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Fereiro JA, Bendikov T, Herrmann A, Pecht I, Sheves M, Cahen D. Protein Orientation Defines Rectification of Electronic Current via Solid-State Junction of Entire Photosystem-1 Complex. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:2973-2982. [PMID: 36940422 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate that the direction of current rectification via one of nature's most efficient light-harvesting systems, the photosystem 1 complex (PS1), can be controlled by its orientation on Au substrates. Molecular self-assembly of the PS1 complex using four different linkers with distinct functional head groups that interact by electrostatic and hydrogen bonds with different surface parts of the entire protein PS1 complex was used to tailor the PS1 orientation. We observe an orientation-dependent rectification in the current-voltage characteristics for linker/PS1 molecule junctions. Results of an earlier study using a surface two-site PS1 mutant complex having its orientation set by covalent binding to the Au substrate supports our conclusion. Current-voltage-temperature measurements on the linker/PS1 complex indicate off-resonant tunneling as the main electron transport mechanism. Our ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy results highlight the importance of the protein orientation for the energy level alignment and provide insight into the charge transport mechanism via the PS1 transport chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerry A Fereiro
- Department of Molecular Chemistry & Materials Science, Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
- School of Chemistry, Indian Inst. of Science Education & Research, Thiruvananthapuram 695551, Kerala, India
| | - Tatyana Bendikov
- Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Andreas Herrmann
- DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Israel Pecht
- Department of Immunology & Regenerative Biology, Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Mordechai Sheves
- Department of Molecular Chemistry & Materials Science, Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - David Cahen
- Department of Molecular Chemistry & Materials Science, Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
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Bai X, Li P, Peng W, Chen N, Lin JL, Li Y. Ionogel-Electrode for the Study of Protein Tunnel Junctions under Physiologically Relevant Conditions. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023:e2300663. [PMID: 36965118 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The study of charge transport through proteins is essential for understanding complicated electrochemical processes in biological activities while the reasons for the coexistence of tunneling and hopping phenomena in protein junctions still remain unclear. In this work, a flexible and conductive ionogel electrode is synthesized and is used as a top contact to form highly reproducible protein junctions. The junctions of proteins, including human serum albumin, cytochrome C and hemoglobin, show temperature-independent electron tunneling characteristics when the junctions are in solid states while with a different mechanism of temperature-dependent electron hopping when junctions are hydrated under physiologically relevant conditions. It is demonstrated that the solvent reorganization energy plays an important role in the electron-hopping process and experimentally shown that it requires ≈100 meV for electron hopping through one heme group inside a hydrated protein molecule connected between two electrodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiyue Bai
- Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering and Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Pengfei Li
- Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering and Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Wuxian Peng
- Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering and Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Ningyue Chen
- Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering and Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Liang Lin
- Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering and Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering and Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
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Matsuura Y, Kato F, Okita M, Tachikawa T. Coherent spin transport in a natural helical protein molecule. Chem Phys 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2021.111107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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How stable are the collagen and ferritin proteins for application in bioelectronics? PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246180. [PMID: 33513177 PMCID: PMC7845979 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
One major obstacle in development of biomolecular electronics is the loss of function of biomolecules upon their surface-integration and storage. Although a number of reports on solid-state electron transport capacity of proteins have been made, no study on whether their functional integrity is preserved upon surface-confinement and storage over a long period of time (few months) has been reported. We have investigated two specific cases—collagen and ferritin proteins, since these proteins exhibit considerable potential as bioelectronic materials as we reported earlier. Since one of the major factors for protein degradation is the proteolytic action of protease, such studies were made under the action of protease, which was either added deliberately or perceived to have entered in the reaction vial from ambient environment. Since no significant change in the structural characteristics of these proteins took place, as observed in the circular dichroism and UV-visible spectrophotometry experiments, and the electron transport capacity was largely retained even upon direct protease exposure as revealed from the current sensing atomic force spectroscopy experiments, we propose that stable films can be formed using the collagen and ferritin proteins. The observed protease-resistance and robust nature of these two proteins support their potential application in bioelectronics.
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Song X, Bu Y. Electric field controlled uphill electron migration along α-helical oligopeptides. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:1464-1474. [PMID: 33399139 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp05085g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A systematic study on applied electric field effects (Eapp) on electron transfer along the peptides is very important for the regulation of electron transfer behaviors so as to realize the functions of proteins. In this work, we computationally investigated the uphill migration behaviors of excess electrons along the peptide chains under Eapp using the density functional theory method. We examined the electronic property changes of the model α-helical oligopeptides, the dynamics behavior of an excess electron along the peptide chains under Eapp opposite to the internal dipole field of peptides. We found that Eapp of different intensities can effectively modulate the electron-binding abilities, Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) energies and distributions, dipole moments and other corresponding properties with different degrees. The electron-binding abilities of α-helical oligopeptides revealed by vertical electron affinity and FMO energies decrease in weak Eapp and then increase greatly in high Eapp, while the dipole moments change mildly in weak Eapp and increase significantly until a threshold and then become gentle in high Eapp. Analysis of FMO and electron distributions indicates that an excess electron can migrate uphill from the N-terminus to the C-terminus of the α-helical peptides in an irregular jump mode as Eapp linearly increases. Another interesting finding is that α-helical peptides with diverse chain lengths have different sensitivities to Eapp. The longer the peptide is, the more obvious the effects of Eapp are. Additionally, compared to the Eapp effect on linear oligopeptides, we summarized the systematic rule about the Eapp effect on excess electron migration uphill along the peptide chains. Clearly, this work not only enriches the information of the Eapp effect on electronic properties and electron transfers in the helical peptides, but also provides a new perspective for modulating electron migration behaviors in protein electronics engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiufang Song
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, P. R. China.
| | - Yuxiang Bu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, P. R. China.
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Kayser B, Fereiro JA, Guo C, Cohen SR, Sheves M, Pecht I, Cahen D. Transistor configuration yields energy level control in protein-based junctions. NANOSCALE 2018; 10:21712-21720. [PMID: 30431054 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr06627b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The incorporation of proteins as functional components in electronic junctions has received much interest recently due to their diverse bio-chemical and physical properties. However, information regarding the energies of the frontier orbitals involved in their electron transport (ETp) has remained elusive. Here we employ a new method to quantitatively determine the energy position of the molecular orbital, nearest to the Fermi level (EF) of the electrode, in the electron transfer protein Azurin. The importance of the Cu(ii) redox center of Azurin is demonstrated by measuring gate-controlled conductance switching which is absent if Azurin's copper ions are removed. Comparing different electrode materials, a higher conductance and a lower gate-induced current onset is observed for the material with smaller work function, indicating that ETp via Azurin is LUMO-mediated. We use the difference in work function to calibrate the difference in gate-induced current onset for the two electrode materials, to a specific energy level shift and find that ETp via Azurin is near resonance. Our results provide a basis for mapping and studying the role of energy level positions in (bio)molecular junctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Kayser
- Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
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Raichlin S, Pecht I, Sheves M, Cahen D. Protein Electronic Conductors: Hemin-Substrate Bonding Dictates Transport Mechanism and Efficiency across Myoglobin. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201505951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Raichlin S, Pecht I, Sheves M, Cahen D. Protein Electronic Conductors: Hemin-Substrate Bonding Dictates Transport Mechanism and Efficiency across Myoglobin. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2015; 54:12379-83. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201505951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Jett JE, Lederman D, Wollenberg LA, Li D, Flora DR, Bostick CD, Tracy TS, Gannett PM. Measurement of electron transfer through cytochrome P450 protein on nanopillars and the effect of bound substrates. J Am Chem Soc 2013; 135:3834-40. [PMID: 23427827 PMCID: PMC3876957 DOI: 10.1021/ja309104g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Electron transfer in cytochrome P450 enzymes is a fundamental process for activity. It is difficult to measure electron transfer in these enzymes because under the conditions typically used they exist in a variety of states. Using nanotechnology-based techniques, gold conducting nanopillars were constructed in an indexed array. The P450 enzyme CYP2C9 was attached to each of these nanopillars, and conductivity measurements made using conducting probe atomic force microscopy under constant force conditions. The conductivity measurements were made on CYP2C9 alone and with bound substrates, a bound substrate-effector pair, and a bound inhibitor. Fitting of the data with the Poole-Frenkel model indicates a correlation between the barrier height for electron transfer and the ease of CYP2C9-mediated metabolism of the bound substrates, though the spin state of iron is not well correlated. The approach described here should have broad application to the measurement of electron transfer in P450 enzymes and other metalloenzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E. Jett
- West Virginia University, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Morgantown, WV 26506-9530
| | - David Lederman
- West Virginia University, Department of Physics, Morgantown, WV 26506-6315
| | - Lance A. Wollenberg
- West Virginia University, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Morgantown, WV 26506-9530
| | - Debin Li
- West Virginia University, Department of Physics, Morgantown, WV 26506-6315
| | - Darcy R. Flora
- University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, Minneapolis, MN, 55455
| | | | - Timothy S. Tracy
- University of Kentucky, College of Pharmacy, Lexington, KY 40536
| | - Peter M. Gannett
- West Virginia University, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Morgantown, WV 26506-9530
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