Biocatalytic synthesis and ordered self-assembly of silica nanoparticles via a silica-binding peptide.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Gungormus, Mustafa
Editor	Yavuz, Cafer T
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	Achieving scalable and economic methods for manufacturing ordered structures of nanoparticles is an ongoing challenge. Ordered structures of SiO2 nanoparticles have gained increased attention due to the great potential they offer in filtering, separation, drug delivery, optics, electronics, and catalysis. Biomolecules, such as peptides and proteins, have been demonstrated to be useful in the synthesis and self-assembly of inorganic nanostructures. Herein, we describe a simple Stöber-based method wherein both the synthesis and the self-assembly of SiO2 nanoparticles can be facilitated by a silica-binding peptide (SiBP). We demonstrate that the SiBP acts as a multirole agent when used alone or in combination with a strong base catalyst (NH3). When used alone, SiBP catalyzes the hydrolysis of precursor molecules in a dose-dependent manner and produces 17–20 nm SiO2 particles organized in colloidal gels. When used in combination with NH3, the SiBP produces smaller and more uniformly distributed submicrometer particles. The SiBP also improves the long-range self-assembly of the as-grown particles into an opal-like structure by changing the surface charge, without any need for further modification or processing of the particles. The results presented here provide a biomimetic route to the single-step synthesis and assembly of SiO2 nanoparticles into colloidal gels or opal-like structures.
Journal	Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
Volume Number	14
PubMed Central reference number	PMC9989680
PubMed reference number	36895442
e-ISSN	21904286
DOI	10.3762/bjnano.14.25
Language	English
Publisher	Beilstein-Institut
Publisher Date	2023-02-28
Publisher Place	Germany
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Beilstein-Institut Open Access License Agreement (https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/terms/terms), which is identical to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). The reuse of material under this license requires that the author(s), source and license are credited. Third-party material in this article could be subject to other licenses (typically indicated in the credit line), and in this case, users are required to obtain permission from the license holder to reuse the material. Copyright © 2023, Gungormus
Subject Keyword	biocatalysis biomimetics nanoparticle peptide self-assembly silica
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Materials Science Physics and Astronomy Electrical and Electronic Engineering Nanoscience and Nanotechnology