Nano-tubes of egg white.

Egg whites have been found by Chinese scientists have a new use as a template (template) to make inorganic nano-tubes.

Baoyou Geng and colleagues at the Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, a tube-nano magnetite (Fe3O4) in a solution of egg white. Egg white protein - which has a high affinity for metal ions - forming complexes with organic-inorganic Fe (III). These complexes then assemble to form strands of nano-strand, a process that produces heat. Increasing the temperature of the hydrogen bonds and damage the peptide bond-iron so that iron oxide separated from the egg white template. Leaf-blade iron oxide and then rolled to form nano tubes hollow.

The use of protein from bone and shell as a template has been widely known, but most methods require complicated and time consuming to create a biological template. Geng explains that their new method using a protein template cheap and easily available.

Nano-tubes have many applications ranging from drug delivery devices to solar energy conversion. And magnetite - one of the most mineral is magnetic - are particularly attractive for applications related to magnetism.

Xitian Zhang - an expert in the field of preparation and application of nano tubes, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin - said that this study "provides a simple method, the latest and easy to perform for the preparation of the tubes of iron oxide nano-crystalline single". "This approach not only enriches magnetite chemistry, but also become a new strategy for the synthesis of similar materials," he added.

The next challenge is to investigate "the reaction conditions on the structure of the egg white, which can produce morphological changes in the product," said Geng. Geng and his team also will try to synthesize nano-tubes other to investigate the effect of different metal ions on egg white.

Egg whites have been found by Chinese scientists have a new use as a template (template) to make inorganic nano-tubes.

Baoyou Geng and colleagues at the Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, a tube-nano magnetite (Fe3O4) in a solution of egg white. Egg white protein - which has a high affinity for metal ions - forming complexes with organic-inorganic Fe (III). These complexes then assemble to form strands of nano-strand, a process that produces heat. Increasing the temperature of the hydrogen bonds and damage the peptide bond-iron so that iron oxide separated from the egg white template. Leaf-blade iron oxide and then rolled to form nano tubes hollow.

The use of protein from bone and shell as a template has been widely known, but most methods require complicated and time consuming to create a biological template. Geng explains that their new method using a protein template cheap and easily available.

Nano-tubes have many applications ranging from drug delivery devices to solar energy conversion. And magnetite - one of the most mineral is magnetic - are particularly attractive for applications related to magnetism.

Xitian Zhang - an expert in the field of preparation and application of nano tubes, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin - said that this study "provides a simple method, the latest and easy to perform for the preparation of the tubes of iron oxide nano-crystalline single". "This approach not only enriches magnetite chemistry, but also become a new strategy for the synthesis of similar materials," he added.

The next challenge is to investigate "the reaction conditions on the structure of the egg white, which can produce morphological changes in the product," said Geng. Geng and his team also will try to synthesize nano-tubes other to investigate the effect of different metal ions on egg white.