Proteins enriched in charged amino acids control the formation and stabilization of selenium nanoparticles in Comamonas testosteroni S44

Abstract Elemental selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are useful in medicine, environmental remediation and in material science. Biosynthesized SeNPs (BioSeNPs) by bacteria are cheap, eco-friendly and have a lower cytotoxicity in comparison with chemically synthesized ones. Organic matters were found to cap on the surface of BioSeNPs, but the functions were still not entirely clear. The purified BioSeNPs were coated in a thick layer of organic substrates observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and quantitative detection of the coating agents showed that one gram of purified BioSeNPs bound 1069 mg proteins, 23 mg carbohydrates and only very limited amounts of lipids. Proteomics of BioSeNPs showed more than 800 proteins bound to BioSeNPs. Proteins enriched in charged amino acids are the major factor thought to govern the formation process and stabilization of BioSeNPs in bacteria. In view of the results reported here, a schematic model for the molecular mechanism of BioSeNPs formation in bacteria is proposed. These findings are helpful for the artificial green synthesis of stable SeNPs under specific condition and guiding the surface modification of SeNPs for medicine application.