Researchers have created a unique microscopic toolkit of “green” tunable electrical components, paving the way for a new generation of bioelectronic devices and sensors.
The study led by the University of Bristol, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shows how to make conductive, biodegradable wires from engineered proteins. It can be compatible with conventional electronic components made from copper or iron, as well as the biological machinery responsible for generating energy in all living organisms.
Miniscule wires are the size of transistors on silicon chips or one thousandth the width of the finest human hair. It is made entirely of natural amino acids and heme molecules, found in proteins such as hemoglobin, which carry oxygen in red blood cells. Harmless bacteria are used for their production, which eliminates the need for potentially complex and environmentally damaging methods that are often used to produce synthetic molecules.
Lead author Ross Anderson, Professor of Biological Chemistry at the University of Bristol, said, “While our designs take inspiration from the protein-based electronic circuits necessary for all life on Earth, they are free from much of the complexity and instability that would prevent us from exploiting their natural equivalents on our own terms.”
“We can also build these minute electronic components to order, specifying their properties in a way that natural proteins cannot.”
Leading experts in biomolecular engineering and simulation have collaborated to develop this unique new approach to designing tailored proteins with tunable electronic properties.
The multidisciplinary team used advanced computational tools to design simple building blocks that can be combined into longer, wire-like protein chains for conducting electrons. They were able to visualize the structures of these wires using protein X-ray crystallography and electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM), techniques that allow the structures to be seen in great detail. Pushing the technical boundaries of cryo-EM, images of the smallest individual proteins ever studied were obtained using this technique.
Finally, these nanoscale designer wires have the potential to be used in a wide range of applications, including biosensors for diagnosing diseases and detecting environmental pollutants.
It is also hoped that this invention will be the foundation of new electrical circuits for creating tailor-made catalysts for green industrial biotechnology and artificial photosynthetic proteins for obtaining solar energy.
The collapse is part of a five-year project, entitled “The Circuits of Life,” involving the Universities of Bristol, Portsmouth, East Anglia, and University College London (UCL).
The team leveraged their expertise in protein design, electron transfer, biomolecular simulation, structural biology and spectroscopy, gaining an understanding of how electrons flow through natural biological molecules, a fundamental process that underpins cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
Further progress is expected as the project, which began last year, progresses, presenting significant opportunities to help transition to net zero and more sustainable industrial processes.
Co-author Adrian Mulholland, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bristol, said, “These proteins show how protein design is increasingly delivering practical useful tools. They offer exciting possibilities as components for engineering biology and are also ideal systems for investigating fundamental mechanisms of biological electron transfer.”
More information:
George H. Hutchins et al, An extensible, modular de novo protein platform for precise redox engineering, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306046120
Provided by the University of Bristol
Citation: Study heralds new era of environment-friendly programmable bioelectronics (2023, July 25) retrieved 25 July 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-07-era-environment-friendly-programmable-bioelectronics.html
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