Prometheus 6

In a process that is not yet fully understood, the Shewanella bacterium secretes polysacarides that seem to produce the template for the arsenic sulfide nanotubes, Myung explained. 

Nanotube-producing bacteria show manufacturing promise
Nanotubes may have high-tech applications, study involving UCR engineers reports

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Two engineers at the University of California, Riverside are part of a binational team that has found semiconducting nanotubes produced by living bacteria – a discovery that could help in the creation of a new generation of nanoelectronic devices.

The research team believes this is the first time nanotubes have been shown to be produced by biological rather than chemical means. It opens the door to the possibility of cheaper and more environmentally friendly manufacture of electronic materials.

Study results appear in today's issue of the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.