Pattern formation of antifreeze glycoproteins via solvent evaporation

Antifreeze Glycoproteins Bind Reversibly to Ice via Hydrophobic Groups

Antifreeze molecules allow organisms to survive in subzero environments. Antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs), produced by polar fish, are the most potent inhibitors of ice recrystallization. To date, the molecular mechanism by which AFGPs bind to ice has not yet been elucidated. Mutation experiments cannot resolve whether the binding occurs through the peptide, the saccharides, or both. Here, we use molecular simulations to determine the mechanism and driving forces for binding of AFGP8 to ice, its selectivity for the primary prismatic plane, and the molecular origin of its exceptional ice recrystallization activity. Consistent with experiments, AFGP8 in simulations preferentially adopts the PPII helix secondary structure in solution. We show that the segregation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups in the PPII helix is vital for ice binding. Binding occurs through adsorption of methyl groups of the peptide and disaccharides to ice, driven by the entropy of dehydration of the hydrophobic groups as they nest in the cavities at the ice surface. The selectivity to the primary prismatic plane originates in the deeper cavities it has compared to the basal plane. We estimate the free energy of binding of AFGP8 and the longer AFGPs4-6, and find them to be consistent with the reversible binding demonstrated in experiments. The simulations reveal that AFGP8 binds to ice through a myriad of conformations that it uses to diffuse through the ice surface and find ice steps, to which it strongly adsorbs. We interpret that the existence of multiple, weak binding sites is the key for the exceptional ice recrystallization inhibition activity of AFGPs.

Antifreeze glycopeptides: from structure and activity studies to current approaches in chemical synthesis

Antifreeze glycopeptides (AFGPs) are a class of biological antifreeze agents found predominantly in Arctic and Antarctic species of fish. They possess the ability to regulate ice nucleation and ice crystal growth, thus creating viable life conditions at temperatures below the freezing point of body fluids. AFGPs usually consist of 4–55 repetitions of the tripeptide unit Ala–Ala–Thr that is O-glycosylated at the threonine side chains with β-d-galactosyl-(1 → 3)-α-N-acetyl-d-galactosamine. Due to their interesting properties and high antifreeze activity, they have many potential applications, e.g., in food industry and medicine. Current research is focused towards understanding the relationship between the structural preferences and the activity of the AFGPs, as well as developing time and cost efficient ways of synthesis of this class of molecules. Recent computational studies in conjunction with experimental results from NMR and THz spectroscopies were a possible breakthrough in understanding the mechanism of action of AFGPs. At the moment, as a result of these findings, the focus of research is shifted towards the analysis of behaviour of the hydration shell around AFGPs and the impact of water-dynamics retardation caused by AFGPs on ice crystal growth. In the field of organic synthesis of AFGP analogues, most of the novel protocols are centered around solid-phase peptide synthesis and multiple efforts are made to optimize this approach. In this review, we present the current state of knowledge regarding the structure and activity of AFGPs, as well as approaches to organic synthesis of these molecules with focus on the most recent developments.

Design and synthesis of antifreeze glycoproteins and mimics

Antifreeze glycoproteins are an important class of biological antifreezes that have potential applications in many areas of medicine, agriculture and industry in which ice crystal growth is damaging. While the synthesis of antifreeze glycoproteins as pure glycoforms has recently been achieved by using ligation and polymerisation strategies, the routine production of large quantities of pure glycoforms remains challenging. A range of C-linked analogues that are readily produced by solid-phase synthesis have delivered novel compounds that are not biological antifreezes, but are potent, non-cytotoxic, ice-recrystallisation inhibitors. Structure-activity studies, the identification of cyclic antifreeze glycoproteins and conformational studies have provided further insight into the requirements for antifreeze activity. These results, coupled with significant advances in approaches to the routine synthesis of different glycoproteins and mimics, present opportunities for the design and synthesis of novel ice-growth-inhibiting and antifreeze compounds.

Stick-slip patterning at low capillary numbers for an evaporating colloidal suspension

Pattern formation from a silica colloidal suspension that is evaporating has been studied when a movement is imposed to the contact line. This article focuses on the stick-slip regime observed for very low contact line velocities. A capillary rise experiment has been specially designed for the observation and allows us to measure the pinning force that increases during the pinning of the contact line on the growing deposit. We report systematic measurements of this pinning force and derive scaling laws when the velocity of the contact line, the colloid concentration, and the evaporation rate are varied. Our analysis supports the idea that the pinning of the contact line results from a competition between the geometry of the growing deposit and the force due to gravity.

Multifunctional surfaces with discrete functionalized regions for biological applications

In this paper we describe a method for creating multifunctional glass surfaces presenting discrete patches of different proteins on an inert PEG-functionalized background. Microcontact printing is used to stamp the substrate with octadecyltrichlorosilane to define the active regions. The substrate is then back-filled with PEG-silane {[[2-methoxypoly(ethyleneoxy)]propyl]trimethoxysilane} to define passive regions. A microfluidics device is subsequently affixed to the substrate to deliver proteins to the active regions, with as many channels as there are proteins to be patterned. Examples of trifunctional surfaces are given which present three terminating functional groups, i.e., protein 1, protein 2, and PEG. These surfaces should be broadly useful in biological studies, as patch size is well established to influence cell viability, growth, and differentiation. Three examples of cellular interactions with the surfaces are demonstrated, including the capture of cells from a single cell suspension, the selective sorting of cells from a mixed suspension, and the adhesion of cells to ligand micropatches at critical shear stresses. Within these examples, we demonstrate that the patterned immobilized proteins are active, as they retain their ability to interact with either antibodies in solution or receptors presented by cells. When appropriate (e.g., for E-selectin), proteins are patterned in their physiological orientations using a sandwich immobilization technique, which is readily accommodated within our method. The protein surface densities are highly reproducible in the patches, as supported by fluorescence intensity measurements. Potential applications include biosensors based on the interaction of cells or of marker proteins with protein patches, fundamental studies of cell adhesion as a function of patch size and shear stress, and studies of cell differentiation as a function of surface cues.