1. Human-brain ferritin studied by muon spin rotation: a pilot study
- Author
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Laure Grand Moursel, Martina Huber, Alessandro Lascialfari, Louise van der Weerd, Marjolein Bulk, Andrew G. Webb, Pietro Carretta, Brecht G. Simon, L. Bossoni, and Tjerk H. Oosterkamp
- Subjects
Materials science ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Maghemite ,02 engineering and technology ,engineering.material ,01 natural sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Ferrihydrite ,Nuclear magnetic resonance ,0103 physical sciences ,General Materials Science ,Physics - Biological Physics ,010306 general physics ,muon spin rotation ,Magnetite ,Muon ,biology ,ferritin ,Muon spin spectroscopy ,Alzheimer's disease ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Condensed Matter Physics ,Magnetocrystalline anisotropy ,Physics - Medical Physics ,Ferritin ,chemistry ,Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph) ,nanomagnetism ,biology.protein ,engineering ,Medical Physics (physics.med-ph) ,0210 nano-technology ,Superparamagnetism - Abstract
Muon Spin Rotation is employed to investigate the spin dynamics of ferritin proteins isolated from the brain of an Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient and of a healthy control, using a sample of horse-spleen ferritin as a reference. A model based on the N\'eel theory of superparamagnetism is developed in order to interpret the spin relaxation rate of the muons stopped by the core of the protein. Using this model, our preliminary observations show that ferritins from the healthy control are filled with a mineral compatible with ferrihydrite, while ferritins from the AD patient contain a crystalline phase with a larger magnetocrystalline anisotropy, possibly compatible with magnetite or maghemite., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures
- Published
- 2017
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