Fuence (Japan)

Protein nanofabrics were prepared by the electrospray deposition (ESD) method from the aqueous solutions of α-lactalbumin (α-LA), invertaze, immunoglobulin (IgG), and α-LA with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and their surface morphologies and biological activities were characterized. The surface morphologies of the deposited films were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The SEM and AFM images showed that the film surfaces had a fine porous structure, in which the pore diameters ranged from 40 to 600 nm. The biological activities were tested by the mechano-chemical method, a microarray-based enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and fluorescence immunoassay (FIA) format. It was demonstrated that the activities of the deposited protein fabrics were preserved during the ESD. The results revealed that the ESD method was useful for producing fine porous protein nanofabrics with biological activities. The porous protein fabric opens a new direction in the application of biomaterials. To improve the sensitivity of the protein nanofabric, it should be attempted to control the nano-scaled structure and fine porous morphology of the fabric surface. ESD technique also can be extended to the protein fabrics combined with polymeric nanofibers.