Joseph Cotruvo
Professor of Chemistry
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220 Chemistry
University Park, PA 16802 - juc96@psu.edu
- 814-863-4869
Research Summary
Biochemistry and chemical biology to uncover and understand new metal and redox biology. We are particularly interested in applications to infectious disease, bioenergy, and cancer biology.
Huck Affiliations
Links
Most Recent Publications
The czcD (NiCo) riboswitch responds to iron(II)
Jiansong Xu, Joseph Cotruvo, Biochemistry on p. 1508-1516
Computationally derived structural insights into Rare Earth selectivity in lanmodulin and its variants
Karuna Anna Sajeevan, Bibek Acharya, Sakib Ferdous, Dan M. Park, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Ratul Chowdhury, 2025, Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal on p. 639-648
EF-Hand Battle Royale: Hetero-ion Complexation in Lanmodulin
Jeremy Seidel, Patrick Diep, Ziye Dong, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Dan M. Park, 2024, JACS Au on p. 4273-4284
Modulating metal-centered dimerization of a lanthanide chaperone protein for separation of light lanthanides
Wyatt B. Larrinaga, Jonathan J. Jung, Chi Yun Lin, Amie K. Boal, Joseph A. Cotruvo, 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Lanmodulin’s EF 2-3 Domain: Insights from Infrared Spectroscopy and Simulations
Eman A. Alasadi, Wonseok Choi, Xiaobing Chen, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Carlos R. Baiz, 2024, ACS Chemical Biology on p. 1056-1065
Protein-based approach for high-purity Sc, Y, and grouped lanthanide separation
Ziye Dong, Joseph A. Mattocks, Jeremy A. Seidel, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Dan M. Park, 2024, Gas Separation and Purification
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, Electronic Ground State, and Electron Spin Relaxation of Seven Lanthanide Ions Bound to Lanmodulin and the Bioinspired Chelator, 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO)
Wyatt B. Larrinaga, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Brady T. Worrell, Sandra S. Eaton, Gareth R. Eaton, 2023, Chemistry - A European Journal
Impact of a Biological Chelator, Lanmodulin, on Minor Actinide Aqueous Speciation and Transport in the Environment
Gauthier J.P. Deblonde, Keith Morrison, Joseph A. Mattocks, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Mavrik Zavarin, Annie B. Kersting, 2023, Environmental Science & Technology on p. 20830-20843
Radiolabeling and in vivo evaluation of lanmodulin with biomedically relevant lanthanide isotopes
Kirsten Martin, Joseph Mattocks, Dariusz Śmiłowicz, Eduardo Aluicio-Sarduy, Eduardo Alucio-Sarduy, Jennifer Whetter, Jonathan Engle, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Eszter Boros, 2023, RSC Chemical Biology on p. 414-421
Enhanced rare-earth separation with a metal-sensitive lanmodulin dimer
J Mattocks, J Jung, C Lin, Z Dong, Neela Yennawar, E Featherston, E Featherson, C Kang-Yun, T Hamilton, D Park, Amie Boal, Joseph A. Cotruvo, J Cotruvo Jr., J Cotruvo, Jr, 2023, Nature on p. 87-93
Most-Cited Papers
Synthetic fluorescent probes for studying copper in biological systems
Joseph A. Cotruvo, Allegra T. Aron, Karla M. Ramos-Torres, Christopher J. Chang, 2015, Chemical Society Reviews on p. 4400-4414
Recognition- and Reactivity-Based Fluorescent Probes for Studying Transition Metal Signaling in Living Systems
Allegra T. Aron, Karla M. Ramos-Torres, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Christopher J. Chang, 2015, Accounts of Chemical Research on p. 2434-2442
Lanmodulin: A Highly Selective Lanthanide-Binding Protein from a Lanthanide-Utilizing Bacterium
J Cotruvo, Joseph Alfred Cotruvo, Jr., E Featherston, J Mattocks, J Ho, Tatiana Laremore, 2018, Journal of the American Chemical Society on p. 15056-15061
The Chemistry of Lanthanides in Biology: Recent Discoveries, Emerging Principles, and Technological Applications
Joseph A. Cotruvo, 2019, ACS Central Science on p. 1496-1506
Copper regulates cyclic-AMP-dependent lipolysis
Lakshmi Krishnamoorthy, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Jefferson Chan, Harini Kaluarachchi, Abigael Muchenditsi, Venkata S. Pendyala, Shang Jia, Allegra T. Aron, Cheri M. Ackerman, Mark N.Vander Wal, Timothy Guan, Lukas P. Smaga, Samouil L. Farhi, Elizabeth J. New, Svetlana Lutsenko, Christopher J. Chang, 2016, Nature Chemical Biology on p. 586-592
Bridging Hydrometallurgy and Biochemistry: A Protein-Based Process for Recovery and Separation of Rare Earth Elements
Ziye Dong, Joseph A. Mattocks, Gauthier J.P. Deblonde, Dehong Hu, Yongqin Jiao, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Dan M. Park, 2021, ACS Central Science on p. 1798-1808
Selective and Efficient Biomacromolecular Extraction of Rare-Earth Elements using Lanmodulin
Gauthier J.P. Deblonde, Joseph A. Mattocks, Dan M. Park, David W. Reed, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Yongqin Jiao, 2020, Inorganic Chemistry on p. 11855-11867
A Selective, Protein-Based Fluorescent Sensor with Picomolar Affinity for Rare Earth Elements
Joseph A. Mattocks, Jackson V. Ho, Joseph A. Cotruvo, 2019, Journal of the American Chemical Society
Structural Basis for Rare Earth Element Recognition by Methylobacterium extorquens Lanmodulin
Erik C. Cook, Emily R. Featherston, Scott A. Showalter, Joseph A. Cotruvo, 2019, Biochemistry on p. 120-125
Enhanced rare-earth separation with a metal-sensitive lanmodulin dimer
J Mattocks, J Jung, C Lin, Z Dong, Neela Yennawar, E Featherston, E Featherson, C Kang-Yun, T Hamilton, D Park, Amie Boal, Joseph A. Cotruvo, J Cotruvo Jr., J Cotruvo, Jr, 2023, Nature on p. 87-93
News Articles Featuring Joseph Cotruvo
Oct 29, 2024
Bacterial protein discovered, engineered to better separate rare earth metals
A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers at Penn State have made it even better.
Full Article
Oct 29, 2024
US bacteria discovery could boost rare earth mining to cut China influence
Penn State researchers have isolated a protein in a bacterium that naturally separates rare earth elements which might help mining go green.
Full Article
Jun 01, 2023
Protein can sort rare earth elements better than current mining practices
The device you’re currently reading this story on needs tiny chunks of metals like neodymium and dysprosium to work. So do wind turbines, electric vehicles and lasers. These rare earth elements are vital to modern technology, but they’re hard to mine and recycle because they’re tricky to distinguish from each other.
Full Article
May 31, 2023
Bacterial protein outperforms humans in separating rare earth elements
Rare earth elements like neodymium and dysprosium are popular in the mining industry because they are used in smartphones and hard drives but they are hard to separate from each other and the earth’s crust they were formed in.
Full Article
May 31, 2023
A protein mines, sorts rare earths better than humans, paving way for green tech
Rare earth elements, like neodymium and dysprosium, are a critical component to almost all modern technologies, from smartphones to hard drives, but they are notoriously hard to separate from the Earth’s crust and from one another.
Full Article
Mar 09, 2023
New biosensor reveals activity of elusive metal that’s essential for life
A new biosensor engineered by Penn State researchers offers scientists the first dynamic glimpses of manganese, an elusive metal ion that is essential for life.
Full Article
Oct 20, 2021
Radioactive metals for medicine get a boost from recently discovered protein
A protein can be used to recover and purify radioactive metals such as actinium that could be beneficial for next-generation drugs used in cancer therapies and medical imaging, according to new research from Penn State and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
Full Article
Oct 08, 2021
New, environmentally friendly method to extract and separate rare earth elements
A new method improves the extraction and separation of rare earth elements — a group of 17 chemical elements critical for technologies such as smart phones and electric car batteries — from unconventional sources.
Full Article
Aug 25, 2021
New sensor can detect valuable rare earth element in non-traditional sources
A new luminescent sensor can detect terbium, a valuable rare earth element, from complex environmental samples like acid mine waste. The sensor, developed by researchers at Penn State, takes advantage of a protein that very specifically binds to rare earth elements and could be harnessed to help develop a domestic supply of these metals, which are used in technologies such as smart phones, electric car batteries, and energy efficient lighting.
Full Article
Feb 16, 2021
Three from Eberly College of Science awarded 2021 Sloan Research Fellowships
Three faculty members from the Eberly College of Science have been honored with 2021 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships in recognition of their research accomplishments. The new Sloan fellows include Maria del Carmen Carmona Benitez, assistant professor of physics; Joseph Cotruvo Jr., Louis Martarano Career Development Professor of Chemistry; and Elizabeth Elacqua, assistant professor of chemistry.
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Apr 23, 2019
New sensor detects rare metals used in smartphones
A more efficient and cost-effective way to detect lanthanides, the rare earth metals used in smartphones and other technologies, could be possible with a new protein-based sensor that changes its fluorescence when it binds to these metals. A team of researchers from Penn State developed the sensor from a protein they recently described and subsequently used it to explore the biology of bacteria that use lanthanides. A study describing the sensor appears online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Full Article