A Versatile Toolkit for Controllable and Highly Selective Multifunctionalization of Bacterial Magnetic Nanoparticles

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 16; no. 16; pp. e1906922 - n/a
• Main Authors: Mickoleit, Frank, Lanzloth, Clarissa, Schüler, Dirk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Biomedical materials; Chemical reactions; Core-shell structure; Fluorescence; Genetic code; Hydrogels; magnetic composites; Magnetization; magnetosomes; Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense; Membranes; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Proteins; synthetic biology; magnetosomes; synthetic biology; nanoparticles; magnetic composites; Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201906922

Their unique material characteristics, i.e. high crystallinity, strong magnetization, uniform shape and size, and the ability to engineer the enveloping membrane in vivo make bacterial magnetosomes highly interesting for many biomedical and biotechnological applications. In this study, a versatile toolkit is developed for the multifunctionalization of magnetic nanoparticles in the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense, and the use of several abundant magnetosome membrane proteins as anchors for functional moieties is explored. High‐level magnetosome display of cargo proteins enables the generation of engineered nanoparticles with several genetically encoded functionalities, including a core–shell structure, magnetization, two different catalytic activities, fluorescence and the presence of a versatile connector that allows the incorporation into a hydrogel‐based matrix by specific coupling reactions. The resulting reusable magnetic composite demonstrates the high potential of synthetic biology for the production of multifunctional nanomaterials, turning the magnetosome surface into a platform for specific versatile display of functional moieties. Using genetic engineering techniques, a versatile toolkit for the multifunctionalization of bacterial magnetic nanoparticles is developed. High‐level magnetosome display of different cargo proteins enables the generation of magnetic, fluorescent, catalytically active particles that can be efficiently incorporated into a hydrogel‐based matrix, which results in a multifunctional, reusable composite material.