title: Durable protein lattices of clathrin that can be functionalized with nanoparticles and active biomolecules.
abstract: Biological molecules that self-assemble and interact with other molecules are attractive building blocks for engineering biological devices. DNA has been widely used for the creation of nanomaterials, but the use of proteins remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that clathrin can form homogeneous and extended two-dimensional lattices on a variety of substrates, including glass, metal, carbon and plastic. Clathrin is a three-legged protein complex with unique self-assembling properties and is relevant in the formation of membrane transport vesicles in eukaryotic cells. We used a fragment of the adaptor protein epsin to immobilize clathrin lattices on the substrates. The lattices span multiple square millimetres with a regular periodicity of 30 nm and can be functionalized via modified subunits of clathrin with either inorganic nanoparticles or active enzymes. The lattices can be stored for months after crosslinking and stabilization with uranyl acetate. They could be dehydrated and rehydrated without loss of function, offering potential applications in sensing and as biosynthetic reactors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology, Centre of Anatomy, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany.|Structural &Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Dannhauser
authors.affiliation: IIIrd Institute of Physics, Georg August University, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Platen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology, Centre of Anatomy, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Böning
authors.affiliation: IIIrd Institute of Physics, Georg August University, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.|Centre for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB), 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: I A T
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6665-5104
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Schaap
mesh_terms: D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D034021:Auxilins / Q000737:chemistry; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002417:Cattle; D002966:Clathrin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D055767:Immobilized Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D055550:Protein Stability; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport; D034021:Auxilins; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002966:Clathrin; D055767:Immobilized Proteins; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C114154:epsin; C005460:uranyl acetate; D006046:Gold