Amyloid Templated Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Aerogels

This feature article covers the recent developments of amyloid fibrils as templates for organic-inorganic hybrid aerogels. It aims at introducing the reader to amyloid fibril functional bio-nanomaterials and to show how, building on the prior art of colloidal aerogels, these anisotropic colloids can be used to template inorganic particles and to form gels and aerogels. Specifically, hybrid organic-inorganic amyloid fibril templated gold, silver, and calcium aerogels are discussed focusing on their material synthesis and how the preparation conditions can be tuned to vary the final materials' optical, structural, and mechanical properties. The colloidal processing methodology offers a convenient route to form gels and aerogels that maintain the nanoscopic dispersion properties within the formed monoliths. These ultralight porous materials are appealing for a diverse set of applications within food, fine arts, jewelry, and biomedicine. Here their use as pressure sensor, catalysis membrane, and antibacterial material are described and further applications based on the properties of the specific inorganic particles and hybrid aerogels are discussed.