Simple Sol-gel Protein Stabilization towards Rainbow & White Lighting Devices.

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are heralded as a paradigm of sustainable materials for photonics/optoelectronics. However, their stabilization under non-physiological environments and/or harsh operation conditions is the major challenge. Among the FP-stabilization methods, classical sol-gel is the most effective, but less versatile, as most of the proteins/enzymes easily degraded due to the need of multi-step processes, surfactants, and mixed water/organic solvents in extreme pH. Herein, we revisited sol-gel chemistry with archetypal FPs (mGL; mCherry), simplifying the method by one-pot, surfactant-free, and aqueous media (phosphate buffer saline pH = 7.4). The synthesis mechanism involves the direct reaction of the carboxylic groups at the FP surface with the silica precursor, generating a positively charged FP intermediate that acts as a seed for the formation of size-controlled mesoporous FP@SiO 2 nanoparticles. Green-/red-emissive (single-FP component) and dual-emissive (multi-FPs component; no need of kinetic studies) FP@SiO 2 were prepared without affecting the FP photoluminescence and stabilities (>6 months) under dry storage and organic solvent suspensions. Finally, FP@SiO 2 color filters were applied to rainbow and white bio-hybrid light-emitting diodes featuring up to 15-fold enhanced stabilities without reducing luminous efficacy compared to references with native FPs. Overall, we demonstrate an easy, versatile, and effective FP-stabilization method in FP@SiO 2 towards sustainable protein lighting. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.