Article abstract
Nature Materials 5, 234 - 240 (2006)
doi:10.1038/nmat1596
Subject Categories: Polymers | Biological materials | Design synthesis and processing
Spontaneous assembly of viruses on multilayered polymer surfaces
Pil J. Yoo1,2,5, Ki Tae Nam2,3,5, Jifa Qi3,4, Soo-Kwan Lee4, Juhyun Park3, Angela M. Belcher2,3,4 and Paula T. Hammond1,2
Abstract
The idea that randomly arranged supermolecular species incorporated in a network medium can ultimately create ordered structures at the surface may be counterintuitive. However, such order can be accommodated by regulating dynamic and equilibrium driving forces. Here, we present the ordering of M13 viruses, highly complex biomacromolecules, driven by competitive electrostatic binding, preferential macromolecular interactions and the rigid-rod nature of the virus systems during alternating electrostatic assembly. The steric constraints inherent to the competitive charge binding between M13 viruses and two oppositely charged weak polyelectrolytes leads to interdiffusion and the virtual 'floating' of viruses to the surface. The result is the spontaneous formation of a two-dimensional monolayer structure of viruses atop a cohesive polyelectrolyte multilayer. We demonstrate that this viral-assembled monolayer can be a biologically tunable scaffold to nucleate, grow and align nanoparticles or nanowires over multiple length scales. This system represents an interface that provides a general platform for the systematic incorporation and assembly of organic, biological and inorganic materials.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Biological Engineering Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
Correspondence to: Angela M. Belcher2,3,4 e-mail: belcher@mit.edu
Correspondence to: Paula T. Hammond1,2 e-mail: hammond@mit.edu
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