Complex Microparticle Architectures from Stimuli-responsive Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2020 Mar 14

PMID 32165622

Citations 21

Authors

Stefan Roberts

Vincent Miao

Simone Costa

Joseph Simon

Garrett Kelly

Tejank Shah

Stefan Zauscher

Ashutosh Chilkoti

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The controllable production of microparticles with complex geometries is useful for a variety of applications in materials science and bioengineering. The formation of intricate microarchitectures typically requires sophisticated fabrication techniques such as flow lithography or multiple-emulsion microfluidics. By harnessing the molecular interactions of a set of artificial intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), we have created complex microparticle geometries, including porous particles, core-shell and hollow shell structures, and a unique 'fruits-on-a-vine' arrangement, by exploiting the metastable region of the phase diagram of thermally responsive IDPs within microdroplets. Through multi-site unnatural amino acid (UAA) incorporation, these protein microparticles can also be photo-crosslinked and stably extracted to an all-aqueous environment. This work expands the functional utility of artificial IDPs as well as the available microarchitectures of this class of biocompatible IDPs, with potential applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Citing Articles

Spontaneous Self-Organized Order Emerging From Intrinsically Disordered Protein Polymers.

Acosta S, Rodriguez-Alonso P, Chaskovska V, Fernandez-Fernandez J, Rodriguez-Cabello J Wiley Interdiscip Rev Nanomed Nanobiotechnol. 2025; 17(1):e70003.

PMID: 39950263 PMC: 11826379. DOI: 10.1002/wnan.70003.

Chemical and temporal manipulation of early steps in protein assembly tunes the structure and intermolecular interactions of protein-based materials.

Italia V, Jons A, Kaparthi B, Faulk B, Maccarini M, Bertoncello P Protein Sci. 2025; 34(2):e70000.

PMID: 39840718 PMC: 11751906. DOI: 10.1002/pro.70000.

Genetic Code Expansion: Recent Developments and Emerging Applications.

Huang Y, Zhang P, Wang H, Chen Y, Liu T, Luo X Chem Rev. 2024; 125(2):523-598.

PMID: 39737807 PMC: 11758808. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.4c00216.

Programmability and biomedical utility of intrinsically-disordered protein polymers.

Giraldo-Castano M, Littlejohn K, Avecilla A, Barrera-Villamizar N, Quiroz F Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2024; 212:115418.

PMID: 39094909 PMC: 11389844. DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2024.115418.

Genetic Functionalization of Protein-Based Biomaterials via Protein Fusions.

Mendes G, Faulk B, Kaparthi B, Irion A, Fong B, Bayless K Biomacromolecules. 2024; 25(8):4639-4662.

PMID: 39074364 PMC: 11323028. DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.4c00188.

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