Microemulsion‐Mediated Self‐Assembly and Silicification of Mesostructured Ferritin Nanocrystals

Abstract

Protein crystals turned to stone: Protein-mediated aggregation of microemulsion water droplets is used to prepare discrete ferritin nanocrystals with periodically arranged close packed structures. Addition of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) to the microemulsion produces silica-ferritin hybrid nanoparticles with well-ordered mesostructured interiors (see scheme).