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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of Intact Phycobilisome in Cyanobacteria
Published on: November 10, 2021
Biomimetic surface modifications based on the cyanobacterial iron chelator anachelin
Stefan Zürcher1, David Wäckerlin, Yann Bethuel
1Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, Department of Materials, Surface SolutionS GmbH, Switzerland. stefan.zuercher@mat.ethz.ch
Abstract:
Siderophores are natural iron chelators that have been evolutionarily selected to bind to Fe ions with very high binding constants. We utilize these unique properties to bind to metal oxide surfaces using a fragment of the cyanobacterial siderophore anachelin. The resulting poly(ethylene glycol) conjugate forms stable adlayers on TiO2 as has been shown by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Moreover, these coated surfaces are highly protein-resistant against the adsorption of full human serum.
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