Artificial proteins catalyze the formation of stable quantum dots at room temperature

Or lead to a more sustainable way to manufacture nanomaterials

Science and Technology Daily News (Reporter Liu Xia) Researchers at Princeton University in the United States published a paper in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they used laboratory-synthesized proteins for the first time to create cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dots at room temperature, which can be widely used in many fields from light-emitting diode displays to solar panels, which will help make nanomaterials
in a more sustainable way.

Michael Hecht, a professor of chemistry and one of the study's leaders, explained that quantum dots are often made in high-temperature, toxic environments and require expensive solvents
.
In the latest study, for the first time, they used artificial proteins as catalysts and water as solvents to obtain stable quantum dots
at room temperature.

Hecht's team used the protein ConK to catalyze the reaction
.
In 2016, researchers isolated ConK for the first time from a large library of protein combinations, and although it is still composed of natural amino acids, its sequence is very different from natural
proteins.
In the latest study, ConK broke down cysteine into several products, including hydrogen
sulfide.
Hydrogen sulfide acts as an active sulfur source and reacts with the cadmium metal, allowing them to eventually get CdS quantum dots
.

The researchers say that quantum dots are "petite" and have very interesting optical properties
.
They easily absorb light and convert it into chemical energy, so they can be used to make solar panels or photoelectric sensors; They can also emit specific wavelengths of light, making them suitable for making LED displays; And they are composed of about 100 atoms and are only 2 nanometers in diameter, so they can penetrate some biological barriers, which is expected to be useful in the field of medicine and bioimaging
.

The researchers say the latest manufacturing process can also adjust the size of nanoparticles, which determines the color of light emitted by quantum dots, providing the possibility to label molecules in biological systems, such as labeling cancer cells in vivo
.

However, the researchers also pointed out that the quality of quantum dots developed by the latest method is not high, but the quality
can be improved by adjusting the synthesis method.
For example, proteins are engineered so that they can affect the formation of quantum dots in different ways, thereby improving the quality of
quantum dots.