Kurzfassung

Recent results revealed that the formation of the biomineral (biosilica) skeleton of the siliceous sponges occurs by structure-directed molecular self-assembly of silica nanospheres guided by two principal interacting proteins: silicatein (an enzyme which catalyzes silica formation) and silintaphin-1 (a scaffolding protein). The needle-like skeletal elements of sponges, the spicules, have been shown to act as light waveguides with unique mechanical / optical properties. Our discovery of...Recent results revealed that the formation of the biomineral (biosilica) skeleton of the siliceous sponges occurs by structure-directed molecular self-assembly of silica nanospheres guided by two principal interacting proteins: silicatein (an enzyme which catalyzes silica formation) and silintaphin-1 (a scaffolding protein). The needle-like skeletal elements of sponges, the spicules, have been shown to act as light waveguides with unique mechanical / optical properties. Our discovery of silintaphin-1, which directs the assembly of enzymatically (via silicatein) formed silica nanoparticles, allows the “bottom-up” design and fabrication of silica rods/fibers, resembling natural (waveguiding) spicules. On the other hand, we demonstrated that bacteria transformed with silicatein gene can be encapsulated in a transparent protective silica shell. We will employ these exciting self-assembly mechanisms provided by nature to generate spicule-like nano-micro-rods/ fibers with integrated light-emitting bacteria cells acting as biosensors to exogenous stresses.» weiterlesen» einklappen