Biosynthesis of 57 Fe-enriched and 34 S-enriched Phaseolus vulgaris ferritin after heterologous expression in E.coli

Abstract

Iron is an essential element for the living organisms but free iron can be toxic. Iron metabolism disorders affect a large portion of human population. There exists a need for development of a reference technique to measure body iron stores. The ideal technique for determination of body iron stores would to measure ferritin concentration along with ferritin iron saturation. This study uses the principle of Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry (IDMS) to measure serum ferritin bound iron. IDMS requires the biosynthesis of a ferritin spike with isotopically enriched iron and sulphur. The aim of this project was to synthesize a ferritin spike for serum ferritin and ferritin bound iron quantification for development of a reference technique to determine body iron stores. This study involved the biosynthesis of a ferritin spike labelled with isotopic iron and sulphur.