Structure-based design of novel polyhedral protein nanomaterials

Curr Opin Microbiol. 2021 Mar 27;61:51-57. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.03.003. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOrganizing matter at the atomic scale is a central goal of nanotechnology. Bottom-up approaches, in which molecular building blocks are programmed to assemble via supramolecular interactions, are a proven and versatile route to new and useful nanomaterials. Although a wide variety of molecules have been used as building blocks, proteins have several intrinsic features that present unique opportunities for designing nanomaterials with sophisticated functions. There has been tremendous recent progress in designing proteins to fold and assemble to highly ordered structures. Here we review the leading approaches to the design of closed polyhedral protein assemblies, highlight the importance of considering the assembly process itself, and discuss various applications and future directions for the field. We emphasize throughout the exciting opportunities presented by recent advances as well as challenges that remain.PMID:33784513 | DOI:10.1016/j.mib.2021.03.003

Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - March 30, 2021 Category: Microbiology Authors: Alena Khmelinskaia Adam Wargacki Neil P King Source Type: research