Characterization of nanostructured surfaces generated by reconstitution of the porin MspA from Mycobacterium smegmatis

Michael Wörner*, Oleg Lioubashevski, Matthew T. Basel, Sandra Niebler, Eliso Gogritchiani, Nicole Egner, Christian Heinz, Jürgen Hoferer, Michela Cipolloni, Katharine Janik, Evgeny Katz, Andre M. Braun, Itamar Willner, Michael Niederweis, Stefan H. Bossmann

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanostructures with long-term stability at the surface of gold electrodes are generated by reconstituting the porin MspA from Mycobacterium smegmatis into a specially designed monolayer of long-chain lipid surfactant on gold. Tailored surface coverage of gold electrodes with long-chain surfactants is achieved by electrochemically assisted deposition of organic thiosulfates (Bunte salts). The subsequent reconstitution of the octamericpore MspA is guided by its extraordinary self-assembling properties. Importantly, electrochemical reduction of copper (II) yields copper nanoparticles within the MspA nanopores. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, reflection electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) show that: 1) the MspA pores within the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) are monodisperse and electrochemically active, 2) MspA reconstitutes in SAMs and with a 10-nm thickness, 3) AFM is a suitable method to detect pores within SAMs, and 4) the electrochemical reduction of Cu2- to Cu0 under overpotential conditions starts within the MspA pores.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1084-1097
Number of pages14
JournalSmall
Volume3
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2007

Keywords

  • Copper
  • Nanostructures
  • Porins
  • Self-assembled monolayers
  • Surfactants

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