Supramolecular interactions between proteins and bioadhesive nanoparticles

今年我的工作是i）GroEL和金纳米颗粒（AuNPs）形成的多孔簇，和ii）DNA功能化GroEL的橄榄球自组装。在项目i）中，我证实了簇的ATP酶活性，并通过TEM，cryo TEM和cryo-EM断层扫描分析了簇的多孔性质。这种定量方法证实了簇具有离散数量的GroEL连接AuNP，如所设计的。的多孔性也探讨了客人加载的研究，使用各种聚合物-蛋白质杂交作为客体物种。这表明该簇可以容纳大约几十纳米大小的客体，客体流体动力学直径极限为45 nm左右。客体聚合物构象对负载的影响的实验正在进行中。在项目ii）中，我研究了各种核苷酸和类似物、DNA序列和盐条件在橄榄球形成中的作用。这使人们对增长的重要因素有了全面的了解，并支持了拟议的大会机制。我确定了结构中GroEL单元的排列及其各向异性性质。目前的实验旨在确定该结构是否是中空的。

This year I worked on i) porous clusters formed by GroEL and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), and ii) rugby ball self-assembly of DNA-functionalized GroEL.In project i) I confirmed the ATPase activity of the clusters and analyzed the porous nature of the clusters by TEM, cryo TEM, and cryo-EM tomography. This quantitative approach confirmed that the clusters had discrete numbers of GroEL connecting AuNPs, as designed. The porous nature was also probed by guest loading studies, using various polymer-protein hybrids as guest species. This indicated that the cluster can accommodate guests on the order of several tens of nanometers in size, with a guest hydrodynamic diameter limit of around 45 nm. Experiments on the effect of guest polymer conformation on loading are ongoing.In project ii) I studied the roles of various nucleotides and analogues, DNA sequence, and salt conditions in the rugby ball formation. This gave a complete understanding of the important factors for growth and supported a proposed mechanism for the assembly. I identified the alignment of GroEL units in the structure and its anisotropic nature. Current experiments are targeted to identify whether the structure is hollow.