Binary Protein Crystals for the Assembly of Inorganic Nanoparticle Superlattices.
Kunzle, M., Eckert, T., Beck, T.(2016) J Am Chem Soc 138: 12731-12734
- PubMed: 27617514 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6b07260
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5JKL, 5JKM - PubMed Abstract: 
Biomolecules can act as functional templates for the organization of inorganic particles. Here we use two protein containers, engineered with opposite surface charge, as building blocks for the construction of a new type of biohybrid material. Binary structures with crystalline order were obtained, adopting a tetragonal lattice. Moreover, the cavity of the engineered protein containers can be filled with inorganic nanoparticles. The controlled assembly of these protein-nanoparticle composites yields highly ordered binary nanoparticle superlattices as free-standing crystals, with up to a few hundred micrometers in size. Because the structure and lattice parameters of the protein-nanoparticle crystals are independent of their nanoparticle cargo, the binary protein material may serve as a generally applicable matrix for the assembly of a variety of nanoparticles types.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen, Germany.