A top view of GrBP5 nanowires on a 2-D surface of graphene. Credit: Mehmet Sarikaya/Scientific Reports
A solution lies in bridging this gap where artificial meets biological – harnessing biological rules to exchange information between the biochemistry of our bodies and the chemistry of our devices. Engineers at the University of Washington unveil peptides that can provide just such a link. The team, led by UW professor Mehmet Sarikaya in the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering, shows how a genetically engineered peptide can assemble into nanowires atop 2D, solid surfaces that are just a single layer of atoms thick. These nanowire assemblages are critical because the peptides relay information across the bio/nano interface through molecular recognition – the same principles that underlie biochemical interactions such as an antibody binding to its specific antigen or protein binding to DNA.
Since this communication is two-way, with peptides understanding the “language” of technology and vice versa, their approach essentially enables a coherent bioelectronic interface. “Bridging this divide would be the key to building the genetically engineered biomolecular solid-state devices of the future,” said Prof. Sarikaya.
The UW team wants to find genetically engineered peptides with specific chemical and structural properties. They sought out a peptide that could interact with materials such as gold, titanium and even a mineral in bone and teeth. These could all form the basis of future biomedical and electro-optical devices. Their ideal peptide should also change the physical properties of synthetic materials and respond to that change. That way, it would transmit “information” from the synthetic material to other biomolecules – bridging the chemical divide between biology and technology.
In exploring the properties of 80 genetically selected peptides – which are not found in nature but have the same chemical components of all proteins – they discovered that one, GrBP5, showed promising interactions with graphene. They then tested GrBP5’s interactions with several 2-D nanomaterials which, Sarikaya said, “could serve as the metals or semiconductors of the future.”
GrBP5 spontaneously organized into ordered nanowire patterns on graphene. With a few mutations, GrBP5 also altered the electrical conductivity of a graphene-based device, the first step toward transmitting electrical information from graphene to cells via peptides. In parallel, Sarikaya’s team modified GrBP5 to produce similar results on a semiconductor material – molybdenum disulfide – by converting a chemical signal to an optical signal. They also computationally predicted how different arrangements of GrBP5 nanowires would affect the electrical conduction or optical signal of each material, showing additional potential within GrBP5’s physical properties.
“In a way, we’re at the flood gates,” said Sarikaya. “Now we need to explore the basic properties of this bridge and how we can modify it to permit the flow of ‘information’ from electronic and photonic devices to biological systems.” http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/10/03/new-protein-bridges-chemical-divide-for-seamless-bioelectronics-devices/
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