CONTROLLED SYNTHESIS OF INORGANIC MATERIALS USING SUPRAMOLECULAR ASSEMBLIES

Protein cages acting as constrained reaction environments have recently been used to synthesize inorganic materials of nanometer dimensions. The size of the cavity within the protein and the level of loading with metal ions determine the final dimensions of the materials, and therefore site-specific modification of the inner surface of the protein could fine-tune the supramolecular assembly for tailored inorganic materials synthesis. Some of the latest developments are discussed.