Protein-based bioactive coatings: from nanoarchitectonics to applications

Protein-based bioactive coatings have emerged as a versatile and promising strategy for enhancing the performance and biocompatibility of diverse biomedical materials and devices. Through surface modification, these coatings confer novel biofunctional attributes, rendering the material highly bioactive. Their widespread adoption across various domains in recent years underscores their importance. This review systematically elucidates the behavior of protein-based bioactive coatings in organisms and expounds on their underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, it highlights notable advancements in artificial synthesis methodologies and their functional applications in vitro. A focal point is the delineation of assembly strategies employed in crafting protein-based bioactive coatings, which provides a guide for their expansion and sustained implementation. Finally, the current trends, challenges, and future directions of protein-based bioactive coatings are discussed.

High Affinity Immobilization of Proteins Using the CrAsH/TC Tag

Protein microarrays represent important tools for biomedical analysis. We have recently described the use of the biarsenical-tetracysteine (TC) tag for the preparation of protein microarrays. The unique feature of this tag enables the site-specific immobilization of TC-containing proteins on biarsenical-modified surfaces, resulting in a fluorescence enhancement that allows the direct quantification of the immobilized proteins. Moreover, the reversibility of the binding upon incubation with large quantities of thiols permits the detachment of the proteins from the surface, thereby enabling recovery of the substrate to extend the life time of the slide. Herein, we describe our recent results that further extend the applicability of the CrAsH/TC tag to the fabrication of biochips. With this aim, the immobilization of proteins on surfaces has been investigated using two different spacers and two TC tags, the minimal TC sequence (CCPGCC) and an optimized motif (FLNCCPGCCMEP). While the minimal peptide motif enables a rapid recycling of the slide, the optimized TC sequence reveals an increased affinity due to its greater resistance to displacement by thiols. Moreover, the developed methodology was applied to the immobilization of proteins via on-chip ligation of recombinant protein thioesters.

Cobalt(III)-Mediated Permanent and Stable Immobilization of Histidine-Tagged Proteins on NTA-Functionalized Surfaces

We present the cobalt(III)-mediated interaction between polyhistidine (His)-tagged proteins and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA)-modified surfaces as a general approach for a permanent, oriented, and specific protein immobilization. In this approach, we first form the well-established Co(2+) -mediated interaction between NTA and His-tagged proteins and subsequently oxidize the Co(2+) center in the complex to Co(3+) . Unlike conventionally used Ni(2+) - or Co(2+) -mediated immobilization, the resulting Co(3+) -mediated immobilization is resistant toward strong ligands, such as imidazole and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and washing off over time because of the high thermodynamic and kinetic stability of the Co(3+) complex. This immobilization method is compatible with a wide variety of surface coatings, including silane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on glass, thiol SAMs on gold surfaces, and supported lipid bilayers. Furthermore, once the cobalt center has been oxidized, it becomes inert toward reducing agents, specific and unspecific interactions, so that it can be used to orthogonally functionalize surfaces with multiple proteins. Overall, the large number of available His-tagged proteins and materials with NTA groups make the Co(3+) -mediated interaction an attractive and widely applicable platform for protein immobilization.

Polyethyleneimine-modified graphene oxide nanocomposites for effective protein functionalization

A facile method to prepare a biocompatible graphene oxide (GO)-based substrate for protein immobilization was developed to overcome the drawbacks of GO, such as the strong electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions which could potentially alter the conformation and biological activity of proteins. The GO was coated with hydrophilic branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI), while Concanavalin A (Con A) as a model lectin protein was employed to fabricate the functionalized composites to evaluate the feasibility of this strategy. The composites exhibit an extremely high binding capacity for glycoproteins (i.e. IgG 538.3 mg g(-1)), which are superior to other immobilized materials. Moreover, they can work well in 500-fold non-glycoprotein interference and even in complex biological samples. All these data suggest that the GO@BPEI composites will have great potential as scaffolds for proteins fully exerting their biofunctions.

Surface immobilization of a protease through an inhibitor-derived affinity ligand: a bioactive surface with defensive properties against an inhibitor

Surface immobilization of a protease through its inhibitor-derived peptide was shown to be advantageous in retaining the enzymatic activity of the protease and protecting the protease from being inhibited by its inhibitor.