Virus-Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)BiocompositeFilms.

Virus-poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (virus-PEDOT)biocompositefilms are prepared by electropolymerizing 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene(EDOT) in aqueous electrolytes containing 12 mM LiClO4andthe bacteriophage M13. The concentration of virus in these solutions,[virus]soln, is varied from 3 to 15 nM. A quartz crystalmicrobalance is used to directly measure the total mass of the biocompositefilm during its electrodeposition. In combination with a measurementof the electrodeposition charge, the mass of the virus incorporatedinto the film is calculated. These data show that the concentrationof the M13 within the electropolymerized film, [virus]film, increases linearly with [virus]soln. The incorporationof virus particles into the PEDOT film from solution is efficient,resulting in a concentration ratio of [virus]film:[virus]soln≈ 450. Virus incorporation into the PEDOT causesroughening of the film topography that is observed using scanningelectron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The electricalconductivity of the virus-PEDOT film, measured perpendicular to theplane of the film using conductive tip AFM, decreases linearly withvirus loading, from 270 μS/cm for pure PEDOT films to 50 μS/cmfor films containing 100 μM virus. The presence on the virussurface of displayed affinity peptides did not significantly influencethe efficiency of incorporation into virus-PEDOT biocomposite films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]