Sahihi M, Faraudo J. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Adsorption of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein on Polystyrene Surface.
J Chem Inf Model 2022;
62:3814-3824. [PMID:
35926227 PMCID:
PMC9364975 DOI:
10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00562]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
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A prominent feature of coronaviruses is the presence
of a large
glycoprotein spike (S) protruding from the viral particle. The specific
interactions of a material with S determine key aspects such as its
possible role for indirect transmission or its suitability as a virucidal
material. Here, we consider all-atom molecular dynamics simulations
of the interaction between a polymer surface (polystyrene) and S in
its up and down conformations. Polystyrene is a commonly used plastic
found in electronics, toys, and many other common objects. Also, previous
atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments showed substantial adhesion
of S over polystyrene, stronger than in other common materials. Our
results show that the main driving forces for the adsorption of the
S protein over polystyrene were hydrophobic and π–π
interactions with S amino acids and glycans. The interaction was stronger
for the case of S in the up conformation, which exposes one highly
flexible receptor binding domain (RBD) that adjusts its conformation
to interact with the polymer surface. In this case, the interaction
has similar contributions from the RBD and glycans. In the case of
S in the down conformation, the interaction with the polystyrene surface
was weaker and it was dominated by glycans located near the RBD. We
do not find significant structural changes in the conformation of
S, a result which is in deep contrast to our previous results with
another hydrophobic surface (graphite). Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2
virions may adsorb strongly over plastic surfaces without significantly
affecting their infectivity.
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