The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividus
The sea urchin skeleton is a lightweight yet load-bearing hierarchical structure composed of calcitic plates with a species-specific three-dimensional (3D) trabecular meshwork known as stereom. Interestingly, the stereom architecture is extremely complex and variable in different basic types, each o...
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The Royal Society
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241439 |
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| author | Valentina Perricone Pasquale Cesarano Mainak Deb Derek Lublin Mirko Mutalipassi Lucia Pappalardo David Kisailus Francesco Marmo |
| author_facet | Valentina Perricone Pasquale Cesarano Mainak Deb Derek Lublin Mirko Mutalipassi Lucia Pappalardo David Kisailus Francesco Marmo |
| author_sort | Valentina Perricone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The sea urchin skeleton is a lightweight yet load-bearing hierarchical structure composed of calcitic plates with a species-specific three-dimensional (3D) trabecular meshwork known as stereom. Interestingly, the stereom architecture is extremely complex and variable in different basic types, each one characterized by a unique geometry and structural behaviours. The present study provides an in-depth analysis of the microarchitectural variability in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Accordingly, micro-CT scans, image analysis, 3D modelling, mean intercept length and linear elastic finite-element analysis were conducted to provide the first comprehensive insights on the structural variability of the different stereom types, their anisotropy and their mechanical behaviour calculated for tensile and shear loading. The findings demonstrate distinct structural adaptations, with anisotropic stereoms specializing in directional stress transfer and more isotropic stereoms facilitating a uniform stress distribution. These results provide critical insights into the mechanical functions of stereom variability and support bioinspired designs for lightweight and strong materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f5a22cf334ba4f29a8c0b0569dfdca0d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-f5a22cf334ba4f29a8c0b0569dfdca0d2025-08-20T03:29:35ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-06-0112610.1098/rsos.241439The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividusValentina Perricone0Pasquale Cesarano1Mainak Deb2Derek Lublin3Mirko Mutalipassi4Lucia Pappalardo5David Kisailus6Francesco Marmo7Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USADepartment of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, ItalyAmrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USADepartment of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Campania, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia Sezione di Napoli, Napoli, Campania, ItalyDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USADipartimento di Strutture per l'Ingegneria e l'Architettura, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, ItalyThe sea urchin skeleton is a lightweight yet load-bearing hierarchical structure composed of calcitic plates with a species-specific three-dimensional (3D) trabecular meshwork known as stereom. Interestingly, the stereom architecture is extremely complex and variable in different basic types, each one characterized by a unique geometry and structural behaviours. The present study provides an in-depth analysis of the microarchitectural variability in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Accordingly, micro-CT scans, image analysis, 3D modelling, mean intercept length and linear elastic finite-element analysis were conducted to provide the first comprehensive insights on the structural variability of the different stereom types, their anisotropy and their mechanical behaviour calculated for tensile and shear loading. The findings demonstrate distinct structural adaptations, with anisotropic stereoms specializing in directional stress transfer and more isotropic stereoms facilitating a uniform stress distribution. These results provide critical insights into the mechanical functions of stereom variability and support bioinspired designs for lightweight and strong materials.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241439sea urchinmicroarchitecturestereomstiffnessfabric tensor |
| spellingShingle | Valentina Perricone Pasquale Cesarano Mainak Deb Derek Lublin Mirko Mutalipassi Lucia Pappalardo David Kisailus Francesco Marmo The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividus Royal Society Open Science sea urchin microarchitecture stereom stiffness fabric tensor |
| title | The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividus |
| title_full | The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividus |
| title_fullStr | The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividus |
| title_full_unstemmed | The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividus |
| title_short | The microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton: a 3D geometrical and stiffness characterization of Paracentrotus lividus |
| title_sort | microarchitectural variability in the echinoid skeleton a 3d geometrical and stiffness characterization of paracentrotus lividus |
| topic | sea urchin microarchitecture stereom stiffness fabric tensor |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241439 |
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