Trans content in atactic polystyrene estimated by double-quantum solid-state NMR

Multiscale simulations of PS-SiO2 nanocomposites: from melt to glassy state

The interaction energetics, molecular packing, entanglement network properties, segmental dynamics, and elastic constants of atactic polystyrene-amorphous silica nanocomposites in the molten and the glassy state are studied via molecular simulations using two interconnected levels of representation: (a) a coarse-grained one, wherein each polystyrene repeat unit is mapped onto a single "superatom" and the silica nanoparticle is viewed as a solid sphere. Equilibration at all length scales at this level is achieved via connectivity-altering Monte Carlo simulations. (b) A united-atom (UA) level, wherein the polymer chains are represented in terms of a united-atom forcefield and the silica nanoparticle is represented in terms of a simplified, fully atomistic model. Initial configurations for UA molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are obtained by reverse mapping well-equilibrated coarse-grained configurations. By analysing microcanonical UA MD trajectories, the polymer density profile is studied and the polymer is found to exhibit layering in the vicinity of the nanoparticle surface. An estimate of the enthalpy of mixing between polymer and nanoparticles, derived from the UA simulations, compares favourably against available experimental values. The dynamical behaviour of polystyrene (in neat and filled melt systems) is characterized in terms of bond orientation and dihedral angle time autocorrelation functions. At low concentration in the molten polymer matrix, silica nanoparticles are found to cause a slight deceleration of the segmental dynamics close to their surface compared to the bulk polymer. Well-equilibrated coarse-grained long-chain configurations are reduced to entanglement networks via topological analysis with the CReTA algorithm, yielding a slightly lower density of entanglements in the filled than in the neat systems. UA melt configurations are glassified by MD cooling. The elastic moduli of the resulting glassy nanocomposites are computed through an analysis of strain fluctuations in the undeformed state and through explicit mechanical deformation by MD, showing a stiffening of the polymer in the presence of nanoparticles. UA simulation results for the elastic constants are compared to continuum micromechanical calculations invoked in homogenization models of the overall mechanical behaviour of heterogeneous materials. They can be interpreted in terms of the presence of an "interphase" of approximate thickness 2 nm around the nanoparticles, with elastic constants intermediate between those of the filler and the matrix.

Quantitative determination of site-specific conformational distributions in an unfolded protein by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are used to investigate the structure of the 35-residue villin headpiece subdomain (HP35) in folded, partially denatured, and fully denatured states. Experiments are carried out in frozen glycerol/water solutions, with chemical denaturation by guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl). Without GdnHCl, two-dimensional solid-state (13)C NMR spectra of samples prepared with uniform (13)C labeling of selected residues show relatively sharp cross-peaks at chemical shifts that are consistent with the known three-helix bundle structure of folded HP35. At high GdnHCl concentrations, most cross-peaks broaden and shift, qualitatively indicating disruption of the folded structure and development of static conformational disorder in the frozen denatured state. Conformational distributions at one residue in each helical segment are probed quantitatively with three solid-state NMR techniques that provide independent constraints on backbone varphi and psi torsion angles in samples with sequential pairs of carbonyl (13)C labels. Without GdnHCl, the combined data are well fit by alpha-helical conformations. At [GdnHCl]=4.5 M, corresponding to the approximate denaturation midpoint, the combined data are well fit by a combination of alpha-helical and partially extended conformations at each site, but with a site-dependent population ratio. At [GdnHCl]=7.0 M, corresponding to the fully denatured state, the combined data are well fit by a combination of partially extended and polyproline II conformations, again with a site-dependent population ratio. Two entirely different models for conformational distributions lead to nearly the same best-fit distributions, demonstrating the robustness of these conclusions. This work represents the first quantitative investigation of site-specific conformational distributions in partially folded and unfolded states of a protein by solid-state NMR.

From Mesoscale Back to Atomistic Models: A Fast Reverse-Mapping Procedure for Vinyl Polymer Chains

This paper introduces a systematic procedure to obtain well-relaxed atomistic melt structures from mesocale models of vinyl polymers based on sequences of diads. Following the methodology introduced by Milano and Müller-Plathe [J. Phys. Chem. B. 2005, 109, 18609], coarse-grain models consisting of sequences of superatoms of two different types meso and racemo have been used to relax mesocale melts of atactic and syndiotactic polystyrene. The proposed method, based on a fully geometrical approach, does not involve expensive potential energy and force evaluations and allows a very fast and efficient reconstruction of the atomistic detail. The method, successfully tested against experimental data, allows us to obtain all atom models of both stereoregular and stereoirregular polymers and opens the possibility of relaxing large molecular weight melts of vinyl chains.