title: Self-assembly of nanoparticles into biomimetic capsid-like nanoshells.
abstract: Nanoscale compartments are one of the foundational elements of living systems. Capsids, carboxysomes, exosomes, vacuoles and other nanoshells easily self-assemble from biomolecules such as lipids or proteins, but not from inorganic nanomaterials because of difficulties with the replication of spherical tiling. Here we show that stabilizer-free polydispersed inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) can spontaneously organize into porous nanoshells. The association of water-soluble CdS NPs into self-limited spherical capsules is the result of scale-modified electrostatic, dispersion and other colloidal forces. They cannot be accurately described by the Derjaguin-Landau-Vervey-Overbeek theory, whereas molecular-dynamics simulations with combined atomistic and coarse-grained description of NPs reveal the emergence of nanoshells and some of their stabilization mechanisms. Morphology of the simulated assemblies formed under different conditions matched nearly perfectly the transmission electron microscopy tomography data. This study bridges the gap between biological and inorganic self-assembling nanosystems and conceptualizes a new pathway to spontaneous compartmentalization for a wide range of inorganic NPs including those existing on prebiotic Earth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.|Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.|Key Laboratory of Microsystems and Micronanostructures Manufacturing, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8844-069X
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
authors.forename: Gongpu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Joong Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bahng
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.|Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
authors.forename: Peijun
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA.|Department of Physics, University of Illinois in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA.|Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Král
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.|Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.|Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.|Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6864-5804
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kotov
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry*; D003102:Colloids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D055672:Static Electricity; D013440:Sulfides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D003102:Colloids; D013440:Sulfides; C034939:cadmium sulfide