Guy PATCHORNIK profile

Our research is focused on the development of a simple-to-implement method for the preparation of protein-fibers and protein-sheets (1-100 microns) composed of doubly (His)-tagged proteins conjugated by either Zn2+ or Ni2+. Thus far, the method has been successfully demonstrated with 4 unrelated proteins: (i) Ubiquitin (8 KDa) (ii) Cas9 (163 KDa) (iii) the fluorescent red protein: mCherry (28 KDa) (iv) ZZ-domain of Protein A (13 KDa) Cryo-TEM, STEM, and cryo-EM imaging show that protein conjugation is specific and achieved within minutes under mild conditions (PBS). Conjugated proteins preserve their secondary structure (by circular dichroism) and their fluorescence (when relevant). The finding that the 4 studied proteins differ markedly in their Mw and biological role implies that the approach may be general. Group website: https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/guy-patchornik/

1. Non-chromatographic, ligand-free purification of antibodies (IgG, IgA, IgM) and their fragments (Fab). 2. Preparation of protein-fibers and protein-sheets from doubly (His)6-tagged proteins conjugated by Zn2+ or Ni2+ cations.

1. Lal et al., His-tagged based biopolymerization. Scientific Reports (2024), 4(1):28332. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-78647-1 2. Razi et al., Fluorescent supramolecular fibers and sheets built from doubly hexa-His tagged mCherry proteins conjugated by divalent metal cations. Int J Biol Macromol. (2025) 327(Pt 2):147384. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.147384. 3. Razi et al., Supramolecular biopolymer composed of a doubly (His)6-tagged ZZ-domain conjugated by Zn2+ ions. (In preparation). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6472-8354