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Controlled biomineralization of magnetite (Fe3O4) by Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

C. Moisescu*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 060031, Romania
S. Bonneville
Affiliation:
Earth and Biosphere Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
D. Tobler
Affiliation:
Earth and Biosphere Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
I. Ardelean
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 060031, Romania
L. G. Benning
Affiliation:
Earth and Biosphere Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

Abstract

Results from a study of the chemical composition and micro-structural characteristics of bacterial magnetosomes extracted from the magnetotactic bacterial strain Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense are presented here. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with selected-area electron diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, biogenic magnetite particles isolated from mature cultures were analysed for variations in crystallinity and particle size, as well as chain character and length. The analysed crystals showed a narrow size range (~14—67 nm) with an average diameter of 46±6.8 nm, cuboctahedral morphologies and typical Gamma type crystal size distributions. The magnetite particles exhibited a high chemical purity (exclusively Fe3O4) and the majority fall within the single-magnetic-domain range.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2008

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