1D Assembly: Virus Falls Into Line
With the rod-like tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as the template, 1D polyaniline/TMV composite nanofibers with narrow dispersity, high aspect ratio and high processibility can be readily prepared via a hierarchical assembly process. The length of the composite fiber can be as long as 10 µm. The composite nanofibers are monodisperse in width with an average diameter of ~21 nm determined by synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering experiments. Upon variation of the reaction conditions, the morphology and electrical properties of the TMV/composite fibers can be controlled.
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Chem. Commun. 2006, 3019 (pdf) NanoBiotechnology, 2007, 3, 31 Langmuir 2007, 23, 6719 (pdf) J. Biomedical Mater. Res. 2007, in print Langmuir 2007 ASAP paper (pdf) |
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1D conducting nanowire 1D conducting polyaniline and polypyrrole nanowires can be readily prepared via a hierarchical assembly process. Scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM) was performed in conjunction with regular atomic force microscopy (contact mode) to obtain simultaneous electronic and morphological information of the TMV nanofibers. This synthesis discloses a unique way to produce composite fibrillar materials with controlled morphology and great processibility, which can promote many potential applications including electronics, optics, sensing and biomedical engineering.
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| Nano Lett. 2007, in print |
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Virus Self-assemble at Interface
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The self-assembly of nanoparticles at fluid interfaces, driven by the reduction in interfacial energy, has been well established. Bionanoparticles, such as cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) and turnip mosaic virus can self-assemble as a monolayer at liquid-liquid interface. Upon crosslinking, a mechanically robust membranes of bionanopartilces was readily obtained. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 2420 (pdf)
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