Au nanoparticle (AuNP)/ferritin satellite nanostructures are constructed by simply mixing AuNP and a ferritin mutant minT1-LF, which can be precisely delivered to a titanium surface. Different size AuNPs can be introduced into this satellite nanostructure while the ferritin-internalized NP is interchangeable. Moreover, AuNP/ferritin satellite structures can be assembled to a further complicated membrane structure. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.