Multiple 2D Materials from a Single Patchy Protein
July 28, 2020
Crystalline peptoid nanosheets prepared at equimolar concentrations of Nbpe₆Nce₆ and MAL-Nbpe₆Nce₆ monomers are reacted with silica-binding derivatives of superfolder green fluorescent protein engineered with the G51C/C48S substitutions. 10-nm silica nanoparticles drive the self-assembly of a multilayer material with alternating compositions.
Scientific Achievement
Used tunable multiscale interactions to assemble a single engineered protein into four distinct 2D crystals and achieve unusual bulk-scale properties.
Significance and Impact
Results demonstrate that proteins can be treated as patchy nanoparticles that exhibit rich phase behavior due to a balance of interaction strengths and length scales.
Research Details
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For the first time, electric dipole interactions are shown to mediate assembly of proteins in solution.
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Electrostatic interactions at a charged surface are used to achieve two new 4-fold symmetric crystals.
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Protein desolvation driven by high potassium concentration leads to a unique bilayer crystal structure.
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The resulting crystals are electrets that are predicted to exhibit piezoelectric properties.