Timed material self-assembly controlled by circadian clock proteins
Biological systems present a powerful, yet largely untapped, opportunity to impart autonomous regulation to materials. Because these systems can function robustly to regulate when and where chemical reactions occur, they have the ability to bring complex, life-like behavior to synthetic materials. H...
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Published in | ArXiv.org |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Cornell University
01.03.2023
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Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Biological systems present a powerful, yet largely untapped, opportunity to
impart autonomous regulation to materials. Because these systems can function
robustly to regulate when and where chemical reactions occur, they have the
ability to bring complex, life-like behavior to synthetic materials. Here, we
achieve this design feat by using functionalized circadian clock proteins, KaiB
and KaiC, to engineer time-dependent crosslinking of colloids. The resulting
material self-assembles with programmable kinetics, producing macroscopic
changes in material properties, via molecular assembly of KaiB-KaiC complexes.
We show that colloid crosslinking depends strictly on the phosphorylation state
of KaiC, with kinetics that are synced with KaiB-KaiC complexing. Our
microscopic image analyses and computational models indicate that self-assembly
of colloidal super-structures requires multiple Kai complexes per colloid
connection, which then stabilizes the material against dissolution. This work
introduces the concept of harnessing biological timers to control synthetic
materials; and, more generally, opens the door to using protein-based reaction
networks to endow synthetic systems with life-like functional properties. |
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ISSN: | 2331-8422 |