Microbial Synthesis of CdS Nanocrystals in Genetically Engineered E. coli

A bacterial biofactory: Escherichia coli strains were genetically engineered to produce phytochelatins (PCs) as capping agents and used for the intracellular synthesis of fluorescent and water-soluble PC-coated CdS nanoparticles (see figure). The size of the semiconductor nanocrystals could be tuned by controlling the population of the capping PCs. SpPCS is the PC synthase from Schizosaccharomyces pombe; GSHI*=γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase. Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2002/2008/z705806_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.