaffolds can be isolated from the sponge skeletons using an isolation and purification technique based on treatment with alkaline solutions.
The morphology of the scaffolds has been determined by light and electron microscopy. It consists of cross-linked chitin fibers approximately 40β nm in diameter forming a micro-structured network. The overall shape of this network closely resembles the shape of the integer sponge skeleton. Solid-state 13 C NMR spectroscopy was used to characterize the sponge skeleton on a molecular level. The 13 C NMR signals of the chitin-based scaffolds are relatively broad, indicating a high amount of disordered chitin, possibly in the form of surface-exposed molecules.
X-ray diffraction confirms that the scaffolds isolated from I. Chitin has been known to be part of the skeletal structure of various invertebrates for many years. Odier demonstrated that the exoskeleton of insects is composed of chitin.
Arthropods are the most abundant species occurring on earth and chitin provides the chemical basis for their skeletal structures. For a long time, however, chitin has not been recognized to be part of the skeletal formations of sponges Porifera. Sponges β the first known Metazoans β are the phylogenetically most ancient invertebrates. In sponges, chitin was only found in the inner layer of so-called gemmulae. These microbodies are produced by fresh water sponges prior to their seasonal disappearance under extreme environmental conditions Simpson, However, chitin was recently detected within skeletal formations of Verongula gigantea and Aplysina sp.
These initial observations indicated an important role of chitin as a skeletal element in sponges and stimulated our present investigations concerning the presence of chitin in other sponge species especially further members of the order Verongida apart from Aplysina and Verongula species.
