Charge Effects Provide Ångström-Level Control of Lipid Bilayer Morphology on Titanium Dioxide Surfaces

Distance tuneable integral membrane protein containing floating bilayers via in situ directed self-assembly

Model membranes allow for structural and biophysical studies on membrane biochemistry at the molecular level, albeit on systems of reduced complexity which can limit biological accuracy. Floating supported bilayers offer a means of producing planar lipid membrane models not adhered to a surface, which allows for improved accuracy compared to other model membranes. Here we communicate the incorporation of an integral membrane protein complex, the multidomain β-barrel assembly machinery (Bam), into our recently developed in situ self-assembled floating supported bilayers. Using neutron reflectometry and quartz crystal microbalance measurements we show this sample system can be fabricated using a two-step self-assembly process. We then demonstrate the complexity of the model membrane and tuneability of the membrane-to-surface distance using changes in the salt concentration of the bulk solution. Results demonstrate an easily fabricated, biologically accurate and tuneable membrane assay system which can be utilized for studies on integral membrane proteins within their native lipid matrix.

Planar Polymer Membranes Accommodate Functional Self-Assembly of Inserted Resorcinarene Nanocapsules

Solid-supported polymer membranes (SSPMs) offer great potential in material and life sciences due to their increased mechanical stability and robustness compared to solid-supported lipid membranes. However, there is still a need for expanding the functionality of SSPMs by combining them with synthetic molecular assemblies. In this study, SSPMs served as a flexible matrix for the insertion of resorcinarene monomers and their self-assembly into functional hexameric resorcinarene capsules. Resorcinarene capsules provide a large cavity with affinity specifically for cationic and polyhydroxylated molecules. While the capsules are stable in apolar organic solvents, they disassemble when placed in polar solvents, which limits their application. Here, a solvent-assisted approach was used for copolymer membrane deposition on solid support and simultaneous insertion of the resorcinarene monomers. By investigation of the molecular factors and conditions supporting the codeposition of the copolymer and resorcinarene monomers, a stable hybrid membrane was formed. The hydrophobic domain of the membrane played a crucial role by providing a sufficiently thick and apolar layer, allowing for the self-assembly of the capsules. The capsules were functional inside the membranes by encapsulating cationic guests from the aqueous environment. The amount of resorcinarene capsules in the hybrid membranes was quantified by a combination of quartz-crystal microbalance with dissipation and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, while the membrane topography and layer composition were analyzed by atomic force microscopy and neutron reflectometry. Functional resorcinarene capsules inside SSPMs can serve as dynamic sensors and potentially as cross-membrane transporters, thus holding great promise for the development of smart surfaces.

Maximally efficient exchange in thin flow cells using density gradients

Flow cells are ubiquitous in laboratories and automated instrumentation, and are crucial for ease of sample preparation, analyte addition and buffer exchange. The assumption that the fluids have exchanged completely in a flow cell is often critical to data interpretation. This article describes the buoyancy effects on the exchange of fluids with differing densities or viscosities in thin, circular flow cells. Depending on the flow direction, fluid exchange varies from highly efficient to drastically incomplete, even after a large excess of exchange volume. Numerical solutions to the Navier-Stokes and Cahn-Hilliard equations match well with experimental observations. This leads to quantitative predictions of the conditions where buoyancy forces in thin flow cells are significant. A novel method is introduced for exchanging fluid cells by accounting for and utilizing buoyancy effects that can be essential to obtain accurate results from measurements performed within closed-volume fluid environments.

AutoRefl: active learning in neutron reflectometry for fast data acquisition

Neutron reflectometry (NR) is a powerful technique for interrogating the structure of thin films at interfaces. Because NR measurements are slow and instrument availability is limited, measurement efficiency is paramount. One approach to improving measurement efficiency is active learning (AL), in which the next measurement configurations are selected on the basis of information gained from the partial data collected so far. AutoRefl, a model-based AL algorithm for neutron reflectometry measurements, is presented in this manuscript. AutoRefl uses the existing measurements of a function to choose both the position and the duration of the next measurement. AutoRefl maximizes the information acquisition rate in specific model parameters of interest and uses the well defined signal-to-noise ratio in counting measurements to choose appropriate measurement times. Since continuous measurement is desirable for practical implementation, AutoRefl features forecasting, in which the optimal positions of multiple future measurements are predicted from existing measurements. The performance of AutoRefl is compared with that of well established best practice measurements for supported lipid bilayer samples using realistic digital twins of monochromatic and polychromatic reflectometers. AutoRefl is shown to improve NR measurement speeds in all cases significantly.

Low-background neutron reflectometry from solid/liquid interfaces

Liquid cells are an increasingly common sample environment for neutron reflectometry experiments and are critical for measuring the properties of materials at solid/liquid interfaces. Background scattering determines the maximum useful scattering vector, and hence the spatial resolution, of the neutron reflectometry measurement. The primary sources of background are the liquid in the cell reservoir and the materials forming the liquid cell itself. Thus, characterization and mitigation of these background sources are necessary for improvements in the signal-to-background ratio and resolution of neutron reflectometry measurements employing liquid cells. Single-crystal silicon is a common material used for liquid cells due to its low incoherent scattering cross section for neutrons, and the path lengths of the neutron beam through silicon can be several centimetres in modern cell designs. Here, a liquid cell is constructed with a sub-50 µm thick liquid reservoir encased in single-crystal silicon. It is shown that, at high scattering vectors, inelastic scattering from silicon represents a significant portion of the scattering background and is, moreover, structured, confounding efforts to correct for it by established background subtraction techniques. A significant improvement in the measurement quality is achieved using energy-analyzed detection. Energy-analyzed detection reduces the scattering background from silicon by nearly an order of magnitude, and from fluids such as air and liquids by smaller but significant factors. Combining thin liquid reservoirs with energy-analyzed detection and the high flux of the CANDOR polychromatic reflectometer at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, a background-subtracted neutron reflectivity smaller than 10−8 from a liquid cell sample is reported.

Exploring lipid-dependent conformations of membrane-bound α-synuclein with the VDAC nanopore

Regulation of VDAC by α-synuclein (αSyn) is a rich and instructive example of protein-protein interactions catalyzed by a lipid membrane surface. αSyn, a peripheral membrane protein involved in Parkinson's disease pathology, is known to bind to membranes in a transient manner. αSyn's negatively charged C-terminal domain is then available to be electromechanically trapped by the VDAC β-barrel, a process that is observed in vitro as the reversible reduction of ion flow through a single voltage-biased VDAC nanopore. Binding of αSyn to the lipid bilayer is a prerequisite of the channel-protein interaction; surprisingly, however, we find that the strength of αSyn binding to the membrane does not correlate in any simple way with its efficiency of blocking VDAC, suggesting that the lipid-dependent conformations of the membrane-bound αSyn control the interaction. Quantitative models of the free energy landscape governing the capture and release processes allow us to discriminate between several αSyn (sub-) conformations on the membrane surface. These results, combined with known structural features of αSyn on anionic lipid membranes, point to a model in which the lipid composition determines the fraction of αSyn molecules for which the charged C terminal domain is constrained to be close, but not tightly bound, to the membrane surface and thus readily captured by the VDAC nanopore. We speculate that changes in the mitochondrial membrane lipid composition may be key regulators of the αSyn-VDAC interaction and consequently of VDAC-facilitated transport of ions and metabolites in and out of mitochondria and, i.e. mitochondrial metabolism.

Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Lipids Near TiO2 Nanosurfaces

Understanding of interactions between inorganic nanomaterials and biomolecules, and particularly lipid bilayers, is crucial in many biotechnological and biomedical applications, as well as for the evaluation of possible toxic effects caused by nanoparticles. Here, we present a molecular dynamics study of adsorption of two important constituents of the cell membranes, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (POPE), lipids to a number of titanium dioxide planar surfaces, and a spherical nanoparticle under physiological conditions. By constructing the number density profiles of the lipid headgroup atoms, we have identified several possible binding modes and calculated their relative prevalence in the simulated systems. Our estimates of the adsorption strength, based on the total fraction of adsorbed lipids, show that POPE binds to the selected titanium dioxide surfaces stronger than DMPC, due to the ethanolamine group forming hydrogen bonds with the surface. Moreover, while POPE shows a clear preference toward anatase surfaces over rutile, DMPC has a particularly high affinity to rutile(101) and a lower affinity to other surfaces. Finally, we study how lipid concentration, addition of cholesterol, as well as titanium dioxide surface curvature may affect overall adsorption.