51³Ō¹ĻĶųresearchers develop a cheaper, safer material for use in solar panels, sensors and optical devices
Using proteins fromĀ a common tobaccoĀ plant virus, McGillĀ chemistryĀ researchersĀ have developed a simple, eco-friendly way to arrange gold nanoparticles into ultrathin sheets, strengtheningĀ the particlesā optical properties. The result:Ā cheaper, safer materials for solar panels,Ā sensorsĀ and advanced optical devices.Ā
Gold nanoparticles are only effective inĀ strengthening optical signals when the nanoparticles areĀ arranged on a surfaceĀ andĀ spaced at exact distances.Ā Until now, creating those patterns required harsh chemicals and tightly controlled lab conditions.Ā
TheĀ 51³Ō¹ĻĶųteam modified aĀ tobaccoĀ mosaicĀ virusĀ so that it wouldĀ self-assembleĀ into sheetsĀ in water and at room temperature, with theĀ nanoparticles properly spaced.Ā Ā
āIf you just chuck these nanoparticles on a surface, someĀ fractionĀ of them will randomly cause enhancement,ā said Associate Professor and co-authorĀ Amy Blum. āBut if you can get them to be at a fixed good distance, then the whole surface is active.āĀ Ā Ā
The result is a nanomaterial that can beĀ madeĀ atĀ a lower costĀ and with lessĀ environmental impact,Ā compared toĀ the existing method.Ā
Natureās building blocksĀ
Blum said that this workĀ representsĀ an important stepĀ toward sustainable nanomaterials for everyday technologies.Ā Ā
āThis is about usingĀ natureāsĀ building blocks to make technology cleaner, cheaper and smarter,āĀ the researcherĀ said.Ā Ā Ā
āFor safety, weĀ donātĀ use the active virus. We just use the shell, whichĀ containsĀ noĀ genetic material,āĀ she added.Ā
Building the protein scaffoldĀ
To build the scaffold, the teamĀ modifiedĀ theĀ virusāsĀ protein by adding a short chain of histidineĀ āĀ essentially tinyĀ hooks that latch onto gold nanoparticles and guide theĀ proteins to self-assemble into ultrathin sheets.Ā
āWe rely on a large number of very weak interactions,āĀ BlumĀ said. āIf I have one, itĀ definitely wonātĀ hold together. If I have 15,Ā itāllĀ hold it very, very rigidly.āĀ Ā
Without this modification, the protein tends to clump. The weaker interactions instead encourage the proteins to lay flat, Blum noted.Ā
The team was surprised to find that under certain conditions the sheets could roll themselves intoĀ nanoscaleĀ tubes.Ā ThisĀ opensĀ theĀ wayĀ forĀ researchersĀ toĀ investigateĀ whether theĀ tubesĀ might one day function likeĀ nanoscopicĀ fibre-optic cables, Blum said.Ā
About this studyĀ
ā,āĀ by Ismael Abu-Baker, Alexander Al-Feghali, ElliotĀ Zolfaghar,Ā GangamallaiahĀ Velpula, Artur P. Biela, Steven DeĀ Feyter, Jonathan G. Heddle, Gonzalo CosaĀ andĀ AmyĀ SzuchmacherĀ Blum, was published inĀ SmallĀ in October 2025.Ā
