Molecular Mechanism of Bacterial Magnetite Formation and Its Application
Abstract
Nano-technology has been identified as an area which will bring about new evolutions in materials, devices and processes. The challenges of nano-biotechnology entail manufacturing more sophisticated and highly efficient biosensors and biomaterials at the nano-scale level for use in interdisciplinary fields. Here, we introduce a biomaterial produced by magnetic bacteria, bacterial magnetic particles (BMPs), and the molecular architecture technique we have used for its application. Magnetic bacteria synthesize intracellular magnets which are encapsulated by lipid bilayer membranes. Sizes of BMPs vary from 50 - 100 nm in diameter, aid number over 10 per cell. BMPs are composed of magnetite (Fe(sub 3)O(sub 4) with a single magnetic domain. Easy aqueous dispersion of BMPs enable development of highly sensitive chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassays by the chemical coupling of antibodies on BMP surfaces. BMPs can likewise be used as drug delivery systems employing magnetoliposomes with high capture volumes. We previously reported a technique for preparing recombinant BMPs on which proteins were displayed by gene-fusion. We furthermore applied such recombinant BMPs to biotechnologically-important issues, including novel bioassay platforms for medicine and environmental management. We envisage the production of more refined chemicals and agents through expression on BMPs by gene-fusion followed by simple purification using magnet.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADP014394
Entities
People
- Tadashi Matsunaga
- Yoshiko Okamura
Organizations
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology