Functional nanoscale biomolecular materials

Abstract

Various approaches have been developed to exploit the functional properties of proteins and the structural properties of nanoscale materials. These range from biomolecule-nanomaterial hybrids and biocatalytically-generated selfassembled amphiphiles to protein-based structural templates. In this issue of Biotechnology Journal, Glover et al. [1] exploit the extremophilic protein γ-prefoldin (γPFD), which spontaneously forms long and straight filaments that are thermally stable to over 80°C and that can be engineered to nucleate platinum into functional nanowires. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.