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The design and fabrication of complex nanostructures with specific geometry and composition is one of the main challenges of nanotechnology. Here we demonstrate the devise of metal-insulator-metal, trilayered, coaxial nanocables. Such coaxial geometry may give rise to useful and unique electromagnetic properties. We have fabricated these nanostructures using a scaffold of self-assembled peptide nanotubes. Gold nanoparticles were bound to the surface of peptide nanotubes via a common molecular recognition element that was included in various linker peptides. This enabled us to promote site-specific metal reduction and to create the coaxial nanostructure. Using electron microscopy, 1H NMR spectra, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, we monitored the different steps within the process, gaining further understanding of its mechanism.
Carny et al. (Fri,) studied this question.