title: Construction of a ferritin reactor: an efficient means for trapping various heavy metal ions in flowing seawater.
abstract: An apparatus consisting of two pumps, a mixer, a ferritin reactor, and a spectrophotometer was constructed to study the ability to trap various heavy metal ions (M2+) and the dynamics of a reconstituted ferritin reactor in flowing seawater. Reconstituted pig spleen ferritin (PSFr) is assembled from apo-protein shell to form a reconstituted iron core. The main components of the PSFr are its core, which contains an Fe2+:Pi stoichiometry of 6.0 +/- 0.5, reconstituted from pig spleen apoferritin (apo PSF), Fe2+, inorganic phosphate (Pi), and O2 (0.6 atm). The Fe3+-Pi clusters within the PSFr core exhibit resistance to salt ranging from 1% to 6% NaCl. The ferritin reactor consists of PSFr and an oscillating bag. Using the reactor, M2+ ions such as Cd2+, Zn2+, Co2+, and Mn2+ are directly trapped by the ferritin. We found a 1:2 +/- 0.2 stoichiometry of the trapped M2+ to the released iron as measured by chemical analysis or atomic absorption spectrometry; nontransient elements such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, etc., were scarcely trapped by the reactor. This study provides basic conditions for establishing a ferritin reactor and a convenient means for monitoring the pollution of heavy metal ions in seawater.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, China. hqhuang@jingxian.xmu.edu.cn
authors.forename: H Q
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Q M
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Z B
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Lou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013552:Swine; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D005290:Ferric Compounds; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D005293:Ferritins