A Single-Step Surface Modification of Electrospun Silica Nanofibers Using a Silica Binding Protein Fused with an RGD Motif for Enhanced PC12 Cell Growth and Differentiation.

In this study, a previously known high-affinity silica binding protein (SB) was genetically engineered to fuse with an integrin-binding peptide (RGD) to create a recombinant protein (SB-RGD). SB-RGD was successfully expressed in and purified using silica beads through a simple and fast centrifugation method. A further functionality assay showed that SB-RGD bound to the silica surface with an extremely high affinity that required 2 M MgCl₂ for elution.