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Diatom-inspired multiscale mineralization of patterned protein–polysaccharide complex structures

Marine diatoms construct their hierarchically ordered, three-dimensional (3D) external structures called frustules through precise biomineralization processes. Recapitulating the remarkable architectures and functions of diatom frustules in artificial materials is a major challenge that has importan...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Li, Ke, Li, Yingfeng, Wang, Xinyu, Cui, Mengkui, An, Bolin, Pu, Jiahua, Liu, Jintao, Zhang, Boyang, Ma, Guijun, Zhong, Chao
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8363331/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34691703
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa191
Descripción
Sumario:Marine diatoms construct their hierarchically ordered, three-dimensional (3D) external structures called frustules through precise biomineralization processes. Recapitulating the remarkable architectures and functions of diatom frustules in artificial materials is a major challenge that has important technological implications for hierarchically ordered composites. Here, we report the construction of highly ordered, mineralized composites based on fabrication of complex self-supporting porous structures—made of genetically engineered amyloid fusion proteins and the natural polysaccharide chitin—and performing in situ multiscale protein-mediated mineralization with diverse inorganic materials, including SiO(2), TiO(2) and Ga(2)O(3). Subsequently, using sugar cubes as templates, we demonstrate that 3D fabricated porous structures can become colonized by engineered bacteria and can be functionalized with highly photoreactive minerals, thereby enabling co-localization of the photocatalytic units with a bacteria-based hydrogenase reaction for a successful semi-solid artificial photosynthesis system for hydrogen evolution. Our study thus highlights the power of coupling genetically engineered proteins and polysaccharides with biofabrication techniques to generate hierarchically organized mineralized porous structures inspired by nature.