Scientists working in the US say they have developed a new technique which may allow them to manipulate the properties of platinum.

Researchers from the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico have achieved some startling results when exploring the precious metal at the nanoscale.

By mimicking photosynthetic proteins the scientists say they can achieve a wide range of results, as Prof. Shelnutt, the Sandia scientist leading the research effort, explained.

'While we are in the early stages of research, we see the possibility of manipulating the nanoscale structure of platinum so that we can have control over the size, porosity, composition, surface species, solubility, stability, and other functional properties of these metal nanostructures,' he declared.

The new method of manipulating platinum was first detailed in the Journal of American Chemical Society, and is based on a technique similar to photosynthesis.

However, instead of manufacturing sugar, the new method changes a platinum ion to the neutral metal atoms. The photosynthetic protein mimicks this repeatedly, allowing metal to be deposited as desired at the nanoscale.

Under the method, porphyrins - the active part of photosynthetic proteins - are put in an aqueous solution of ascorbic acid at room temperature along with the platinum salt.

The porphyrins are placed in specific locations in the solution where it is intended that metal should be deposited. 

Prof. Shelnutt says that the new method enables the manipulation of the metal at a rapid speed.