Phosphate and arsenate removal efficiency by thermostable ferritin enzyme from Pyrococcus furiosus using radioisotopes

Oxo-anion binding properties of the thermostable enzyme ferritin from Pyrococcus furiosus were characterized with radiography. Radioisotopes P-32 and As-76 present as oxoanions were used to ineasure the extent and the rate of their absorption by the ferritin. Thermostable ferritin proved to be an excellent system for rapid phosphate and arsenate removal from aqueous solutions down to residual concentrations at the picomolar level. These very low concentrations make thermostable ferritin a potential tool to considerably mitigate industrial biofouling by phosphate limitation or to remove arsenate from drinking water. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).