Sutherland, G.A. orcid.org/0000-0002-6319-4637, Polak, D., Swainsbury, D.J.K. orcid.org/0000-0002-0754-0363 et al. (11 more authors) (2020) A thermostable protein matrix for spectroscopic analysis of organic semiconductors. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 142 (32). pp. 13898-13907. ISSN 0002-7863
Abstract
Advances in protein design and engineering have yielded peptide assemblies with enhanced and non-native functionalities. Here, various molecular organic semiconductors (OSCs), with known excitonic up- and down-conversion properties, are attached to a de novo-designed protein, conferring entirely novel functions on the peptide scaffolds. The protein-OSC complexes form similarly sized, stable, water-soluble nanoparticles that are robust to cryogenic freezing and processing into the solid-state. The peptide matrix enables the formation of protein-OSC-trehalose glasses that fix the proteins in their folded states under oxygen-limited conditions. The encapsulation dramatically enhances the stability of protein-OSC complexes to photodamage, increasing the lifetime of the chromophores from several hours to more than 10 weeks under constant illumination. Comparison of the photophysical properties of astaxanthin aggregates in mixed-solvent systems and proteins shows that the peptide environment does not alter the underlying electronic processes of the incorporated materials, exemplified here by singlet exciton fission followed by separation into weakly bound, localized triplets. This adaptable protein-based approach lays the foundation for spectroscopic assessment of a broad range of molecular OSCs in aqueous solutions and the solid-state, circumventing the laborious procedure of identifying the experimental conditions necessary for aggregate generation or film formation. The non-native protein functions also raise the prospect of future biocompatible devices where peptide assemblies could complex with native and non-native systems to generate novel functional materials.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 American Chemical Society. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Engineering and Physical Science Research Council EP/S002103/1; EP/M025330/1; EP/J013714/1; EP/L022613/1; and EP/N014022/1 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/M000265/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 Aug 2020 07:07 |
Last Modified: | 16 Jul 2021 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society (ACS) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/jacs.0c05477 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:164716 |