Search

Ferritin is nature's predominant iron storage protein. The molecule consists of a hollow protein shell composed of 24 subunits which is capable of storing up to 4500 iron atoms per molecule. Recently, this protein has been identified as a target molecule for increasing iron content in plant staple foods in order to combat dietary iron deficiency, s major public health problem in developing countries. Here, we present a novel technique for quantification of ferritin-bound iron in edible plant seeds using species-specific isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) by means of a biosynthetically produced [sup.57]Fe-labeled ferritin spike and negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry (NTIMS). Native plant ferritin and added spike ferritin were extracted in 20 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.4) and separated by anion exchange chromatography (DEAE Sepharose), followed by isotopic analysis by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The chosen IDMS approach was critically evaluated by assessing the (i) efficiency of analyte extraction, (ii) identical behavior of spike and analyte, and (iii) potential iron isotope exchange with natural iron. Repeatabilities that can be achieved are on the order of

Subtle variations in the isotopic composition of elements carry unique information about physical and chemical processes in nature and are now exploited widely in diverse areas of research. Reliable measurement of natural isotope abundance variations is among the biggest challenges in inorganic mass spectrometry as they are highly sensitive to methodological bias. For decades, double spiking of the sample with a mix of two stable isotopes has been considered the reference technique for measuring such variations both by multicollector-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) and multicollector-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (MC-TIMS). However, this technique can only be applied to elements having at least four stable isotopes. Here we present a novel approach that requires measurement of three isotope signals only and which is more robust than the conventional double spiking technique. This became possible by gravimetric mixing of the sample with an isotopic spike in different proportions and by applying principles of isotope dilution for data analysis (GS-IDA). The potential and principle use of the technique is demonstrated for Mg in human urine using MC-TIMS for isotopic analysis. Mg is an element inaccessible to double spiking methods as it consists of three stable isotopes only and shows great potential for metabolically induced isotope effects waiting to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]