Crystal Structure of Ferrihydrite Nanoparticles Synthesized in Ferritin

In this study, horse spleen apoferritins were induced to form biominerals using up to 3000 Fe atoms per protein molecule. The morphology and crystallinity of the nanometer-sized biominerals formed in the ferritins were then analyzed using field emission-energy filtering-transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM). The ferritins were found to have reconstitution yields of 60-70% in the experiments. The mean core size of the ferritins varied somewhat with protein concentrations, indicating that crystal growth in ferritins could be controlled via protein concentrations. The core mineral size increased with the amount of Fe used. Lattice fringes of the core, associated with good crystallinity, were found in all samples. The lattice fringe images of a single domain ferrihydrite mineral appeared frequently in the (011) planes (d-spacing of 0.246 nm) under [100] zone axis in all samples of this study. In addition, the lattice image occasionally revealed fringes corresponding to the (100) planes (d = 0.254 nm) from the [001] zone axis, indicating the characteristic pattern of hexagonal crystal lattice. Diffraction patterns in the minerals identified as ferrihydrite were fitted well into the space group of $P3_{1c}$.