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We actuate with light & magnets, we fold & unfold DNA, we cell-free express proteins, we play with drops, marbles & interfaces, we organize particles, we harness coffee rings.

Silver Nanoshurikens just published in Soft Matter!



Silver Nanoshurikens just published in Soft Matter!
01 May 2013. Our manuscript "Preparation of one- to four-branch silver nanostructures of various sizes by metallization of hybrid DNA-protein assemblies " has just been published in Soft Matter.

Abstract: We exploit the versatility of DNA-protein assemblies to generate branched metal nanostructures, referred to as nanoshurikens, of various sizes and degrees of branching. Branched silver nanostructures are prepared by metallization of star-shaped DNA-protein templates composed of monobiotinylated DNAs surrounding a single streptavidin protein core. DNA-protein templates are prepared by direct assembly that results in a mixture of 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-branch structures that can be separated by gel electrophoresis. A one-pot, bulk metallization is then performed in situ by successive addition of silver nitrate and sodium borohydride. This results in branched metal nanostructures with one to four branches of a well-defined length that is about 3-fold shorter than that of the template. We show that it is possible to tune two structural parameters: i) the degree of branching by varying the concentration of streptavidin and ii) the branch length (from 21 ± 5 nm to 107 ± 22 nm) by using biotinylated DNAs of different sizes.

Reference:

Preparation of one- to four-branch silver nanostructures of various sizes by metallization of hybrid DNA-protein assemblies
S. Rudiuk, A. Venancio-Marques, G. Hallais, D. Baigl*
Soft Matter 2013, 9, 9146-9152
- doi : 10.1039/C3SM50710F