The University of Bristol-led study demonstrates how to make conductive, biodegradable wires from designed proteins. These could be compatible with conventional electronic components made from copper or iron, as well as the biological machinery responsible for generating energy in all living organisms. 

The miniscule wires are the size of transistors on silicon chips or one thousandth of the breadth of the finest human hair. They are made completely of natural amino acids and heme molecules, found in proteins such as haemoglobin, which transports oxygen in red blood cells. Harmless bacteria were used for their manufacture, eliminating the need for potentially complex and environmentally damaging procedures commonly used in the production of synthetic molecules. 

The multidisciplinary team used advanced computational tools to design simple building blocks that could be combined into longer, wire-like protein chains for conducting electrons. Ultimately, these nanoscale designer wires have the potential to be used in a wide range of applications, including biosensors for the diagnosis of diseases and detection of environmental pollutants. 

Read the full University of Bristol news item

Hutchins GH et al. (2023). An expandable, modular de novo protein platform for precision redox engineering. Biophysics and Computational Biology. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306046120