(194a) Investigation of a Tunable Synthesis Method for Protein and Peptide-directed Nanoparticles for Catalytic Materials

To optimize a tunable synthesis method for protein / peptide-directed nanoparticles, identifying the controlling parameters that may affect the size, morphology, composition, and properties of nanoparticles is highly required. The investigations were done to establish the effect of temperature, concentration / purity of peptide, pH of the synthesis medium, reduction time, type of metal salt, type and concentration of reducing agent. Nanoparticles were synthesized using five different peptides (Pd₄, (Pd₄)₃, A₆, A₁₁, A_6,11) fused to the N-terminus of Green Fluorescent Protein. Batches varied in temperature (4 – 80 °C), pH (5 – 9), type of reducing agent (from five), reduction time (1-48 hours), type of metal salt (from three), ratio of reducing agent to metal salt (4 – 400 eq.). Palladium nanoparticles on the order of (2 – 10 nm) were prepared and their properties were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and high resolution TEM (HRTEM).