Amyloid‐Like Protein Aggregates: A New Class of Bioinspired Materials Merging an Interfacial Anchor with Antifouling

Abstract

Surfaces that resist nonspecific protein adsorption in a complex biological milieu are required for a variety of applications. However, few strategies can achieve a robust antifouling coating on a surface in an easy and reliable way, regardless of material type, morphology, and shape. Herein, the preparation of an antifouling coating by one‐step aqueous supramolecular assembly of bovine serum albumin (BSA) is reported. Based on fast amyloid‐like protein aggregation through the rapid reduction of the intramolecular disulfide bonds of BSA by tris(2‐carboxyethyl)phosphine, a dense proteinaceous nanofilm with controllable thickness (≈130 nm) can be covered on virtually arbitrary material surfaces in tens of minutes by a simple dipping or spraying. The nanofilm shows strong stability and adhesion with the underlying substrate, exhibiting excellent resistance to the nonspecific adsorption of a broad‐spectrum of contaminants including proteins, serum, cell lysate, cells, and microbes, etc. In vitro and in vivo experiments show that the nanofilm can prevent the adhesion of microorganisms and the formation of biofilm. Compared with native BSA, the proteinaceous nanofilm coating exposes a variety of functional groups on the surface, which have more‐stable adhesion with the surface and can maintain the antifouling in harsh conditions including under ultrasound, surfactants, organic solvents, and enzymatic digestion.

Designing Robust, Breathable, and Antibacterial Multifunctional Porous Membranes by a Nanofluids Templated Strategy

“…After the water rinse, E. coli was removed from the surface of PCPTifs-1.5 membranes (Figure 4e), indicating its excellent bacteria antifouling property. [40] Therefore, we concluded that the enhanced antibacterial activity of PCPTifs-1.5 membranes is due to the synergistic antibacterial effect of chitosan and Tifs.…”

Protein nanofibrils for next generation sustainable water purification

“…The antifouling properties of BSA amyloid-like are related to the balance of positive and negative charges on the albumin protein surface. However, no evident antifouling capacity was observed for the other amyloidlike films prepared from lysozyme, insulin, and α-lactalbumin 49 . Although lysozyme amyloid fibrils, compared to their monomer, exhibit better antibacterial activities against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria 100 , to endow a complete antifouling surface further modification is still desirable.…”

“…BSA, the main protein of plasma, plays a pivotal role in blood as a carrier for many small molecules such as calcium and bilirubin. It also maintains the blood pH and oncotic pressure 49 . BSA is a cheap protein since large quantities are easily derived from bovine blood, a by-product of the cattle industry 50 .…”

“…The high removal efficiency of surface-modified nanocellulose for both organics and inorganics 92,93 Biobased from abundant sources 92,93 High mechanical stability and processability 92,93 Acceptable performance efficiency after regeneration 104 Moderate removal efficiency of pure nanocellulose 92,93 High cost for production and modification 93 Prone to biological degradation 92 Strong tendency to self-aggregate through hydrogen bonding, reducing their available adsorption sites 92 Little data on removal of multiple types of coexisting pollutants 92 Protein nanofibrils Excellent removal efficiency for both inorganics and organics 8,18 Biobased from affordable sources 34 Simple preparation 22 Low cost (e.g., by using whey or other raw vegetable proteins) 34 High service life 8,22 Moderately low selectivity 8,27 Possible microorganism contamination 49 Little data on regeneration of the adsorbent 18 Possible high cost (in the case of silk nanofibrils, particularly spider silk) 105 (renewable biomass, solar/wind/geothermal, and hydro) energy 98 . In Fig.…”

Development of a Mechanically Strong Nondegradable Protein Hydrogel with a Sponge‐Like Morphology

“…As a typical protein, BSA possesses the advantages of low cost, availability, high solubility in water, and good ligand-binding properties and is therefore one of the most frequently used components to construct biocompatible hydrogels. [27,28] The other chosen material was the inorganic salt NaCl, which appears to play a key role in the solubilization of myofibrillar proteins for subsequent denaturation/aggregation to give good water-holding capacity and acceptable elasticity of the resulting hydrogels. [29] However, poor mechanical properties are one of the major defects that limit the practical applications of BSA hydrogels.…”