Gingko biloba protein used in multilayer nanomaterial

Gingko biloba trees, known for their longevity and medicinal properties, are now being used in nanoscience. Two teams of researchers a Irig used the plant’s LEAFY protein, which is involved in flowering, to develop a 40-layer nanomaterial made up of cells spaced 8 nm apart. The perfectly aligned cells offer excellent mechanical resistance and molecular grafting can be used to functionalize them. It would be impossible to obtain such a small and regular 3D structure using conventional techniques like etching or the elementary assembly of atoms.
Irig now has a versatile nanomaterial with potential uses in biotechnology, nanoelectronics, biocatalysis, and biosensors.
The researchers will start with VOC detectors* expected to be ten times more sensitive than the current state of the art.

Contacts: pierre-henri.elchinger@cea.fr; renaud.dumas@cea.fr

*Volatile organic compounds

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