(550f) Nanobiofabrication: Exploiting Programmable Properties of Biological Materials and Interactions for Fabrication of Nanocatalysts and Biosensing Platforms

Viral assemblies have attracted substantial attention as templates for materials synthesis due to their precisely controlled dimensions, chemical functionalities and the ability to confer additional modalities through genetic modification.  At the nanobiofabrication group of Tufts University, we exploit several unique properties of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) for facile synthesis of catalytically active palladium (Pd) nanoparticles and fabrication of high capacity biosensing platforms.  In the nanocatalysis area, we have examined and demonstrated size-controlled synthesis, high thermal stability and the TMV template’s fundamental role in the Pd nanoparticle formation via small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).  We then employed two Pd-catalyzed model reactions, dichromate reduction for environmental cleanup and Suzuki coupling reaction for efficient chemical synthesis, in order to investigate the catalytic activity, stability, and reaction mechanisms.  The results show that TMV-templated Pd nanoparticle synthesis offers attractive routes to highly active, controlled, and stable catalyst systems in mild aqueous conditions.  In the biosensing area, we have enlisted TMV’s dual functionality coupled with robust replica molding (RM) for facile fabrication of high-capacity biomolecular assembly platforms.  First, genetically displayed cysteines allow for biomolecular conjugation via copper-free click chemistry.  Second, partial disassembly of TMV’s mRNA genome enables orientationally controlled assembly via nucleic acid hybridization.  Third, simple and robust RM technique leads to scalable fabrication of shape-controlled polymeric microparticles.  We envision that our approach to seamlessly integrate these three traits would lead to promising fabrication schemes for high-capacity biosensing platforms.  In this presentation, our recent progress on the spontaneous Pd particle formation, integration of Pd-TMV complexes into polymeric scaffolds, and fabrication of hybrid microparticles with chitosan oligomers as an efficient biomolecular assembly modality will also be highlighted.