Multilayered polyelectrolyte microcapsules: interaction with the enzyme cytochrome C oxidase

Laura Pastorino; Elena Dellacasa; Mohamed R Noor; Tewfik Soulimane; Paolo Bianchini; Francesca D'Autilia; Alexei Antipov; Alberto Diaspro; Syed A M Tofail; Carmelina Ruggiero

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112192

Multilayered polyelectrolyte microcapsules: interaction with the enzyme cytochrome C oxidase

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 5;9(11):e112192. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112192. eCollection 2014.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
² Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; Materials and Surface Science Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
³ Nanophysics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy.
⁴ PlasmaChem GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Materials and Surface Science Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.

Abstract

Cell-sized polyelectrolyte capsules functionalized with a redox-driven proton pump protein were assembled for the first time. The interaction of polyelectrolyte microcapsules, fabricated by electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly, with cytochrome c oxidase molecules was investigated. We found that the cytochrome c oxidase retained its functionality, that the functionalized microcapsules interacting with cytochrome c oxidase were permeable and that the permeability characteristics of the microcapsule shell depend on the shell components. This work provides a significant input towards the fabrication of an integrated device made of biological components and based on specific biomolecular functions and properties.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
Capsules
Electron Transport Complex IV / chemistry*
Enzymes, Immobilized / chemistry*
Thermus thermophilus / enzymology*

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
Capsules
Enzymes, Immobilized
Electron Transport Complex IV

Grants and funding

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme: LANIR (FP7/20012-2015) under grant agreement no. 280804. This article reflects the views of the authors only, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.