@article {3044,
	title = {Microbial nanowires with genetically modified peptide ligands to sustainably fabricate electronic sensing devices.},
	journal = {Biosens Bioelectron},
	volume = {226},
	year = {2023},
	month = {2023 Apr 15},
	pages = {115147},
	abstract = {<p>Nanowires have substantial potential as the sensor component in electronic sensing devices. However, surface functionalization of traditional nanowire and nanotube materials with short peptides that increase sensor selectivity and sensitivity requires complex chemistries with toxic reagents. In contrast, microorganisms can assemble pilin monomers into protein nanowires with intrinsic conductivity from renewable feedstocks, yielding an electronic material that is robust and stable in applications, but also biodegradable. Here we report that the sensitivity and selectivity of protein nanowire-based sensors can be modified with a simple plug and play genetic approach in which a short peptide sequence, designed to bind the analyte of interest, is incorporated into the pilin protein that is microbially assembled into nanowires. We employed a scalable Escherichia coli chassis to fabricate protein nanowires that displayed either a peptide previously demonstrated to effectively bind ammonia, or a peptide known to bind acetic acid. Sensors comprised of thin films of the nanowires amended with the ammonia-specific peptide had a ca. 100-fold greater response to ammonia than sensors made with unmodified protein nanowires. Protein nanowires with the peptide that binds acetic acid yielded a 4-fold higher response than nanowires without the peptide. The protein nanowire-based sensors had greater responses than previously reported sensors fabricated with other nanomaterials. The results demonstrate that protein nanowires with enhanced sensor response for analytes of interest can be fabricated with a flexible genetic strategy that sustainably eliminates the energy, environmental, and health concerns associated with other common nanomaterials.</p>},
	keywords = {Acetic Acid, Ammonia, Biosensing Techniques, Electronics, Fimbriae Proteins, Ligands, Nanowires, Peptides},
	issn = {1873-4235},
	doi = {10.1016/j.bios.2023.115147},
	author = {Lekbach, Yassir and Ueki, Toshiyuki and Liu, Xiaomeng and Woodard, Trevor and Yao, Jun and Lovley, Derek R}
}
@article {3075,
	title = {Decorating the Outer Surface of Microbially Produced Protein Nanowires with Peptides.},
	journal = {ACS Synth Biol},
	volume = {8},
	year = {2019},
	month = {2019 Aug 16},
	pages = {1809-1817},
	abstract = {<p>The potential applications of electrically conductive protein nanowires (e-PNs) harvested from  might be greatly expanded if the outer surface of the wires could be modified to confer novel sensing capabilities or to enhance binding to other materials. We developed a simple strategy for functionalizing e-PNs with surface-exposed peptides. The  gene for the monomer that assembles into e-PNs was modified to add peptide tags at the carboxyl terminus of the monomer. Strains of  were constructed that fabricated synthetic e-PNs with a six-histidine "His-tag" or both the His-tag and a nine-peptide "HA-tag" exposed on the outer surface. Addition of the peptide tags did not diminish e-PN conductivity. The abundance of HA-tag in e-PNs was controlled by placing expression of the gene for the synthetic monomer with the HA-tag under transcriptional regulation. These studies suggest broad possibilities for tailoring e-PN properties for diverse applications.</p>},
	keywords = {Carboxy-Lyases, Ethylene Glycols, Molecular Structure, Nanowires, Oxygenases, Peptides, Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase, Plasmids, Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins, Styrenes},
	issn = {2161-5063},
	doi = {10.1021/acssynbio.9b00131},
	author = {Ueki, Toshiyuki and Walker, David J F and Tremblay, Pier-Luc and Nevin, Kelly P and Ward, Joy E and Woodard, Trevor L and Nonnenmann, Stephen S and Lovley, Derek R}
}
