Spatially selective immobilization of ferritin, an iron-storage protein, on a silicon surface using a Si-SiO2 template is demonstrated. The material-specific immobilization of the protein is achieved by controlling physical forces at the solution-solid interface between a ferritin solution and the template. The electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interaction between ferritin molecules and the two kinds of materials of the template can be tuned to achieve adsorption of ferritin only on Si. This method was used to generate spatially confined assemblies of ferritin on the nanoscale and on the micron scale. (c) 2005 American Vacuum Society.