title: Self-assembling peptide inspired by a barnacle underwater adhesive protein.
abstract: An underwater bioadhesive generally comprises a multiprotein complex that provides a molecular basis for self-assembly. We report here a new class of self-assembling peptide inspired by a 20 kDa barnacle cement protein. Studies on the chemically synthesized 24-residue peptide have revealed that (1) it underwent irreversible self-assembly upon the addition of salt, (2) the self-assembly was started at a salt concentration close to that of seawater with noncovalent intermolecular interactions, (3) the self-assembled material resembled a macroscopic membrane of interwoven nanofilaments, (4) incubation in an alkaline pH range formed the intramolecular disulfide bond of a peptide molecule, thus triggering a conformation change of the molecule, and (5) conformational change of the building block promoted the formation of a nanofiber, resulting in the display of a three-dimensional meshlike mesoscopic structure with defined pores having a diameter of approximately 200 nm. The peptide is likely to provide a suitable basis for further development of peptide-based materials.
authors.affiliation: Marine Biotechnology Institute, 3-75-1 Heita, Kamaishi, Iwate 026-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Jian-Ren
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamino
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000269:Adhesives; D000818:Animals; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D017510:Protein Folding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D012492:Salts / Q000494:pharmacology; D001468:Thoracica / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives; D010455:Peptides; D011506:Proteins; D012492:Salts; D003545:Cysteine