Hybrid Hydrophobin/Gold Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Characterization of New Synthetic Probes for Biological Applications

摘要

We report a simple and original method to synthesize gold nanoparticles in which a fungal protein, the hydrophobin Vmh2 from Pleurotus ostreatus, mixed to cetyltetrammonium bromide (CTAB) has been used as additional component in a one-step synthesis, leading to shell-like hybrid protein-metal nanoparticles (NPs). The nanoparticles have been characterized by ultra-violet/visible and infrared spectroscopies, and also by electron microscopy imaging. The results of these analytical techniques highlight nanometric sized, stable, hybrid complexes of about 10 nm, with a micelles-like hydrophobins rearrangement.