Abstract
Amyloid fibrils interact with metal ions via metal-ligand supramolecular interactions whose energy is of the order of tens to hundreds of KBT. The occurrence of the 20 essential amino acids in food-based amyloid fibrils derived from inexpensive animal and plant proteins, including from food waste, combined with the extreme aspect ratio of the amyloids, allow for an affordable, yet universal toolbox to produce multifunctional hybrids which can serve in a multitude of applications and technologies. In this talk I will provide several examples of food amyloid fibrils interacting with metal ions and nanoparticles for both health and environmental remediation, some of which have made it into real technologies. Taking β-lactoglobulin amyloids as a model amyloid system derived from whey, a by-product of cheese making process, I will show how metal ions can be adsorbed from water and wastewater solutions by amyloid-based filters for water purification purposes, or how gold ions can be adsorbed and processed from amyloid aerogels to recycle gold from e-waste. I will also show how iron atoms can be coordinated to β-lactoglobulin amyloids to deliver highly bioavailable Fe(II) for iron fortification, or to design hydrogels capable of performing cascade enzymatic reactions for alcohol detoxification in vivo.
Raffaele Mezzenga
Raffaele Mezzenga is full professor at ETH Zurich since 2009. His research focuses on the self-assembly of proteins, polymers, liquid crystals, food and colloidal systems. He is a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate, 2023) in the cross-field discipline, with more than 450 publications and 20 patents. His work has been recognized by several prestigious international distinctions such as the 2017 Fellowship and the 2013 Dillon Medal by the American Physical Society, the 2013 Biomacromolecules/Macromolecules Young Investigator Award by the American Chemical Society, the 2011 American Oil Chemists' Society Young Scientist Research Award, and the 2004 Swiss Science National Foundation Professorship Award.
