A new type of digital memory device has been created by incorporating inorganic platinum nanoparticles into the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).

The TMV is a 300 nm tube consisting of a protein capsid (outer shell) and RNA core. According to the researchers, the TMV’s thin, wire-like structure makes it suitable for attaching nanoparticles. In this case, it allowed them to add an average of sixteen positive platinum ions per virion.

The device works by transferring charge, under a high electric field, from the RNA to the Pt nanoparticles with the TMV’s surface proteins acting as an energy barrier, stabilizing the trapped charges.