Nanotubes prepared by the self-assembly of D-Phe-D-Phe molecules are investigated by electron microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations; the nanotubes appear to be porous and are capable of forming novel peptide-nanotube platinum-nanoparticle composites.

Biogenesis and repair of the inorganic core (Mn 4 CaO x Cl y ), in the water-oxidizing complex of photosystem II (WOC-PSII), occurs through the light-induced (re)assembly of its free elementary ions and the apo-WOC-PSII protein, a reaction known as photoactivation. Herein, we use electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to characterize changes in the ligand coordination environment of the first photoactivation intermediate, the photo-oxidized Mn 3+ bound to apo-WOC-PSII. On the basis of the observed changes in electron Zeeman (g eff ), 55 Mn hyperfine (A Z ) interaction, and the EPR transition probabilities, the photogenerated Mn 3+ is shown to exist in two pH-dependent forms, differing in terms of strength and symmetry of their ligand fields. The transition from an EPR-invisible low-pH form to an EPR-active high-pH form occurs by deprotonation of an ionizable ligand bound to Mn 3+ , implicated to be a water molecule: [Mn 3+ (OH 2 In the absence of Ca 2+ , the EPR-active Mn 3+ exhibits a strong pH dependence (pH ∼6.5-9) of its ligand-field symmetry (rhombicity ∆δ ) 10%, derived from g eff ) and A Z (∆A Z ) 22%), attributable to a protein conformational change. Binding of Ca 2+ to its effector site eliminates this pH dependence and locks both g eff and A Z at values observed in the absence of Ca 2+ at alkaline pH. Thus, Ca 2+ directly controls the coordination environment and binds close to the highaffinity Mn 3+ , probably sharing a bridging ligand. This Ca 2+ effect and the pH-induced changes are consistent with the ionization of the bridging water molecule, predicting that [ A single tight-binding Ca 2+ ion is essential for photosynthethic O 2 evolution activity in ViVo (1-5). Calcium is located within the water-oxidizing complex of photosystem II (PSII-WOC), 1 comprised of an oxo/aquo-bridged inorganic core whose stoichiometry, Mn 4 CaO x , is based on several lines of evidence, including X-ray absorption (6-9), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy (10,11), and the recent X-ray diffraction (XRD) data (12, 13). Mn-, Sr-, and Ca-extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopies accurately place the calcium effector site at 3.3-3.5 Å from Mn atoms. However, the relative position of Ca 2+ within the Mn 4 O x cluster differs according to which type of data is emphasized and the assumptions of the models used to interpret the raw data. Spectroscopic and XRD data have constrained the possible core topologies to only a few types, with the structures given in Chart 1 proposed on the basis of one or more lines of evidence (9)(10)(11)13). These structural proposals have led to a number of mechanistic proposals for the role of calcium in O 2 evolution reviewed elsewhere (11,(14)(15)(16)(17).Dissection of the functional roles of the inorganic cofactors has come from in Vitro studies of the photoactivation process, which is defined as the assembly of the inorganic core during biogenesis and repair of the WOC. In Vitro photoactivation of the WOC is described by the following ...

Nanoparticles of iron phosphate, iron arsenate, iron molybdate, and iron vanadate were synthesized within the 8 nm interior of ferritin. The synthesis involved reacting Fe(II) with ferritin in a buffered solution at pH 7.4 in the presence of phosphate, arsenate, vanadate, or molybdate. O2 was used as the oxidant to deposit the Fe(III) mineral inside ferritin. The rate of iron incorporation into ferritin was stimulated when oxo-anions were present. The simultaneous deposition of both iron and the oxo-anion was confirmed by elemental analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The ferritin samples containing iron and one of the oxo-anions possessed different UV/vis spectra depending on the anion used during mineral formation. TEM analysis showed mineral cores with approximately 8 nm mineral particles consistent with the formation of mineral phases inside ferritin.

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