Synthesis of sol-gel encapsulated heme proteins with chemical sensing properties

Heme proteins such as cytochrome-c (cyt-c), hemoglobin (Hb), and myoglobin (Mb) have been successfully encapsulated in sol-gel derived silica matrices , retaining their spectroscopic properties and chemical function, The therm al stability of cyt-c was significantly improved by immobilization in a por ous silica network. Results from optical absorption, resonance Raman, and t hermal denaturation studies suggest that biomolecules such as cyt-c design self-specific pores in the silica network according to the size and shape r equirements of the biomolecule, Hb and Mb, immobilized using the sol-gel pr ocess, bound ligands similar to the proteins in aqueous buffer, and silica- encapsulated manganese myoglobin (MnMb) was a viable detector for nitric ox ide (NO).