Flexible Electroactive Nanomaterials Biotemplated with Versatile M13 Phage Platforms

Direct methanol fuel cells electrodes convert methanol into water and release electrical energy by transforming methanol to water and electrons that circulate through the electrode materials. Therefore, increasing transport of electron and ions in electrode, decreases ohmic losses and both activation and concentration polarizations. Coat proteins in various regions of the virus can be engineered through modification of the M13 genome, to obtain hetero-functionality with specific binding to inorganic materials. However, the versatility of M13 is not only limited to biological engineering; the proteins at the surface of the virus contain various chemical functional groups, which are chemically accessible to a variety of reagents. The protein of the M13 phages needs to be modified in order to install at the surface of the phage thiol groups that will be used for the synthesis of NPs.