Manipulating redox systems: application to nanotechnology

Redox proteins and enzymes are attractive targets for nanobiotechnology. The theoretical framework of biological electron transfer is increasingly well-understood, and several properties make redox centres good systems for exploitation: many can be detected both electrochemically and optically; they can perform specific reactions; they are capable of self-assembly; and their dimensions are in the nanoscale. Great progress has been made with the two main approaches of protein engineering: rational design and combinatorial synthesis. Rational design has put our understanding of the structure–function relationship to the test, whereas combinatorial synthesis has generated new molecules of interest. This article provides selected examples of novel approaches where redox proteins are ‘wired up’ in efficient electron-transfer chains, are ‘assembled’ in artificial multidomain structures (molecular Lego), are ‘linked’ to surfaces in nanodevices for biosensing and nanobiotechnological applications.