Adsorption and orientation properties of two different types of immunoglobulin molecules on derivatized and native mica surfaces were investigated using TM-AFM. The analyses included height measurements at two different pH values and a new technique, presented here as threshold analysis, which displays the outer mantle shape of an adsorbed protein. A major difference in preferential orientation is observed upon comparing the adsorption of the two proteins onto the different surfaces. The characteristics of both the adsorbed immunoglobulin and the surface are important for any preferential orientation of the adsorbed protein.
Human plasma fibronectin (Fn) is a large flexible protein stabilized by intermolecular ionic interactions forming a compact structure. On altering solution conditions, the structure can revert to a more expanded state, thereby exposing previously hidden domains (e.g., cell-binding sites). Electron microscopy images of Fn air-sprayed onto mica surfaces show elongated protein structures, indicating a surface-induced structural change. This makes it interesting to investigate the influence of surface properties on the structure of adsorbed Fn. We have used intermittent-contact Atomic Force Microscopy to investigate the structure of Fn adsorbed onto mica, silica, and methylated silica surfaces. We observed that on silica surfaces, which is hydrophilic, most (70%) of the molecules had an elongated structure with partial intramolecular chain interactions, compare to molecules adsorbed on hydrophobic, methylated surfaces, where a compact structure predominated (70%). On mica surfaces, both compact and elongated protein structures were observed, with a slight preference for the elongated form (53%). Results show that surface physical properties influence the molecular structure of fibronectin on adsorption, which could provide useful information in understanding surface-induced in vivo responses.
We tested the promotion of protein adsorption onto amphiphilic agarose-based adsorbents by addition of high concentrations of polyols during the adsorption phase. C-3- to C-5-polyols were inefficient in promoting protein adsorption, whereas some of the C-6-polyols studied (sorbitol, dulcitol and mannitol) could promote serum protein adsorption onto mercaptomethylene pyridine-derivatized agarose, octyl- and phenyl-Sepharose. Sorbitol was the most potent protein adsorption promoter, with a direct relation between the amount of protein adsorbed and the concentration of sorbitol. For each chromatographic gel, the effects of increasing concentrations of sorbitol or sodium sulfate on protein adsorption were similar and two-dimensional electrophoresis revealed the preservation of the protein adsorption specificity whether sorbitol or sodium sulfate was used. These results show that a water-structuring salt or a polyol can promote protein adsorption in the same manner, presumably by a related mechanism.
We studied the effects of the following cosolvents on the adsorption and desorption of serum proteins from an amphiphilic mercaptomethylene pyridine-derivatized agarose gel: glucose, sucrose, polyethylene glycol (PEG), 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol (MFD), sorbitol, pentaerythritol, glycerol, and Na2SO4. The water-structuring salt 0.4 M Na2SO4 was the most potent promoter of protein adsorption, followed by 5 M sorbitol and, to a lesser extent, 0.2 M PEG 1000 and 2.25 M MPD. The other cosolvents (4 M glucose, 1.5 M sucrose, 0.3 M pentaerythritol, and 7.6 M glycerol) were unable to promote protein adsorption to the gel. Attempts to modulate the salt-promotion effect of Na2SO4 with different cosolvents demonstrated the occurrence of synergistic effects for pentaerythritol, sorbitol, and glucose and antagonistic effects for the other cosolvents. Sorbitol and glycerol were found to be the most interesting co-solvents studied, as the first promoted protein adsorption, whereas the other disrupted protein interaction. As a consequence of these novel findings we propose sorbitol and glycerol, both well-known protein stabilizers, as possible alternatives to water-structuring salts during the adsorption phase and to deleterious organic solvents during the desorption phase on amphiphilic gels.
Thiol-functionalized cobalt porphyrins were used as a model system for investigating catalytic activity in homogeneous and heterogeneous oxidation catalysis. Self-assembled monolayers of thiol-functionallized cobalt porphyrins were prepared on a gold surface and served as heterogeneous catalysts. These immobilized molecules prevented the strong inactivation observed for their homogeneous congener. As a result, the turnover number per molecule in heterogeneous catalysis was at least 100 times higher than that of the corresponding homogeneous catalyst. It is atypical for a heterogenized catalyst to outperform its homogeneous congener. The properties of the molecular layers were characterized on the molecular level by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The results demonstrate that the performance of these biomimetic catalysts can be dramatically improved if the catalyst arrangement can be controlled on the molecular level.
A new method is presented to accurately determine the probability of having a deuterium or hydrogen atom on a specific amide position within a peptide after deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) exchange in solution. Amide hydrogen exchange has been proven to be a sensitive probe for studying protein structures and structural dynamics. At the same time, mass spectrometry in combination with physical fragmentation methods is commonly used to sequence proteins based on an amino acid residue specific mass analysis. In the present study it is demonstrated that the isotopic patterns of a series of peptide fragment ions obtained with capillary-skimmer dissociation, as observed with a 9.4 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer, can be used to calculate the isotopic state of specific amide hydrogens. This calculation is based on the experimentally observed isotopic patterns of two consecutive fragments and on the isotopic binomial distributions of the atoms in the residue constituting the difference between these two consecutive fragments. The applicability of the method is demonstrated by following the sequence-specific D/H exchange rate in solution of single amide hydrogens within some peptides.
A new method is presented for monitoring the conformational stability of various parts of a protein that is physically adsorbed onto nanometer-sized silica particles. The method employs hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange of amide hydrogens, a process that is extremely sensitive to structural features of proteins. The resulting mass increase is analyzed with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry. Higher structural specificity is obtained by enzymatically cleaving the adsorbed proteins prior to mass spectrometric analysis. The mass increases of four peptic fragments of myoglobin are followed as a function of the H/D exchange time. The four peptic fragments cover 90% of the myoglobin structure. Two of the peptic fragments, located in the middle of the myoglobin sequence and close to the heme group, do not show any adsorption-induced changes in their structural stability, whereas the more stable C- and N-terminal fragments are destabilized. Interestingly, for the N-terminal fragment, comprising residues 1–29, two distinct and equally large conformational populations are observed. One of these populations has a stability similar to that in solution (−23 kJ/mol), whereas the other population is highly destabilized upon adsorption (−11 kJ/mol).
Cobalt tetraarylporphyrins 1-Co and 2-Co with thioacetate-functionalized carbon chains on the aryl groups were synthesized. The cobalt porphyrin 2-Co was immobilized on a gold surface after deprotection of the S-acetyl group. The immobilized porphyrin was studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and the results suggest that a complete monolayer of porphyrins is formed.
Motion of single micrometer-sized magnetic particles on patterned magnetic surfaces is controlled by a rotating magnetic field (see Figure and cover). Patterns of thin-film magnetic elements are tailored to form transport lines. Individual particles are separated by adding junctions to the transport lines. The method can improve existing applications in biotechnology and generate new ones in life sciences.
The structural stability of hen egg white lysozyme in solution and adsorbed to small colloidal silica particles at various surface concentrations was investigated using hydrogen-deuterium (H/D) exchange in combination with mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The combination of HDX-MS and DSC allows a full thermodynamic analysis of the lysozyme structure as both the enthalpy and the Gibbs free energy can be derived from the various measurements. Moreover, both HDX-MS and DSC provide information on the relative structural heterogeneity of lysozyme in the adsorbed state compared to that in solution. Results demonstrated that at high surface coverage, the structural stability of lysozyme was only marginally affected by adsorption to silica particles whereas the unfolding enthalpy decreased by more than 10%, meaning that the entropy of lysozyme increased with a similar value upon adsorption. Furthermore, the structural heterogeneity increased considerably. At lower surface concentrations, the structural heterogeneity increased further whereas the enthalpy of unfolding decreased. Further analyses of the HDX-MS experiments clearly indicated that folding/unfolding of lysozyme occurs through a two-domain process. These two domains had a similar amount of structural elements and a difference in stabilization energy of 8 kJ/mol, regardless if lysozyme was in solution or adsorbed to silica.
Electrostatic effects on protein adsorption were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and adsorption isotherms. The thermal denaturation of lysozyme, ribonuclease A (RNase), and alpha-lactalbumin in solution and adsorbed onto silica nanoparticles was examined at three concentrations of cations: 10 and 100 mM of sodium and 100 mM of sodium to which 10 mM of calcium was added. The parameters investigated were the denaturation enthalpy (DeltaH), the temperature at which the denaturation transition was half-completed (T(m)), and the temperature range of the denaturation transition. For lysozyme and RNase, adsorption isotherms depend strongly on the ionic strength. At low ionic strength both proteins have a high affinity for the silica particles and adsorption is accompanied by a 15-25% reduction in DeltaH and a 3-6 degrees C decrease in T(m), indicating that the adsorbed state of the proteins is destabilized. Also, an increase in the width of the denaturation transition is observed, signifying a larger conformational heterogeneity of the surface bound proteins. At higher ionic strengths, both with and without the addition of calcium, no significant adsorption-induced alteration in DeltaH was observed for all three proteins. The addition of calcium, however, decreases the width of the denaturation transition for lysozyme and RNase in the adsorbed state.
A great challenge in functional or interaction proteomics is to map protein networks and establish a functional relationship between expressed proteins and their effects on cellular processes. These cellular processes can be studied by characterizing binding partners to a "bait" protein against a complex background of other molecules present in cells, tissues, or biological fluids. This so-called ligand fishing process can be performed by combining surface plasmon resonance biosensors with MS. This combination generates a unique and automated method to quantify and characterize biomolecular interactions, and identify the interaction partners. A general problem in chip-based affinity separation systems is the large surface-to-volume ratio of the fluidic system. Extreme care, therefore, is required to avoid nonspecific adsorption, resulting in losses of the target protein and carry-over during the affinity purification process, which may lead to unwanted signals in the final MS analysis and a reduction in sensitivity. In this study, carry-over of protein and low-molecular weight substances has been investigated systematically and cleaning strategies are presented. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that by the introduction of colloidal particles as a capturing and transporting agent, the recovery yield of the affinity-purified ligand could be improved nearly twofold.
In this investigation, the structure, stability, and orientation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorbed onto silica particles were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and limited proteolysis in combination with mass spectrometry (MS). DSC gave information on the overall structural stability of BSA while limited proteolysis was used to probe the accessibility of enzymatic cleavage sites, thereby yielding information on the orientation and structure of BSA adsorbed to silica surfaces. Thermal investigation of BSA in various buffers, both free in solution and in the adsorbed state, showed that solutes that surround the protein played an important role with respect to the overall structural stability and the structural heterogeneity of BSA. Limited proteolysis with trypsin and chymotrypsin indicated that BSA in the adsorbed state is oriented with domain 2 facing the silica surface. Also, upon adsorption, no additional cleavage sites were exposed. The combination of the results presented in this study implied that BSA molecules adsorbed onto silica particles were significantly reduced in their structural stability, but not to an extent that internal residues within the nativP structure became fully exposed to the solution.
A novel crossflow filtration methodology is demonstrated for the initial purification of the therapeutic protein, promegapoietin-1a (PMP), produced as inclusion bodies (IBs) in a recombinant Escherichia coli bioprocess. Two strategic separation steps were performed by utilizing a filtration unit with a 1000 kDa polyethersulphone membrane. The first step, aiming for separation of soluble contaminants, resulted in a 50% reduction of the host cell proteins, quantified by total amino acid analysis and a 70% reduction of all DNA, quantified by fluorometry, when washing the particulate material with a 10 mM EDTA in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 8. The second step, aiming for separation of particulate contaminants from solubilized IBs, resulted in a 97-99.5% reduction of endotoxin, used as a marker for cell debris, and was quantified by the kinetic turbidimetric LAL endotoxin assay. The overall PMP yield was 58% and 33% respectively for the two solubilizations investigated, guanidine hydrochloride and arginine, as measured by RP-HPLC. The scope was also to investigate the physical characteristics of the intermediate product/s with regard to the choice of 113 solvent. Preliminary results from circular dichroism spectroscopy measurements indicate that the protein secondary structure was restored when arginine was used in the second step.
This work describes an efficient novel method to incorporate reactive disulfide bonds onto a silica surface under mild reaction conditions. The reactive thiol groups introduced onto the silicon surface in the first reaction step will be oxidized but easily converted into highly reactive thiopyridyl groups, which can therefore easily be utilized for further organic synthesis involving thiol-containing molecules. This is done in a way that yields approximately a monolayer of reactant on the surface, thereby not adding to the roughness of the surface, of special importance, for instance, for single molecule interaction studies.
Thiol-functionalized cobalt porphyrins were used as a model system for investigating catalytic activity in homo-geneous and heterogeneous oxidation catalysis. Self-assembled monolayers of thiol-functionalized cobalt porphyrins were prepared on a gold surface and served as heterogeneous catalysts. The immobilization of the molecules prevented the strong inactivation observed for their homogeneous congener. As a result, the turnover number permolecule in heterogeneous catalysis was at least 100 times higher than that of the corresponding homogeneouscatalyst. It is atypical for a heterogenized catalyst to outperform its homogeneous congener. The properties of themolecular layers were characterized on the molecular level by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The results demonstrate that the performance of these biomimetic catalysts can be dramatically improved if the catalyst arrangement can be controlled on the molecular level. In order to further investigate the influence of the substrate on the catalytic performance, monolayers of the cobalt porphyrins were grafted onto silica surfaces. The observed catalytic activity together with the surface analytical results are interpreted in relation to the supporting substrate. Preliminary results from this investigation (silicon wafer) show that the catalytic activity is similar to that of gold substrates.
With the intention to develop alternative approaches to lab on a chip for organisation and transport of biomolecules on surfaces several unique concepts have been developed. Electro contact printing (1) is a method with the potential to site specifically organise molecules at tenth of nanometers. This method has also been used for segmented derivatisation of micron sized magnetic beads. Controlled transport of magnetic beads on surfaces is a new technological platform (2) with a great potential for Surface Nanobiotechnology as macromolecule and cell transporter, cell and macromolecule sorter and nanosensor for studies of friction and quantification of macromolecules. (1) Nanoscale Site-Specific Immobilisation of Proteins through Electroactivated Disulphide Exchange Nanoletters (2003) Vol.3, No.6, pp. 779-781 (2) Programmable Motion of Magnetic Beads using Thin Film Magnetic Elements Advanced Materials, (2005) 17, 1730-1736.
Interactions between surfaces and macromolecules are the fundamentals in separation and detection of diverse solutes. In this very brief review the central aspects of protein-surface interactions are discussed with the intention of identifying the important factors influencing such processes and placing them in relation to the established knowledge in this field. Some perspectives of new techniques related to scanning probe microscopy for studying interactions at the nanometer level are also discussed.
The protein-binding capacity of two different amphiphilic adsorbents was investigated to determine the effect of solvent additives on the binding of proteins in hydrophobic-interaction chromatography. There was no simple correlation between binding capacity and the lyotropic series such as those suggested by the two different theories proposed by Arakawa and Narhi and Melander and Horvath. Proteins are known to be dynamic flexible objects which continuously undergo changes in conformation and which may well be influenced by chaotropic salts. Are conformational changes of proteins at interfaces an important parameter involved in protein interactions with amphiphilic polymers and adsorbents? In an attempt to answer this question, the reactivity of the thiol group in human serum albumin (HSA) toward N-ethyl-3-(2-pyridyldisulfanyl)propionamide dextran was used as a model system to evaluate its correlation with the lyotropic series. The results indicate that the thiol-disulfide exchange reaction at interfaces of amphiphilic polymers is influenced by the type of salt used.
A number of hydrophobic derivatives attached to cross-linked agarose were studied as protein adsorbents. Differences in the adsorption and desorption behaviour were determined as functions of type and concentration of selected salts. Whereas octyl- and phenyl-Sepharose adsorb serum albumin preferentially, pyridyl-S-agarose shows a much stronger preferential affinity for IgG in the presence of high concentrations of lyotropic salts, such as sulphates. In contrast to pyridyl-S-agarose, a large portion of proteins remained fixed to octyl- and phenyl-Sepharose after extensive washing with 1 M NaOH.
The effects of different types of salts and salt concentrations on the selectivity in the adsorption of serum proteins have been compared for the amphiphilic agarose-based adsorbents Phenyl-Sepharose, Octyl-Sepharose, butyl-agarose and mercaptopyridine-derivatized agarose. By use of multivariate analysis, the complex interrelationships for the different combined effects were evaluated. From these analyses conclusions about similarities and/or dissimilarities in the mechanisms involved in adsorption of proteins on respective adsorbent were made.
Microcontact printing is a remarkable surface patterning technique. Developed about 10 years ago, it has triggered enormous interest from the surface science community, as well as from engineers and biologists. The last five years have been rich in improvements to the microcontact printing process itself, as well as in new technical innovations, many designed to suit new applications. In this review, we describe the evolution of microcontact printing over the past five years. The review is categorized into three main sections: the improvements made to the technique, new variations, and new applications.