Adjustable Ellipsoid Nanoparticles Assembled from Re-engineered Connectors of the Bacteriophage Phi29 DNA Packaging Motor

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• 作者：Feng Xiao ; Ying Cai ; Joseph Che-Yen Wang ; Dominik Green ; R. Holland Cheng ; Borries Demeler ; Peixuan Guo
• 刊名：ACS Nano
• 出版年：2009
• 出版时间：August 25, 2009
• 年：2009
• 卷：3
• 期：8
• 页码：2163-2170
• 全文大小：432K
• 年卷期：0
• ISSN：1936-086X

文摘

A 24 × 30 nm ellipsoid nanoparticle containing 84 subunits or 7 dodecamers of the re-engineered core protein of the bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor was constructed. Homogeneous nanoparticles were obtained with simple one-step purification. Electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation were employed to elucidate the structure, shape, size, and mechanism of assembly. The formation of this structure was mediated and stabilized by N-terminal peptide extensions. Reversal of the 84-subunit ellipsoid nanoparticle to its dodecamer subunit was controlled by the cleavage of the extended N-terminal peptide with a protease. The 84 outward-oriented C-termini were conjugated with a streptavidin binding peptide which can be used for the incorporation of markers. This further extends the application of this nanoparticle to pathogen detection and disease diagnosis by signal enhancement.