Template-assisted fabrication of protein nanocapsules

Bionanomaterials have recently begun to spark a great amount of interest and could potentially revolutionize biomedical research. Nanoparticles, nanocapsules, and nanotubular structures are becoming attractive options in drug and gene delivery. The size of the delivery vehicles greatly impacts cellular uptake and makes it highly desirable to precisely control the diameter and length of nanocarriers to make uniform nanoparticles at low cost. Carbon nanotubes have shown great potential within the field of drug and gene delivery. However, their insolubility and cytotoxicity could severely delay FDA approval. A desirable alternative would be to fabricate nanostructures from biomaterials such as proteins, peptides, or liposomes, which are already FDA approved. In this article we demonstrate the preparation of protein nanocapsules with both ends sealed using a template-assisted alternate immersion method combined with controlled cleaving. Glucose oxidase nanocapsules with controllable diameter, wall thickness, and length were fabricated and characterized with SEM and TEM. The biochemical activity of glucose oxidase in the form of nanocapsules after processing was confirmed using UV spectrometry. Our future work will explore proteins suitable for drug encapsulation and cellular uptake and will focus on optimizing the cleaving process to gain precise control over the length of the nanocapsules.