Eur. Phys. J. E (2009) 30: 181-185
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2009-10481-y

Regular Article

Bioactive modification of silicon surface using self-assembled hydrophobins from Pleurotus ostreatus

¹ Unit of Naples-Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Council of Research, Via P. Castellino 111, 80131, Naples, Italy
² Dept. of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Cintia 4, 80126, Naples, Italy
³ LICRYL, INFM-CNR, Via P. Bucci, Cubo 33/B, 87036, Cosenza, Italy

^* e-mail: luca.destefano@na.imm.cnr.it

Received: 16 January 2009
Revised: 22 June 2009
Accepted: 24 June 2009
Published online: 18 September 2009

Abstract

A crystalline silicon surface can be made biocompatible and chemically stable by a self-assembled biofilm of proteins, the hydrophobins (HFBs) purified from the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. The protein-modified silicon surface shows an improvement in wettability and is suitable for immobilization of other proteins. Two different proteins were successfully immobilized on the HFBs-coated chips: the bovine serum albumin and an enzyme, a laccase, which retains its catalytic activity even when bound on the chip. Variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE), water contact angle (WCA), and fluorescence measurements demonstrated that the proposed approach in silicon surface bioactivation is a feasible strategy for the fabrication of a new class of hybrid devices.