Fluorochrome marking of the gastropod Concholepas concholepas has shown that the prismatic units of the shell are built by superimposition of isochronic growth layers of about 2 μm. Fluorescent growth marks make it possible to establish the high periodicity of the cyclic biomineralization process at a standard growth rhythm of about 45 layers a day. Sulphated polysaccharides have been identified within the growth layers by using synchrotron radiation, whereas high resolution mapping enables the banding pattern of the mineral phase to be correlated with the layered distribution of polysaccharides. Atomic force microscopy has shown that the layers are made of nanograins densely packed in an organic component.
