From Metal Binding to Nanoparticle Formation: Monitoring Biomimetic Iron Oxide Synthesis within Protein Cages using Mass Spectrometry

摘要

Biomimetic nanomaterials syntheses utilizing protein cages, including ferritins, viruses, and heat shock proteins, have been widely used to provide a high degree of control over the particle morphology, composition, and polymorph selection under relatively mild synthetic conditions. However, the processes of metal ion accumulation and nanoparticle formation coupled to the protein cage are still poorly understood.