Deposition of Sn/SnOx core-shell nanoparticles on phospholipid membrane

Through direct deposition of Sn on a solid-supported phospholipid membrane, a monolayer of self-assembled Sn/SnO_x core-shell nanoparticles was fabricated. It was demonstrated that the phase state of the lipid membrane had strong effect on the nanoparticle formation. A flexible phospholipid (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine) membrane in a liquid-crystalline state allowed the metal atoms to penetrate into the membrane and spontaneous formation of nanoparticles whereas a rigid membrane in a gel state (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine) retarded nucleation of the nanoparticles on the membrane surface. The proposed method can be extended to other metals and the proper choice of the lipid membrane can be potentially used to alter the resulting particle morphology.