The formation of fibers via complementary base pairing of DNA-conjugated bovine serum albumin

Abstract

Assembled protein-based substances are emerging and promising classes of materials that provide unique properties for various applications in biotechnology and nanotechnolegy. Self-assembly is an effective way to immobilize protein. In this study, DNAs-conjugated bovine serum albumin (BSA) assembled into fibers via DNA hybridization is demonstrated. The morphology of fibers was observed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the assembly mechanism was then analysed and discussed. BSA molecules were first linked by DNA molecule and formed linear chains. These chains then were parallelly linked through additional DNA hybridization. Finally, several BSA chains further assembled into fibers by layering lamellae in a parallel manner. This work perhaps will provide a guide to the immobilization of enzyme, which could be applied to increase its catalytic efficiency in biomedicine and nanotechnology.