Issue 22, 2021

A tripartite carbohydrate-binding module to functionalize cellulose nanocrystals

Abstract

The development of protein and microorganism engineering have led to rising expectations of biotechnology in the design of emerging biomaterials, putatively of high interest to reduce our dependence on fossil carbon resources. In this way, cellulose, a renewable carbon based polysaccharide and derived products, displays unique properties used in many industrial applications. Although the functionalization of cellulose is common, it is however limited in terms of number and type of functions. In this work, a Carbohydrate-Binding Module (CBM) was used as a central core to provide a versatile strategy to bring a large diversity of functions to cellulose surfaces. CBM3a from Clostridium thermocellum, which has a high affinity for crystalline cellulose, was flanked through linkers with a streptavidin domain and an azide group introduced through a non-canonical amino acid. Each of these two extra domains was effectively produced and functionalized with a variety of biological and chemical molecules. Structural properties of the resulting tripartite chimeric protein were investigated using molecular modelling approaches, and its potential for the multi-functionalization of cellulose was confirmed experimentally. As a proof of concept, we show that cellulose can be labelled with a fluorescent version of the tripartite protein grafted to magnetic beads and captured using a magnet.

Graphical abstract: A tripartite carbohydrate-binding module to functionalize cellulose nanocrystals

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Jul 2021
Accepted
29 Sep 2021
First published
01 Oct 2021

Biomater. Sci., 2021,9, 7444-7455

A tripartite carbohydrate-binding module to functionalize cellulose nanocrystals

A. Pelus, G. Bordes, S. Barbe, Y. Bouchiba, C. Burnard, J. Cortés, B. Enjalbert, J. Esque, A. Estaña, R. Fauré, A. K. Henras, S. Heux, C. Le Men, P. Millard, S. Nouaille, J. Pérochon, M. Toanen, G. Truan, A. Verdier, C. Wagner, Y. Romeo and C. Y. Montanier, Biomater. Sci., 2021, 9, 7444 DOI: 10.1039/D1BM01156A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements