Biomimetic Patterning of Silica by Long‐Chain Polyamines

Exquisite nanoscale architectures are exhibited by siliceous diatom shells (see picture of the cell wall of Stephanopyxis turris). A hierarchy of hexagonal silica structures is a major motif. Long-chain polyamines are a constituent of biosilica and had been proposed to be involved in pattern formation. In vitro studies have now shown that long-chain polyamines are indeed able to guide the formation of hexagonally arranged silica structures.