What is Vaterite? Why is it Rare on Earth and mostly found in Outer Space? How is it important in Drug Therapies? And, How can it be produced by of all things, Alpine Plants?

Incredible find at Cambridge Botanic Garden could help cancer victims

A rare mineral that could help in treating cancer victims has been found growing for the first time on plants - in Cambridge's Botanic Garden. The mineral, called vaterite, hardly exists anywhere on Earth, and so far it has only been found in a few sea creatures, rocks and meteorites from outer space.

  From article, (A Botanic Garden spokeswoman said: "Vaterite is a potentially superior carrier for medications due to its high loading capacity, high uptake by cells and its solubility properties that enable it to deliver a sustained and targeted release of therapeutic medicines to patients.

vaterite nanoparticles loaded with anti-cancer drugs appear to offload the drug slowly only at sites of cancers, and therefore limit the negative side effects of the drug.”

"Naturally occurring vaterite is rarely found on Earth. Small amounts of vaterite crystals have been found in some sea and freshwater crustaceans, bird eggs, the inner ears of salmon, meteorites and rocks.

[Dr Wightman] said: "Vaterite is not very stable in the Earth’s humid atmosphere as it often reverts to more common forms of calcium carbonate, such as calcite. This makes it even more remarkable that we have found vaterite in such large quantities on the surface of plant leaves.”

"This is the first time that the rare and unstable mineral has been found in such a large quantity, and the first time it has been found to be associated with plants."


The mineral is part of a protective silvery-white crust that forms on the leaves of a number of the garden's alpines.

Scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory made the discovery alongside experts from the Botanic Garden, as part of a research project that is probing the inner workings of the garden's plants using powerful new microscopes.

Dr Raymond Wightman, the lab’s microscopy core facility manager, said: "Biochemists are working to synthetically manufacture vaterite as it has potential for use in drug delivery, but it is not easy to make.

"Other potential uses of vaterite include improving the cements used in orthopaedic surgery, and as an industrial application improving the quality of papers for inkjet printing by reducing the lateral spread of ink."

Dr Wightman said vaterite was often associated with outer space and had been detected in planetary objects in the Solar System and meteorites.)

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