Proteins as supramolecular hosts for C 60 : a true solution of C 60 in water

• Published in: Nanoscale 2018-06, Vol.10 (21), p.9908-9916
• Main Authors: Di Giosia, Matteo, Bomans, Paul H H, Bottoni, Andrea, Cantelli, Andrea, Falini, Giuseppe, Franchi, Paola, Guarracino, Giuseppe, Friedrich, Heiner, Lucarini, Marco, Paolucci, Francesco, Rapino, Stefania, Sommerdijk, Nico A J M, Soldà, Alice, Valle, Francesco, Zerbetto, Francesco, Calvaresi, Matteo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fullerenes - chemistry; Muramidase - chemistry; Spin Trapping; Water - chemistry
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c8nr02220h

Hybrid systems have great potential for a wide range of applications in chemistry, physics and materials science. Conjugation of a biosystem to a molecular material can tune the properties of the components or give rise to new properties. As a workhorse, here we take a C60@lysozyme hybrid. We show that lysozyme recognizes and disperses fullerene in water. AFM, cryo-TEM and high resolution X-ray powder diffraction show that the C60 dispersion is monomolecular. The adduct is biocompatible, stable in physiological and technologically-relevant environments, and easy to store. Hybridization with lysozyme preserves the electrochemical properties of C60. EPR spin-trapping experiments show that the C60@lysozyme hybrid produces ROS following both type I and type II mechanisms. Due to the shielding effect of proteins, the adduct generates significant amounts of 1O2 also in aqueous solution. In the case of type I mechanism, the protein residues provide electrons and the hybrid does not require addition of external electron donors. The preparation process and the properties of C60@lysozyme are general and can be expected to be similar to other C60@protein systems. It is envisaged that the properties of the C60@protein hybrids will pave the way for a host of applications in nanomedicine, nanotechnology, and photocatalysis.