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Li C, Zhu X, Wang D, Yang S, Zhang R, Li P, Fan J, Li H, Zhi C. Fine Tuning Water States in Hydrogels for High Voltage Aqueous Batteries. ACS NANO 2024; 18:3101-3114. [PMID: 38236764 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c08398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Hydrogels are widely used as quasi-solid-state electrolytes in aqueous batteries. However, they are not applicable in high-voltage batteries because the hydrogen evolution reaction cannot be effectively suppressed even when water is incorporated into the polymer network. Herein, by profoundly investigating the states of water molecules in hydrogels, we designed supramolecular hydrogel electrolytes featuring much more nonfreezable bound water and much less free water than that found in conventional hydrogels. Specifically, two strategies are developed to achieve this goal. One strategy is adopting monomers with a variety of hydrophilic groups to enhance the hydrophilicity of polymer chains. The other strategy is incorporating zwitterionic polymers or polymers with counterions as superhydrophilic units. In particular, the nonfreezable bound water content increased from 0.129 in the conventional hydrogel to >0.4 mg mg-1 in the fabricated hydrogels, while the free water content decreased from 1.232 to ∼0.15 mg mg-1. As a result, a wide electrochemical stability window of up to 3.25 V was obtained with the fabricated hydrogels with low concentrations of incorporated salts and enhanced hydrophilic groups or superhydrophilic groups. The ionic conductivities achieved with our developed hydrogel electrolytes were much higher than those in the conventional highly concentrated salt electrolytes, and their cost is also much lower. The designed supramolecular hydrogel electrolytes endowed an aqueous K-ion battery (AKIB) system with a high voltage plateau of 1.9 V and contributed to steady cycling of the AKIB for over 3000 cycles. The developed supramolecular hydrogel electrolytes are also applicable to other batteries, such as aqueous lithium-ion batteries, hybrid sodium-ion batteries, and multivalent-ion aqueous batteries, and can achieve high voltage output.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Li
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Xiaohong Zhu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Donghong Wang
- Hong Kong Center for Cerebro-Cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE), Shatin 999077, NT, HKSAR, China
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan 243032, Anhui, China
| | - Shuo Yang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Rong Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Pei Li
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Jun Fan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Hongfei Li
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
- School of System Design and Intelligent Manufacturing, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Chunyi Zhi
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
- Hong Kong Center for Cerebro-Cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE), Shatin 999077, NT, HKSAR, China
- Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong
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2
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Ghanta KP, Bandyopadhyay S. Counteraction Effects of Ammonium-Based Ionic Liquids on Urea-Induced Denaturation of α-Lactalbumin: A Comprehensive Molecular Simulation Study. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:7251-7265. [PMID: 37574910 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c03223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) are known to stabilize protein conformations in aqueous medium. Importantly, ILs can also act as refolding additives in urea-driven denaturation of proteins. However, despite the importance of the problem, detailed microscopic understanding of the counteraction effects of ILs on urea-induced protein denaturation remains elusive. In this work, atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the protein α-lactalbumin have been carried out in pure aqueous medium, in 8 M binary urea-water solution and in ternary urea-IL-water solutions containing ammonium-based ethyl ammonium acetate (EAA) as the IL at different concentrations (1-4 M). Attempts have been made to quantify detailed molecular-level understanding of the origin behind the counteraction effects of the IL on urea-induced partial unfolding of the protein. The calculations revealed significant conformational changes of the protein with multiple free energy minima due to its partial unfolding in binary urea-water solution. The counteraction effect of the IL was evident from the enhanced structural rigidity of the protein with propensity to transform into a single native free energy minimum state in ternary urea-IL-water solutions. Such an effect has been found to be associated with preferential direct binding of the IL components with the protein and simultaneous expulsion of urea from the interface, thereby providing additional stabilization of the protein in ternary solutions. Most importantly, modified rearrangement of the hydrogen bond network at the interface due to the formation of stronger protein-cation (PC) and protein-anion (PA) hydrogen bonds by breaking relatively weaker protein-urea (PU) and protein-water (PW) hydrogen bonds has been recognized as the microscopic origin behind the counteraction effects of EAA on urea-induced partial unfolding of the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishna Prasad Ghanta
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India
| | - Sanjoy Bandyopadhyay
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India
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3
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Joshi A, Kishore N. Macromolecular crowding and preferential exclusion counteract the effect of protein denaturant: Biophysical aspects. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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4
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Chen J, Dai Y, Gong X, Zhang G. Cation-amino acid interactions: Implications for protein destabilization. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 548:47-52. [PMID: 33631673 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The mechanism for protein stabilization or destabilization has long been an open quest. In the present study, we have studied the interactions between amino acids and guanidinium (Gdm+)/ammonium (NH4+) ions by using low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), where Gdm+ and NH4+ are denaturant and stabilizer for proteins, respectively. It shows that Gdm+ favors to bind to the thiol group or the hydroxyl group on the side chain but weakly interacts with the α-carboxyl group. In contrast, NH4+ prefers to bind to the α-carboxyl group but slightly interacts with the thiol group or the hydroxyl group on the side chain of amino acids. 1HNMR reveals the hydrogen bonding between NH4+ and the α-carboxyl group, which is not involved in the interactions between Gdm+ and cysteine. Our study demonstrates that the strong interactions between the denaturant and the sulfur atom or the disulfide bond promote the direct binding of the denaturant toward proteins, leading to the destabilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiantao Chen
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, PR China
| | - Yingkang Dai
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, PR China
| | - Xiangjun Gong
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Luminescence from Molecular Aggregates, South China University of Technology, PR China.
| | - Guangzhao Zhang
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, PR China
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5
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Judy E, Kishore N. Quantitative calorimetric evidences into counteraction mechanism of denaturing effect of guanidine hydrochloride by citrulline and betaine. J Mol Liq 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.114953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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6
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Stasiulewicz M, Panuszko A, Śmiechowski M, Bruździak P, Maszota P, Stangret J. Effect of urea and glycine betaine on the hydration sphere of model molecules for the surface features of proteins. J Mol Liq 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.115090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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7
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Olivares B, Martínez F, Rivas L, Calderón C, M Munita J, R Campodonico P. A Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent Formulated to Stabilize β-Lactam Antibiotics. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14900. [PMID: 30297853 PMCID: PMC6175898 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33148-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
β-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillin share a very unstable chemical structure. In water-based solutions, such as those used for clinical applications, the β-lactam ring is readily opened due to a nucleophilic or electrophilic attack, leading to the loss of antimicrobial activity. Since the achievement and maintenance of optimum therapeutic levels of β-lactam antibiotics is critical for the resolution of many infectious clinical situations, and to avoid antibiotic resistance generation, the design of new non-aqueous dosage forms is urgent. Recently, natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) have emerged as alternative non-toxic and non-aqueous solvents for different biomedical applications. In this work, we formulated and characterized a NADES composed by betaine and urea (BU). Using this solvent, we evaluated the stability of clavulanic acid (CLV) and imipenem (IMP) and characterized their antimicrobial activities calculating the minimal inhibitory concentration. Characterization of BU solvent by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) indicated that the obtained solvent has a microstructure mainly based on hydrogen bonding interactions and water addition strongly affects its dynamic. The stability of β-lactam antibiotic IMP and CLV using this solvent was increased by 7 fold and 2.5 fold respectively compared to water when analysed seven days after being dissolved. Microbiological assays showed that antibacterial activity at day seven was significantly decreased for both CLV and IMP when dissolved in water, while no change in their antibacterial properties was observed when antibiotics were dissolved in BU. The increased stability of IMP and CLV in BU may be related to the inert behaviour of the solvent and the higher dynamic restriction that helps antibiotics to maintain a more stable conformation. These data suggest the potential use of BU as a solvent to prevent degradation of β-lactam antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belén Olivares
- Centro de Química Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile. .,Programa de Postgrado en Biología, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.
| | - Fabián Martínez
- Centro de Química Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Lina Rivas
- Programa de Genómica y Resistencia Microbiana, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cristian Calderón
- Centro de Química Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - José M Munita
- Programa de Genómica y Resistencia Microbiana, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.,Millennium Nucleus on Interdisciplinary Approach to Antimicrobial Resistance, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paola R Campodonico
- Centro de Química Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
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8
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Li C, Bai S, Li X, Zhao Y, Ren L, Zhu K, Yuan X. Amphiphilic Copolymers Containing POSS and SBMA with N-Vinylcaprolactam and N-Vinylpyrrolidone for THF Hydrate Inhibition. ACS OMEGA 2018; 3:7371-7379. [PMID: 31458896 PMCID: PMC6644730 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b00602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Icelike gas hydrates deposited in the pipelines under low temperatures and high pressures could remarkably reduce the transport efficiency, and a low dosage of water-soluble polymers could act as kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) to prevent gas hydrate formation. It was believed that the hydrophobic moiety in the water-soluble polymers played a vital role in enhancing the KHI performance. In this work, amphiphilic copolymers containing hydrophobic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and superhydrophilic sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) as well as N-vinylcaprolactam (VCap) and N-vinylpyrrolidone (VP) were prepared, and an efficient effect of the obtained amphiphilic copolymers on tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate inhibition was found. When a certain amount of the amphiphilic copolymers was introduced, the THF hydrate as an analogue of structure II gas hydrates presented a prolonged induction time and gave rise to a looser state rather than a crystalline solid. Analyses of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and differential scanning calorimetry verified that there were strong interactions between the copolymer and water molecules by incorporation of SBMA units, which could enhance the KHI properties of the prepared amphiphilic copolymers. Additionally, the hydrophobic POSS in the amphiphilic copolymers could possibly modulate the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance, contributing to the synergistical ability of the copolymers for THF hydrate inhibition. It was suggested that the amphiphilic copolymers containing POSS and zwitterionic units with VCap or VP could have potential for the inhibition and antiaggregation of gas hydrates in the transportation pipelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Li
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of
Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin
University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Shan Bai
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of
Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin
University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Xiaohui Li
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of
Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin
University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yunhui Zhao
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of
Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin
University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Lixia Ren
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of
Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin
University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Kongying Zhu
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of
Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin
University, Tianjin 300350, China
- Analysis
and Measurement Center, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Xiaoyan Yuan
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of
Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin
University, Tianjin 300350, China
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9
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Rani A, Venkatesu P. Changing relations between proteins and osmolytes: a choice of nature. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:20315-20333. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp02949k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The stabilization and destabilization of the protein in the presence of any additive is mainly attributed to its preferential exclusion from protein surface and its preferential binding to the protein surface, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjeeta Rani
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Delhi
- Delhi 110 007
- India
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10
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Steinke N, Genina A, Lorenz CD, McLain SE. Salt Interactions in Solution Prevent Direct Association of Urea with a Peptide Backbone. J Phys Chem B 2017; 121:1866-1876. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b12542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Steinke
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
| | - Anna Genina
- Department of Physics, King’s College London, London SE1 9NH, U.K
| | | | - Sylvia E. McLain
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
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