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Acar M, Tatini D, Fidi A, Pacini L, Quagliata M, Nuti F, Papini AM, Lo Nostro P. A Promising Compound for Green Multiresponsive Materials Based on Acyl Carrier Protein. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:12381-12393. [PMID: 38836557 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c00476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
A gel that exhibits intrinsically multiple-responsive behavior was prepared from an oligopeptide and studied. ACP(65-74) is an active decapeptide fragment of acyl carrier protein. We investigated 3% w/v ACP(65-74)-NH2 self-healing physical gels in water, glycerol carbonate (GC), and their mixtures. The morphology was investigated by optical, birefringence, and confocal laser scanning microscopy, circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared, and fluorescence spectroscopy experiments. We found that all samples possess pH responsiveness with fully reversible sol-to-gel transitions. The rheological properties depend on the temperature and solvent composition. The temperature dependence of the gels in water shows a peculiar behavior that is similar to that of thermoresponsive polymer solutions. The results reveal the presence of several β-sheet structures and amyloid aggregates, offering valuable insights into the fibrillation mechanism of amyloids in different solvent media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mert Acar
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Duccio Tatini
- Department of Biotechnologies, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Alberto Fidi
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Lorenzo Pacini
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
- PeptLab, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Michael Quagliata
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
- PeptLab, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Francesca Nuti
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
- PeptLab, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Anna Maria Papini
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
- PeptLab, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Pierandrea Lo Nostro
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
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Acar M, Tatini D, Budroni MA, Ninham BW, Rustici M, Rossi F, Lo Nostro P. Specific anion effects on urease activity: A Hofmeister study. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2024; 236:113789. [PMID: 38367291 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.113789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
The effects of a range of electrolytes on the hydrolysis of urea by the enzyme urease is explored. The autocatalytic behavior of urease in unbuffered solutions and its pH clock reactions are studied. The concentration dependence of the experimental variables is analyzed in terms of specific ion-enzyme interactions and hydration. The results offer insights into the molecular mechanisms of the enzyme, and on the nature of its interactions with the electrolytes. We found that urease can tolerate mild electrolytes in its environment, while it is strongly inhibited by both strong kosmotropic and strong chaotropic anions. This study may cast light on an alternative therapy for Helicobacter pylori infections and contribute to the design of innovative materials and provide new approaches for the modulation of the enzymatic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mert Acar
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze 50019, Italy
| | - Duccio Tatini
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze 50019, Italy
| | - Marcello A Budroni
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari 07100, Italy
| | - Barry W Ninham
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Mauro Rustici
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari 07100, Italy
| | - Federico Rossi
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences-DEEP Sciences, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Pierandrea Lo Nostro
- Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze 50019, Italy.
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Physicochemical characterization of green sodium oleate-based formulations. Part 3. Molecular and collective dynamics in rodlike and wormlike micelles by proton nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 636:279-290. [PMID: 36640549 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2022] [Revised: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS Sodium oleate (NaOL) self-aggregates in water forming rodlike micelles with different length depending on NaOL concentration; when KCl is added wormlike micelles form, which entangle giving rise to a viscoelastic dispersion. It is expected that aggregates with different size and shape exhibit different internal and overall molecular motions and collective dynamics. EXPERIMENTS Two low viscosity NaOL/water and two viscoelastic NaOL/KCl/water formulations with different NaOL concentration (0.23 and 0.43 M) were investigated by 1H fast field cycling NMR relaxometry over broad temperature and Larmor frequency ranges, after a first screening by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy at high frequency. FINDINGS The analysis of the collected data indicated that fast conformational isomerization and rotation of NaOL about its long molecular axis and lateral diffusion of NaOL around the axis of the cylindrical aggregates are slightly affected by the aggregate shape and length. On the other hand, fluctuations of the local order director are quite different in the fluid and viscoelastic systems, reflecting the shape and size of the aggregates. Quantitative information was obtained on activation energy for fast internal and overall motions, correlation times and activation energy for lateral diffusion, and coherence length for collective order fluctuations.
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Giurlani W, Fidi A, Anselmi E, Pizzetti F, Bonechi M, Carretti E, Lo Nostro P, Innocenti M. SPECIFIC ION EFFECTS ON COPPER ELECTROPLATING. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2023; 225:113287. [PMID: 37004387 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2023.113287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
The main goal of this work is to open new perspectives in the field of electrodeposition and provide green alternatives to the electroplating industry. The effect of different anions (SO42-, ClO3-, NO3-, ClO4-, BF4-, PF6-) in solution on the electrodeposition of copper was investigated. The solutions, containing only the copper precursor and the background electrolyte, were tailored to minimize the environmental impact and reduce the use of organic additives and surfactants. The study is based on electrochemical measurements carried out to verify that no metal complexation takes place. We assessed the nucleation and growth mechanism, we performed a morphological characterization through scanning electron microscopy and deposition efficiency by measuring the film thickness through X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Significant differences in the growth mechanism and in the morphology of the electrodeposited films, were observed as a function of the background electrolyte.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter Giurlani
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; INSTM, Via G. Giusti 9, 50121 Firenze (FI), Italy
| | - Alberto Fidi
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Erasmo Anselmi
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Federico Pizzetti
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Marco Bonechi
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; INSTM, Via G. Giusti 9, 50121 Firenze (FI), Italy
| | - Emiliano Carretti
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; CSGI, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Pierandrea Lo Nostro
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; CSGI, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
| | - Massimo Innocenti
- Dept. Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; INSTM, Via G. Giusti 9, 50121 Firenze (FI), Italy; CSGI, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; ICCOM - CNR, via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
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Acar M, Tatini D, Ninham BW, Rossi F, Marchettini N, Lo Nostro P. The Lyotropic Nature of Halates: An Experimental Study. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27238519. [PMID: 36500616 PMCID: PMC9739596 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27238519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Unlike halides, where the kosmotropicity decreases from fluoride to iodide, the kosmotropic nature of halates apparently increases from chlorate to iodate, in spite of the lowering in the static ionic polarizability. In this paper, we present an experimental study that confirms the results of previous simulations. The lyotropic nature of aqueous solutions of sodium halates, i.e., NaClO3, NaBrO3, and NaIO3, is investigated through density, conductivity, viscosity, and refractive index measurements as a function of temperature and salt concentration. From the experimental data, we evaluate the activity coefficients and the salt polarizability and assess the anions' nature in terms of kosmotropicity/chaotropicity. The results clearly indicate that iodate behaves as a kosmotrope, while chlorate is a chaotrope, and bromate shows an intermediate nature. This experimental study confirms that, in the case of halates XO3-, the kosmotropic-chaotropic ranking reverses with respect to halides. We also discuss and revisit the role of the anion's polarizability in the interpretation of Hofmeister phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mert Acar
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff” and CSGI, University of Florence, 50019 Firenze, Italy
| | - Duccio Tatini
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff” and CSGI, University of Florence, 50019 Firenze, Italy
| | - Barry W. Ninham
- Materials Physics (Formerly Department of Applied Mathematics), Research School of Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
- School of Science, University of New South Wales, Northcott Drive, Campbell, Canberra, ACT 2612, Australia
| | - Federico Rossi
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Nadia Marchettini
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Pierandrea Lo Nostro
- Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff” and CSGI, University of Florence, 50019 Firenze, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-055-4573010
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Tatini D, Anselmi E, Cabrucci G, Acar M, Ninham BW, Lo Nostro P. Ionochromism, solvatochromism and effect of dissolved gases on the spectral properties of bromothymol blue. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.120196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Gregory KP, Elliott GR, Robertson H, Kumar A, Wanless EJ, Webber GB, Craig VSJ, Andersson GG, Page AJ. Understanding specific ion effects and the Hofmeister series. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:12682-12718. [PMID: 35543205 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00847e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Specific ion effects (SIE), encompassing the Hofmeister Series, have been known for more than 130 years since Hofmeister and Lewith's foundational work. SIEs are ubiquitous and are observed across the medical, biological, chemical and industrial sciences. Nevertheless, no general predictive theory has yet been able to explain ion specificity across these fields; it remains impossible to predict when, how, and to what magnitude, a SIE will be observed. In part, this is due to the complexity of real systems in which ions, counterions, solvents and cosolutes all play varying roles, which give rise to anomalies and reversals in anticipated SIEs. Herein we review the historical explanations for SIE in water and the key ion properties that have been attributed to them. Systems where the Hofmeister series is perturbed or reversed are explored, as is the behaviour of ions at the liquid-vapour interface. We discuss SIEs in mixed electrolytes, nonaqueous solvents, and in highly concentrated electrolyte solutions - exciting frontiers in this field with particular relevance to biological and electrochemical applications. We conclude the perspective by summarising the challenges and opportunities facing this SIE research that highlight potential pathways towards a general predictive theory of SIE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasimir P Gregory
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia. .,Department of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Gareth R Elliott
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
| | - Hayden Robertson
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
| | - Anand Kumar
- Flinders Institute of Nanoscale Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, South Australia 5001, Australia
| | - Erica J Wanless
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
| | - Grant B Webber
- School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia
| | - Vincent S J Craig
- Department of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Gunther G Andersson
- Flinders Institute of Nanoscale Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, South Australia 5001, Australia
| | - Alister J Page
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
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