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The core machinery for de novo biosynthesis of iron-sulfur clusters (ISC), located in the mitochondria matrix, is a five-protein complex containing the cysteine desulfurase NFS1 that is activated by frataxin (FXN), scaffold protein ISCU, accessory protein ISD11, and acyl-carrier protein ACP. Deficiency in FXN leads to the loss-of-function neurodegenerative disorder Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA). Here the 3.2 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of the FXN-bound active human complex, containing two copies of the NFS1-ISD11-ACP-ISCU-FXN hetero-pentamer, delineates the interactions of FXN with other component proteins of the complex. FXN binds at the interface of two NFS1 and one ISCU subunits, modifying the local environment of a bound zinc ion that would otherwise inhibit NFS1 activity in complexes without FXN. Our structure reveals how FXN facilitates ISC production through stabilizing key loop conformations of NFS1 and ISCU at the protein–protein interfaces, and suggests how FRDA clinical mutations affect complex formation and FXN activation. The iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) assembly complex is activated by frataxin (FXN) and Friedreich’s ataxia is caused by FXN deficiency. Here the authors present the 3.2 Å resolution cryo-EM structure of the human frataxin bound ISC complex and discuss how FXN activates enzymatic activity.

This study investigates the synthesis and performance of a biochar-based composite, integrating montmorillonite (MMT) and ZnAl layered double hydroxide (LDH), for the removal of Fe and Mn from acid mine drainage. The biochar_MMT_ZnAl LDH composite, synthesized from solid waste materials, was characterized using BET, XRD, FTIR, TGA, and SEM-EDS analyses. The material demonstrated a surface area of 117.54 m 2 /g and a pore volume of 0.21 cm 3 /g, significantly surpassing non-composite biochar with a surface area of 14.81 m 2 /g. The batch sorption experiment showed rapid adsorption kinetics, achieving 99% Mn removal within 7 min at 0.5 g adsorbent dosage, reducing Mn concentration from 100 mg/L to 0.07 mg/L. For Fe, an 87% reduction was achieved after 400 min using 0.5 g of plain biochar, while biochar_MMT_ZnAl LDH showed superior adsorption performance with a final Fe concentration below 0.07 mg/L. Adsorption isotherm analysis indicated that biochar followed the Dubinin–Radushkevich model, while the composites adhered to the Redlich–Peterson model. Kinetic studies revealed a strong fit with the Pseudo-Second-Order model (R 2  = 1 for biochar_MMT), suggesting chemisorption as the dominant mechanism. Thermodynamic analysis confirmed the spontaneity and endothermic nature of the adsorption process, with ΔG values ranging from − 18,758 to − 92,932 J/mol for Fe and Mn removal. The findings highlight the potential of biochar-based composites in developing cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solutions for acid mine drainage treatment.

The innovation of iron production is often considered one of the greatest technological advances in human history. A reliable provenancing method for iron is instrumental for the reconstruction of economic, social and geo-political aspects of iron production and use in antiquity. Although the potential of osmium isotopes analysis for this purpose has been previously suggested, here we present for the first time the results of osmium isotope analysis of ores, bloom and metal obtained from a set of systematic, bloomery iron-smelting experiments, utilizing selected ores from the Southern Levant. The results show that the 187Os/188Os ratio is preserved from ore to metal, with no isotopic fractionation. In addition, enrichment/depletion of osmium content was observed in the transition from ore to metal and from ore to slag. This observation has potential significance for our ability to differentiate between the various processes and sheds light on the suitability of various production remains for this method, which emerges as a robust and promising tool for the provenancing of archaeological ferrous metals.

The present study assesses the Paenibacillus sp. D9 lipopeptide biosurfactant synthesis in cheap substrates including functional properties and applicability for varying biotechnological processes. Different experimental setups were made for oil dispersion, heavy metals removals from contaminated environments, and washing performance. The study revealed surface tension activities of 31.7–32.7 mN/m, and maximum biosurfactant yield of more than 8 g/L. Removals of 85.90%, 98.68%, 99.97%, 63.28%, 99.93%, and 94.22% were obtained for Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Ni, and Zn, respectively from acid mine effluents. In comparison with chemical surfactants, there was pronounced removal of heavy metals from wastewater, contaminated sands, and vegetable matter, as well as improved oil dispersing activity. A comparative study revealed that biosurfactant was more efficient (> 60%) for removal of tomato sauce and coffee stains than chemical surfactants (< 50%). Thus, lipopeptide biosurfactants are green biomolecules reducing hazards and contaminations within the environment. The future use of this lipopeptide biosurfactant is greatly promising in biotechnology.

In topic-related literature pertaining to the treatment of water, there is a lack of information on the influence of iron ions in highly basic polyaluminum chlorides on the efficiency of purifying water with increased contents of organic substance. The aim of this work was to determine the changes in the content of organic substances as well as iron compounds in water intended for human consumption following unit treatment processes with particular attention paid to the coagulation process. As coagulants, polyaluminium chloride PAXXL10 with an alkalinity of 70%, as well as polyaluminium chloride PAXXL1911 with an alkalinity of 85% the composition of which also contained iron, were tested. The analysis of the obtained results showed that iron compounds and organic substances were removed to the greatest extent by the coagulation process, which also had a significant influence on the final efficiency of water treatment. The effectiveness of water treatment was determined by the type of tested polyaluminum chloride, which influenced the formation of iron-organic complexes. The reason behind the formation of colored iron-organic complexes during coagulation using PAXXL1911 coagulant was the high pH (approx. 8), at which the functional groups of organic substances, due to their dissociation, are more reactive in relation to iron, and possibly the fact of introducing additional iron ions along with the coagulant.

Blood iron levels are related to many health conditions, affecting hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. To aid in the prevention and treatment of iron-related disorders, previous research has developed a low-cost, accurate, point-of-care method for measuring iron from a single finger-prick blood sample. This study builds upon that work by introducing an improved imaging method that accurately reads sensor images irrespective of variations in environmental illumination and camera quality. Smartphone cameras were used as analytical tools, demonstrating an average coefficient of variation of 5.13% across different phone models, and absorbance results were found to be improved by 8.80% compared to the method in a previous study. The proposed method successfully enhances iron detection accuracy under diverse lighting conditions, paving the way for smartphone-based sensing of other colorimetric reactions involving various analytes.

This study introduces an innovative approach to repurposing agricultural pest snails as effective adsorbents for heavy metal removal, offering a sustainable and eco-friendly solution for wastewater treatment. The recovery of metal ions such as lead and ferrous ions (Pb (II), Fe (II)) from contaminated and aqueous solutions has been investigated using the land snail, Theba pisana, by a single thermal decomposition method. The produced material was successful in removing heavy metals from solutions, as evidenced by the improved adsorption effectiveness of the generated adsorbent. By adjusting several physicochemical factors, including time, pH, dosage, beginning concentration, and temperature, batch experiment research has been clarified. The optimization of lead and iron ion adsorption onto prepared adsorbent was performed considering the factors of fabricated adsorbent pH (1–6); concentrations (50–400 mg/L); adsorbent dose (0.005–0.05 g), time (5–120 min), and temperature (298–318 K).The optimum time and temperature were found to be 45 min and room temperature. FTIR, SEM with EDX, and other Spectro analytical methods were used to analyze the as-synthesized adsorbent. To ascertain which of the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models most accurately captured the reported adsorption equilibrium data, these models were employed. To further clarify the adsorption mechanism, the rate of adsorption was also investigated using a range of linear kinetic models (pseudo first order, pseudo second order and intraparticle diffusion), which showed pseudo-second-order behavior and indicated that two processes are essential to the adsorption process. In order to comprehend the nature of the sorption process, the mechanism of the adsorption process was shown by computing the values of ΔG o , ΔH o , and ΔS o using thermodynamic parameters. Consequently, adsorbent was a readily accessible, affordable, and ecologically suitable adsorbent for the removal of metal ions. An option for the adsorption of metal ions from polluted wastewater is the produced adsorbent.

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is increasingly acknowledged as an essential requirement for the construction of sustainable extra-terrestrial colonies. Even with decreasing launch costs, the ultimate goal of establishing colonies must be the usage of resources found at the destination of interest. Typical approaches towards ISRU are often constrained by the mass and energy requirements of transporting processing machineries, such as rovers and massive reactors, and the vast amount of consumables needed. Application of self-reproducing bacteria for the extraction of resources is a promising approach to reduce these pitfalls. In this work, the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis was used to reduce three different types of Lunar and Martian regolith simulants, allowing for the magnetic extraction of iron-rich materials. The combination of bacterial treatment and magnetic extraction resulted in a 5.8-times higher quantity of iron and 43.6% higher iron concentration compared to solely magnetic extraction. The materials were 3D printed into cylinders and the mechanical properties were tested, resulting in a 400% improvement in compressive strength in the bacterially treated samples. This work demonstrates a proof of concept for the on-demand production of construction and replacement parts in space exploration.

The in vitro bioaccessibility of trace metals associated with oral ingestion of market vegetables (lettuce, pak choi, cole, and leaf lettuce) of Beijing, China was studied. The physiologically based extraction test (PBET) combined with the Simulator of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME) was applied to simulate stomach, small intestine, and colon of human. In the gastro-intestinal phases, the bioaccessibility of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn varied within 5.7–75.5%, 17.3–50.4%, 13.3–49.1%, and 19.9–63.7%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the metal bioaccessibility between the gastric and small intestinal phases, except for higher Cu bioaccessibility in the small intestine. Besides, the bioaccessibility of the four trace metals in the colon phase was first ever reported. A significant decline in Cu bioaccessibility (1.8–63.7%) and slight increases in the bioaccessibility of Fe (16.7–56.4%), Mn (21.2–71.6%), and Zn (15.7–69.7%) were revealed, which could mainly be attributed to the effect of colon microbiota. In addition, the estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn were worked out to be 0.7, 8.8, 2.7, and 4.5 μg kg −1 body weight d −1 , based on which the potential influences of these trace metals in vegetables on the health of the local consumers was demonstrated.

The biosorption capacities of dried meal and a waste product from the processing for biostimulant extract of Ascophyllum nodosum were evaluated as candidates for low-cost, effective biomaterials for the recovery of indium(III). The use of indium has significantly grown in the last decade, because of its utilization in hi-tech. Two formats were evaluated as biosorbents: waste-biomass , a residue derived from the alkaline extraction of a commercial, biostimulant product, and natural-biomass which was harvested, dried and milled as a commercial, “kelp meal” product. Two systems have been evaluated: ideal system with indium only, and double metal-system with indium and iron, where two different levels of iron were investigated. For both systems, the indium biosorption by the brown algal biomass was found to be pH-dependent, with an optimum at pH3. In the ideal system , indium adsorption was higher (maximum adsorptions of 48 mg/g for the processed, waste biomass and 63 mg/g for the natural biomass ), than in the double metal-system where the maximum adsorption was with iron at 0.07 g/L. Good values of indium adsorption were demonstrated in both the ideal and double systems: there was competition between the iron and indium ions for the binding sites available in the A. nodosum- derived materials. Data suggested that the processed, waste biomass of the algae, could be a good biosorbent for its indium absorption properties. This had the double advantages of both recovery of indium (high economic importance), and also definition of a virtuous circular economic innovative strategy, whereby a waste becomes a valuable resource.