Growing Metal Nanoparticles by Enzymes

Enzymes act as catalysts for the growth of metallic nanoparticles (NPs). The enzyme-mediated growth of metallic NPs provides a general means to follow biocatalyzed transformations, and to develop optical sensors for different substrates such as glucose, L-DOPA, alcohols, lactate or nerve gas analogs. Enzymes modified with Au NPs act as biocatalysts for the fabrication of metallic nanowires. The dip-pen nanolithography of NP-functionalized enzymes on Si surfaces yields biocatalytic templates that enable the orthogonal evolution of nanowires consisting of different metals.