Immobilization Of Green Fluorescent Protein Research Articles

Sortase E-mediated site-specific immobilization of green fluorescent protein and xylose dehydrogenase on gold nanoparticles

Sortase, a bacterial transpeptidase enzyme, is an attractive tool for protein engineering due to its ability to break a peptide bond at a specific site and then reform a new bond with an incoming nucleophile. Here, we present the immobilization of two recombinant proteins, enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and xylose dehydrogenase (XylB) over triglycine functionalized PEGylated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using C. glutamicum sortase E. For the first time, we used a new class of sortase from a non-pathogenic organism for sortagging. The site-specific conjugation of proteins with LAHTG-tagged sequences on AuNPs via covalent cross-linking was successfully detected by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and UV–vis spectral analysis. The sortagging was initially validated by an eGFP model protein and later with the xylose dehydrogenase enzyme. The catalytic activity, stability, and reusability of the immobilized XylB were studied with the bioconversion of xylose to xylonic acid. When compared to the free enzyme, the immobilized XylB was able to retain 80% of its initial activity after four sequential cycles and exhibited no significant variations in instability after each cycle for about 72 h. These findings suggest that C. glutamicum sortase could be useful for immobilizing site-specific proteins/enzymes in biotransformation applications for value-added chemical production.

Peptide aptamer-assisted immobilization of green fluorescent protein for creating biomolecule-complexed carbon nanotube device

Carbon nanotubes are a novel material for next-generation applications. In this study, we generated carbon nanotube and green fluorescent protein (GFP) conjugates using affinity binding peptides. The carbon nanotube-binding motif was introduced into the N-terminus of the GFP through molecular biology methods. Multiple GFPs were successfully aligned on a single-walled carbon nanotube via the molecular recognition function of the peptide aptamer, which was confirmed through transmission electron microscopy and optical analysis. Fluorescence spectral analysis results also suggested that the carbon nanotube–GFP complex was autonomously formed with orientation and without causing protein denaturation during immobilization. This simple process has a widespread potential for fabricating carbon nanotube–biomolecule hybrid devices.

Site-Selective Biofunctionalization of Aluminum Nitride Surfaces Using Patterned Organosilane Self-Assembled Monolayers

Surface biochemical functionalization of group-III nitride semiconductors has recently attracted much interest because of their biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and long-term chemical stability under demanding physiochemical conditions for chemical and biological sensing. Among III-nitrides, aluminum nitride (AlN) and aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) are particularly important because they are often used as the sensing surfaces for sensors based on field-effect transistor or surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor structures. To demonstrate the possibility of site-selective biofunctionalization on AlN surfaces, we have fabricated two-dimensional antibody micropatterns on AlN surfaces by using patterned self-assembled monolayer (SAM) templates. Patterned SAM templates are composed of two types of organosilane molecules terminated with different functional groups (amino and methyl), which were fabricated on AlN/sapphire substrates by combining photolithography, lift-off process, and self-assembly technique. Because the patterned SAM templates have different surface properties on the same surface, clear imaging contrast of SAM micropatterns can be observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) operating at a low accelerating voltage in the range of 0.5-1.5 kV. Furthermore, the contrast in surface potential of the binary SAM microstructures was confirmed by selective adsorption of negatively charged colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The immobilization of AuNPs was limited on the positively charged amino-terminated regions, while they were scarcely found on the surface regions terminated by methyl groups. In this work, selective immobilization of green fluorescent protein (GFP) antibodies was demonstrated by the specific protein binding of enhanced GFP (EGFP) labeling. The observed strong fluorescent signal from antibody functionalized regions on the SAM-patterned AlN surface indicates the retained biological activity of specific molecular recognition resulting from the antibody-EGFP interaction. The results reported here show that micropatterning of organosilane SAMs by the combination of photolithographic process and lift-off technique is a practical approach for the fabrication of reaction regions on AlN-based bioanalytical microdevices.

Weak precursor state binding of protein molecules to size-selected gold nanoclusters on surfaces

We have employed liquid phase atomic force microscopy (AFM) to explore the immobilization of green fluorescent protein (GFP) molecules on films of size-selected gold clusters pinned on the surface of graphite. Previous studies indicated covalent binding between such clusters and a variety of proteins. For GFP, strong binding does not occur, but tapping mode AFM shows evidence of weak interactions between protein and cluster. This also occurs if the clusters are functionalized via thiolate molecules which present amine or carboxyl groups. We identify this weak “precursor” binding as a route to prepare the system for chemisorption, e.g. by peptide bond activation.

Hybridization of Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Immobilization of Green Fluorescent Protein on Nanostructured Organosilane Templates

We propose a novel process for preferential immobilization of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) onto organosilane self-assembled monolayer (SAM) templates. One of the advantages of using the organosilane SAM as the template is that it is electron-beam sensitive and, by utilizing the SAM as an alternative resist film, we can make nanopatterns on a molecular scale because the proximity effect is negligible owing to the film's thinness. An other advantage is that the organosilane SAM is repellent to both DNA and GFP. Thus, the patterned SAM can be utilized as the passivation film covering the outside of the pattern while DNA and GFP are immobilized within the pattern. We investigate two kinds of organosilane SAMs for the template. One is n-octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODS) SAM, and the other is 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (FDS) SAM. Our results indicate that the ODS SAM is more repellent to DNA than the FDS SAM and is suitable for DNA immobilization, while the FDS SAM template is suitable for GFP immobilization via biotin-avidin coupling because the FDS SAM surface prevents the nonspecific adsorption of streptavidin. Although the nonspecific adsorption of DNA and GFP on a SAM is also recognized, by controlling both the concentration and the incubation time, we can immobilize DNA and GFP preferentially onto nanopatterns of 100 nm diameter.