Electron microscopy demonstrates an octahedral arrangement of iron micelles in isolated and intracellular ferritin, facilitating the direct visualization of single molecules within tissue sections.
The ferritin molecule consists of a central nucleus of high iron content, surrounded by a shell of protein approximately spherical in shape. This study with the electron microscope suggests that this iron is stored in six micelles arranged at the corners of a regular octahedron. This structure can be demonstrated in isolated crystallizable ferritin and it permits the identification of single molecules of ferritin in sections of tissues. The implications of an octahedral micellar form are discussed in relation to the shape of the protein coat and the crystal structure.
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A. R. Muir (1960) studied this question.
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