Formation of magnetic nanoparticle chains in bacterial systems
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troduction Biomineralization in bacterial systems Bacteria are tiny organisms; however, their role in shaping our environment has been anything but small. Microorganisms are the oldest form of life on Earth and therefore have had a long time to interact with their surroundings, where they have left their mark. Their imprint can be found in many places, for example, in banded iron formations, which still serve as a source of iron ore today.1 In addition, a microorganism rarely exists alone; they are found in colonies composed of billions of cells in close proximity. As such, it is not surprising that due to their high capacity of adaptation, microorganisms have been able to evolve different strategies to cope with their environment. This encompasses the possibility to use a large variety of chemical elements for physiological support and as sources of energy and nutrition for growth. In some instances, this process can be accompanied by the mineralization of the element as a byproduct of respiration.2–4 As such, there is little control over the materials formed by such reactions; therefore, the interest in using them as functional materials for specific applications is dampened. Alternatively, some microorganisms are able to intracellularly form minerals.5,6 In such cases, the material is typically formed as the result of genetic information, and the subsequent
process enables the organisms to control the properties of the outcomes. The materials formed offer several properties, which are not necessarily matched by human-made materials synthesized with the same element. Several elements are the subject of such transformations. One microorganism that has evolved as a model organism in this regard is magnetotactic bacteria. This article focuses on this type of prokaryote (a single-celled organism that lacks membrane-bound organelles or nucleus as opposed to eukaryotes) since their biomineralizing capabilities have long been recognized7 and have spawned a multidisciplinary research effort in molecular biology, genetics,8,9 geobiology, bioand nanotechnologies,10,11 as well as materials science.12 This holds potential implications for understanding the origin of life on Earth and our search for life on Mars.13
Magnetotactic bacteria Magnetotactic bacteria, shown in Figure 1, are ubiquitous microorganisms found in any aqueous environments. Magnetotactic bacteria share a common trait in that they are capable of forming intracellular magnetic nanoparticles in vesicles called magnetosomes.14 In addition to existing in a wide variety of environments, magnetotactic bacteria also exist with varying morphologies, exhibit varying flagellar apparatus15 and can synthesize different mineral phases. The magnetosome crystals
Damien Faivre, Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany; [email protected] DOI: 10.1557/mrs.2015.99
© 2015 Materials Research Society
MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 40 • JUNE 2015 • www.mrs.org/bulletin
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FORMATION OF MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLE CHAINS IN BACTERIAL SYSTE
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