Incorporation of an N-methyl Amino Acid into a Template Peptide Alters Anisotropy in the Crystal Growth of Gold Nanoparticles Synthesized by the Peptide Template Method.

Background: Gold nanocrystals have unique physicochemical and biocompatible properties, and hold promise for use as catalysts and in the fields of electronics, photonic and/or plasmonic devices, sensing and/or imaging systems, targeted drug delivery, and photothermal therapies. A variety of organic templates have been used to control the size, shape, and structure of gold nanocrystals, and to modify their surfaces. For the control of the shape of gold nanocrystals, we previously designed and synthesized a β-sheet-forming nonapeptide (RU006: Ac- AIAKAXKIA-NH2, X = L-2-naphthylalanine, Nal).