Yang Wenrong, Ren Qin, Wu Ya-Na, Morris Vanessa K, Rey Anthony A, Braet Filip, Kwan Ann H, Sunde Margaret
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia.
Biopolymers. 2013 Jan;99(1):84-94. doi: 10.1002/bip.22146.
Class I fungal hydrophobins are small surface-active proteins that self-assemble to form amphipathic monolayers composed of amyloid-like rodlets. The monolayers are extremely robust and can adsorb onto both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces to reverse their wettability. This adherence is particularly strong for hydrophobic materials. In this report, we show that the class I hydrophobins EAS and HYD3 can self-assemble to form a single-molecule thick coating on a range of nanomaterials, including single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), graphene sheets, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, and mica. Moreover, coating by class I hydrophobin results in a stable, dispersed preparation of SWCNTs in aqueous solutions. No cytotoxicity is detected when hydrophobin or hydrophobin-coated SWCNTs are incubated with Caco-2 cells in vitro. In addition, we are able to specifically introduce covalently linked chemical moieties to the hydrophilic side of the rodlet monolayer. Hence, class I hydrophobins provide a simple and effective strategy for controlling the surfaces of a range of materials at a molecular level and exhibit strong potential for biomedical applications.
I类真菌疏水蛋白是一类具有表面活性的小分子蛋白质，它们能够自组装形成由类淀粉样小杆组成的两亲性单分子层。这些单分子层极其坚固，能够吸附在疏水和亲水表面上，从而改变其润湿性。这种吸附作用对于疏水材料尤为强烈。在本报告中，我们表明I类疏水蛋白EAS和HYD3能够自组装，在包括单壁碳纳米管（SWCNT）、石墨烯片、高度取向热解石墨和云母在内的一系列纳米材料上形成单分子厚的涂层。此外，用I类疏水蛋白进行涂层处理可使SWCNT在水溶液中形成稳定的分散制剂。当疏水蛋白或疏水蛋白包被的SWCNT在体外与Caco-2细胞共同孵育时，未检测到细胞毒性。此外，我们能够将共价连接的化学基团特异性地引入小杆单分子层的亲水侧。因此，I类疏水蛋白为在分子水平上控制一系列材料的表面提供了一种简单有效的策略，并在生物医学应用中展现出强大的潜力。
