Abstract
M13 bacteriophages can provide a versatile platform for nanobiotechnology because of their unique biological and physicochemical properties. Polypeptides on their surfaces can be finely tuned on demand through genetic engineering, enabling tailored assembly of multiple functional components through specific interactions. Their versatility has been demonstrated by synthesizing various unprecedented hybrid materials for energy storage, biosensing, and catalysis. Here we select a specific type of genetically engineered M13 bacteriophage (DSPH) to investigate the origin of interactions. The interaction forces between the phage-coated surface and five different functionalized self-assembled monolayers are directly measured using a surface forces apparatus. We confirm that the phages have strong adhesion energies in acidic environments due to π-π stacking and hydrophobic interactions, while hydrogen bonding interactions remain relatively weak. These results provide quantitative and qualitative information of the molecular interaction mechanisms of DSPH phages, which can be utilized as a database of the bacteriophage interactions.
Highlights
M13 bacteriophages can provide a versatile platform for nanobiotechnology because of their unique biological and physicochemical properties
For surface forces apparatus (SFA) analysis (Fig. 1), we prepared a monolayer of M13 bacteriophages and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with various functional groups
Mica substrates, which are frequently used for SFA analysis because of their atomically flat nature, were readily coated with DSPH phages after replacing surface K+ ions with Mg2+ ions and exposing the substrate to a phage solution
Summary
M13 bacteriophages can provide a versatile platform for nanobiotechnology because of their unique biological and physicochemical properties Polypeptides on their surfaces can be finely tuned on demand through genetic engineering, enabling tailored assembly of multiple functional components through specific interactions. Due to the polyfunctionality of biomolecules[1], they often employ unique combinations of individual interactions (e.g., hydrogen bonding, steric hydration, electric double layer, van der Waals, cation–π, and hydrophobic interactions) and, as a result, can form strong ensemble interactions with specific molecules or matter (so called specific interaction or molecular recognition)[2,3,4] These specific biomolecular interactions have been successfully employed to develop target-specific drug delivery, bioimaging, and biosensing systems[5,6,7,8]. Direct and precise measurement of the force versus distance curves with the SFA under various conditions allow the identification of different types of interaction forces between the M13 bacteriophages and functional groups These provide clues to the molecular origin of its CNT-binding ability. We believe that this study can provide a versatile platform to characterize various specific biomolecular interactions and enable better understanding and utilization of biomolecules
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