Protein-directed formation of silver nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes

A method that uses commercially available proteins to form carbon nanotubes/silver nanoparticle hybrid materials was reported. The multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT)-nanoparticle hybrid materials were prepared by non-covalently functionalizing MWNT with poly-L-lysine (PLL). The results indicate that the ability to prepare nanotube-nanoparticle conjugates using enzymes allows the preparation of multifunctional hybrid nanomaterials. MWNT-d-soybean peroxidase (SBP) conjugates are sound to retain 53% activity relative to native d-SBP and this retention of native activity is in the range observed for other nanotube-enzyme conjugates. The peroxidase-containing nanotube/silver nanoparticle hybrid possess antimicrobial properties and the enzymatic and inorganic components of these nanoparticles contribute to antimicrobial activity.