SemiSynBio-III: Precision assembly and electronic properties of protein nanowire circuits using DNA origami

微电子制造严重依赖于使用硅衬底和许多掩模/分层步骤，这些步骤带来了严重的缺点，例如极端的入门成本，高能耗以及几乎达到的可扩展性和器件几何形状的有限限制，从而在能够有效解决这些问题的技术中产生了差距。新材料、可持续的制造工艺和新颖的电路拓扑结构是开发下一代电子器件所必需的。这项研究将利用细菌皮利开发工程蛋白质纳米线，通过精确设计和组装由DNA制成的结构支架（称为DNA折纸）来导电。纳米线之间的相互作用和它们的环境可以读出使用单分子技术和电子方法开发的薄层组装结构，以表征在分子尺度上的导电性。这些跨学科进步的结合将最终使模块化生物电子设备的开发成为下一代计算应用。这项研究将提供跨学科的合作互动和独特的机会，交叉培训学生参加这个项目，并将通过培训参与研究的每个机构的本科生作为“大使”的推广工作，进一步扩大覆盖面。综合研究生和本科生的互动将提供机会主办K-12参与计划，包括培训中学教师。通过跨学校和地区的合作，分享学生，想法和最佳实践，该研究计划将围绕生物纳米电子学的新发现产生持续的学生和公众兴奋。在自然界中，长距离（10 nm）电子传输通常是在富含芳香残基或氧化还原活性基团的组装蛋白质中实现的。从这个角度来看，导电生物纳米线在下一代电子设备中的各种技术应用中具有强大的前景。硫还原地芽孢杆菌主要通过还原其环境中的无机金属氧化物存活，并通过其IV型皮利有效地在细胞外传输电子。而皮利的导电性又与芳香族氨基酸的密集核心有关，芳香族氨基酸的密集核心有效地允许残基之间的电子跳跃。这项研究将使用蛋白质工程和合成生物学方法来设计Geopartite的导电皮利，以创建蛋白质纳米线，其导电性可以通过与配体的相互作用和自组装来调节。反过来，蛋白质纳米线将以纳米级的分辨率组装到DNA折纸上，以创建具有定义的电化学结的精确结构电路。单分子电化学表征将允许详细了解底层电路，这反过来又会导致生物纳米电子组件的基本设计规则的发展。总的来说，这项研究将提高对生物纳米线的结构设计、组装和电子传输机制的理解，包括开发基本的电子部件，如晶体管，并将这些元件构建成有用的设备，如存储器。计算机和信息科学与工程局（CISE）的计算和通信基础司（CCF）;电气部，工程局（ENG）的通信和网络系统（ECCS）以及数学和物理科学局（MPS）的材料研究部（DMR）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Microelectronics fabrication critically relies on using silicon substrates and numerous masking/layering steps that bring serious drawbacks such as extreme entry costs, high energy consumption, and finite limits on scalability and device geometries that have nearly been reached, creating a gap in technologies able to effectively address these issues. New materials, sustainable fabrication processes, and novel circuit topologies are necessary to develop next-generation electronic devices. This research will develop engineered protein nanowires using bacterial pili that conduct electricity by precisely designing and assembling structural scaffolds made of DNA, known as DNA origami. The interactions of the nanowires with each other and their environments can be read out using single molecule techniques and electronic methods developed for thin layer assembled structures to characterize conductivities at the molecular scale. The combination of these interdisciplinary advances will ultimately enable the development of modular bioelectronic devices for next-generation computing applications. This research will provide interdisciplinary collaborative interactions and unique opportunities for cross-training students participating in this project and will further extend the reach by training undergraduates from each institution involved in the research to serve as ‘Ambassadors’ for outreach efforts. The integrated graduate and undergraduate interactions will provide opportunities to host K-12 participation programs, including training for secondary school teachers. By working across schools and regions to share students, ideas, and best practices, this research program will generate ongoing student and public excitement around new discoveries in bionanoelectronics.In nature, long-range (10 nm) electron transport is often achieved in assembled proteins rich in aromatic residues or redox-active groups. From this view, conductive biological nanowires hold strong promise for a variety of technological applications in next-generation electronic devices. The bacterium Geobacter sulferreducens survives largely through the reduction of inorganic metal-oxides in its environment and efficiently transports electrons extracellularly via its type IV pili. Pili conductivity has, in turn, been linked to a densely packed core of aromatic amino acids that effectively allows electron hopping between residues. This research will engineer the conductive pili of Geobacter using protein engineering and synthetic biology methods to create protein nanowires whose conductivity can be modulated through interactions with ligands and self-assembly. The protein nanowires will, in turn, be assembled onto DNA origami at a nanoscale resolution to create precisely structured circuits with defined electrochemical junctions. Single-molecule electrochemical characterization will allow for a detailed understanding of the underlying circuitry, which will, in turn, lead to the development of basic design rules for bionanoelectronic assemblies. Overall, this research will provide an improved understanding of structural design, assembly, and electron transport mechanisms in biological nanowires, including developing fundamental electronic parts, such as transistors, and building these elements into useful devices such as memory.The project was jointly funded by the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO); Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE); Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and the Division of Materials Research (DMR) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.