Fabrication of Protease-Sensitive and Light-Responsive Microcapsules Encompassed with Single Layer of Gold Nanoparticles by Using Self-Assembly Protein of α-Synuclein

A bioapplicable cargo delivery system requires the following characteristics of biocompatibility, in vivo stability, and selective cargo release at target sites. We introduce herein the microcapsules enclosed with a single-layered shell of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) mutually connected by an amyloidogenic protein of α-synuclein (αS). The microcapsules were fabricated by producing oil(chloroform)-in-water Pickering emulsions of the αS-encapsulated AuNPs and subsequent molecular engagement of the outlying αS molecules, leading to formidable β-sheet formation in the presence of chloroform. The wrinkled skin of microcapsules obtained after evaporation of the internal chloroform also reflects robustness of the protein-protein interaction, which was experimentally confirmed by their rheological stability. For the emulsions loaded with rhodamine 6G, their dye release was demonstrated to be contr…