Probing lanmodulin's mechanisms of rare-earth selectivity for protein-based bioseparations
Our BES Separation Science program project, DE-SC0021007, supported our efforts to begin to understand the mechanisms underlying selectivity of a novel class of lanthanide-binding proteins discovered by our laboratory, called lanmodulin (LanM), and to leverage these proteins for recovery and separations of trivalent rare earth elements (REEs) as well as of trivalent actinides. Overall, our work provides important insights into how higher-order (e.g., secondary, tertiary, and quaternary) protein structure modulates selectivity profiles of proteins that bind f-elements highly selectively. These results are important for advancing the concept of protein-based separations of REEs and, perhaps, of other critical minerals.
Lanmodulin, rare earth elements, protein-based met↗