34p ; This document is the unedited author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in J. Phys. Chem. C, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work, see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jp502118n.Antibodies are affinity proteins with a wide spectrum of applications in analytical and therapeutic biology. Proteins showing specific recognition for a chosen molecular target can be isolated and their encoding sequence identified in vitro from a large and diverse library by phage display selection. In this work, we show that this standard biochemical technique rapidly yields a collection of antibody protein binders for an inorganic target of major technological importance: crystalline metallic gold surfaces. 21 distinct anti-gold antibody proteins emerged from a large random library of antibodies and were sequenced. The systematic statistical analysis of all the protein sequences reveals a strong occurrence of arginine in anti-gold antibodies, which corroborates recent molecular dynamics predictions on the crucial role of arginine in protein/gold interactions. Once tethered to small gold nanoparticles using histidine tag chemistry, the selected antibodies could drive the self-assembly of the colloids onto the surface of single crystalline gold platelets as a first step towards programmable protein-driven construction of complex plasmonic architectures. Electrodynamic simulations based on the Green Dyadic Method suggest that the antibody-driven assembly demonstrated here could be exploited to significantly modify the plasmonic modal properties of the gold platelets. Our work shows that molecular biology tools can be used to design the interaction between fully folded proteins and inorganic surfaces with potential applications in the bottom-up construction of plasmonic hybrid nanomaterials

There is a need to classify and standardize graphene-related materials giving the growing use of this materials industrially. One of the most used and more difficult to classify is graphene oxide (GO). Inconsistent definitions of GO, closely relating it to graphene, are found in the literature and industrial brochures. Hence, although they have very different physicochemical properties and industrial applications, commonly used classifications of graphene and GO definitions are not substantial. Consequently, the lack of regulation and standardization create trust issues among sellers and buyers that impede industrial development and progress. With that in mind, this study offers a critical assessment of 34 commercially available GOs, characterized using a systematic and reliable protocol for accessing their quality. We establish correlations between GO physicochemical properties and its applications leading to rationale for its classification.

The rhizosphere, the narrow zone of soil around plant roots, is a complex network of interactions between plants, bacteria, and a variety of other organisms. The absolute dependence on host-derived signals, or xenognosins, to regulate critical developmental checkpoints for host commitment in the obligate parasitic plants provides a window into the rhizosphere’s chemical dynamics. These sessile intruders use H2O2 in a process known as semagenesis to chemically modify the mature root surfaces of proximal host plants and generate p-benzoquinones (BQs). The resulting redox-active signaling network regulates the spatial and temporal commitments necessary for host attachment. Recent evidence from non-parasites, including Arabidopsis thaliana, establishes that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production regulates similar redox circuits related to root recognition, broadening xenognosins’ role beyond the parasites. Here we compare responses to the xenognosin dimethoxybenzoquinone (DMBQ) between the parasitic plant Striga asiatica and the non-parasitic A. thaliana. Exposure to DMBQ simulates the proximity of a mature root surface, stimulating an increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration in both plants, but leads to remarkably different phenotypic responses in the parasite and non-parasite. In S. asiatica, DMBQ induces development of the host attachment organ, the haustorium, and decreases ROS production at the root tip, while in A. thaliana, ROS production increases and further growth of the root tip is arrested. Obstruction of Ca2+ channels and the addition of antioxidants both lead to a decrease in the DMBQ response in both parasitic and non-parasitic plants. These results are consistent with Ca2+ regulating the activity of NADPH oxidases, which in turn sustain the autocatalytic production of ROS via an external quinone/hydroquinone redox cycle. Mechanistically, this chemistry is similar to black and white photography with the emerging dynamic reaction-diffusion network laying the foundation for the precise temporal and spatial control underlying rhizosphere architecture.

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