In Vivo Coating of Bacterial Magnetic Nanoparticles by Magnetosome Expression of Spider Silk-Inspired Peptides

Title data

Mickoleit, Frank ; Borkner, Christian B. ; Toro-Nahuelpan, Mauricio ; Herold, Heike M. ; Maier, Denis S. ; Plitzko, Jürgen M. ; Scheibel, Thomas ; Schüler, Dirk:
In Vivo Coating of Bacterial Magnetic Nanoparticles by Magnetosome Expression of Spider Silk-Inspired Peptides.
In: Biomacromolecules. Vol. 19 (2018) Issue 3 . - pp. 962-972.
ISSN 1526-4602
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01749

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Abstract in another language

Magnetosomes are natural magnetic nanoparticles with exceptional properties that are synthesized in magnetotactic bacteria by a highly regulated biomineralization process. Their usability in many applications could be further improved by encapsulation in biocompatible polymers. In this study, we explored the production of spider silk-inspired peptides on magnetosomes of the alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. Genetic fusion of different silk sequence-like variants to abundant magnetosome membrane proteins enhanced magnetite biomineralization and caused the formation of a proteinaceous capsule, which increased the colloidal stability of isolated particles. Furthermore, we show that spider silk peptides fused to a magnetosome membrane protein can be used as seeds for silk fibril growth on the magnetosome surface. In summary, we demonstrate that the combination of two different biogenic materials generates a genetically encoded hybrid composite with engineerable new properties and enhanced potential for various applications.