Abstract
Virus-poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (virus-PEDOT) biocomposite films are prepared by electropolymerizing 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) in aqueous electrolytes containing 12 mM LiClO(4) and the bacteriophage M13. The concentration of virus in these solutions, [virus](soln), is varied from 3 to 15 nM. A quartz crystal microbalance is used to directly measure the total mass of the biocomposite film during its electrodeposition. In combination with a measurement of the electrodeposition charge, the mass of the virus incorporated into the film is calculated. These data show that the concentration of the M13 within the electropolymerized film, [virus](film), increases linearly with [virus](soln). The incorporation of virus particles into the PEDOT film from solution is efficient, resulting in a concentration ratio of [virus](film):[virus](soln) ≈ 450. Virus incorporation into the PEDOT causes roughening of the film topography that is observed using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The electrical conductivity of the virus-PEDOT film, measured perpendicular to the plane of the film using conductive tip AFM, decreases linearly with virus loading, from 270 μS/cm for pure PEDOT films to 50 μS/cm for films containing 100 μM virus. The presence on the virus surface of displayed affinity peptides did not significantly influence the efficiency of incorporation into virus-PEDOT biocomposite films.