Stable Formation of Gold Nanoparticles onto Redox-Active Solid Biosubstrates Made of Squid Suckerin Proteins

The use of biomolecules to synthesize inorganic nanomaterials, including metallic nanoparticles, offers the ability to induce controlled growth under mild environmental conditions. Here, recently discovered silk-like "suckerin" proteins are used to induce the formation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Advantage is taken of the distinctive biological and physico-chemical characteristics of suckerins, namely their facile recombinant expression, their solubility in aqueous solutions, and their modular primary structure with high molar content of redox-active tyrosine (Tyr) residues to induce the formation of AuNPs not only in solution, but also from nanostructured solid substrates fabricated from suckerins. Modular and tyrosine (Tyr)-rich suckerin proteins with a block copolymer-like structure are exploited to induce the formation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) not only in solution, but also from nanostructured solid substrates fabricated from redox-active suckerins. The work demonstrates the possibility for the facile, spatially controlled immobilization of AuNPs onto complex micro- and nanostructures.