title: Synthesis and electron microscopic analysis of the self-assembly of polymer and ferritin core-shell structures.
abstract: Self-assembly of poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) and ferritin produced a spherical core-shell structure, which was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In particular, for better understanding, the organization of such core-shell nanostructures, an optimal protocol for preparation of TEM thin sectioning of ferritin-P4VP composites, was developed. It entails fixing the ferritin-P4VP complex with 2.5% glutaraldehyde and infiltrating it with a mixture of acetone/resin while omitting the OsO(4) postfixation and ethanol dehydration steps of the conventional protocol. Using this method, a round-shaped thin section structure with unevenly distributed dark and white components was observed. The dark component from the thin section structure was determined to contain ferritin by energy-filtered TEM imaging and iron element mapping, whereas the white part was identified as P4VP by its energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) spectrum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Nanocenter, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter St, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA.
authors.forename: Laying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blom
authors.forename: Jibin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Soumitra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghoshroy
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006736:Horses; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D011145:Polyvinyls / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011145:Polyvinyls; C019535:poly(4-vinylpyridine); D005293:Ferritins