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Supercharged Proteins and Polypeptides.

Chao Ma¹, Anke Malessa¹, Arnold J Boersma²

¹Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|January 17, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists are creating supercharged proteins and polypeptides (SUPs) to engineer novel materials. These advanced protein materials exhibit unique properties and have potential applications in various fields.

Keywords:

adaptive soft matter electrostatic interactions functional assembly supercharged proteins supercharged unstructured polypeptides

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OaAEP1-Mediated Enzymatic Synthesis and Immobilization of Polymerized Protein for Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Published on: February 5, 2020

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Materials Science
Protein Engineering

Background:

Electrostatic interactions are fundamental to biomolecular organization and function.
Natural highly charged proteins inspire artificial "supercharging" of proteins.
Supercharging proteins enhances properties like thermal stability and catalytic activity.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the synthesis, structure, and properties of supercharged proteins and polypeptides (SUPs).
To highlight the potential applications of these engineered protein materials.
To discuss current challenges in the field.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of protein fusions using genetically engineered supercharged unstructured polypeptides (SUPs).
Complexation of SUPs with artificial entities to form liquid crystals and liquids.
Investigation of SUPs' fluid-fluid phase separation into coacervates.

Main Results:

Supercharged proteins and SUPs form novel bulk materials with tunable properties.
SUPs can form liquid crystals, liquids, and coacervates.
Coacervates can be formed in living cells and combined with dissipative structures.

Conclusions:

Supercharged proteins and SUPs represent a new class of advanced materials.
These materials offer sensitivity to external stimuli and life-like features.
Further research is needed to overcome challenges and unlock full application potential.