Site-directed delivery of ferritin-encapsulated gold nanoparticles

Abstract

Newly designed porter proteins, which catch gold nanoparticlesand deliver the nanoparticles selectively to a silicon dioxide (SiO2) surface under the specific conditions were reported. Recombinant apoferritin subunits, eachof which has gold-binding peptide and titanium-binding peptide at the C- and N-terminus,respectively, can efficiently encapsulate a gold nanoparticle. The bio-conjugate, a nanogoldand surrounding mutant protein subunits, had a property which can deliver itself to theSiO2 surface through the interaction. In theory, our genetically manipulated apoferritin subunitscan encapsulate gold nanoparticles of various sizes, which is a promising property forapplications involving surface plasmon resonance.