The magnetic properties of magnetosome magnetite are of interdisciplinary interest because magnetosomes are potential carriers of natural remanent magnetization and paleoenvironment, as well as novel nano-biomaterials in biotechnological and biomedical applications. We carried out magnetic and electron transmission microscopy analyses of fresh Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 whole cells and isolated magnetosomes. Results revealed that AMB-1 synthesized single-domain magnetite magneto-somes, which are arranged in the form of linear fragmental chain. The distinct differences of magnetic properties between these two samples can be faithfully interpreted in terms of spatial arrangement of magnetosomes and magnetostatic interaction. For the whole cells, the strong intra-chain interactions and weak inter-chain interactions generate behaviors of non-interacting uniaxial single-domain particles. Its δ-ratio is 3.0 and passes the Moskowitz test. In contrast, the isolated magnetosome sample has reduced values of coercivity and δ-ratio (1.5), due to increasing three-dimensional magnetostatic interactions and collapse of magneto-some chains. These observations provide useful insights into applications of the biogenic magnetite (magnetosomes) in magnetic nano-materials and magnetofossils in the paleomagnetic and environmental magnetism.
LI JinHuaPAN YongXinLIU QingSongQIN HuaFengDENG ChengLongCHE RenChaoYANG XinAn
Cultivable magnetotactic bacteria(MTB) in laboratory can provide sufficient samples for molecular microbiological and magnetic studies.However,a cold-stored MTB strain,such as Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1,often loses its ability to synthesize magnetosomes and consequently fails to sense the external magnetic field.It is therefore important to quickly recover vigorous bacteria cells that highly capable of magnetosome producing.In this study,a modified capillary magnetic separation system was designed to recover a deteriorating strain of Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 that long-term cold-stored in a refrigerator.The results show that all cells obtained after a 3-cycle treatment were vigorous and had the ability to produce magnetosomes.Moreover,the 3rd-cycle recovered cells were able to form more magnetosome crystals.Compared with the colony formation method,this new method is time-saving,easily operated,and more efficient for recovering vigorous MTB cells.
The magnetic properties of magnetosome magnetite are of interdisciplinary interest because magnetosomes are po...
LI JinHua~(1,2,3),PAN YongXin~(1,3*),LIU QingSong~(3,4),QIN HuaFeng~4,DENG ChengLong~4, CHE RenChao~5 & YANG XinAn~5 1 Key Laboratory of the Earth’s Deep Interior,Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China
