Construction of protein assemblies by host–guest interactions with cucurbiturils

Abstract

Protein assemblies are extremely interesting in chemistry and supramolecular chemistry. How to design protein assemblies with dimensional structures is important for applications. To address this challenge, cucurbituril (CB[n]s)-based strategies have been explored owing to their high affinity toward small peptide motifs, organic cations and amines. By incorporation of a small molecule guest and a peptide motif guest into N-terminals of oligomeric proteins, CB[n]s could recognize and bind to the N-terminal guests, leading to dimensional protein assemblies. The dimensional protein assemblies possess structural, stimuli-responsive and bioactive properties with great potential for in vivo applications. Herein, we reviewed the progress in the design of dimensional protein assemblies based on supramolecular interactions of CB[n]s and present the perspectives in the design of high-ordered biomaterials for biomedical applications.