Kurzfassung

This project aims to apply the principles of poriferan gene-regulated biosilicification for the synthesis of materials with novel property combinations. Accordingly, we will use both biocatalytic activity and structure-providing properties of silicatein and silintaphin to generate, at ambient conditions, layered inorganic-bioorganic hybrid materials with functionalities not achievable through conventional chemical methods. For this purpose, primmorphs (sponge cell culture) will be genetically...This project aims to apply the principles of poriferan gene-regulated biosilicification for the synthesis of materials with novel property combinations. Accordingly, we will use both biocatalytic activity and structure-providing properties of silicatein and silintaphin to generate, at ambient conditions, layered inorganic-bioorganic hybrid materials with functionalities not achievable through conventional chemical methods. For this purpose, primmorphs (sponge cell culture) will be genetically engineered to tailor distinct steps during biomineral formation. Thus, primmorphs will be used as biofactories to sequentially integrate non-biogenic nanoparticles with defined characteristics as building blocks into growing spicules. The goal is to combine the amazing mechanical and optical properties of natural spicules with new properties, such as magnetism (γ-Fe2O3 with surface-bound silicatein/silintaphin), high refractive index (TiO2), thermal conductivity (perovskites), thermoresponsiveness (brush polymers with PNIPAM side chains and silica binding affinity), or fluorescence (gallocyanine-silica). Concurrently, expression of recombinant proteins in primmorphs will facilitate assembly of aforementioned building blocks through affinity tags. Nanomechanical properties of the resulting layered composites will be analyzed. In a complementary approach, silicatein and silintaphin will be bioengineered to obtain new binding affinities or functionalities (e.g., tunable fluorescence and thermoresponsiveness). Their combination in vitro with silicatein substrates or nanoscale building blocks, then, will yield self-assembled, self-healing composites with (i) mechanical stress-sensing capacity and memory or (ii) thermoresponsiveness.» weiterlesen» einklappen