Preparation of hexagonal GeO2 particles with particle size and crystallinity controlled by peptides, silk and silk-peptide chimeras

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Boix, E., Puddu, V. ORCID: 0000-0001-5079-5508 and Perry, C.C. ORCID: 0000-0003-1517-468X, 2014. Preparation of hexagonal GeO2 particles with particle size and crystallinity controlled by peptides, silk and silk-peptide chimeras. Dalton Transactions. ISSN 1477-9226

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c4dt01974a

Abstract

We demonstrate the use of silk based proteins to control the particle/crystallite size during GeO2 formation, using a bio-mimetic approach at circumneutral pH and ambient temperature. Multicrystalline GeO2 was prepared from germanium tetraethoxide (TEOG) in the presence of different silk-based proteins: Bombyx mori silk (native silk) and two chimeric proteins prepared by linking a germania binding peptide (Ge28: HATGTHGLSLSH) with Bombyx mori silk via chemical coupling at different peptide loadings (silk-Ge28 10% and silk-Ge28 50%). The mineralisation activity of the silk-based proteins was compared with that of peptide Ge28 as a control system. GeO2 mineralisation was investigated in water and in citric acid/bis-tris propane buffer at pH 6. Morphology, particle size, crystallinity, water and organic content of the materials obtained were analysed to study the effect of added biomolecules and mineralisation environment on material properties. In the presence of silk additives well-defined cube-shape hybrid materials composed of hexagonal germania and up to ca. 5 wt% organic content were obtained. The cubic particles ranged from 0.4 to 1.4m in size and were composed of crystalline domains in the range 35-106 nm depending on the additive used and synthesis conditions.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

Dalton Transactions

Creators:

Boix, E., Puddu, V. and Perry, C.C.

Publisher:

Royal Society of Chemistry

Date:

2014

ISSN:

1477-9226