AI Article Synopsis
- Metallothionein (MT) is a naturally occurring protein that binds to zinc ions and has a unique structure formed by conserved cysteines.
- Substituting zinc with manganese (Mn2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) results in magnetic properties that can be measured through SQUID from 10 K to 330 K.
- The arrangement of sulfur atoms aids in aligning the electron spins of the Mn2+, while the protein structure stabilizes these spins, offering a new method for developing molecular magnets that function at high temperatures.
Article Abstract
Naturally occurring metallothionein (MT) is a metal binding protein, which binds to seven Zn2+ through 20 conserved cysteines and forms two metal binding clusters with a Zinc-Blende structure. We demonstrate that the MT, when substituting the Zn2+ ions by Mn2+ and Cd2+, exhibits magnetic hysteresis loop observable by SQUID from 10 to 330 K. The magnetic moment may have originated from the bridging effect of the sulfur atoms between the metal ions that leads to the alignment of the electron spins of the Mn2+ ions inside the clusters. The protein backbone may restrain the net spin moment of Mn2+ ions from thermal fluctuation. The modified magnetic-metallothionein is a novel approach to creating molecular magnets with operating temperatures up to 330 K.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.12.117 | DOI Listing |
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