(259e) Iron Nanoparticle Formation Mediated by Magnetotactic Bacteria- Based Sequences

The creation of magnetite particles by magnetotactic bacteria has been of great interest for a number of years. Iron particles have been synthesized in vitro in the presence of recombinant proteins in order to directly mimic the biological production of magnetite nanocrystals by Magnetospirillum magneticum strain AMB-1. The objective of this research is to determine,how, the type of functional group affects size and shape of magnetic nanoparticles formed by biomineralization. Control over the size of nanoparticles is paramount, particularly for application as contrast agents in MRI. Four sequences VA1, VA2, VA3, and VA4 were designed by varying amino acids in Mms6, a protein determine to drive nanoparticle formation in AMB-1. Magnetite synthesis involved combining peptide molecules with ferric and ferro salts under inert atmosphere. Changes in peptide sequence results in nanoparticles formed within a size and structure as observed with electron microscopy techniques. Use of peptides with different functional groups may provide a unique route to produce uniform magnetite nanocrystals with definite crystal morphology, which can be applied in areas of materials science and biomedical engineering.