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Science 5 November 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5442, pp. 1129 - 1132
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5442.1129
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Reports

Polycationic Peptides from Diatom Biosilica That Direct Silica Nanosphere Formation

Nils Kröger, * Rainer Deutzmann, Manfred Sumper

Diatom cell walls are regarded as a paradigm for controlled production of nanostructured silica, but the mechanisms allowing biosilicification to proceed at ambient temperature at high rates have remained enigmatic. A set of polycationic peptides (called silaffins) isolated from diatom cell walls were shown to generate networks of silica nanospheres within seconds when added to a solution of silicic acid. Silaffins contain covalently modified lysine-lysine elements. The first lysine bears a polyamine consisting of 6 to 11 repeats of the N-methyl-propylamine unit. The second lysine was identified as epsilon -N,N-dimethyl- lysine. These modifications drastically influence the silica-precipitating activity of silaffins.

Lehrstuhl Biochemie I, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: nils.kroeger{at}vkl.uni-regensburg.de

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)