Atomic layer deposition on biological macromolecules:: Metal oxide coating of tobacco mosaic virus and ferritin

Decoration of nanoparticles, in particular biomolecules, gathered high attention in recent years.(1-7) Of special interest is the potential use of biomolecules as templates for the fabrication of semiconducting or metallic nanostructures.(1-7,26) In this work we show the application of atomic layer deposition, a gas-phase thin film deposition process, to biological macromolecules, which are frequently used as templates in nanoscale science, and the possibility to fabricate metal oxide nanotubes and thin films with embedded biomolecules(1-13).