Coiled-coil forming peptides for the induction of silver nanoparticles

Sabina Božič Abram; Jana Aupič; Goran Dražić; Helena Gradišar; Roman Jerala

doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.03.042

Coiled-coil forming peptides for the induction of silver nanoparticles

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2016 Apr 8;472(3):566-71. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.03.042. Epub 2016 Mar 10.

Authors

Sabina Božič Abram¹, Jana Aupič², Goran Dražić³, Helena Gradišar⁴, Roman Jerala⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Graduate School of Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia.
² Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Doctoral Programme in Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia.
³ Laboratory for Materials Chemistry, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁴ Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; EN-FIST, Centre of Excellence, Trg Osvobodilne fronte 13, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia.
⁵ Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; EN-FIST, Centre of Excellence, Trg Osvobodilne fronte 13, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. Electronic address: roman.jerala@ki.si.

PMID: 26972248
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.03.042

Abstract

Biopolymers with defined sequence patterns offer an attractive alternative for the formation of silver nanoparticle (AgNP). A set of coiled-coil dimer forming peptides was tested for their AgNP formation ability. Seventeen of those peptides mediated the formation of AgNPs in aqueous solution at neutral pH, while the formation of a coiled-coil dimer inhibited the nanoparticle generation. A QSAR regression model on the relationship between sequence and function suggests that in this peptide type the patterns KXQQ and KXEE are favorable, whereas Ala residues appear to have an inhibitory effect. UV-VIS spectra of the obtained nanoparticles gave a peak at around 420 nm, typical for AgNPs in the size range around 40 nm, which was confirmed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Peptide-induced AgNPs exhibited good antibacterial activity, even after a 15 min contact time, while they had low toxicity to human cells at the same concentrations. These results show that our designed peptides generate AgNPs with antibacterial activity at mild conditions and might be used for antibacterial coatings.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Coiled-coils; Plasmon resonance; QSAR analysis; Silver nanoparticles.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Anti-Bacterial Agents / administration & dosage
Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemical synthesis
Apoptosis / drug effects
Cell Survival / drug effects
Crystallization / methods
Drug Compounding / methods
Escherichia coli / drug effects*
Materials Testing
Metal Nanoparticles / administration & dosage*
Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Metal Nanoparticles / ultrastructure
Molecular Sequence Data
Particle Size
Peptides / chemistry*
Protein Conformation
Protein Engineering / methods
Silver / administration & dosage*
Silver / chemistry*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Peptides
Silver