Surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy and electrochemistry reveal the impact of nanoparticles on the function of protein immobilized on mimic biointerface

Exploring the pH Sensitivity of Ion-Pair Interactions on a Self-Assembled Monolayer by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

Insights into the chemical essence of weak interactions on the surface of biomacromolecules may help to regulate biological processes. In this work, the pH sensitivity of ion-pair interactions occurring on a cysteine self-assembled monolayer (Cys SAM) that simulates the local surface of a protein was probed by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). Cys SAM and the ion-pair interactions subsequently formed with the introduced aspartic acid (Asp) were both pH-sensitive, as confirmed by the tip current changes in the feedback mode. After continuous pH measurements, the most significant negative feedback was observed at pH 5.50, indicating the most robust ion-pair interactions, which were simultaneously identified by voltammetry. In this case, the extra addition of the inorganic cation (i.e., Ca²⁺) did not disrupt the existing ion-pair interactions, and the binding constant (K) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG^o) of the ion pair were finally determined to be 6.44 × 10⁵ M^-1 and -33.14 kJ mol^-1, respectively. Overall, the pH sensitivity of ion-pair interactions was found to be mainly attributable to pH-induced changes in the deprotonated/protonated states of the α-amino acid moieties, which may provide insights into the artificial manipulation of complex binding events at the molecular level on the biological surface.

Disc Antenna Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopy: From Self-Assembled Monolayers to Membrane Proteins

Plasmonic surfaces have emerged as a powerful platform for biomolecular sensing applications and can be designed to optimize the plasmonic resonance for probing molecular vibrations at utmost sensitivity. Here, we present a facile procedure to generate metallic microdisc antenna arrays that are employed in surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy of biomolecules. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids are used as shadow mask deployed during physical vapor deposition of gold. The resulting disc-shaped antennas exhibit enhancement factors of the vibrational bands of 4 × 10⁴ giving rise to a detection limit <1 femtomol (10^-15 mol) of molecules. Surface-bound monolayers of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid show polyelectrolyte behavior when titrated with cations in the aqueous medium. Conformational rigidity of the self-assembled monolayer is validated by density functional theory calculations. The membrane protein sensory rhodopsin II is tethered to the disc antenna arrays and is fully functional as inferred from the light-induced SEIRA difference spectra. As an advance to previous studies, the accessible frequency range is improved and extended into the fingerprint region.

In Situ Characterization of Protein Adsorption onto Nanoparticles by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

Nanotechnology holds great promise for applications in many fields including biology and medicine. Unfortunately, the processes occurring at the interface between nanomaterials and living systems are exceedingly complex and not yet well understood, which has significantly hampered the realization of many nanobiotechnology applications. Whenever nanoparticles (NPs) are incorporated by a living organism, a protein adsorption layer, also known as the "protein corona", forms on the NP surface. Accordingly, living organisms interact with protein-coated rather than bare NPs, and their biological responses depend on the nature of the protein corona. In recent years, a wide variety of biophysical techniques have been employed to elucidate mechanistic aspects of NP-protein interactions. In most studies, NPs are immersed in protein or biofluid (e.g., blood serum) solutions and then separated from the liquid for analysis. Because this approach may modify the composition and structure of the protein corona, our group has pioneered the use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) as an in situ technique, capable of examining NP-protein interactions while the NPs are suspended in biological fluids. FCS allows us to measure, with subnanometer precision and as a function of protein concentration, the increase in hydrodynamic radius of the NPs due to protein adsorption. This Account aims at reviewing recent progress in the exploration of NP-protein interactions by using FCS. In vitro FCS studies of the adsorption of important serum proteins onto water-solubilized luminescent NPs always showed a stepwise increase of the NP radius upon protein binding in the form of a binding isotherm, regardless of the type of NP and its specific surface functionalization. This observation indicates formation of a protein monolayer on the NP. Structure-based calculations of protein surface potentials revealed that positively charged patches on the proteins interact electrostatically with negatively charged NP surfaces, and the observed protein layer thickness always matched the known molecular dimensions of the proteins binding in certain orientations. Temperature and NP surface functionalization have also been identified as important parameters controlling protein corona formation. Notably, while the corona formed from a single type of serum protein was reversible, protein adsorption from complex biological media such as blood serum was entirely irreversible. These quantitative in vitro studies are of great relevance to the bio-nano community and especially to researchers developing engineered nanomaterials for biological and biomedical applications. Future efforts will be directed toward elucidating kinetic aspects of protein corona formation and the detailed structure of the adsorbed proteins at the molecular level. To better appreciate the biological responses triggered by NP exposure, more efforts will be devoted to the exploration of the biomolecular corona as it forms on NPs in contact with living cells, tissues, and even entire model organisms. These studies are challenging when performed in a well-controlled and quantitative fashion and rely on the availability of sophisticated analytical tools, particularly, quantitative optical imaging techniques including FCS and related fluctuation methods.