title: Atom Probe Tomographic Mapping Directly Reveals the Atomic Distribution of Phosphorus in Resin Embedded Ferritin.
abstract: Here we report the atomic-scale analysis of biological interfaces within the ferritin protein using atom probe tomography that is facilitated by an advanced specimen preparation approach. Embedding ferritin in an organic polymer resin lacking nitrogen provided chemical contrast to visualise atomic distributions and distinguish the inorganic-organic interface of the ferrihydrite mineral core and protein shell, as well as the organic-organic interface between the ferritin protein shell and embedding resin. In addition, we definitively show the atomic-scale distribution of phosphorus as being at the surface of the ferrihydrite mineral with the distribution of sodium mapped within the protein shell environment with an enhanced distribution at the mineral/protein interface. The sample preparation method is robust and can be directly extended to further enhance the study of biological, organic and inorganic nanomaterials relevant to health, energy or the environment.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Perea
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Jonah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartrand
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Quinten
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Dicken
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
authors.forename: S Theva
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Thevuthasan
authors.affiliation: Fundamental Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Nigel D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Browning
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry*; D014054:Tomography / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron