Protein Nanotubes Assembled from Imidazole-Grafted Horseradish Peroxidase Nanogels

Protein assembly, a common phenomenon in nature, playsan importantrole in the evolution of life. Inspired by nature, assembling proteinmonomers into delicate nanostructures has emerged as an attractiveresearch area. However, sophisticated protein assemblies usually needcomplicated designs or templates. In this work, we successfully fabricatedprotein nanotubes in a facile way by coordination interactions betweenimidazole-grafted horseradish peroxidase (HRP) nanogels (iHNs) andCu(2+). The iHNs were synthesized by polymerization on thesurface of HRP by employing vinyl imidazole as a comonomer. By directaddition of Cu2+ into iHN solution, protein tubes weretherefore formed. The size of the protein tubes could be adjustedby changing the added Cu2+ amount, and the mechanism behindthe formation of protein nanotubes was elucidated. Furthermore, ahighly sensitive H2O2 detection system was establishedbased on the protein tubes. This work provides a facile method toconstruct diverse sophisticated functional protein nanomaterials.

Automated summary

Protein nanotubes were fabricated by coordinating imidazole-grafted horseradish peroxidase nanogels with Cu2+. The size of the nanotubes was adjustable by changing the amount of Cu2+ added, and a highly sensitive H2O2 detection system was established using these nanotubes. This work provides a facile method for constructing diverse and sophisticated functional protein nanomaterials.