Quantum-dot-induced self-assembly of cricoid protein for light harvesting

Stable protein one (SP1) has been demonstrated as an appealing building block to design highly ordered architectures, despite the hybrid assembly with other nano-objects still being a challenge. Herein, we developed a strategy to construct high-ordered protein nanostructures by electrostatic self-assembly of cricoid protein nanorings and globular quantum dots (QDs). Using multielectrostatic interactions between 12mer protein nanoring SP1 and oppositely charged CdTe QDs, highly ordered nanowires with sandwich structure were achieved by hybridized self-assembly. QDs with different sizes (QD1, 3-4 nm; QD2, 5-6 nm; QD3, ∼10 nm) would induce the self-assembly protein rings into various nanowires, subsequent bundles, and irregular networks in aqueous solution. Atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering characterizations confirmed that the size of QDs and the structural topology of the nanoring play critical functions in the formation of the superstructures. Furthermore, an ordered arrangement of QDs provides an ideal scaffold for designing the light-harvesting antenna. Most importantly, when different sized QDs (e.g., QD1 and QD3) self-assembled with SP1, an extremely efficient Förster resonance energy transfer was observed on these protein nanowires. The self-assembled protein nanostructures were demonstrated as a promising scaffold for the development of an artificial light-harvesting system.

尽管与其他纳米物体的混合组装仍然是一个挑战，但稳定蛋白一（SP1）已被证明是设计高度有序结构的一个有吸引力的构建模块。在此，我们开发了一种通过环状蛋白质纳米环和球状量子点（QD）的静电自组装来构建高有序蛋白质纳米结构的策略。利用 12mer 蛋白质纳米环 SP1 和带相反电荷的 CdTe QD 之间的多静电相互作用，通过杂化自组装实现了具有三明治结构的高度有序纳米线。不同尺寸的量子点（QD1，3-4 nm；QD2，5-6 nm；QD3，∼10 nm）会诱导自组装蛋白环在水溶液中形成各种纳米线、后续束和不规则网络。原子力显微镜、透射电子显微镜和动态光散射表征证实，量子点的尺寸和纳米环的结构拓扑在超结构的形成中发挥着关键作用。此外，量子点的有序排列为设计光捕获天线提供了理想的支架。最重要的是，当不同尺寸的 QD（例如 QD1 和 QD3）与 SP1 自组装时，在这些蛋白质纳米线上观察到极其有​​效的福斯特共振能量转移。自组装蛋白质纳米结构被证明是开发人工光捕获系统的有前途的支架。