The Diatom Peptide R5 Fabricates Two-Dimensional Titanium Dioxide Nanosheets

Diatoms use peptides based on the protein silaffin to fabricate their silica cell walls. To the interest of material scientists, silaffin peptides can also produce titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Peptide-based synthesis could present an environmentally friendly route to the synthesis of titanium dioxide nanomaterials with potential applications in water splitting and for biocompatible materials design. Two-dimensional nanomaterials have exceptional surface-to-volume ratios and are particularly suited for these applications. We here demonstrate how the silaffin peptide R5 can precipitate free-standing and self-supported sheets of titanium dioxide at the air-water interface, which are stable over tens of micrometers.

Interrogating biomineralization one amino acid at a time: amplification of mutational effects in protein-aided titania morphogenesis through reaction-diffusion control

To emulate the control that biomineralizing organisms exert over reactant transport, we construct a countercurrent reaction-diffusion chamber in which an agarose hydrogel regulates the fluxes of inorganic precursor and precipitating solid-binding protein. We show that the morphology of the bioprecipitated titania can be changed from monolithic to interconnected particle networks and dispersed nanoparticles either by decreasing reaction time or by increasing agarose weight percentage at constant precursor and protein concentrations. More strikingly, protein variants with one or two substitutions in their metal oxide-binding domain yield unique peripheral morphologies (needles, threads, plates, and peapods) with distinct crystallography and photocatalytic activity. Our results suggest that diffusional control can magnify otherwise subtle mutational effects in biomineralizing proteins and provide a path for the green synthesis of morphologically and functionally diverse inorganic materials.

On the Mechanism of Bioinspired Formation of Inorganic Oxides: Structural Evidence of the Electrostatic Nature of the Interaction between a Mononuclear Inorganic Precursor and Lysozyme

Nature has evolved several molecular machineries to promote the formation at physiological conditions of inorganic materials, which would otherwise be formed in extreme conditions. The molecular determinants of this process have been established over the last decade, identifying a strong role of electrostatics in the first steps of the precipitation. However, no conclusive, structure-based evidence has been provided so far. In this manuscript, we test the binding of lysozyme with silica and titania potential precursors. In contrast with the absence of structural information about the interaction with the silica precursor, we observe the interaction with a mononuclear titanium(IV) species, which is found to occur in a region rich of positive charges.

Phase Control of Nanocrystalline Inclusions in Bioprecipitated Titania with a Panel of Mutant Silica-Binding Proteins

The biomimetic route to inorganic synthesis presents an opportunity to produce complex materials with superior properties under ambient conditions and from nontoxic precursors. While there has been significant progress in using solid-binding peptides (SBPs), proteins, and organisms to produce a variety of inorganic and hybrid structures, it has been more challenging to understand the interplay of solution conditions and solid-binding peptide (SBP) sequence, structure, and self-association on synthetic outcomes. Here, we show that fusing the Car9 silica-binding peptide-but not the silaffin-derived R5 peptide-to superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) enhances the ability of micromolar concentrations of protein to induce rapid titania (TiO₂) precipitation from acidified solutions of tetrakis(di-lactato)-oxo-titanate (TiBALDH). TiO₂ is produced stoichiometrically and although predominantly amorphous, contains nanosized anatase and monoclinic TiO₂(B) inclusions. Remarkably, the phase of these nanocrystallites can be tuned from about 80% TiO₂(B) to about 65% anatase by using Car9 mutants impaired in their ability to drive the formation of higher-order sfGFP-Car9 oligomers. Our results suggest that the presentation of multiple basic side chains in an extended plane formed by SBP self-association is critical to template the formation of monoclinic crystallites and underscore the subtle influence that single or dual substitutions in dodecameric SBPs can exert on the yield and crystallinity of biomineralized inorganics.

Constructing Antifouling Hybrid Membranes with Hierarchical Hybrid Nanoparticles for Oil-in-Water Emulsion Separation

The development of antifouling membranes plays a vital role in the widespread application of membrane technology, and the hybridization strategy has attracted a significant amount of attention for antifouling applications. In this work, TA/PEI@TiO₂ hierarchical hybrid nanoparticles (TPTi HHNs) are first synthesized through a simple strategy combining the multiple catechol chemistries of phenolic tannic acid (TA) with the biomimetic mineralization chemistry of titania. The TPTi HHNs are used as nanofillers to prepare PVDF/TPTi hybrid membranes. The TPTi HHNs endow the membrane with higher porosity, hierarchical roughness, greater hydrophilicity, and underwater superoleophobicity. Upon TPTi HHN loading, the PVDF/TPTi hybrid membranes exhibit enhanced antifouling performance. The flux recovery ratio can reach 92% when utilized to separate oil-in-water emulsion. Even being applied to the three-cycle filtration of oil-in-water emulsion with much higher concentration, the PVDF/TPTi membrane can still maintain a high flux recovery ratio about 85%. This study will provide a facial polyphenol-based platform to fabricate antifouling hybrid nanofillers and antifouling hybrid membranes with promising applications in oil/water separation.

Viral capsid-like titania for selective enrichment of phosphorylated peptides

Viral capsid-like titania (VCL-TiO₂) bearing ordered mesoporous channels and protrusions was fabricated for selectively enriching phosphorylated peptides.

Interactions between Metal Oxides and Biomolecules: from Fundamental Understanding to Applications

Metallo-oxide (MO)-based bioinorganic nanocomposites promise unique structures, physicochemical properties, and novel biochemical functionalities, and within the past decade, investment in research on materials such as ZnO, TiO₂, SiO₂, and GeO₂ has significantly increased. Besides traditional approaches, the synthesis, shaping, structural patterning, and postprocessing chemical functionalization of the materials surface is inspired by strategies which mimic processes in nature. Would such materials deliver new technologies? Answering this question requires the merging of historical knowledge and current research from different fields of science. Practically, we need an effective defragmentation of the research area. From our perspective, the superficial accounting of material properties, chemistry of the surfaces, and the behavior of biomolecules next to such surfaces is a problem. This is particularly of concern when we wish to bridge between technologies in vitro and biotechnologies in vivo. Further, besides the potential practical technological efficiency and advantages such materials might exhibit, we have to consider the wider long-term implications of material stability and toxicity. In this contribution, we present a critical review of recent advances in the chemistry and engineering of MO-based biocomposites, highlighting the role of interactions at the interface and the techniques by which these can be studied. At the end of the article, we outline the challenges which hamper progress in research and extrapolate to developing and promising directions including additive manufacturing and synthetic biology that could benefit from molecular level understanding of interactions occurring between inanimate (abiotic) and living (biotic) materials.

L-Leucine Templated Biomimetic Assembly of SnO2 Nanoparticles and Their Lithium Storage Properties

SnO₂ nanoparticles have been synthesized by a novel route of a sol-gel method assisted with biomimetic assembly using L-leucine as a biotemplate. The microstructure of as-prepared SnO₂ nanoparticles was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET) measurements. The results demonstrated that the growth of SnO₂ could be regulated by L-leucine at a high calcination temperature. The electrochemical performance of SnO₂ was also measured as anodes for lithium-ion battery. It is a guidance for the growth regulation of SnO₂ at high temperature to obtain SnO₂/C with nanosized SnO₂ coated by a graphitic carbon.

Cytoprotective Encapsulation of Individual Jurkat T Cells within Durable TiO2 Shells for T-Cell Therapy

Lymphocytes, such as T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, have therapeutic promise in adoptive cell transfer (ACT) therapy, where the cells are activated and expanded in vitro and then infused into a patient. However, the in vitro preservation of labile lymphocytes during transfer, manipulation, and storage has been one of the bottlenecks in the development and commercialization of therapeutic lymphocytes. Herein, we suggest a cell-in-shell (or artificial spore) strategy to enhance the cell viability in the practical settings, while maintaining biological activities for therapeutic efficacy. A durable titanium oxide (TiO₂ ) shell is formed on individual Jurkat T cells, and the CD3 and other antigens on cell surfaces remain accessible to the antibodies. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) secretion is also not hampered by the shell formation. This work suggests a chemical toolbox for effectively preserving lymphocytes in vitro and developing the lymphocyte-based cancer immunotherapy.

Bioinspired production of magnetic laccase-biotitania particles for the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals

Microbial laccases are powerful enzymes capable of degrading lignin and other recalcitrant compounds including endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Efficient EDC removal on an industrial scale requires robust, stable, easy to handle and cost-effective immobilized biocatalysts. In this direction, magnetic biocatalysts are attractive due to their easy separation through an external magnetic field. Recently, a bioinspired immobilization technique that mimics the natural biomineralization reactions in diatoms has emerged as a fast and versatile tool for generating robust, cheap, and highly stable (nano) biocatalysts. In this work, bioinspired formation of a biotitania matrix is triggered on the surface of magnetic particles in the presence of laccase in order to produce laccase-biotitania (lac-bioTiO2 ) biocatalysts suitable for environmental applications using a novel, fast and versatile enzyme entrapment technique. Highly active lac-bioTiO2 particles have been produced and the effect of different parameters (enzyme loading, titania precursor concentration, pH, duration of the biotitania formation, and laccase adsorption steps) on the apparent activity yield of these biocatalysts were evaluated, the concentration of the titania precursor being the most influential. The lac-bioTiO2 particles were able to catalyze the removal of bisphenol A, 17α-ethinylestradiol and diclofenac in a mixture of six model EDCs and retained 90% of activity after five reaction cycles and 60% after 10 cycles.

Biomimetic layer-by-layer deposition assisted synthesis of Cu, N co-doped TiO2 nanosheets with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

In this paper, a Cu, N co-doped TiO2 nanosheet with increased visible light photocatalytic activity was successfully synthesized using a biomimetic layer-by-layer deposition process. The polymer, branched-polyethyleneimine (b-PEI) was used as an induction agent for the hydrolysis of titanium bis(ammonium lactato)-dihydroxide (Ti-BALDH) as well as for a nitrogen resource, and the graphene oxide (GO) was used as a two-dimensional nano-template. The positively charged b-PEI will bind to the negatively charged GO and titania. In a typical layer-by-layer deposition process, GO nanosheets are exposed in an alternating fashion to aqueous b-PEI, CuCl2 and Ti-BALDH solutions, thus, making the layer-by-layer deposition of a conformal b-PEI/Cu-Ti-O coating on the GO. Subsequent b-PEI and GO pyrolysis at 550 °C under air yielded Cu, N co-doped TiO2 nanosheets. The materials obtained were comprehensively investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Raman spectra, photoluminescence spectra and electron paramagnetic resonance. The Cu, N co-doped TiO2 nanosheets showed obviously enhanced photocatalytic activity which was evaluated by degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. This research might provide some new insights for the "green synthesis" of the simultaneous doping of two kinds of foreign atoms into TiO2 with controlled morphology and photocatalytic properties.

Bioinspired nanoarchitectonics as emerging drug delivery systems

Bioinspired nanoarchitectonics opens a new era for designing drug delivery systems.