4D Printing with Proteins: Pumped Multienzyme Reactors

4D-printing adds the time dimension to conventional 3D printing by including stimulus-responsive materials in the printed objects. By changing shape, size, or connectivity on demand, 4D-printed objects promise to revolutionize the many fields that 3D printing have already vastly reshaped. Unfortunately, a lack of 4D building blocks hampers this development. We want to solve this problem by using proteins – biology’s powerful building blocks – as 4D printing “ink”. We will simultaneously develop new classes of protein inks and a functional 4D device printed using these inks. By combining advanced protein chemistry with structural and contractile proteins and enzymes, we will print the first multienzyme system with a built-in pump and controllable valves. The system, a “Pumped Multienzyme Reactor” will carry out a sequence of enzymatic reactions when triggered by an external event.