The sense of smell depends on sensitive proteins embedded in the nose. In two studies published recently in Science (1,2), a team led by the Baker Lab has shown that an effectively unlimited number of new protein sensors can now be generated with the help of AI. This is a major step toward more advanced molecular sensing technologies for use in healthcare, pollution monitoring, and more.
Biochemically speaking, smelling a rose requires two feats. First, floral compounds must bind to olfactory receptors in the nose. This molecular handshake must then produce a reliable signal, leading to the perception of smell.
In the new studies, the team used computers to create custom proteins that bind to specific compounds and transmit stable bioelectronic binding signals across lipid membranes. These sensor proteins are not derived from any found in nature. Instead, they were built from scratch and confirmed to function in the lab.
“When we started with this idea a few years ago, many people thought it was impossible,” said senior author and former Baker Lab postdoc Anastassia Vorobieva, now a group leader at the VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology in Belgium. “Now we have shown that we can successfully design nanopore proteins with a high success rate and that they can have stable and reproducible conductance.”
