Mineralized tissues such as bone, tooth enamel, and tooth dentin are more commonly used in historical, archaeological or paleontological studies. These

tissues are composites of mineral, protein, and lipid. The mineral is Epigenetics Compound Library concentration a highly substituted form of hydroxyapatite (Ca10[PO4]6[OH]2) that we will call bioapatite. Bioapatite has a few weight percent carbonate substituting for OH and PO4 and various cations (e.g., Sr, Pb) substituting for Ca. Bone is composed of tiny bioapatite crystals intergrown with an organic matrix (chiefly made of the protein collagen) that is approximately 30% of its dry weight. Enamel is much less porous than bone. It contains <5 weight% organic matter (chiefly noncollagenous proteins) and has much larger crystals with fewer substitutions. The crystal size, organic content, and organic composition of tooth dentin resemble bone, whereas its porosity is intermediate between enamel and bone. These differences in crystal size and porosity lead to large differences in the ability of bioapatite from these tissues to retain isotopic

values during burial and fossilization. In general, only tooth enamel bioapatite is highly retentive and useful for studies of paleontological materials (>10,000-yr-old), whereas bone and dentin are reliable in historical (<500-yr-old) specimens. Samples of intermediate age (10,000–500-yr-old) must be screened carefully. Much more information can be obtained if isotopic analysis Cell Cycle inhibitor can be conducted at the

level of individual organic molecules, rather than bulk tissue (see review by Evershed et al. 2007). Because the different amino or fatty acids in proteins learn more or lipids have different biosynthetic pathways, they provide a finer probe of animal ecology and physiology. At the most basic level, by isolating and analyzing indispensable amino and fatty acids, which must be incorporated from the same compound in diet, we have very direct access to information on dietary sources. For dispensable amino and fatty acids, the extent to which they resemble “bulk” diet versus dietary protein or lipid may provide useful information on animal physiology and perhaps trophic level. This is a rich area that has received little attention in studies of marine mammal ecology, but has been applied to studies of other marine consumers (Popp et al. 2007). An added benefit of the compound-specific approach is that even fossils that have suffered breakdown of biological macromolecules may retain characteristic amino or fatty acids that can provide isotopic information (Fogel and Tuross 2003, Evershed et al. 2007).