| RESEARCH |
Enzymes serve as chemical tools for nanofabrication A new technique for patterning solid surfaces with biologically active nanometer-scale features has been demonstrated by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg. The work may increase the complexity of surface films that can be prepared through self-assembling mechanisms. Using surface-bound enzymes as catalytically active tools, associate chemistry professor William A. Ducker, graduate student Chang-Hyun Jang, University of Rochester associate professor of chemistry Michael A. Calter, and coworkers carried out chemical reactions in which products became immobilized on a surface. Specifically, the group formed a 70-nm-wide patch of acetylcholine esterase by binding the enzyme to a portion of a gold surface that was coated with a carboxylic acid. The remainder of the surface was covered with an antibiofouling film. Using an atomic force microscope tip to scratch away a tiny portion of the protective film and expose the bare gold surface, the researchers formed a surface trap. The trap was then used to capture thiocholine that had been cleaved from acetylthiocholine upon reaction with the bound enzyme. |
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