title: Preparation of silica stabilized Tobacco mosaic virus templates for the production of metal and layered nanoparticles.
abstract: The use of biological molecules as templates for the production of metal nanoparticles and wires is often limited by the stability of the bio-template and its affinity for nucleating metal deposition. In this study, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was used as a model bio-template to investigate the use of silica coatings as a means to both enhance template stability and increase its affinity for metal ions. Results indicate that the unmodified TMV particle can function as a template for the growth of thin (<1 nm) silica layers. However, this thin silica shell did not enhance the stability of the template during metal deposition. To increase silica growth on the TMV template, a pretreatment with aniline was used to produce a uniform silica attractive surface. Aniline pretreated templates yielded significant silica layers of >20 nm in thickness. These silica shells conferred a high degree of stability to the TMV particle and promoted the deposition of various metal nanoparticles through conventional silica mineralization chemistries. This process provides a simple and robust method for the layering of inorganics onto a biological template.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biosystems Research, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Royston
authors.forename: Adam D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Culver
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D014027:Tobacco Mosaic Virus / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide