Efficient in vitro encapsulation of protein cargo by an engineered protein container.
An engineered variant of lumazine synthase, a nonviral capsid protein with a negatively charged luminal surface, is shown to encapsulate up to 100 positively supercharged green fluorescent protein (GFP) molecules in vitro. Packaging can be achieved starting either from intact, empty capsids or from capsid fragments by incubation with cargo in aqueous buffer. The yield of encapsulated GFP correlates directly with the host/guest mixing ratio, providing excellent control over packing density. Facile in vitro loading highlights the unusual structural dynamics of this novel nanocontainer and should facilitate diverse biotechnological and materials science applications.
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Bigna
B
Wörsdörfer
Zbigniew
Z
Pianowski
Donald
D
Hilvert
D032701:Biomimetics; D002616:Chemical Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D049329:Nanostructures; D011487:Protein Conformation; D015202:Protein Engineering
D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C044822:6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase