2.B.137.  The NanoArchetectonic-Electron Shuttle (NA-ES) Family

Enhanced bioenergy anabolism through transmembrane redox reactions can occur in artificial systems.  Wang et al. 2024 explored synthetic electron shuttles to activate transmembrane chemo-enzymatic cascade reactions in a mitochondria-like nanoarchitecture for augmenting bioenergy anabolism. In this case, a dendritic mesoporous silica microparticle as inner compartment possesses higher load capacity of NADH as a proton source and allows faster mass transfer. In addition, the outer compartment ATP synthase-reconstituted proteoliposomes can be incorporated. Like natural enzymes in the mitochondrion respiratory chain, a small synthetic electron shuttle embedded in the lipid bilayer can mediate transmembrane redox reactions to convert NADH into NAD⁺ and a proton. These facilitate an enhanced outward proton gradient to drive ATP synthase to rotate for catalytic ATP synthesis with improved performance in a sustainable manner. This work opens a new avenue to achieve enhanced bioenergy anabolism by utilizing a synthetic electron shuttle and tuning inner nanostructures, holding great promise in wide-range ATP-powered bioapplications (Wang et al. 2024).