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12-04 :: April/May 2012
nanotimes News in Brief Graphene //
A New Paper Made of Graphene and Protein Fibrils © Based on Material by ETH
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esearchers led by Raffaele Mezzenga, a professor in Food and Soft Materials Science at ETH Zu-
rich, Switzerland, have created a new nanocompo- site made of graphene and protein fibrils: a special paper, which combines the best features of both components. This new “paper” is made of alternating layers of protein and graphene. The two compon- ents can be mixed in varying compositions, brought into solution, and dried into thin sheets through a vacuum filter – “similarly as one usually does in the manufacture of normal paper from cellulose,” says Mezzenga. “This combination of different materials with uncommon properties produces a novel nano- composite with some major benefits,” says the ETH professor. For example, the material is entirely bio- degradable.
But “the most interesting feature is that we can use this material as a biosensor to precisely measure the activity of enzymes,” says Mezzenga. Enzymes can digest and break down the protein fibrils. This changes the resistance of the composite, which is a measurable quantity once the graphene paper is incorporated into an electrical circuit. “This feature is, for me, the nicest part of the story. Seen from this angle, we could claim to have discovered a new general method to measure enzymatic activity,” says the ETH professor.
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The final hybrid nanocomposite paper made of protein fibrils and graphene after vacuum filtration drying. The schematic route used by the researchers to combine gra- phene and protein fibrils into the new hybrid nanocompo- site paper. © ETH / Raffaele Mezzenga research team
Chaoxu Li, Jozef Adamcik, Raffaele Mezzenga: Biodegra- dable nanocomposites of amyloid fibrils and graphene with shape-memory and enzyme-sensing properties, In: Nature Nanotechnology AOP, May 06, 2012, DOI:10.1038/nna- no.2012.62: