Abstract
β-1,3-Glucans are ubiquitously observed in various biological systems with diverse physio-ecological functions, yet their underlying assembly mechanism and multiscale complexation in vitro remains poorly understood. Here, we provide for the first-time evidence of unidentified β-1,3-glucan supramolecular complexation into intricate hierarchical architectures over several length scales. We mediated these unique assemblies using a recombinantly produced β-1,3-glucan phosphorylase (Ta1,3BGP) by fine-tuning solution conditions during particle nucleation and growth. We report a synthesis of interconnected parallel hexagonal lamellae composed of 8 nm thick sheets of highly expanded paracrystals. The architecture consists of β-1,3-glucan triple-helices with considerable inter–intra hydrogen bonding within, as well as in between adjacent triple-helices. The results extend our understanding of β-1,3-glucan molecular organization and shed light on different aspects of the crystallization processes of biomolecules into structures unseen by nature. The presented versatile synthesis yields new materials for diverse medical and industrial applications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 15533-15541 |
| Journal | Nanoscale |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 41 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 4 Oct 2022 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
This work was supported by Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation (Centre for Young Synbio Scientists) and Academy of Finland project 348628. The computational part of the study was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (contract financed in 2020–2024 under no. 2019/35/B/ST4/01149 OPUS 18). We thank Ernesto Scoppola, Chenghao Li and Wolfgang Wagermaier from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany for granting synchrotron beamtime and measurements at the µSpot beamline at BESSY at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie in Berlin, Germany. We acknowledge the provision of facilities and technical support by Aalto University at the OtaNano Nanomicroscopy Center (Aalto-NMC).