Site-Specific Organization of Gold Nanoparticles by Biomolecular Templating

The synthesis of planar arrays of metal nanoparticles is an important goal in nanotechnology. As shown in the picture, superlattices of gold nanoparticles are readily assembled by biomolecular templating using bacterial S-layer membranes. Only nanoparticles of certain size and charge are organized in regular patterns, suggesting that arrays with controlled interparticle spacings should be possible by this method.