The Jason Davis group in Oxford is exploring bio-recognition and sensing along with novel materials for molecular electronics including biomolecules. Ferritin is an interesting iron-storage protein, central to the control of iron chemistry within the cell. It is a relatively large and robust protein that could serve as a paradigm for a biomolecule-based device. The present work demonstrates how the electronic properties of the ferritin protein change dramatically depending on the presence or absence of the central mineral core. We have also shown how the electronic behaviour can be linked to the contrasting mechanical properties of the core and the protein.
We hope that our understanding of the mechanism of charge transfer in large biomolecules, fundamental to essential biological processes, will advance – thus providing the knowledge necessary for successful bio-electronic interfacing and improved synthetic models exploiting some of nature’s advanced chemistry.