The best platform for protein cage researchers to share the exciting scientific advancements in the community.
The Protein Cage Network stemmed from a collaboration in Functional Design of Protein Cage for Sustainable Bionanomaterial project between members of the Asian Science and Technology Pioneering Institutes of Research and Education (ASPIRE). The website was supported through a joint research project by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore in collaboration with Tokyo Institute of Technology (TITech). It was officially launched at the Pacifichem in 2021 as part of the symposium Chemistry and Applications of Protein and Virus-based Nanotechnologies.
Protein Cages are protein particles of nanometer size that are formed by the self-assembly of multiple protein subunits. They perform natural functions that range from storage proteins (e.g., ferritin) and protection (e.g., heat shock proteins, encapsulin) to catalysis (e.g., E2 of pyruvate dehydrogenase) and transfer of genetic materials (e.g., virus). With the boom of nanotechnology, protein cages have been repurposed and engineered to serve non-natural functions, including scaffolds for display of multiple ligands for vaccine applications, delivery systems for therapeutic agents, active molecules and imaging agents, and more recently molecular electronics. They are the main players of nanobiotechnology-bionanotechnology fields.
From understanding the process to tuning the assembly of the subunits that build the protein cages and the assembly of the protein cages to higher order structures require development of techniques to characterize the structures of the assemblies.
Assembly
Design of de novo protein cages or higher order structures using protein cages as the building blocks through directed evolution, rational, structure-aided, and artificial intelligence.
Characterizations
Methods to characterize protein cages for their structures and functions using myriad techniques such as, microscopy, spectroscopy, scattering, as well as electrochemistry.
Ranging from repurposing to engineering, myriad applications of protein cages have been explored for health applications and beyond.
Delivery systems & formulations:
Protein cages have been modified to carry non-natural cargoes, such as therapeutic agents, active molecules and imaging agents. Therapeutic agents include small-molecule drugs/agents, peptides, and nucleotides. Vitamins, cosmetic active ingredients among others make up the active molecule category. To enhance imaging of soft tissues in the body, protein cages have been used to carry contrast-enhancing metallic compounds among others. Targeting of the protein cages to specific cell types has been attempted using antibody, its fragments, and aptamers, to provide tissue accumulation, hence increasing local concentration with the goal of reducing therapeutic dose. The formulations range from liquid (e.g., intravenous, subcutaneous), powder (e.g., intranasal), and emulsion or gel (e.g., skin, transdermal).
Vaccines
Display of multiple ligands (e.g., peptides, antibodies) to modulate the immune system. Leveraging on their amenability to modifications, protein cages have been used as a scaffold to display multiple ligands with spatial precision.
Other applications
Beyond health, the applications of protein cages have been further explored that include
(1) Molecular electronics: protein cages loaded with metals have been shown to have conductive properties,
(2) Templating/Scaffolding: protein cages provide natural size control as a container to template the synthesis of nanomaterials; assembled protein cages forming higher-order structures have been explored to enhance multi-step catalysis.
Join us at “Protein Cages as Next Generation Nanomaterials” Symposium! The Symposium (E8) is is co-chaired by Kanchan Chauhan (UNAM), Rafael Vasquez Duhalt (UNAM) and Sierin Lim (NTU Singapore) and is part of the 32nd International Materials Research Congress (IMRC) organized by Materials Research Society (MRS) and Sociedad Mexicana de Materiales (SMMater) in Cancun, Mexico on 21-22 August 2024. [Link to event]
NEW book on Protein Cage in Methods in Molecular Biology by Springer Nature co-edited by Takafumi Ueno, Sierin Lim, and Kelin Xia was published in 2023.
The Protein Cage Network was launched today, on 20 December 2021 at the Pacifichem during the Chemistry and Applications of Protein and Virus-Based Nanotechnologies symposium organized by Nicole Steinmetz, Frank Sainsbury, and Sierin Lim!
-modified.png)
-modified.png)
