Complementary biomolecular coassemblies direct energy transport for cardiac photostimulators
Abstract
Charge and energy transport within living systems are fundamental processes that enable the autonomous function of excitable cells and tissues. To date, localized control of these transport processes has been enabled by genetic modification approaches to render light sensitivity to cells. Here, we present peptidic nanoassemblies as constituents of a cardiac biomaterial platform that leverages complementary sequence interactions to direct photoinduced energy transport at the cellular interface. Photophysical characterizations and conductivity measurements confirm the occurrence of energy/charge transfer and photocurrent generation upon optical excitation in both dry and electrolytic environments. Comparing an electrostatic sequence pair against a sequence-matched donor–acceptor coassembly, we demonstrate that the sequence design with charge complementarity shows more prominent photocurrent behavior. With the flanking bioadhesive units, the primary and stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes interfaced with covalently stabilized films of the optoelectronic nanostructures exhibited material-stimulated genotypic, structural, or functional cardiac features. Collectively, our findings introduce an optoelectronic cardiac biomaterial where coassembled peptide nanostructures are molecularly designed to induce light sensitivity in excitable cells without gene modification, influencing in vitro cardiac contractile behavior and expression of cardiac markers.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (19)
Ze-Fan Yao
Sujeung Lim
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Yuyao Kuang
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Emil M. Lundqvist
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Natalie Celt
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Caleb O. Chung
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Kathryn K. Lee
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Krystal Nguyen
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Lanie Le
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California
Sheng Wei Tang
Department of Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences, University of California
Griffin M. Milligan
Department of Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences, University of California
Phillip Kohl
Materials Research Laboratory and BioPolymers, Automated Cellular Infrastructure, Flow, and Integrated Chemistry Materials Innovation Platform (BioPACIFIC MIP), University of California
Tarunya Rao Sudarshan
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Youli Li
Materials Research Laboratory and BioPolymers, Automated Cellular Infrastructure, Flow, and Integrated Chemistry Materials Innovation Platform (BioPACIFIC MIP), University of California
Asuka Eguchi
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California
Anant K. Paravastu
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Michael V. Zaragoza
Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, University of California
Dmitry A. Fishman
Department of Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences, University of California
Herdeline Ann M. Ardoña
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California