Biomimetic Carpentry of Self-Assembling Functional Protein Nanostructures Based on Phage Tail Fibers

我们的总体目标是开发一种从分子水平开始大规模平行制造材料的系统，其中包含集成功能纳米结构（FNS）。该系统是仿生学的，基于刚性的杆状蛋白质的自组装。有用的蛋白质棒单位从其天然DNA片段重新设计遗传和生物生产。它们将在规定的阶段自动组装成预先设计的形状，间距在5-100nm之间。我们称这个过程为生物分子木工。有了这笔资金，我们将通过生产天然棒材及其变体来证明这一概念，并使用原子力显微镜和化学力显微镜测量各种环境下弯曲和拉伸的杨氏模量等物理特性。我们还将测量在水溶液中以及在不同频率的交流电场存在下，单个棒的扩散常数、柔韧性尺寸和取向。此外，我们将研究棒组的自组装动力学，以找到该过程在各种环境中的速率常数，以更好地理解该过程并使其最大化。动态光散射将使我们能够以一种无创的方式测量这些特性，并实时跟踪反应。利用这些蛋白质单元的技术有可能为从分子水平上设计和制造新型材料的新型功能纳米结构的集成系统奠定基础。此外，这项技术应该有助于取代一些其他过时和污染的系统，是环保的，其产品是可回收的。为了实现这些目标，我们组织了一个由分子生物学和微生物学、电光化学和化学生物学部门的主要研究人员组成的团队。

Our overall goal is to develop a system for massively parallel manufacture of materials, from the molecular level up, which contains integrated functional nanostructures (FNS). The system is biomimetic and is based on self- assembly of rigid, rod-shaped proteins. Useful protein rod units are redesigned genetically from their natural DNA segments and produced biologically. They will self-assemble in regulated stages, to predesigned shapes, with spacings in the range of 5-100nm in length. We call this process biomolecular carpentry. With this grant we will prove the concept by producing the natural rods and variants thereof and measure physical characteristics such as the Young's Moduli of bending and stretching in various environments, using atomic force microscopy and chemical force microscopy. We will also measure the diffusion constants, flexibility dimensions and orientation of the individual rods in aqueous solution and in the presence of AC electric fields of various frequencies. In addition, we will examine the kinetics of self-assembly of sets of rods to find the rate constant(s) of this process in various environments to better understand the process and to maximize it. Dynamic light scattering will be employed to enable us to measure these properties in a noninvasive way and to follow the reaction in real time. The technology using these protein units has the potential to form a basis for an integrated system for the design and manufacture of novel functional nanostructures built into new types of material from the molecular level up. In addition this technology, which should help to supplant some other outmoded and polluting systems, is environmentally friendly and its products are recyclable. To accomplish these goals a team of principal investigators from Departments of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Electro- optics and Chemistry and Chemical Biology has been organized.