Artificial Fusion Protein to Facilitate Calcium Carbonate Mineralization on Insoluble Polysaccharide for Efficient Biocementation

Abstract

Biomineralization is a process of mineral formation in living organisms. Compared with nonbiogenic minerals, biominerals can be defined as organic−inorganic hybrid materials that have excellent physical and optical properties. In the current study, an artificial protein mimicking the outer shell of crayfish, composed of CaCO 3 , chitin, and proteins, was developed to facilitate organic−inorganic hybrid material formation by precipitation of calcium carbonate on the chitin matrix. The fusion protein (CaBP-ChBD) was constructed by introducing a shortsequence calcite-binding peptide (CaBP) into the chitin-binding domain (ChBD). Calcium carbonate precipitation experiments by enzymatic urea hydrolysis revealed that a significant increase in the CaCO 3 formation was achieved by adding CaBP-ChBD. Also, CaCO 3 was efficiently deposited on chitin particles decorated with CaBP-ChBD. Most interestingly, CaBP-ChBD would improve the performance in sand solidification more efficiently and sustainably in the process of biocementation technique. The developed recombinant protein could be used for the sustainable production of organic−inorganic green materials for engineering applications.

Understanding Hierarchical Structure Construction Strategies and Biomimetic Design Principles: A Review

“…[ 264 ] Nakashima et al synthesized organic–inorganic hybrid materials composed of chitin, proteins, and calcium carbonate ( Figure a). [ 265 ] The fusion protein is formed by the calcite‐binding peptide and chitin‐binding domain, whereby calcium carbonate can adsorb and grow on the sites of the chitin matrix. Twisted stacking or symmetry‐breaking alignment is a common strategy to optimize the mechanical performance of composites.…”

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 265 ] Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society. b–d) Preparation of the nanoparticles‐incorporated artificial nacre with excellent toughness: b) artificial nacre, c) nacre–mimetic structure, and d) combination of aragonite platelet with nanoparticles.…”

“…a) Fabrication of the organic-inorganic composite materials via the incorporation of the calcite-binding peptide (CaBP) into the chitin-binding domain (ChBD). Reproduced with permission [265]. Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society.…”

Advanced Composites Inspired by Biological Structures and Functions in Nature: Architecture Design, Strengthening Mechanisms, and Mechanical‐Functional Responses

“…The shell of mussels is composed of CaCO 3 particles, protein, and chitin, which is a multistructure composite architecture. [71][72][73][74] In addition to the outermost cuticle, the prismatic layer in the middle and the nacre layer in the inner layer are the main part of mechanical energy dissipation. [75][76][77] Nacre is a typical layered structure, which can deflect cracks and prevent crack propagation, so as to provide toughness and dissipate mechanical energy.…”

Interfacial biosilica coating of chitosan gel using fusion silicatein to fabricate robust hybrid material for biomolecular applications

“…In the present study, we demonstrated a novel approach for fabricating a hybrid silica-coated chitosan gel incorporating enzymes. To immobilise silicatein on the chitosan gel, we employed a chitin-binding module (ChBD), 26 which is known to bind chitosan gel. Although silicatein is an aggregative enzyme in water, we successfully solved this problem by introducing highly soluble proteins such as ProS2 21 and InaKC.…”