Genetically controlled self-assembly of inorganic-bioorganic hybrid structures: From sponge genes to layered functional materials

几百万年来，海绵已经进化出制造和组装水合无定形二氧化硅的能力，形成复杂的、分层的形态(针状物)，这些形态是有层次结构的。虽然人工合成二氧化硅需要腐蚀性化学物质和高温的组合，但基因控制的海绵生物硅化在环境条件下，在水环境中发生的高保真。此外，以生物方式形成的无机-生物有机杂化材料具有非凡的性能，远远超过人类的工程能力。随着硅酸盐(酶)和硅藻蛋白(支架蛋白)的发现，已经有了多种工具来利用生物硅化作用。硅酸盐具有广泛的底物专一性，已被用于制造纳米结构生物二氧化硅和其他传统化学合成无法获得的创新复合材料。Silintaffin将硅酸盐单体的组装引导为细丝，同时将纳米颗粒组装为合成针状体。该项目的目标是利用这些蛋白质的自组装、结构导向和生物催化能力，结合各种纳米结构块，生成具有新性能组合的生物灵感纳米结构材料。为此，转基因原始细胞(3D海绵细胞培养)将被用作生物工厂。此外，生物工程蛋白将被用于在体外设计具有附加功能(例如，热响应、自我修复和机械应力传感)的智能材料。

Over millions of years, sponges have evolved the ability to fabricate and assemble hydrated amorphous silica into complex, layered morphologies (spicules), which are hierarchically structured. While anthropogenic silica synthesis requires a combination of caustic chemicals and high temperature, the gene-regulated biosilicification of sponges occurs with high fidelity at ambient conditions, in an aqueous environment. In addition, the biogenously formed inorganic-bioorganic hybrids have extraordinary properties, far exceeding human engineering capabilities. With the discovery of silicatein (enzyme) and silintaphin (scaffold protein), versatile tools have become available to harness biosilicification. Silicatein has broad substrate specificity and has been used to manufacture nano-structured biosilica and other innovative composites that cannot be obtained through traditional chemical synthesis. Silintaphin directs the assembly of silicatein monomers to filaments and, concurrently, the assembly of nanoparticles to synthetic spicules. The goal of this project is to exploit self-assembly, structure-directing and biocatalytic capabilities of these proteins, in combination with various nanosized building blocks, for the generation of bioinspired nanostructured materials with new property combinations. For this purpose genetically-modified primmorphs (3D sponge cell culture) will be used as biofactories. In addition, bioengineered proteins will be employed to design in vitro smart materials with added functionalities (e.g., thermoresponsiveness, self-healing, and mechanical stress sensing).