Spongin, a modified type of

collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whol ...

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

, forms the fibrous

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

of most organisms among the phylum

Porifera Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...

, the sponges. It is secreted by sponge cells known as spongocytes. Spongin gives a sponge its flexibility. True spongin is found only in members of the class

Demospongiae Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). They are sponges with a soft body that covers a hard, ...

Research directions

Use in the removal of phenolic compounds from wastewater

Researchers have found spongin to be useful in the

photocatalytic In chemistry, photocatalysis is the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a catalyst. In catalyzed photolysis, light is absorbed by an adsorbed substrate. In photogenerated catalysis, the photocatalytic activity depends on the ab ...

degradation and removal of bisphenols (such as

BPA BPA may refer to: Organizations *BPA Worldwide, an organization that audits circulation figures for mass media *Banca Privada d'Andorra * Bangladesh Police Academy *Blue Panorama Airlines, ICAO code *Bonneville Power Administration, a U.S. powe ...

) in wastewater. A heterogeneous catalyst consisting of a spongin scaffold for iron

phthalocyanine Phthalocyanine () is a large, aromatic, macrocyclic, organic compound with the formula and is of theoretical or specialized interest in chemical dyes and photoelectricity. It is composed of four isoindole units linked by a ring of nitrogen ato ...

(SFe) in conjunction with

peroxide In chemistry, peroxides are a group of compounds with the structure , where R = any element. The group in a peroxide is called the peroxide group or peroxo group. The nomenclature is somewhat variable. The most common peroxide is hydrogen p ...

and

UV radiation Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiatio ...

has been shown to remove phenolic wastes more quickly and efficiently than conventional methods. Other research using spongin scaffolds for the immobilization of '' Trametes versicolor''

Laccase Laccases () are multicopper oxidases found in plants, fungi, and bacteria. Laccases oxidize a variety of phenolic substrates, performing one-electron oxidations, leading to crosslinking. For example, laccases play a role in the formation of l ...

has shown similar results in phenol degradation.Zdarta, Antecka, Frankowski, Zgoła-Grześkowiak, Ehrlich, and Jesionowski. "The Effect of Operational Parameters on the Biodegradation of Bisphenols by Trametes Versicolor Laccase Immobilized on Hippospongia Communis Spongin Scaffolds." ''Science of the Total Environment'' 615 (2018): 784-95. Web.

References

Marine biology Collagens {{Biochemistry-stub