Enzymatic fabrication of protein-decorated gold nanoparticles by the aid of artificial peptides with gold-binding affinity

Niide, Teppei*; Shimojo, Kojiro   ; Wakabayashi, Rie*; Goto, Masahiro*; Kamiya, Noriho*

We report a new approach for the biofabrication of protein-immobilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), using oxidoreductase with gold-binding peptide-tagged recombinant proteins. First, we selected the A3 peptide as a gold binding moiety. The A3 peptide was introduced to the C-terminus of fusion proteins of immunoglobulin G (IgG)-binding domains of protein G and protein A. In the presence of the recombinant protein, the GLD-catalyzed cofactor reduction resulted in the efficient in situ fabrication of AuNPs immobilized with the fusion protein. Moreover, the protein-immobilized AuNPs were shown to have IgG binding activity. This enzyme-assisted one-pot methodology for protein-AuNPs conjugation offers one potent route for the facile fabrication of biomolecule-decorated metal NPs.