Interfacial assembly of protein–polymer nano-conjugates into stimulus-responsive biomimetic protocells

Abstract

The mechanism of spontaneous assembly of microscale compartments is a central question for the origin of life, and has technological repercussions in diverse areas such as materials science, catalysis, biotechnology and biomedicine. Such compartments need to be semipermeable, structurally robust and capable of housing assemblages of functional components for internalized chemical transformations. In principle, proteins should be ideal building blocks for the construction of membrane-bound compartments but protein vesicles with cell-like properties are extremely rare. Here we present an approach to the interfacial assembly of protein-based micro-compartments (proteinosomes) that are delineated by a semi-permeable, stimulus-responsive, enzymatically active, elastic membrane consisting of a closely packed monolayer of conjugated protein-polymer building blocks. The proteinosomes can be dispersed in oil or water, thermally cycled to temperatures of 70°C, and partially dried and re-inflated without loss of structural integrity. As a consequence, they exhibit protocellular properties such as guest molecule encapsulation, selective permeability, gene-directed protein synthesis and membrane-gated internalized enzyme catalysis.

Self-assembled MmsF proteinosomes control magnetite nanoparticle formation in vitro

“…We have searched the available literature for references to similar membrane protein assemblies, and we have not been able to find any previously recorded discoveries of this particular type. We did find a designed synthetic protein/polymer assembly reported by Huang et al (27) that produced ordered vesicle structures, which they termed "proteinosomes," to describe protein-polymer assembled compartments. We believe this term can also be applied to the MmsF, MamF, and MmxF structures.…”

Interfacial assembly of dendritic microcapsules with host–guest chemistry

“…M olecular self-assembly is of importance in the fabrication of uniformly patterned functional surfaces, membranes and delivery vehicles, including hydrogels and microcapsules 1,2 . The self-assembly of molecular monolayers can be readily accomplished at a variety of interfaces, including metal (for example, gold), metal oxide substrates (for example, silica) or at an air-water interface, to form self-assembled monolayers [3][4][5][6] .…”

Biodegradable double nanocapsule as a novel multifunctional carrier for drug delivery and cell imaging

“…36,37 Double nanocapsules designed to encapsulate proteins in their separated microsphere structures can protect the structural and functional integrities of proteins when they are transported into the cytosol and then redistributed within the cells. [38][39][40] Besides the transport of BSA into the cytosol, the study showed that the nanocapsules delivered NLS-GFP into the nucleus, indicating that the structure of nanocapsules did not interfere with the migration of proteins.…”