Nanocrystal formation: Small 3/2010

The frontispiece shows four different stages of bacterial nanocrystal formation on 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, measured in situ with an atomic force microscope. The growth of protein patches due to individual protein self-assembly can be seen at the border of the crystal patch. Bacterial S-layer proteins are able to self-assemble on many different surfaces to form nanostructured biomimetic crystals. Substrate hydrophobicity affects protein adsorption rate and crystal domain size but has no influence on the protein layer thickness, the crystal-lattice parameters, or the final adsorbed mass density. The S-protein crystal formation occurs in three steps: nucleation, growth (self-assembly), and domain reorganization. For more information, please read the Full Paper ‘Surface Dependence of Protein Nanocrystal Formation” by J. L. Toca-Herrera et al., beginning on page 396.