Bovine serum albumin unfolding at the air/water interface as studied by dilational surface rheology

Effect of surface viscoelasticity on top jet drops produced by bursting bubbles

Jet drops resulting from bubble bursting at a liquid surface play a key role in various mass transfer processes across the interface, including sea spray aerosol generation and pathogen transmission. However, the impact of structurally compound interfaces, characterized by complex surface rheology introduced by surface-active contaminants, on the jet drop ejection still remains unclear. Here, we experimentally investigate the influence of surface viscoelasticity on the size and velocity of the top jet drops from surface bubble bursting, examining both pure protein and mixed protein-surfactant solutions. We document that for bubble bursting at a pure-protein-laden surface where surface elasticity dominates, the increase in Ec, i.e. the interfacial elastocapillary number as the ratio between the effects of interfacial elasticity and capillarity, efficiently increases the radius and decreases the velocity of the top jet drop, ultimately inhibiting the jet drop ejection. On the other hand, considering the mixed protein-surfactant solution, we show that the top jet drop radius and velocity exhibit a different variation trend with Ec, which is attributed to the additional dissipation on the capillary waves as well as the retardation and resistance on the converging flow for jet formation from surface viscoelasticity. Our work may advance the understanding of bubble bursting dynamics at contaminated liquid surfaces and shed light on the potential influence of surface viscoelasticity on the generation of bubble bursting aerosols.

Dynamic Properties of Adsorption Layers of κ-Casein Fibrils

The dynamic surface properties of native κ-casein solutions and aqueous dispersions of its fibrils differ significantly from the corresponding properties of the systems with globular proteins. The dependence of the dynamic surface elasticity of κ-casein solutions on surface pressure has a local maximum, indicating partial displacement of macromolecules from the proximal region of the surface layer to the distal one. This dependence becomes monotonic for fibril dispersions, similar to the results for dispersions of globular protein fibrils, but unlike the latter case, the surface elasticity close to the steady state reaches values that are approximately four times higher than the data for native protein solutions at the same concentrations.

Secondary Bubble Entrainment via Primary Bubble Bursting at a Viscoelastic Surface

Bubble bursting at liquid surfaces is ubiquitous and plays a key role for the mass transfer across interfaces, impacting global climate and human health. Here, we document an unexpected phenomenon that when a bubble bursts at a viscoelastic surface of a bovine serum albumin solution, a secondary (daughter) bubble is entrapped with no subsequent jet drop ejection, contrary to the counterpart experimentally observed at a Newtonian surface. We show that the strong surface dilatational elastic stress from the viscoelastic surface retards the cavity collapse and efficiently damps out the precursor waves, thus facilitating the dominant wave focusing above the cavity nadir. The onset of daughter bubble entrainment is well predicted by an interfacial elastocapillary number comparing the effects of surface dilatational elasticity and surface tension. Our Letter highlights the important role of surface rheology on free surface flows and may find important implications in bubble dynamics with a contaminated interface exhibiting complex surface rheology.

New Insights into Cation- and Temperature-Driven Protein Adsorption to the Air-Water Interface through Infrared Reflection Studies of Bovine Serum Albumin

The chemistry and structure of the air-ocean interface modulate biogeochemical processes between the ocean and atmosphere and therefore impact sea spray aerosol properties, cloud and ice nucleation, and climate. Protein macromolecules are enriched in the sea surface microlayer and have complex adsorption properties due to the unique molecular balance of hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity. Additionally, interfacial adsorption properties of proteins are of interest as important inputs for ocean climate modeling. Bovine serum albumin is used here as a model protein to investigate the dynamic surface behavior of proteins under several variable conditions including solution ionic strength, temperature, and the presence of a stearic acid (C₁₇COOH) monolayer at the air-water interface. Key vibrational modes of bovine serum albumin are examined via infrared reflectance-absorbance spectroscopy, a specular reflection method that ratios out the solution phase and highlights the aqueous surface to determine, at a molecular level, the surface structural changes and factors affecting adsorption to the solution surface. Amide band reflection absorption intensities reveal the extent of protein adsorption under each set of conditions. Studies reveal the nuanced behavior of protein adsorption impacted by ocean-relevant sodium concentrations. Moreover, protein adsorption is most strongly affected by the synergistic effects of divalent cations and increased temperature.

The Conformational Changes of Bovine Serum Albumin at the Air/Water Interface: HDX-MS and Interfacial Rheology Analysis

The characterization and dynamics of protein structures upon adsorption at the air/water interface are important for understanding the mechanism of the foamability of proteins. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange, coupled with mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), is an advantageous technique for providing conformational information for proteins. In this work, an air/water interface, HDX-MS, for the adsorbed proteins at the interface was developed. The model protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) was deuterium-labeled at the air/water interface in situ for different predetermined times (10 min and 4 h), and then the resulting mass shifts were analyzed by MS. The results indicated that peptides 54-63, 227-236, and 355-366 of BSA might be involved in the adsorption to the air/water interface. Moreover, the residues L55, H63, R232, A233, L234, K235, A236, R359, and V366 of these peptides might interact with the air/water interface through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Meanwhile, the results showed that conformational changes of peptides 54-63, 227-236, and 355-366 could lead to structural changes in their surrounding peptides, 204-208 and 349-354, which could cause the reduction of the content of helical structures in the rearrangement process of interfacial proteins. Therefore, our air/water interface HDX-MS method could provide new and meaningful insights into the spatial conformational changes of proteins at the air/water interface, which could help us to further understand the mechanism of protein foaming properties.

Correlation between interfacial layer properties and physical stability of food emulsions: current trends, challenges, strategies, and further perspectives

Emulsions are thermodynamically unstable systems that tend to separate into two immiscible phases over time. The interfacial layer formed by the emulsifiers adsorbed at the oil-water interface plays an important role in the emulsion stability. The interfacial layer properties of emulsion droplets have been considered the cutting-in points that influence emulsion stability, a traditional motif of physical chemistry and colloid chemistry of particular significance in relation to the food science and technology sector. Although many attempts have shown that high interfacial viscoelasticity may contribute to long-term emulsion stability, a universal relationship for all cases between the interfacial layer features at the microscopic scale and the bulk physical stability of the emulsion at the macroscopic scale remains to be established. Not only that, but integrating the cognition from different scales of emulsions and establishing a unified single model to fill the gap in awareness between scales also remain challenging. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of recent progress in the general science of emulsion stability with a peculiar focus on interfacial layer characteristics in relation to the formation and stabilization of food emulsions, where the natural origin and edible safety of emulsifiers and stabilizers are highly requested. This review begins with a general overview of the construction and destruction of interfacial layers in emulsions to highlight the most important physicochemical characteristics of interfacial layers (formation kinetics, surface load, interactions among adsorbed emulsifiers, thickness and structure, and shear and dilatational rheology), and their roles in controlling emulsion stability. Subsequently, the structural effects of a series of typically dietary emulsifiers (small-molecule surfactants,proteins, polysaccharides, protein-polysaccharide complexes, and particles) on oil-water interfaces in food emulsions are emphasized. Finally, the main protocols developed for modifying the structural characteristics of adsorbed emulsifiers at multiple scales and improving the stability of emulsions are highlighted. Overall, this paper aims to comprehensively study the literature findings in the past decade and find out the commonality of multi-scale structures of emulsifiers, so as to deeply understand the common characteristics and emulsification stability behaviour of adsorption emulsifiers with different interfacial layer structures. It is difficult to say that there has been significant progress in the underlying principles and technologies in the general science of emulsion stability over the last decade or two. However, the correlation between interfacial layer properties and physical stability of food emulsions promotes revealing the role of interfacial rheological properties in emulsion stability, providing guidance on controlling the bulk properties by tuning the interfacial layer functionality.

Variations in foam collapse and thin film stability with constant interfacial and bulk properties

The stability of foams is commonly linked to the interfacial properties of the proteins and other surfactants used. This study aimed to use these relationships to explain differences in foam stability observed among similar beer samples from different breweries. The foam stability was different for each sample (Nibem foam stability ranged from 206 to 300 s), but ranking was similar for all three foaming methods used, thus independent of the method, gas, etc. Differences in foam stability were dominated by differences in coalescence, as illustrated by the correlation with the stability of single bubbles and thin liquid films. The differences in coalescence stability could not be explained by the measured interfacial properties (e.g. surface pressure, adsorption rate, dilatational modulus and surface shear viscosity), or the bulk properties (concentration, pH, ionic strength, viscosity), since they were similar for all samples. The drainage rates and disjoining pressure isotherms measured in thin liquid films were also similar for all samples, further limiting the options to explain the differences in foam stability using known arguments. The differences in coalescence stability of the thin films was shown to depend on the liquid in between the adsorbed layers of the thin film, using a modified capillary cell to exchange this liquid (to a buffer, or one of the other samples). This illustrates the need to review our current understanding and to develop new methods both for experimental study and theoretical description, to better understand foam stability in the future.

Unfolded Lipase at Interfaces Studied via Interfacial Dilational Rheology: The Impact of Urea

Unfolding can interrupt the activity of enzymes. Lipase, the enzyme responsible for triglyceride catalysis, can be deactivated by unfolding, which can significantly affect the yield of enzymatic processes in biochemical engineering. Different agents can induce lipase unfolding, among which we study the impact of urea as a strong denaturant. Unfolding weakens the rigidity and stability of globular proteins, thereby changing the viscoelastic properties of the protein adsorbed layers. These changes can be detected and quantified using interfacial dilational rheology. The urea-induced unfolding of lipase destructs its globular structure, making it more flexible. The interfacial tension and viscoelastic moduli of lipase adsorbed layers reduce upon the addition of urea in the range of studied concentrations. The results agree with the theory that, upon unfolding, a distal region of the loop and tail domain forms adjacent to the proximal region of the interface. The exchange of matter between these regions reduces the viscoelasticity of the unfolded lipase adsorbed layers. Additionally, unfolding reduces the rigidity and brittleness of the lipase adsorbed layers: the aged adsorbed layer of native lipase can break upon high-amplitude perturbations of the interfacial area, unlike the case for urea-induced unfolded lipase.

Protein corona-induced extraction coupled to Fenton oxidation for selective and non-destructive preconcentration of Ag2S nanoparticles from waters

Sulfidation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to generate silver sulfide nanoparticles (Ag₂S-NPs) significantly influences their fate and toxicity in natural environments. However, the correlational research in this field was limited by the lack of methods for speciation analysis of Ag₂S-NPs. To address this challenge, a novel protocol for the selective Ag₂S-NP extraction from real waters was developed using protein corona-induced extraction coupled to Fenton oxidation of AgNPs with Fe³⁺/H₂O₂ reagents. The ability of various concentrations of Fe³⁺/H₂O₂ to selectively dissociate AgNPs into ions was first evaluated. Then, selective separation and preconcentration of the remaining Ag₂S-NPs was established by optimizing the parameters that may affect the protein corona-induced extraction efficiency, followed by quantification with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), enabling an ultrahigh enrichment factor of 10,000 and extremely low detection limit (LOD) of 1.8 ng/L. The presence of humic acid (HA), inorganic salts and particles at the environmentally relevant levels had limited effects on Ag₂S-NP extraction. As demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and single particle ICP-MS (spICP-MS), the sizes, shapes, and compositions of Ag₂S-NPs extracted with the proposed method remain in intact. Good recoveries of 83.7-105% were achieved for the Ag₂S-NPs spiked in four natural waters at the level of 97.8 ng/L. Due to the high yields and applicability to Ag₂S-NPs at environmentally relevant concentrations, this proposed method is particularly suitable to track the generation and transformation of Ag₂S-NPs in various scenarios.

Experimental techniques to study protein-surfactant interactions: New insights into competitive adsorptions via drop subphase and interface exchange

Protein surfactant (PS) interactions is an essential topic for many fundamental and technological applications such as life science, nanobiotechnology processes, food industry, biodiesel production and drug delivery systems. Several experimental techniques and data analysis approaches have been developed to characterize PS interactions in bulk and at interfaces. However, to evaluate the mechanisms and the level of interactions quantitatively, e.g., PS ratio in complexes, their stability in bulk, and reversibility of their interfacial adsorption, new experimental techniques and protocols are still needed, especially with relevance for in-situ biological conditions. The available standard techniques can provide us with the basic understanding of interactions mainly under static conditions and far from physiological criteria. However, detailed measurements at complex interfaces can be formidable due to the sophisticated tools required to carefully probe nanometric phenomena at interfaces without disturbing the adsorbed layer. Tensiometry-based techniques such as drop profile analysis tensiometry (PAT) have been among the most powerful methods for characterizing protein's and surfactant's adsorption layers at interfaces via measuring equilibrium and dynamic interfacial tension and dilational rheology analysis. PAT provides us with insightful data such as kinetics and isotherms of adsorption and related surface activity parameters. However, the data analysis and interpretation can be challenging for mixed protein-surfactant solutions via standard PAT experimental protocols. The combination of a coaxial double capillary (micro flow exchange system) with drop profile analysis tensiometry (CDC-PAT) is a promising tool to provide valuable results under different competitive adsorption/desorption conditions via novel experimental protocols. CDC-PAT provides unique experimental protocols to exchange the droplet subphase in a continuous dynamic mode during the in-situ analysis of the corresponding interfacial adsorbed layer. The contribution of diffusion/convection mechanisms on the kinetics of the adsorption/desorption processes can also be investigated using CDC-PAT. Here, firstly, we review the commonly available techniques for characterizing protein-surfactant interactions in the bulk phase and at interfaces. Secondly, we give an overview for applications of the coaxial double capillary PAT setup for investigations of mixed protein-surfactant adsorbed layers and address recently developed protocols and analysis procedures. Exploring the competitive sequential adsorption of proteins and surfactants and the reversibility of pre-adsorbed layers via the subphase exchange are the particular experiments we can perform using CDC-PAT. Also the sequential and simultaneous competitive adsorption/desorption processes of some ionic and nonionic surfactants (SDS, CTAB, DTAB, and Triton) and proteins (bovine serum albumin (BSA), lysozyme, and lipase) using CDC-PAT are discussed. Last but not least, the fabrication of micro-nanocomposite layers and membranes are additional applications of CDC-PAT discussed in this work.

Interfacial properties of milk proteins: A review

The interfacial properties of dairy proteins are of great interest to the food industry. Food manufacturing involves various environmental conditions and multiple processes that significantly alter the structure and colloidal stability of food materials. The effects of concentration, pH, heat treatment, addition of salts etc., have considerable influence on the surface activity of proteins and the mechanical properties of the interfacial protein films. Studies to date have established some understanding of the links between environmental and processing related parameters and their impacts on interfacial behavior. Improvement in knowledge may allow better design of interfacial protein structures for different food applications. This review examines the effects of environmental and processing conditions on the interfacial properties of dairy proteins with emphasis on interfacial tension dynamics, dilatational and surface shear rheological properties. The most commonly used surface analytical techniques along with relevant methods are also addressed.

Applications of serum albumins in delivery systems: Differences in interfacial behaviour and interacting abilities with polysaccharides

One of the major applications of Serum Albumins is their use as delivery systems for lipophilic compounds in biomedicine. Their biomedical application is based on the similarity with Human Serum Albumin (HSA), as a fully biocompatible protein. In general, Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) is treated as comparable to its human homologue and used as a model protein for fundamental studies since it is available in high amounts and well understood. This protein can act as a carrier for lipophilic compounds or as protective shell in an emulsion-based vehicle. Polysaccharides are generally included in these formulations in order to increase the stability and/or applicability of the carrier. In this review, the main biomedical applications of Albumins as drug delivery systems are first presented. Secondly, the differences between BSA and HSA are highlighted, exploring the similarities and differences between these proteins and their interaction with polysaccharides, both in solution and adsorbed at interfaces. Finally, the use of Albumins as emulsifiers for emulsion-based delivery systems, concretely as Liquid Lipid Nanocapsules (LLNs), is revised and discussed in terms of the differences encountered in the molecular structure and in the interfacial properties. The specific case of Hyaluronic Acid is considered as a promising additive with important applications in biomedicine. The literature works are thoroughly discussed highlighting similarities and differences between BSA and HSA and their interaction with polysaccharides encountered at different structural levels, hence providing routes to control the optimal design of delivery systems.

Fluid interface calorimetry

HYPOTHESIS

Amphiphilic molecules spontaneously adsorb to fluid polar-nonpolar interfaces. The timescale of such adsorption depends on the molecular size and structure of the solute. This process should be accompanied by a power heat exchange that could be detected by commercial isothermal calorimeters.

EXPERIMENTS

Air is injected in the bulk of different aqueous solutions contained in the sample cell of an isothermal titration calorimeter. The formation of the resulting bubbles leads to a liquid/air interface to which the solute molecules spontaneously adsorb. Continuous injection experiments to produce multiple bubbles as well as experiments with static bubbles stand from the capillary tip, aiming to observe slow adsorption processes, were performed.

FINDINGS

The power associated with the formation, growth and release of air bubbles in different liquids was measured. Different independent contributions that can be associated to the pressure change in the gas phase, the evaporation-condensation of the solvent, the increase of interfacial area, the change in the heat capacity of the sample cell content, and the release of the bubble were observed. The periodic pattern produced by the continuous injection of air at a constant rate is used to determine the surface tension of different liquids, including solutions of different molecules and (bio)macromolecules.

Impact of denaturing agents on surface properties of myoglobin solutions

The addition of denaturants strongly influences the surface properties of aqueous myoglobin solutions. The effect differs from the results for mixed solutions of the denaturants and other globular proteins, for example, bovine serum albumin (BSA), lysozyme and β-lactoglobulin (BLG), although the surface properties of the solutions of the pure proteins are similar. The kinetic dependencies of the dynamic surface elasticity of myoglobin solutions with guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) reveal at least two adsorption steps at denaturant concentrations higher than 1 M: a very fast increase of the dynamic surface elasticity to approximately 30 mN/m at the beginning of adsorption, and a slower growth to abnormally high values of 250-300 mN/m. At the same time, the surface elasticity of BSA/GuHCl, BLG/GuHCl and lysozyme/GuHCl solutions is a non-monotonic function of the surface age, and does not exceed 50 mN/m close to equilibrium. The high surface elasticity of myoglobin/GuHCl solutions may be associated with protein aggregation in the surface layer. The formation of aggregates is confirmed by ellipsometry and Brewster angle microscopy. The addition of ionic surfactants to protein solutions leads to the formation of myoglobin/surfactant complexes, and the kinetic dependencies of the dynamic surface elasticity display local maxima indicating multistep adsorption kinetics, unlike the corresponding results for solutions of other globular proteins mixed with ionic surfactants. Ellipsometry and infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy allow tracing the adsorption of the complexes and their displacement from the interface at high surfactant concentrations.

Salting Up and Salting Down of Bovine Serum Albumin Layers at the Air-Water Interface

The surface adsorption of bovine serum albumin in pure water and salted aqueous solutions was studied by neutron reflection. With the contrast match technique, the surface excess in null reflecting water as a function of the protein concentration was revealed. It is found that, in a concentration range from 1 ppm (parts per million, mg/L) to 1000 ppm, without salts, the surface excess shows a profound peak at around 20 ppm; with salts, the surface excess increases steadily with the protein concentration. When the surface excess at a specific protein concentration is viewed, the introduction of sodium chloride causes either a salting down effect (surface adsorption decline) or a salting up effect (surface adsorption increase), depending upon the protein concentration. The salting up effect is observed at the low (∼1 ppm) and high (∼1000 ppm) concentrations, and the salting down effect dominates the intermediate concentration range. The change in solution pH relative to the isoelectric point (PI) can act as a simple indicator for the salting up or salting down behavior. When the solution pH is shifted toward the PI by adding salts, surface adsorption enhances; when the solution pH is shifted away from the PI by adding salts, surface adsorption declines.

Competitive Surface Activity of Monoclonal Antibodies and Nonionic Surfactants at the Air-Water Interface Determined by Interfacial Rheology and Neutron Reflectometry

Interfacial stresses can destabilize therapeutic formulations containing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which is proposed to be a result of adsorption and aggregation at the air-water interface. To increase protein stability, pharmaceutical industries add surfactants, such as Polysorbate 20 (PS20), into protein formulations to minimize mAb adsorption at the interface but rarely quantify this process. We determine that mAb adsorption in surfactant-free solutions creates a monolayer with significant viscoelasticity, which can influence measurements of bulk mAb solution viscosity. In contrast, PS20 absorption leads to an interface with negligible interfacial viscosity that protects the air-water interface from mAb adsorption. These studies were performed through a combined study of surface tensiometry, interfacial rheology, capillary viscometry, and neutron reflectometry to determine the surface activity of a model surfactant, PS20, and mAb system, which can be useful for the successful formulation developments of biotherapeutics.

Adsorption layer formation in dispersions of protein aggregates

The review discusses recent results on the adsorption of amyloid fibrils and protein microgels at liquid/fluid interfaces. The application of the shear and dilational surface rheology, atomic force microscopy and passive particle probe tracking allowed for elucidating characteristic features of the protein aggregate adsorption while some proposed hypothesis still must be examined by special methods for structural characterization. Although the distinctions of the shear surface properties of dispersions of protein aggregates from the properties of native protein solutions are higher than the corresponding distinctions of the dilational surface properties, the latter ones give a possibility to obtain new information on the formation of fibril aggregates at the water/air interface. Only the adsorption of BLG microgels and fibrils was studied in some details. The kinetic dependencies of the dynamic surface tension and dilational surface elasticity for aqueous dispersions of protein globules, protein microgels and purified fibrils are similar if the system does not contain flexible macromolecules or flexible protein fragments. In the opposite case the kinetic dependencies of the dynamic surface elasticity can be non-monotonic. The solution pH influences strongly the dynamic surface properties of the dispersions of protein aggregates indicating that the adsorption kinetics is controlled by an electrostatic adsorption barrier if the pH deviates from the isoelectric point. A special section of the review considers the possibility to apply kinetic models of nanoparticle adsorption to the adsorption of protein aggregates.

Irremovable Blood Stain in Lung: Air-to-Interface Transport of Albumin and Its Mechanical Response to Biaxial Compression/Expansion

Serum proteins are believed to trigger a sudden failure of lung function, but to date the mechanism remains elusive. Most studies have focused on the transport of the proteins from the subphase to the lung surfactant interface, although the opposite direction of transport, i.e., from air-to-interface, could be equally important. Here, we report that physiological concentrations of serum droplets can rapidly form a film upon exposure to air, and the entire film can be transferred to the lung surfactant interface upon coalescence, displacing it. This film was mechanically stable and remains intact even for multiple biaxial compression/expansion cycles. Our findings provide a mechanism of lung surfactant replacement by serum proteins that is fundamentally different from the subphase-to-interface transport and demonstrate that it is nearly impossible to remove the film from the interface where the lung surfactant should be, thus impairing the lung in a permanent way.

Protein Adsorption at the Air-Water Interface by a Charge Sensing Interferometric Technique

Protein uptake at the interface of a millimeter-sized air bubble in water is investigated by a recently developed differential interferometric technique. The technique allows the study of capillary waves with amplitudes around 10^-9 m, excited at the surface of the bubble by an electric field of intensity on the order of 10 V/cm. When one studies the resonant modes of the bubble (radial and shape modes), it is possible to assess variations of interfacial properties and, in particular, of the net surface charge as a function of bulk protein concentration. Sensing the interfacial charge, the technique enables us to follow the absorption process in conditions of low concentrations, not easily assessable by other methods. We focus on bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme as representatives of typical globular proteins. To provide comprehensive insight into the novelty of the technique, we also investigated the equilibrium adsorption of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) ionic surfactant for bulk concentrations at hundreds of times lower than the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC). Results unveil how the absorption of charged molecules affects the amplitudes of the bubble resonant modes even before affecting the frequencies in a transition-like fashion. Different adsorption models are proposed and developed. They are validated against the experimental findings by comparing frequency and amplitude data. By measuring the charging rate of the bubble interface, we have followed the absorption kinetics of BSA and lysozyme recognizing a slow, energy barrier limited phenomena with characteristic times in agreement with data in the literature. The evaluation of the surface excess concentration (Γ) of BSA and SDS at equilibrium is obtained by monitoring charge uptake. At the investigated low bulk concentrations, reliable comparisons with literature data from equilibrium surface tension isotherm models are reported.

Adsorption of Denaturated Lysozyme at the Air-Water Interface: Structure and Morphology

The application of protein deuteration and high flux neutron reflectometry has allowed a comparison of the adsorption properties of lysozyme at the air-water interface from dilute solutions in the absence and presence of high concentrations of two strong denaturants: urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl). The surface excess and adsorption layer thickness were resolved and complemented by images of the mesoscopic lateral morphology from Brewster angle microscopy. It was revealed that the thickness of the adsorption layer in the absence of added denaturants is less than the short axial length of the lysozyme molecule, which indicates deformation of the globules at the interface. Two-dimensional elongated aggregates in the surface layer merge over time to form an extensive network at the approach to steady state. Addition of denaturants in the bulk results in an acceleration of adsorption and an increase of the adsorption layer thickness. These results are attributed to incomplete collapse of the globules in the bulk from the effects of the denaturants as a result of interactions between remote amino acid residues. Both effects may be connected to an increase of the effective total volume of macromolecules due to the changes of their tertiary structure, that is, the formation of molten globules under the influence of urea and the partial unfolding of globules under the influence of GuHCl. In the former case, the increase of globule hydrophobicity leads to cooperative aggregation in the surface layer during adsorption. Unlike in the case of solutions without denaturants, the surface aggregates are short and wormlike, their size does not change with time, and they do not merge to form an extensive network at the approach to steady state. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first observations of cooperative aggregation in lysozyme adsorption layers.

A Study of the Stability Mechanism of the Dispersed Particle Gel Three-Phase Foam Using the Interfacial Dilational Rheology Method

The dispersed particle gel (DPG) three-phase foam is a novel profile control and flooding system. The stability mechanism of the DPG three-phase foam was studied using an interfacial dilational rheology method. The results show that the elastic modulus of the DPG three-phase foam is up to 14 mN/m, which is much higher than the traditional foam. The increase in interface elasticity produces significantly positive effects on foam stability. Emphasis is given to the influences of frequency, temperature, pressure, and concentration on the viscoelasticity and interfacial adsorption of DPG particles, which change the modules of the foam interface and have a significant effect on foam stability. In addition, the microstructure of the DPG three-phase foam was observed. A viscoelastic shell is formed by the aggregation of the DPG particles on the interface. The irreversible adsorption gives the interface high elasticity and mechanical strength. The electrostatic repulsion between particles increases the spacing between bubbles. The combined effects of these factors give the interface higher mechanical strength, slow down the film drainage, effectively prevent gas permeation, and significantly improve the foam stability.

Impact of multiple quaternary ammonium salts on dynamic properties of BSA adsorption layer at different pH values

The interaction mechanism of multiple quaternary ammonium salts (MQAS) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was examined by the fluorescence quenching method and circular dichroism (CD) spectra. Moreover, the effects of MQAS on the dynamic properties of BSA adsorption layers at different pH values were investigated using dilational interfacial rheology. Results show that the quenching constants increase with an increase in pH values and decrease with an increase in the experiment temperature at pH 5.3. The quenching mechanism is static quenching, and the electrostatic force dominates the interaction between MQAS and BSA at pH 5.3. Due to three positive head groups, MQAS can significantly affect the dynamic interfacial activity of BSA molecules at a relatively low concentration. At pH 4.3, the electrostatic repulsion is unfavorable for the formation of MQAS/BSA complexes. Consequently, MQAS molecules will replace BSA molecules from the interface by competitive adsorption. At the pH value above the isoelectric point of BSA, the electrostatic attraction is better for the formation of MQAS/BSA complexes, which exhibit a rapid adsorption rate and an enhanced interfacial activity. Moreover, the kinetic dependencies of interfacial dilational elasticity for the MQAS/BSA mixtures become nonmonotonous. The appearance of the maximum interfacial elasticity values can be attributed to the formation of tails and loops, which suggests that the addition of MQAS destroys the secondary and tertiary structure of protein in the bulk phase. In addition, the effects of MQAS on the secondary structure of protein were demonstrated by CD spectra.

Formation of protein/surfactant adsorption layer as studied by dilational surface rheology

The review discusses the mechanism of formation of protein/surfactant adsorption layers at the liquid - gas interface. The complexes of globular proteins usually preserve their compact structure a low surfactant concentrations. Therefore a simple kinetic model of the adsorption of charged compact nanoparticles is discussed first and compared with experimental data. The increase of surfactant concentrations results in various conformational transitions in the surface layer. One can obtain information on the changes of the adsorption layer structure using the dilational surface rheology. The kinetic dependencies of the dynamic surface elasticity are strongly different for the adsorption of unfolded macromolecules and compact globules, and have local maxima in the former case corresponding to different steps of the adsorption. These distinctions allow tracing the changes of the tertiary structure of protein/surfactant complexes in the surface layer. The adsorption from mixed solutions of ionic surfactants with β-casein, β-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin and myoglobin is discussed with some details.

Kaplan-Meier Meets Chemical Kinetics: Intrinsic Rate of SOD1 Amyloidogenesis Decreased by Subset of ALS Mutations and Cannot Fully Explain Age of Disease Onset

Over 150 mutations in SOD1 (superoxide dismutase-1) cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), presumably by accelerating SOD1 amyloidogenesis. Like many nucleation processes, SOD1 fibrillization is stochastic (in vitro), which inhibits the determination of aggregation rates (and obscures whether rates correlate with patient phenotypes). Here, we diverged from classical chemical kinetics and used Kaplan-Meier estimators to quantify the probability of apo-SOD1 fibrillization (in vitro) from ∼10³ replicate amyloid assays of wild-type (WT) SOD1 and nine ALS variants. The probability of apo-SOD1 fibrillization (expressed as a Hazard ratio) is increased by certain ALS-linked SOD1 mutations but is decreased or remains unchanged by other mutations. Despite this diversity, Hazard ratios of fibrillization correlated linearly with (and for three mutants, approximately equaled) Hazard ratios of patient survival (R² = 0.67; Pearson's r = 0.82). No correlation exists between Hazard ratios of fibrillization and age of initial onset of ALS (R² = 0.09). Thus, Hazard ratios of fibrillization might explain rates of disease progression but not onset. Classical kinetic metrics of fibrillization, i.e., mean lag time and propagation rate, did not correlate as strongly with phenotype (and ALS mutations did not uniformly accelerate mean rate of nucleation or propagation). A strong correlation was found, however, between mean ThT fluorescence at lag time and patient survival (R² = 0.93); oligomers of SOD1 with weaker fluorescence correlated with shorter survival. This study suggests that SOD1 mutations trigger ALS by altering a property of SOD1 or its oligomers other than the intrinsic rate of amyloid nucleation (e.g., oligomer stability; rates of intercellular propagation; affinity for membrane surfaces; and maturation rate).

Evaluating polymeric biomaterial-environment interfaces by Langmuir monolayer techniques

Polymeric biomaterials are of specific relevance in medical and pharmaceutical applications due to their wide range of tailorable properties and functionalities. The knowledge about interactions of biomaterials with their biological environment is of crucial importance for developing highly sophisticated medical devices. To achieve optimal in vivo performance, a description at the molecular level is required to gain better understanding about the surface of synthetic materials for tailoring their properties. This is still challenging and requires the comprehensive characterization of morphological structures, polymer chain arrangements and degradation behaviour. The review discusses selected aspects for evaluating polymeric biomaterial-environment interfaces by Langmuir monolayer methods as powerful techniques for studying interfacial properties, such as morphological and degradation processes. The combination of spectroscopic, microscopic and scattering methods with the Langmuir techniques adapted to polymers can substantially improve the understanding of their in vivo behaviour.

Disintegration of protein microbubbles in presence of acid and surfactants: a multi-step process

The stability of protein microbubbles against addition of acid or surfactants was investigated. When these compounds were added, the microbubbles first released the encapsulated air. Subsequently, the protein shell completely disintegrated into nanometer-sized particles. The decrease in the number of intact microbubbles could be well described with the Weibull distribution. This distribution is based on two parameters, which suggests that two phenomena are responsible for the fracture of the microbubble shell. The microbubble shell is first weakened. Subsequently, the weakened protein shell fractures randomly. The probability of fracture turned out to be exponentially proportional to the concentration of acid and surfactant. A higher decay rate and a lower average breaking time were observed at higher acid or surfactant concentrations. For different surfactants, different decay rates were observed. The fact that the microbubble shell was ultimately disintegrated into nanometer-sized particles upon addition of acid or surfactants indicates that the interactions in the shell are non-covalent and most probably hydrophobic. After acid addition, the time at which the complete disintegration of the shell was observed coincided with the time of complete microbubble decay (release of air), while in the case of surfactant addition, there was a significant time gap between complete microbubble decay and complete shell disintegration.