Researchers at the CIC biomaGUNE, BCMaterials and CIC energiGUNE Basque research centres have managed to modify a class of proteins to give them the ability to transport and store electricity. These proteins can be used to create sustainable, efficient and biocompatible conducting materials. These materials are highly stable and easy to process, which means they can be incorporated into industrial processes.
The study, led by Aitziber L. Cortajarena (Ikerbasque Research Professor and scientific director of CIC biomaGUNE), Reyes Calvo (Ikerbasque Research Professor at BCMaterials) and Maica Morant (senior researcher at CIC EnergiGUNE), has been published in the prestigious journal Advanced Materials, and comes within the framework of the e-PROT project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
The proteins used in this work were designed in the lab. “They are made up of small, repeated units that are assembled one by one like LEGO bricks. Each ‘brick’ has the same overall shape, and when fitted one after the other, a larger, ordered, stable and modular structure is built. This structure makes them more useable, as they can be provided with specific functions without altering their structure, which renders them tailor-made.
In this case, the team of researchers were seeking to get the protein to conduct electricity efficiently. To achieve this, they genetically modified the DNA, which contains the instructions for producing the protein.
