Persuading proteins to form porous polyhedra

Researchers have been engineering DNA into custom nanostructures (DNA origami) for several years, but proteins have proved more challenging. ‘We don’t yet fully understand the rules that govern how proteins fold and bind to each other. DNA structures have surged ahead in the last decade because their rules of assembly are a lot simpler,’ explains Todd Yeates from the University of California Los Angeles, US. Previous approaches to ‘protein origami’ relied on designing new, unnatural protein oligomers, a challenge Yeates and his colleagues sought to avoid.

Instead, Yeates and his team exploited proteins that naturally assemble into oligomers. 

This article provides a link to coverage by Chemistry World