Multivalent-Interaction-Driven Assembly of Discrete, Flexible, and Asymmetric Supramolecular Protein Nano-Prisms

Abstract

Current approaches to design monodisperse protein assemblies require rigid, tight, and symmetric interactions between oligomeric protein units. Herein, we introduce a new multivalent-interaction-driven assembly strategy that allows flexible, spaced, and asymmetric assembly between protein oligomers. We discovered that two polygonal protein oligomers (ranging from triangle to hexagon) dominantly form a discrete and stable two-layered protein prism nanostructure via multivalent interactions between fused binding pairs. We demonstrated that protein nano-prisms with long flexible peptide linkers (over 80 amino acids) between protein oligomer layers could be discretely formed. Oligomers with different structures could also be monodispersely assembled into two-layered but asymmetric protein nano-prisms. Furthermore, producing higher-order architectures with multiple oligomer layers, for example, 3-layered nano-prisms or nanotubes, was also feasible.

Keywords: multivalent interaction; protein assembly; protein design; protein engineering; protein-protein interactions.