Size dependent microbial oxidation and reduction of magnetite nano- and micro-particles.

ABSTRACT: The ability for magnetite to act as a recyclable electron donor and acceptor for Fe-metabolizing bacteria has recently been shown. However, it remains poorly understood whether microbe-mineral interfacial electron transfer processes are limited by the redox capacity of the magnetite surface or that of whole particles. Here we examine this issue for the phototrophic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 and the Fe(III)-reducing bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens, comparing magnetite nanoparticles (d ≈ 12 nm) against microparticles (d ≈ 100-200 nm). By integrating surface-sensitive and bulk-sensitive measurement techniques we observed a particle surface that was enriched in Fe(II) with respect to a more oxidized core. This enables microbial Fe(II) oxidation to occur relat

SUBMITTER: Byrne JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4974511 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature