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    Magnetic Nanoparticle Chains in Gelatin Ferrogels: Bioinspiration from Magnetotactic Bacteria
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2019) Sturm, Sebastian; Siglreitmeier, Maria; Wolf, Daniel; Vogel, Karin; Gratz, Micha; Faivre, Damien; Lubk, Axel; Büchner, Bernd; Sturm, Elena V.; Cölfen, Helmut
    Inspired by chains of ferrimagnetic nanocrystals (NCs) in magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), the synthesis and detailed characterization of ferrimagnetic magnetite NC chain-like assemblies is reported. An easy green synthesis route in a thermoreversible gelatin hydrogel matrix is used. The structure of these magnetite chains prepared with and without gelatin is characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy, including electron tomography (ET). These structures indeed bear resemblance to the magnetite assemblies found in MTB, known for their mechanical flexibility and outstanding magnetic properties and known to crystallographically align their magnetite NCs along the strongest <111> magnetization easy axis. Using electron holography (EH) and angular dependent magnetic measurements, the magnetic interaction between the NCs and the generation of a magnetically anisotropic material can be shown. The electro- and magnetostatic modeling demonstrates that in order to precisely determine the magnetization (by means of EH) inside chain-like NCs assemblies, their exact shape, arrangement and stray-fields have to be considered (ideally obtained using ET). © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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    Reducing conditions favor magnetosome production in magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1
    (Lausanne : Frontiers Media, 2019) Olszewska-Widdrat, Agata; Schiro, Gabriele; Reichel, Victoria E.; Faivre, Damien
    Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a heterogeneous group of Gram-negative prokaryotes, which all produce special magnetic organelles called magnetosomes. The magnetosome consists of a magnetic nanoparticle, either magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4), embedded in a membrane, which renders the systems colloidaly stable, a desirable property for biotechnological applications. Although these bacteria are able to regulate the formation of magnetosomes through a biologically-controlled mechanism, the environment in general and the physico-chemical conditions surrounding the cells in particular also influence biomineralization. This work thus aims at understanding how such external conditions, in particular the extracellular oxidation reduction potential, influence magnetite formation in the strain Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1. Controlled cultivation of the microorganisms was performed at different redox potential in a bioreactor and the formation of magnetosomes was assessed by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Our results show that the formation of magnetosomes is inhibited at the highest potential tested (0 mV), whereas biomineralization is facilitated under reduced conditions (-500 mV). This result improves the understanding of the biomineralization process in MTB and provides useful information in sight of a large scale production of magnetosomes for different applications. © 2019 Olszewska-Widdrat, Schiro, Reichel and Faivre.