Facile plasma-enhanced deposition of ultrathin crosslinked amino acid films for conformal biometallization.
A novel method for the facile fabrication of conformal, ultrathin, and uniform synthetic amino acid coatings on a variety of practical surfaces by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is introduced. Tyrosine, which is utilized as an agent to reduce gold nanoparticles from solution, is sublimed into the plasma field and directly deposited on a variety of substrates to form a homogeneous, conformal, and robust polyamino acid coating in a one-step, solvent-free process. This approach is applicable to many practical surfaces and allows surface-induced biometallization while avoiding multiple wet-chemistry treatments that can damage many soft materials. Moreover, by placing a mask over the substrate during deposition, the tyrosine coating can be micropatterned. Upon its exposure to a solution of gold chloride, a network of gold nanoparticles forms on the surface, replicating the initial micropattern. This method of templated biometallization is adaptable to a variety of practical inorganic and organic substrates, such as silicon, glass, nitrocellulose, polystyrene, polydimethylsiloxane, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, and woven silk fibers. No special pretreatment is necessary, and the technique results in a rapid, conformal amino acid coating that can be utilized for further biometallization.
Anderson
Kyle D
KD
School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Polymer, Textile, and Fiber Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332-0245, USA.
Slocik
Joseph M
JM
McConney
Michael E
ME
Enlow
Jesse O
JO
Jakubiak
Rachel
R
Bunning
Timothy J
TJ
Naik
Rajesh R
RR
Tsukruk
Vladimir V
VV
D000327:Adsorption; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D006358:Hot Temperature; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013499:Surface Properties
D000596:Amino Acids; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D005740:Gases; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008670:Metals