Fabrication of hierarchical nanostructured BSA/ZnO hybrid nanoflowers by a self-assembly process

Here we present a novel and simple method to fabricate hierarchical nanostructured bovine serum albumin (BSA)/ZnO hybrids based on the assembly of biological proteins and metal ions. The as-fabricated hybrids that are comprised of individual microrods possess self-organized flowerlike architectures with sizes ranging from 400 to 600 mm. The UV-vis spectra depicted that the absorption peak of BSA/ZnO hybrids was blue-shifted as compared to the bare ZnO nanorods due to the enhanced surface effects. This new protein-inorganic hybrid and the design strategy are expected to be applicable to the synthesis of other 3D biohybrid materials for potential applications in biocatalysis, biosensors and nonlinear-optical devices.