Olivia Galando | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Olivia Galando
Title: Remediation of Heavy Metal Ions Using Ferritin Immobilized in Swellable Organically Modified Silica
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Minor: Anthropology
Advisor: Annastassia Gallo

Heavy metal remediation of water has established methods, but recent research has led to a focus on the use of biological materials. Protein immobilization presents a new method for water purification that is selective for metal ions and doesn’t generate additional pollutants. In this project, the binding ability of immobilized ferritin in SOMS was explored with Fe (2+). FT-IR data showed that immobilized ferritin was adsorbed in its native conformation with peaks at 3250 and 1635 . Although ferritin was immobilized while in its native conformation, UV-Vis data showed that immobilized ferritin was unable to bind any Fe (2+). This may be explained by the large size of ferritin where it blocks movement of Fe (2+) into the pores of SOMS. SOMS, a largely hydrophobic material, was able to bind Fe2+ with higher yields on average than immobilized ferritin.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.