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Deciphering the Transition From Tunneling to Band-Like Transport in Protein-Templated Biohybrid Junctions
Ansalna K Rasheed1, Rinsha Cholasseri2, Shahna Mysin K3
1School of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|January 31, 2026
Summary
Protein-templated metal nanoclusters enhance biohybrid material conductivity. Researchers investigated copper, silver, and gold nanoclusters within bovine serum albumin, finding conductivity depends on metal type and structural properties for advanced bioelectronics.
Area of Science:
- Biohybrid materials science
- Nanotechnology
- Molecular electronics
Background:
- Protein-templated metal nanoclusters (MNCs) combine biological scaffold precision with metallic core properties.
- Understanding charge transport in these biohybrid systems is crucial but limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically investigate electron transport in biohybrid junctions using bovine serum albumin (BSA)-templated MNCs.
- To elucidate the structure-property relationships governing charge transport in these systems.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of Au/BSA-MNCs/Au Nanowire junctions with copper, silver, and gold MNCs.
- Electron transport measurements, including temperature-dependent current-voltage-temperature (I-V-T) analysis.
- Fragment-level Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.
Main Results:
- BSA-MNCs increased current up to 17-fold compared to native BSA junctions.
- Conductivity followed the trend: gold nanoclusters (AuNC) > silver nanoclusters (AgNC) > copper nanoclusters (CuNC).
- Transport evolved from tunneling-dominated to band-like, correlating with metal core's electronic delocalization.
Conclusions:
- Structural robustness and orbital delocalization of AuNC and AgNC enhance electronic coupling with BSA.
- Charge transport is governed by the metal core's electronic delocalization, providing molecular-level insights.
- Findings establish design principles for next-generation bioelectronic materials using protein-templated MNCs.
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