Semisynthetic biogenic magnetosome nanoparticles for the detection of proteins and nucleic acids

The modification of biogenic magnetosome nanoparticles by a modular synthetic chemical approach, is described. The magnetosome particles (MP) are organelles consisting of membrane-enclosed magnetite crystals that are supposed to be direct bacterial swimming towards growth-favoring microoxic zones at the bottom of natural water. The MPs are 38nm in size with cuboctahedral shapes and have a monocrystalline core consisting of magnetite. Spectroscopic analysis of the hybridization reveals that the characteristic red shift and damping of the AUnanoparticles' plasma absorption band. Dynamic light scattering measurements revealed a slight increase in the hydrodynamic diameter of the MPs subsequent to their conversion into DNA-MP conjugates. The modular functionalization of biogenic magnetosome nanoparticles are isolated from the magnetotatic bacterium. The procedure finds place in the development of new class of bioanalytics, imaging, and other fields of nanobiotechnology.