Natural products exhibit remarkable structural diversity and include numerous bioactive compounds utilized in pharmaceuticals, food, and food additives. Our research has focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which the structural diversity and complexity of secondary metabolites are constructed in nature through the discovery of biosynthetic genes, the biophysical and biochemical characterization of enzymes, and the structural analysis of enzyme–enzyme interactions. Furthermore, we have explored the generation of molecular diversity through enzyme engineering and synthetic biology.
Immobilization and orientation control of functional proteins on the surfaces of materials has been regarded as a key factor for enhancement of performance of protein-based materials in the fields of bio-production, diagnostics and clinical treatments. Especially, Sensitive and accurate biomolecular sensing utilizing antibody-immobilized solid support of the solid-sensing materials are highly expected in clinical diagnosis, pharmaceutical process monitoring and environmental analysis. Here, we propose and demonstrate development of materials-binding peptides for site-specific immobilization of recombinant antibody fragments, such as single-chain Fv antibodies and single-domain antibodies (VHH).