Using in situ X-ray reflectivity to study protein adsorption on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces: benefits and limitations

Tip-scan high-speed atomic force microscopy with a uniaxial substrate stretching device for studying dynamics of biomolecules under mechanical stress

High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is a powerful tool for studying the dynamics of biomolecules in vitro because of its high temporal and spatial resolution. However, multi-functionalization, such as combination with complementary measurement methods, environment control, and large-scale mechanical manipulation of samples, is still a complex endeavor due to the inherent design and the compact sample scanning stage. Emerging tip-scan HS-AFM overcame this design hindrance and opened a door for additional functionalities. In this study, we designed a motor-driven stretching device to manipulate elastic substrates for HS-AFM imaging of biomolecules under controllable mechanical stimulation. To demonstrate the applicability of the substrate stretching device, we observed a microtubule buckling by straining the substrate and actin filaments linked by α-actinin on a curved surface. In addition, a BAR domain protein BIN1 that senses substrate curvature was observed while dynamically controlling the surface curvature. Our results clearly prove that large-scale mechanical manipulation can be coupled with nanometer-scale imaging to observe biophysical effects otherwise obscured.

Physicochemical Properties of a Bi-aromatic Heterocyclic-Azo/BSA Hybrid System at the Air-Water Interface

The interaction of a heterocyclic azo compound with itself and with bovine serum albumin (BSA) is realized by probing the structural modifications in Langmuir (L) monolayers and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films. It was found from the pressure-area/molecule isotherms that the elastic, thermodynamic, and hysteretic properties of the pure azo L monolayer were strongly altered due to the variation of temperature and pH of subphase water. In addition to that, the modification of such properties of the azo L monolayer due to mixing with BSA was also studied. The incorporation of BSA within the azo molecular assembly reduced the elasticity of that assembly. Such reduction of in-plane elasticity of the pure azo monolayer can also be achieved by reducing the temperature and pH of subphase water without adding BSA. A reduction in area per molecule of the azo assembly at the air-water interface associated with the conformational change from horizontal to vertical orientation facilitating π-π interaction was observed with increase in temperature and pH of the subphase. Such parameters also affected the interactions between azo and BSA molecules within the azo/BSA binary system. The structures of pure azo and binary films can be determined after they are transferred to hydrophilic and hydrophobic Si surfaces using the LB technique. Their out-of-plane and in-plane structures, as extracted from two complementary surface sensitive techniques, X-ray reflectivity and atomic force microscopy, were found to be strongly dependent on mixing with BSA, subphase pH, temperature, and substrate nature.

Investigating the Conformation of Surface-Adsorbed Proteins with Standing-Wave X-ray Fluorescence

Protein adsorption to surfaces is at the heart of numerous technological and bioanalytical applications, but sometimes, it is also associated with medical risks. To deepen our insights into processes involving layers of surface-adsorbed proteins, high-resolution structural information is essential. Here, we use standing-wave X-ray fluorescence (SWXF) in combination with an optimized liquid-cell setup to investigate the underwater conformation of the random-coiled phosphoprotein β-casein adsorbed to hydrophilic and hydrophobized solid surfaces. The orientation of the protein, as determined through the distributions of sulfur and phosphorus, is found to be sensitive to the chemical nature of the substrate. While no preferred orientations are observed on hydrophobized surfaces, on hydrophilic Al oxide, β-casein is adsorbed as a diblock copolymer with the phosphorylated domain I attached to the surface. Our results demonstrate that targeting biologically relevant chemical elements with SWXF enables a detailed investigation of biomolecular layers under near-physiological conditions.

Interface between Water-Solvent Mixtures and a Hydrophobic Surface

The mechanism behind the stability of organic nanoparticles prepared by liquid antisolvent (LAS) precipitation without a specific stabilizing agent is poorly understood. In this work, we propose that the organic solvent used in the LAS process rapidly forms a molecular stabilizing layer at the interface of the nanoparticles with the aqueous dispersion medium. To confirm this hypothesis, n-octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS)-functionalized silicon wafers in contact with water-solvent mixtures were used as a flat model system mimicking the solid-liquid interface of the organic nanoparticles. We studied the equilibrium structure of the interface by X-ray reflectometry (XRR) for water-solvent mixtures (methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, acetone, and tetrahydrofuran). The formation of an organic solvent-rich layer at the solid-liquid interface was observed. The layer thickness increases with the organic solvent concentration and correlates with the polar and hydrogen bond fraction of Hansen solubility parameters. We developed a self-consistent adsorption model via complementing adsorption isotherms obtained from XRR data with molecular dynamics simulations.

Recent Progresses in Nanometer Scale Analysis of Buried Layers and Interfaces in Thin Films by X-rays and Neutrons

In the early 1960s, scientists achieved the breakthroughs in the fields of solid surfaces and artificial layered structures. The advancement of surface science has been supported by the advent of ultra-high vacuum technologies, newly discovered and established scanning probe microscopy with atomic resolution, as well as some other advanced surface-sensitive spectroscopy and microscopy. On the other hand, it has been well recognized that a number of functions are related to the structures of the interfaces, which are the thin planes connecting different materials, most likely by layering thin films. Despite the scientific significance, so far, research on such buried layers and interfaces has been limited, because the probing depth of almost all existing sophisticated analytical methods is limited to the top surface. The present article describes the recent progress in the nanometer scale analysis of buried layers and interfaces, particularly by using X-rays and neutrons. The methods are essentially promising to non-destructively probe such buried structures in thin films. The latest scientific research has been reviewed, and includes applications to bio-chemical, organic, electronic, magnetic, spintronic, self-organizing and complicated systems as well as buried liquid-liquid and solid-liquid interfaces. Some emerging analytical techniques and instruments, which provide new attractive features such as imaging and real time analysis, are also discussed.

High Stabilization of Enzymes Immobilized on Rigid Hydrophobic Glyoxyl-Supports: Generation of Hydrophilic Environments on Support Surfaces

Very rigid supports are useful for enzyme immobilization to design continuous flow reactors and/or to work in non-conventional media. Among them, epoxy-methacrylic supports are easily functionalized with glyoxyl groups, which makes them ideal candidates for enzyme stabilization via multipoint covalent immobilization. However, these supports present highly hydrophobic surfaces, which might promote very undesirable effects on enzyme activity and/or stability. The hydrophilization of the support surface after multipoint enzyme immobilization is proposed here as an alternative to reduce these undesirable effects. The remaining aldehyde groups on the support are modified with aminated hydrophilic small molecules (glycine, lysine or aspartic acid) in the presence of 2-picoline borane. The penicillin G acylase from Escherichia coli (PGA) and alcohol dehydrogenase from Thermus thermophilus HB27 (ADH2) were immobilized on glyoxyl-functionalized agarose, Relizyme and Relisorb. Despite the similar density of aldehyde groups displayed by functionalized supports, their stabilization effects on immobilized enzymes were quite different: up to 300-fold lower by hydrophobic supports than by highly hydrophilic glyoxyl-agarose. A dramatic increase in the protein stabilities was shown when a hydrophilization treatment of the hydrophobic support surface was done. The PGA immobilized on the glyoxyl-Relisorb hydrophilized with aspartic acid becomes 280-fold more stable than without any treatment, and it is even more stable than the PGA immobilized on the glyoxyl agarose.

Armoring the Interface with Surfactants to Prevent the Adsorption of Monoclonal Antibodies

The pharmaceutical industry uses surface-active agents (excipients) in protein drug formulations to prevent the aggregation, denaturation, and unwanted immunological response of therapeutic drugs in solution as well as at the air/water interface. However, the mechanism of adsorption, desorption, and aggregation of proteins at the interface in the presence of excipients remains poorly understood. The objective of this work is to explore the molecular-scale competitive adsorption process between surfactant-based excipients and two monoclonal antibody (mAb) proteins, mAb-1 and mAb-2. We use pendant bubble tensiometry to measure the ensemble average adsorption dynamics of mAbs with and without the excipient. The surface tension measurements allow us to quantify the rate at which the molecules "race" to the interface in single-component and mixed systems. These results define the phase space, where coadsorption of both mAbs and excipients occurs onto the air/water interface. In parallel, we use X-ray reflectivity (XR) measurements to understand the molecular-scale dynamics of competitive adsorption, revealing the surface-adsorbed amounts of the antibody and excipient. XR has revealed that at a sufficiently high surface concentration of the excipient, mAb adsorption to the surface and subsurface domains was inhibited. In addition, despite the fact that both mAbs adsorb via a similar mechanistic pathway and with similar dynamics, a key finding is that the competition for the interface directly correlates with the surface activity of the two mAbs, resulting in a fivefold difference in the concentration of the excipient needed to displace the antibody.

Local Surface Electric Field’s Effect on Adsorbed Proteins’ Orientation

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon, while being non-charged and non-polar, could be an ideal candidate for the non-covalent and orientation-controlled immobilization of biomolecules thanks to local electric fields around nanocrystals. To that effect, the adsorption of bovine serum albumin on substrates with different densities of nanocrystals, revealed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, was studied using infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the protein–surface interactions followed different mechanisms depending on the nanostructure at the surface: hydrophobic on the non-crystalline part of the surface and electrostatic around the crystalline part. These electrostatic interactions were driven by the electric fields that arose at the junction between crystalline and amorphous structures. These electric fields were found to be strong enough to interact with the amide dipoles, thereby reorienting the adsorbed protein molecules on this part of the surface. Nevertheless, the adsorbed proteins were found to be denatured, which was due to the surface chemistry, and not affected by the nanostructure.

Membrane interactions of intrinsically disordered proteins: The example of alpha-synuclein

Peripheral membrane proteins associate reversibly with biological membranes that, compared to protein binding partners, are structurally labile and devoid of specific binding pockets. Membranes in different subcellular compartments vary primarily in their chemical composition and physical properties, and recognition of these features is therefore critical for allowing such proteins to engage their proper membrane targets. Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are well-suited to accomplish this task using highly specific and low- to moderate-affinity interactions governed by recognition principles that are both similar to and different from those that mediate the membrane interactions of rigid proteins. IDPs have also evolved multiple mechanisms to regulate membrane (and other) interactions and achieve their impressive functional diversity. Moreover, IDP-membrane interactions may have a kinetic advantage in fast processes requiring rapid control of such interactions, such as synaptic transmission or signaling. Herein we review the biophysics, regulation and functional implications of IDP-membrane interactions and include a brief overview of some of the methods that can be used to study such interactions. At each step, we use the example of alpha-synuclein, a protein involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and one of the best characterized membrane-binding IDP, to illustrate some of the principles discussed.

Single-molecule measurement and bioinformatics analysis suggest a preferred orientation of human coagulation factor VIII on hydrophobic interfaces

Investigating the adsorption behavior of coagulation proteins on interfaces will contribute to better understating blood clotting and to the development of biocompatible materials. In this work, atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based peakforce quantitative nanomechanical mapping (PF-QNM) was combined with bioinformatics tool to study the adsorption and orientation of coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic interfaces by the height and mechanical measurement of single protein molecules. We found that interfacial hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity greatly influence the heights and Young's modulus of individual proteins. Compared to on the hydrophilic mica surface, FVIII proteins appear bigger vertical sizes while similar lateral sizes on the HOPG surface. The water accessible surface area analysis indicate stronger apolar properties C1 and C2 domains than others, suggesting a preferred orientation through the strong hydrophobic interactions between HOPG and the hydrophobic residues interface of the protein domains. These results provide novel insights on the adsorption and binding mechanism of the FVIII on cell membrane and will be helpful for the design of anticoagulant materials.

Flexible sample cell for real-time GISAXS, GIWAXS and XRR: design and construction

Since the properties of functional materials are highly dependent on their specific structure, and since the structural changes, for example during crystallization, induced by coating and annealing processes are significant, the study of structure and its formation is of interest for fundamental and applied science. However, structure analysis is often limited to ex situ determination of final states due to the lack of specialized sample cells that enable real-time investigations. The lack of such cells is mainly due to their fairly complex design and geometrical restrictions defined by the beamline setups. To overcome this obstacle, an advanced sample cell has been designed and constructed; it combines automated doctor blading, solvent vapor annealing and sample hydration with real-time grazing-incidence wide- and small-angle scattering (GIWAXS/GISAXS) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR). The sample cell has limited spatial requirements and is therefore widely usable at beamlines and laboratory-scale instruments. The cell is fully automatized and remains portable, including the necessary electronics. In addition, the cell can be used by interested scientists in cooperation with the Institute for Crystallography and Structural Physics and is expandable with regard to optical secondary probes. Exemplary research studies are presented, in the form of coating of P3HT:PC₆₁PM thin films, solvent vapor annealing of DRCN5T:PC₇₁BM thin films, and hydration of supported phospholipid multilayers, to demonstrate the capabilities of the in situ cell.

Adsorption Behavior of Lysozyme at Titanium Oxide-Water Interfaces

We present an in situ X-ray reflectivity study of the adsorption behavior of the protein lysozyme on titanium oxide layers under variation of different thermodynamic parameters, such as temperature, hydrostatic pressure, and pH value. Moreover, by varying the layer thickness of the titanium oxide layer on a silicon wafer, changes in the adsorption behavior of lysozyme were studied. In total, we determined less adsorption on titanium oxide compared with silicon dioxide, while increasing the titanium oxide layer thickness causes stronger adsorption. Furthermore, the variation of temperature from 20 to 80 °C yields an increase in the amount of adsorbed lysozyme at the interface. Additional measurements with variation of the pH value of the system in a region between pH 2 and 12 show that the surface charge of both protein and titanium oxide has a crucial role in the adsorption process. Further pressure-dependent experiments between 50 and 5000 bar show a reduction of the amount of adsorbed lysozyme with increasing pressure.

Human Apolipoprotein A1 at Solid/Liquid and Liquid/Gas Interfaces

An X-ray reflectivity study on the adsorption behavior of human apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) at hydrophilic and hydrophobic interfaces is presented. It is shown that the protein interacts via electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions with the interfaces, resulting in the absorption of the protein. pH dependent measurements at the solid/liquid interface between silicon dioxide and aqueous protein solution show that in a small pH range between pH 4 and 6, adsorption is increased due to electrostatic attraction. Here, the native shape of the protein seems to be conserved. In contrast, the adsorption at the liquid/gas interface is mainly driven by hydrophobic effects, presumably by extending the hydrophobic regions of the amphipathic helices, and results in a conformational change of the protein during adsorption. However, the addition of differently charged membrane-forming lipids at the liquid/gas interface illustrates the ability of apoA1 to include lipids, resulting in a depletion of the lipids from the interface.

Recent Trends on Electrochemical Sensors Based on Ordered Mesoporous Carbon

The past decade has seen an increasing number of extensive studies devoted to the exploitation of ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials in electrochemistry, notably in the fields of energy and sensing. The present review summarizes the recent achievements made in field of electroanalysis using electrodes modified with such nanomaterials. On the basis of comprehensive tables, the interest in OMC for designing electrochemical sensors is illustrated through the various applications developed to date. They include voltammetric detection after preconcentration, electrocatalysis (intrinsically due to OMC or based on suitable catalysts deposited onto OMC), electrochemical biosensors, as well as electrochemiluminescence and potentiometric sensors.

Visualization and Quantification of IgG Antibody Adsorbed at the Cellulose-Liquid Interface

Quantification of adsorbed biomolecules (enzymes, proteins) at the cellulose interface is a major challenge in developing eco-friendly biodiagnostics. Here, a novel methodology is developed to visualize and quantify the adsorption of antibody from solution to the cellulose-liquid interface. The concept is to deuterate cellulose by replacing all nonexchangeable hydrogens from the glucose rings with deuterium in order to enhance the scattering contrast between the cellulose film surface and adsorbed antibody molecules. Deuterated cellulose (DC) was obtained from bacterial (Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain) cellulose, which was grown in heavy water (D₂O) media with a deuterated glycerol as a carbon source. For comparison, hydrogenated cellulose (HC) was obtained from cellulose acetate. Both HC and DC thin films were prepared on silicon substrate by spin coating. X-ray reflectivity (XR) shows the formation of homogeneous and smooth film. Neutron reflectivity (NR) at the liquid/film interface reveals swelling of the cellulose film by a factor of 2-3× its initial thickness. An Immunoglobulin G (IgG), used as a model antibody, was adsorbed at the liquid-solid interface of cellulose (HC) and deuterated cellulose (DC) films under equilibrium and surface saturation conditions. NR measurements of the IgG antibody layer adsorbed onto the DC film can clearly be visualized, in sharp contrast in comparison to the HC film. The average thickness of the IgG adsorbed layer onto cellulose films is 127 ± 5 Å and a partial monolayer is formed. Visualization and quantification of adsorbed IgG is shown by large difference in scattering length density (SLD) between DC (7.1 × 10^-6 Å^-2) and IgG (4.1 × 10^-6 Å^-2) in D₂O, which enhanced the scattering contrast in NR. Quartz crystal measurements (QCM-D) were used as a complementary method to NR to quantify the adsorbed IgG over the cellulose interface.

A new setup for high resolution fast X-ray reflectivity data acquisition

A new method for fast x-ray reflectivity data acquisition is presented. The method is based on a fast rotating, slightly tilted sample reflecting to a stationary mounted position sensitive detector and it allows for measurements of reflectivity curves in a quarter of a second. The resolution in q-space mainly depends on the beam properties and the pixel size of the detector. Maximum q_z-value of 1 Å^-1 can be achieved. The time-temperature depending structure changes of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) thin films were investigated in situ by applying the fast-reflectivity setup. The results are presented in this paper as illustration of the method and proof of principle.

BioRef II-Neutron reflectometry with relaxed resolution for fast, kinetic measurements at HZB

We present an upgrade to the time-of-flight neutron reflectometer BioRef at the research reactor BER II of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB). Through the integration of an additional chopper into the existing setup, the available wavelength resolution is significantly extended. Now two distinct operation modes can be used: a high resolution mode with Δλ/λ ranging from 1% to 5%, which allows for the investigation of thick films up to 4000 Å, and a high flux mode with Δλ/λ = 7%-11%. In the high flux mode, reflectivity curves from 0.007 Å^-1 to 0.2 Å^-1 with three angular settings can be recorded in 7 min. For a single angular setting and its respective window in Q-space, a time resolution of even less than 4 min is reached. The different configurations are documented by respective measurements (a) on a Ni-Ti multilayer and (b) the swelling kinetics of a solid-supported phospholipid coating upon incubation in a polyelectrolyte solution.

A superhydrophilic titanium implant functionalized by ozone gas modulates bone marrow cell and macrophage responses

Bone-forming cells and Mϕ play key roles in bone tissue repair. In this study, we prepared a superhydrophilic titanium implant functionalized by ozone gas to modulate osteoconductivity and inhibit inflammatory response towards titanium implants. After 24 h of ozone gas treatment, the water contact angle of the titanium surface became zero. XPS analysis revealed that hydroxyl groups were greatly increased, but carbon contaminants were largely decreased 24 h after ozone gas functionalization. Also, ozone gas functionalization did not alter titanium surface topography. Superhydrophilic titanium (O3-Ti) largely increased the aspect ratio, size and perimeter of cells when compared with untreated titanium (unTi). In addition, O3-Ti facilitated rat bone marrow derived MSCs differentiation and mineralization evidenced by greater ALP activity and bone-like nodule formation. Interestingly, O3-Ti did not affect RAW264.7 Mϕ proliferation. However, naive RAW264.7 Mϕ cultured on unTi produced a two-fold larger amount of TNFα than that on O3-Ti. Furthermore, O3-Ti greatly mitigated proinflammatory cytokine production, including TNFα and IL-6 from LSP-stimulated RAW264.7 Mϕ. These results demonstrated that a superhydrophilic titanium prepared by simple ozone gas functionalization successfully increased MSCs proliferation and differentiation, and mitigated proinflammatory cytokine production from both naive and LPS-stimulated Mϕ. This superhydrophilic surface would be useful as an endosseous implantable biomaterials and as a biomaterial for implantation into other tissues.

Steering protein adsorption at charged surfaces: electric fields and ionic screening

Protein adsorption at charged surfaces is a common process in the development of functional technological devices.

Lysozyme adsorption at a silica surface using simulation and experiment: effects of pH on protein layer structure

Hen Egg White Lysozyme (HEWL) is a widely used exemplar to study protein adsorption on surfaces and interfaces. Here we use fully atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, Multi-Parametric Surface Plasmon Resonance (MP-SPR), contact angle and zeta potential measurements to study HEWL adsorption at a silica surface. The simulations provide a detailed description of the adsorption mechanism and indicate that at pH7 the main adsorption driving force is electrostatics, supplemented by weaker hydrophobic forces. Moreover, they reveal the preferred orientation of the adsorbed protein and show that its structure is only slightly altered at the interface with the surface. This provides the basis for interpreting the experimental results, which indicate the surface adsorbs a close-packed monolayer at about pH10 where the surface has a large negative zeta potential and the HEWL is positively charged. At higher pH, the adsorption amount of the protein layer is greatly reduced due to the loss of charge on the protein. At lower pH, the smaller zeta potential of the surface leads to lower HEWL adsorption. These interpretations are complemented by the contact angle measurements that show how the hydrophobicity of the surface is greatest when the surface coverage is highest. The simulations provide details of the hydrophobic residues exposed to solution by the adsorbed HEWL, completing the picture of the protein layer structure.

Salt induced reduction of lysozyme adsorption at charged interfaces

A study of lysozyme adsorption below a behenic acid membrane and at the solid-liquid interface between aqueous lysozyme solution and a silicon wafer in the presence of sodium chloride is presented. The salt concentration was varied between 1 mmol L(-1) and 1000 mmol L(-1). X-ray reflectivity data show a clear dependence of the protein adsorption on the salt concentration. Increasing salt concentrations result in a decreased protein adsorption at the interface until a complete suppression at high concentrations is reached. This effect can be attributed to a reduced attractive electrostatic interaction between the positively charged proteins and negatively charged surfaces by charge screening. The measurements at the solid-liquid interfaces show a transition from unoriented order of lysozyme in the adsorbed film to an oriented order with the short protein axis perpendicular to the solid-liquid interface with rising salt concentration.

α-Synuclein insertion into supported lipid bilayers as seen by in situ X-ray reflectivity

Large aggregates of misfolded α-synuclein inside neuronal cells are the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease. The protein's natural function and its supposed toxicity, however, are believed to be closely related to its interaction with cell and vesicle membranes. Upon this interaction, the protein folds into an α-helical structure and intercalates into the membrane. In this study, we focus on the changes in the lipid bilayer caused by this intrusion. In situ X-ray reflectivity was applied to determine the vertical density structure of the bilayer before and after exposure to α-synuclein. It was found that the α-synuclein insertion, wild type and E57K variant, caused a reduction in bilayer thickness. This effect may be one factor in the membrane pore formation ability of α-synuclein.

Interaction of Moringa oleifera seed protein with a mineral surface and the influence of surfactants

The paper describes the adsorption of purified protein from seeds of Moringa oleifera to a sapphire interface and the effects of addition of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Neutron reflection was used to determine the structure and composition of interfacial layers adsorbed at the solid/solution interface. The maximum surface excess of protein was found to be about 5.3 mg m(-2). The protein does not desorb from the solid/liquid interface when rinsed with water. Addition of SDS increases the reflectivity indicating co-adsorption. It was observed that CTAB is able to remove the protein from the interface. The distinct differences to the behavior observed previously for the protein at the silica/water interface are identified. The adsorption of the protein to alumina in addition to other surfaces has shown why it is an effective flocculating agent for the range of impurities found in water supplies. The ability to tailor different surface layers in combination with various surfactants also offers the potential for adsorbed protein to be used in separation technologies.

Neutron reflectometry from poly (ethylene-glycol) brushes binding anti-PEG antibodies: evidence of ternary adsorption

Neutron reflectometry provides evidence of ternary protein adsorption within polyethylene glycol (PEG) brushes. Anti-PEG Immunoglobulin G antibodies (Abs) binding the methoxy terminated PEG chain segment specifically adsorb onto PEG brushes grafted to lipid monolayers on a solid support. The Abs adsorb at the outer edge of the brush. The thickness and density of the adsorbed Ab layer, as well as its distance from the grafting surface grow with increasing brush density. At high densities most of the protein is excluded from the brush. The results are consistent with an inverted "Y" configuration with the two FAB segments facing the brush. They suggest that increasing the grafting density favors narrowing of the angle between the FAB segments as well as overall orientation of the bound Abs perpendicular to the surface.

Adsorption, aggregation, and desorption of proteins on smectite particles

We report on adsorption of lysozyme (LYS), ovalbumin (OVA), or ovotransferrin (OVT) on particles of a synthetic smectite (synthetic layered aluminosilicate). In our approach we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to study the protein-smectite systems in water solutions at pH ranging from 4 to 9. The AFM provided insights into the adhesion forces of protein molecules to the smectite particles, while the QCM measurements yielded information about the amounts of the adsorbed proteins, changes in their structure, and conditions of desorption. The binding of the proteins to the smectite surface was driven mainly by electrostatic interactions, and hence properties of the adsorbed layers were controlled by pH. At high pH values a change in orientation of the adsorbed LYS molecules and a collapse or desorption of OVA layer were observed. Lowering pH to the value ≤ 4 caused LYS to desorb and swelling the adsorbed OVA. The stability of OVT-smectite complexes was found the lowest. OVT revealed a tendency to desorb from the smectite surface at all investigated pH. The minimum desorption rate was observed at pH close to the isoelectric point of the protein, which suggests that nonspecific interactions between OVT and smectite particles significantly contribute to the stability of these complexes.

Temperature-driven adsorption and desorption of proteins at solid-liquid interfaces

The heat-induced desorption and adsorption of the proteins lysozyme, ribonuclease A, bovine serum albumin, and fibronectin at protein layers was investigated in two different environments: pure buffer and protein solution. Using two different environments allows us to distinguish between thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms in the adsorption process. We observed a desorption in buffer and an adsorption in protein solution, depending upon protein properties, such as size, stability, and charge. We conclude that the desorption in buffer is mainly influenced by the mobility of the proteins at the interface, while the adsorption in protein solution is driven by conformational changes and, thereby, a gain in entropy. These results are relevant for controlling biofilm formation at solid-liquid interfaces.

X-ray reflectivity measurements of liquid/solid interfaces under high hydrostatic pressure conditions

A high-pressure cell for in situ X-ray reflectivity measurements of liquid/solid interfaces at hydrostatic pressures up to 500 MPa (5 kbar), a pressure regime that is particularly important for the study of protein unfolding, is presented. The original set-up of this hydrostatic high-pressure cell is discussed and its unique properties are demonstrated by the investigation of pressure-induced adsorption of the protein lysozyme onto hydrophobic silicon wafers. The presented results emphasize the enormous potential of X-ray reflectivity studies under high hydrostatic pressure conditions for the in situ investigation of adsorption phenomena in biological systems.

pH effects on the molecular structure of β-lactoglobulin modified air-water interfaces and its impact on foam rheology

Macroscopic properties of aqueous β-lactoglobulin (BLG) foams and the molecular properties of BLG modified air-water interfaces as their major structural element were investigated with a unique combination of foam rheology measurements and interfacial sensitive methods such as sum-frequency generation and interfacial dilatational rheology. The molecular structure and protein-protein interactions at the air-water interface can be changed substantially with the solution pH and result in major changes in interfacial dilational and foam rheology. At a pH near the interfacial isoelectric point BLG molecules carry zero net charge and disordered multilayers with the highest interfacial dilatational elasticity are formed at the air-water interface. Increasing or decreasing the pH with respect to the isoelectric point leads to the formation of a BLG monolayer with repulsive electrostatic interactions among the adsorbed molecules which decrease the interfacial dilational elasticity. The latter molecular information does explain the behavior of BLG foams in our rheological studies, where in fact the highest apparent yield stresses and storage moduli are established with foams from electrolyte solutions with a pH close to the isoelectric point of BLG. At this pH the gas bubbles of the foam are stabilized by BLG multilayers with attractive intermolecular interactions at the ubiquitous air-water interfaces, while BLG layers with repulsive interactions decrease the apparent yield stress and storage moduli as stabilization of gas bubbles with a monolayer of BLG is less effective.