Composites of Proteins and 2D Nanomaterials

Abstract

Recent advances in the nanotechnology of 2D materials, combined with parallel improvements in biotechnology and synthetic biology, have demonstrated that novel and more complex composite materials with desired engineered properties and optimized performance can be achieved. The expanding family of 2D crystals fosters research efforts on nonequilibrium materials such as nanostructured composites and complex heterostructures. In particular, controlled assembly of 2D crystals with biomolecules to form composites attracts special interest since it enables precise control over the physical properties of the resulting material. To facilitate the fabrication of these novel bio-inorganic composite materials by design, it is crucial to understand and control molecular interactions between 2D crystals and the complementary bio-system. In particular, protein-based materials with the ability to initiate multiple physical or chemical interactions with 2D crystals prove to be a suitable match for constructing functional bio-inorganic composites with programmable properties using molecular biology tools. In this review, a detailed survey on emerging nanostructured composites of 2D materials and proteins is presented, and a comprehensive analysis regarding their interactions is provided. Recent and potential applications along with future directions of research regarding the merge of synthetic biology with 2D systems are also discussed.

Inkjet Printing of Self‐Assembled 2D Titanium Carbide and Protein Electrodes for Stimuli‐Responsive Electromagnetic Shielding

“…The presence of proteins can lead to an increase in planar intersheet separation and formation of protein inclusions in between sheets . This moderate difference between sheet resistance values of MXene patterns potentially originates from the improved interconnectivity of MXene sheets, which can be facilitated by protein‐mediated assembly . Even though the sheet resistance values are increased for the MXene–protein ink‐printed patterns on cellulose paper, these values (220 Ω sq −1 , 50 pass) are significantly lower than the state‐of‐the‐art graphene‐based inkjet‐printed electrodes (≈600 Ω sq −1 , 50 pass) without any need for further treatment (Figure e).…”

“…In contrast to chemical binders, proteins can be a better match for MXenes, as both materials can form strong hydrogen bonding interactions. Even though, there are many studies regarding interactions between proteins and 2D crystals, the interaction and assembly dynamics of MXenes and proteins remain unexplored.…”

Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Two-Dimensional Materials: Meticulous Control on the Nanoscale

“…2D materials have been widely applied to emerging technologies and applications, including but not limited to biology, 93 electrocatalysts, 94 electronics, 51 spintronics, 95 and molecular nanotechnology. 96 Since the 2D-material-based LbL composites show a greater range of properties than their pristine counterparts, a vast number of other applications have also been demonstrated ( Figure 2G).…”

Squid-Inspired Tandem Repeat Proteins: Functional Fibers and Films

“…Tandem repeat proteins play an important role for creating composite structures in nature such as nacre. Similarly, these proteins are recently used for dynamic assembly of 2d layered structures as shown in Figure 8 (Demirel et al, 2018). For example, nanocomposite films of SRT proteins with 2d-layered MXene structures were demonstrated in stimuli responsive flexible electronic films via inkjet printing self-assembly (Figure 8a; Vural et al, 2018).…”