Growing Metal Nanoparticles by Enzymes

Abstract

Abstract Enzymes act as catalysts for the growth of metallic nanoparticles (NPs). The enzyme‐mediated growth of metallic NPs provides a general means to follow biocatalyzed transformations, and to develop optical sensors for different substrates such as glucose, L‐DOPA, alcohols, lactate or nerve gas analogs. Enzymes modified with Au NPs act as biocatalysts for the fabrication of metallic nanowires. The dip‐pen nanolithography of NP‐functionalized enzymes on Si surfaces yields biocatalytic templates that enable the orthogonal evolution of nanowires consisting of different metals.