Reshaping de Novo Protein Switches into Bioresponsive Materials for Biomarker, Toxin, and Viral Detection

Abstract

De novo designed protein switches are powerful tools to specifically and sensitively detect diverse targets with simple chemiluminescent readouts. Finding an appropriate material host for de novo designed protein switches without altering their thermodynamics while preserving their intrinsic stability over time would enable the development of a variety of sensing formats to monitor exposure to pathogens, toxins, and for disease diagnosis. Here, a de novo protein‐biopolymer hybrid that maintains the detection capabilities induced by the conformational change of the incorporated proteins in response to analytes of interest is generated in multiple, shelf‐stable material formats without the need of refrigerated storage conditions. A set of functional demonstrator devices including personal protective equipment such as masks and laboratory gloves, free‐standing films, air quality monitors, and wearable devices is presented to illustrate the versatility of the approach. Such formats are designed to be responsive to human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2), anti‐hepatitis B (HBV) antibodies, Botulinum neurotoxin B (BoNT/B), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). This combination of form and function offers wide opportunities for ubiquitous sensing in multiple environments by enabling a large class of bio‐responsive interfaces of broad utility.

What Can De Novo Protein Design Bring to the Treatment of Hematological Disorders?

“…Here, we summarize the biomedical applications of de novo protein design (Table 1). [ 46,47] neoplastic diseases A high-affinity peptide (A1M) has been designed by computational protein design techniques, which may help the early diagnosis of breast cancer. [48] Novel therapeutic drugs infectious diseases Bacterial infectious diseases: various de novo antimicrobial peptides have been designed for the treatment of bacteria-induced infections.…”

Personalized Medical Devices Connect Monitoring and Assistance: Emerging Wearable Soft Robotics

“…This sensing method is the most important sensing method applied to wearable devices. It is an essential part of health monitoring to analyze the level of human health by sensing a specific biomarker, electromyography (EMG), body tissue activity, and other signals through various biochemical reactions and physical means . As shown in Figure f, to avoid blood sampling causing stress and achieve continuous, noninvasive, and real-time pressure analysis at the molecular level, Torrente-Rodrı́guez et al used integrated wireless sensor equipment to study the dynamics of the pressure hormone cortisol in human sweat .…”

On-site airborne pathogen detection for infection risk mitigation

“…253 Combining with a suitable bioaerosol sampling system, the de novo designed protein biosensor could be a promising candidate for swift and sensitive airborne pathogen detection. 252–254 Designing a suitable material host for de novo designed protein switches without altering their intrinsic thermodynamics and stability would enable the development of smart sensing formats for monitoring exposure to pathogens and toxins for risk assessment. Notably, a similar technology using a B-cell-based luminescent biosensor has been developed into a commercially available device for monitoring different airborne pathogens.…”