Bernhard Schuster
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria
Title: S-layer protein lattice as a key component in biosensor development
Biography
Biography: Bernhard Schuster
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Combining biological with electronic components is a very challenging approach because it allows the design of ultra-small biosensors with unsurpassed specificity and sensitivity. However, many biomolecules lose their structure and/or function when randomly immobilized on inorganic surfaces. Hence, there is a strong need for robust self-assembling biomolecules, which attract great attention as surfaces and interfaces can be functionalized and patterned in a bottom-up approach.
Methodology: Crystalline cell surface layer (S-layer) proteins, which constitute the outermost cell envelope structure of bacteria and archaea, are very promising and versatile components in this respect for the fabrication of biosensors. S-layer proteins show the ability to self-assemble in-vitro on many surfaces and interfaces to form a crystalline two-dimensional protein lattice.
Findings: The S-layer lattice on the surface of a biosensor becomes part of the interface architecture linking the bioreceptor to the transducer interface, which may cause signal amplification. The S-layer lattice as ultrathin, highly porous structure with functional groups in a well-defined spatial distribution and orientation and an overall anti-fouling characteristics can significantly raise the limit in terms of variety and ease of bioreceptor immobilization, compactness and alignment of molecule arrangement, specificity, and sensitivity. Moreover, mimicking the supramolecular building principle of archaeal cell envelopes, comprising of a plasma membrane and an attached S-layer lattice allow the fabrication of S-layer supported lipid membranes. In the latter, membrane-active peptides and membrane proteins can be reconstituted and utilized as highly sensitive bioreceptors.
Conclusion & Significance: S-layer proteins bridge the biological with the inorganic world and hence, fulfill key requirements as immobilization matrices and patterning elements for the production of biosensors. This presentation summarizes examples for the successful implementation of bacterial S-layer protein lattices on biosensor surfaces in order to give an overview on the application potential of these bioinspired S-layer protein-based biosensors.
