Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Nanostructures Assembled on a Clathrin Protein Lattice

Biological macromolecules such as proteins can self-assemble on the nanometer scale. In many instances, it is desirable for materials and medical sciences to obtain organized structures of this size, such as for development of electronics or imaging agents. Instead of building nanomaterials towards these purposes with top-down or bottom-up strategies, pre-organized, nanometer-scale proteins can become templates for inorganic materials. In addition to self-assembly and precise structural properties of proteins, the insertion of functional peptides and the incorporation of non-canonical amino acids imparts specialized modifications to hybrid biomacromolecule-based materials.;We describe the protein clathrin as a suitable stage for multiple displays and functions as it can form into a highly organized cage structures. However, it is not evident to us whether clathrin proteins are able to accommodate various modifications and still retain its ability to self-assemble into cage architectures. We present proof-of-principle studies using clathrin for potential surface displays. We were able to modify clathrin through recombinant methods and produce intact clathrin cages, generating hybrid inorganic/organic structures. Recombinant clathrin proteins have the advantage of multiple manipulations on the genetic level, allowing easy installation of various peptide tags for specific binding or incorporation of non-canonical amino acids. By generating these initial results, we demonstrate the potential for future clathrin-based materials.