Construction of Matryoshka-type structures from supercharged protein nanocages.
Designing nanoscaled hierarchical structures with increasing levels of complexity is challenging. Here we show that electrostatic interactions between two complementarily supercharged protein nanocages can be effectively utilized to create nested Matryoshka-type structures. Cage-within-cage complexes containing spatially ordered iron oxide nanoparticles spontaneously self-assemble upon mixing positively supercharged ferritin compartments with AaLS-13, a larger shell-forming protein with a negatively supercharged lumen. Exploiting engineered Coulombic interactions and protein dynamics in this way opens up new avenues for creating hierarchically organized supramolecular assemblies for application as delivery vehicles, reaction chambers, and artificial organelles.
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland).
Tobias
T
Beck
Stephan
S
Tetter
Matthias
M
Künzle
Donald
D
Hilvert
D029063:Aquifoliaceae / Q000201:enzymology; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015202:Protein Engineering; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D055672:Static Electricity
D005290:Ferric Compounds; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; C000499:ferric oxide; C044822:6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase; D005293:Ferritins
hierarchical structures; nanoparticles; protein engineering; self-assembly; supramolecular chemistry