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Biomimetic synthesis and patterning of silver nanoparticles

Nature Materials volume 1, pages 169–172 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The creation of nanoscale materials for advanced structures has led to a growing interest in the area of biomineralization. Numerous microorganisms are capable of synthesizing inorganic-based structures1,2. For example, diatoms use amorphous silica as a structural material3, bacteria synthesize magnetite (Fe3O4) particles and form silver nanoparticles4, and yeast cells synthesize cadmium sulphide nanoparticles5. The process of biomineralization and assembly of nanostructured inorganic components into hierarchical structures has led to the development of a variety of approaches that mimic the recognition and nucleation capabilities found in biomolecules for inorganic material synthesis6,7,8,9,10. In this report, we describe the in vitro biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using silver-binding peptides identified from a combinatorial phage display peptide library.

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Figure 1: Absorption spectra of biosynthetic silver nanoparticles.
Figure 2: Characterization of biosynthetic silver nanoparticles.
Figure 3: Model for silver crystal formation by silver-binding peptides.
Figure 4: Arrays of biosynthesized silver particles formed on a glass substrate using micromoulding in capillaries.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funds provided by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). We thank Rich Vaia and Bob Wheeler for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Biotechnology Group, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, 45433, Ohio, USA

    Rajesh R. Naik, Sarah J. Stringer, Gunjan Agarwal, Sharon E. Jones & Morley O. Stone

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  1. Rajesh R. Naik
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  2. Sarah J. Stringer
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  3. Gunjan Agarwal
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  4. Sharon E. Jones
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  5. Morley O. Stone
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Correspondence to Morley O. Stone.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Methods

Supplementary Information Table S1 (PDF 319 kb)

Supplementary Information Fig. S1 - S5

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Naik, R., Stringer, S., Agarwal, G. et al. Biomimetic synthesis and patterning of silver nanoparticles. Nature Mater 1, 169–172 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat758

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