Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE), National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), Beijing 100022, China.
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resources Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Jan 30;20(3):592. doi: 10.3390/ijms20030592.
Self-assembling proteins that form diverse architectures are widely used in material science and nanobiotechnology. One class belongs to protein nanocages, which are compartments with nanosized internal spaces. Because of the precise nanoscale structures, proteinaceous compartments are ideal materials for use as general platforms to create distinct microenvironments within confined cellular environments. This spatial organization strategy brings several advantages including the protection of catalyst cargo, faster turnover rates, and avoiding side reactions. Inspired by diverse molecular machines in nature, bioengineers have developed a variety of self-assembling supramolecular protein cages for use as biosynthetic nanoreactors that mimic natural systems. In this mini-review, we summarize current progress and ongoing efforts creating self-assembling protein based nanoreactors and their use in biocatalysis and synthetic biology. We also highlight the prospects for future research on these versatile nanomaterials.
自组装蛋白质可以形成多种结构，被广泛应用于材料科学和纳米生物技术领域。其中一类属于蛋白质纳米笼，是具有纳米级内部空间的隔间。由于具有精确的纳米级结构，蛋白质隔间是作为通用平台在受限的细胞环境中创建不同微环境的理想材料。这种空间组织策略带来了多个优势，包括保护催化剂货物、更快的周转率以及避免副反应。受自然界中各种分子机器的启发，生物工程师已经开发出多种自组装超分子蛋白质笼，用作仿生纳米反应器，以模拟自然系统。在这篇小型综述中，我们总结了当前在基于自组装蛋白质的纳米反应器的创建及其在生物催化和合成生物学中的应用方面的进展和正在进行的努力。我们还强调了对这些多功能纳米材料未来研究的前景。
