A mica filter enables bacterial enrichment from large volumes of natural water for sensitive monitoring of pathogens by nanopore sequencing

Nanopore sequencing is extremely promising for the high-throughput detection of pathogenic bacteria in natural water; these bacteria may be transmitted to humans and cause waterborne infectious diseases. However, the concentration of pathogenic bacteria in natural water is too low to be detected directly by nanopore sequencing. Herein, we developed a mica filter to enrich over 85% of bacteria from > 10 L of natural water in 100 min, which led to a 102-fold improvement in the assay limits of the MinION sequencer for assessing pathogenic bacteria. Correspondingly, the sequencing time of S. Typhi detection at a concentration as low as 105 CFU/L was reduced from traditional 48 h to 3 h. The bacterial adsorption followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and the successful adsorption of bacteria to the mica filter was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier infrared spectroscopy et al. The mica filter remained applicable to a range of water samples whose quality parameters were within the EPA standard limits for freshwater water. The mica filter is thus an effective tool for the sensitive and rapid monitoring of pathogenic bacteria by nanopore sequencing, which can provide timely alerts for waterborne transmission events.

Amino Acid Polymerization on Silica Surfaces

The polymerization of unactivated amino acids (AAs) is an important topic because of its applications in various fields including industrial medicinal chemistry and prebiotic chemistry. Silica as a promoter for this reaction, is of great interest owing to its large abundance and low cost. The amide/peptide bond synthesis on silica has been largely demonstrated but suffers from a lack of knowledge regarding its reaction mechanism, the key parameters, and surface features that influence AA adsorption and reactivity, the selectivity of the reaction product, the role of water in the reaction, etc. The present review addresses these problems by summarizing experimental and modeling results from the literature and attempts to rationalize some apparent divergences in published results. After briefly presenting the main types of silica surface sites and other relevant macroscopic features, we discuss the different deposition procedures of AAs, whose importance is often neglected. We address the possible AA adsorption mechanisms including covalent grafting and H-bonding and show that they are highly dependent on silanol types and density. We then consider how the adsorption mechanisms determine the occurrence and outcome of AA condensation (formation of cyclic dimers or of long linear chains), and outline some recent results that suggest significant polymerization selectivity in systems containing several AAs, as well as the formation of specific elements of secondary structure in the growing polypeptide chains.

Leucine on Silica: A Combined Experimental and Modeling Study of a System Relevant for Origins of Life, and the Role of Water Coadsorption

Leucine on silica constitutes an interesting system from the point of view of origins of life studies since leucine coadsorbed on SiO₂ together with glutamic acid can give rise to rather long linear polypeptides upon activation. It is also an ideal system to test methods of molecular characterization of biomolecules deposited on mineral surfaces since it combines a small-scale model of peptides and proteins, which are among the most important components of biodevices, with one of the most widely used inorganic materials. We have deposited l-leucine on a high surface fumed silica in the submonolayer range and characterized it by a multipronged approach including macroscopic information (thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction), in situ spectroscopic methods (IR, multinuclear solid-state NMR including single-pulse and CP-MAS, 2-D HETCOR), and molecular modeling by density functional theory (DFT), including calculation of NMR parameters. Specific information can be obtained on the adsorption and interaction mechanism. Leucine is rather strongly adsorbed without any covalent bonds, through the formation of a specific lattice of H-bonds that often involve coadsorbed water molecules. Its state is indeed strongly dependent on the drying procedure: insufficient drying results in liquid-like surroundings for the leucine functional groups, while vacuum drying only retains a limited number of waters (of the order of 5 per leucine molecule). The most stable models have zwitterionic leucine interacting directly with surface silanols through their ammonium group, while the carboxylate interacts through bridging waters. Experimental NMR chemical shifts are satisfactorily predicted for these models, and leucine can be viewed as a probe for specific groups of surface sites known as silanol nests.

Silicon Nitride as a Biomedical Material: An Overview

Silicon nitride possesses a variety of excellent properties that can be specifically designed and manufactured for different medical applications. On the one hand, silicon nitride is known to have good mechanical properties, such as high strength and fracture toughness. On the other hand, the uniqueness of the osteogenic/antibacterial dualism of silicon nitride makes it a favorable bioceramic for implants. The surface of silicon nitride can simultaneously inhibit the proliferation of bacteria while supporting the physiological activities of eukaryotic cells and promoting the healing of bone tissue. There are hardly any biomaterials that possess all these properties concurrently. Although silicon nitride has been intensively studied as a biomedical material for years, there is a paucity of comprehensive data on its properties and medical applications. To provide a comprehensive understanding of this potential cornerstone material of the medical field, this review presents scientific and technical data on silicon nitride, including its mechanical properties, osteogenic behavior, and antibacterial capabilities. In addition, this paper highlights the current and potential medical use of silicon nitride and explains the bottlenecks that need to be addressed, as well as possible solutions.

Protein adsorption and in vitro behavior of additively manufactured 3D-silicon nitride scaffolds intended for bone tissue engineering

Highly porous scaffolds of Si₃N₄ are fabricated by direct ink writing method (Robocasting) with a pattern of macroporous cavities of 650-700μm. Two different Si₃N₄ ink compositions regarding the oxide sintering aids (namely, Y₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and SiO₂) are tried. Both inks reach solid volume fractions of ~0.40 with about 10-12wt% of polymeric additive content that imparts the necessary pseudoplastic characteristics. The printed structures are sintered under controlled N₂ atmosphere either in a conventional graphite furnace or by the spark plasma sintering technique. Skeleton of the scaffolds reaches densities above 95% of the theoretical value with ≈18-24% of linear shrinkage. Analysis of the crystalline phases, microstructure and mechanical properties are comparatively done for both compositions. The bioactivity of these structures is addressed by evaluating the ion release rate in simulated body fluid. In parallel, atomic force microscopy is used to determine the effect of the filaments surface roughness on protein adsorption (Bovine Serum Albumin) for assessing the potential application of 3D-Si₃N₄ scaffolds in bone regeneration.

From phage display to structure: an interplay of enthalpy and entropy in the binding of the LDHSLHS polypeptide to silica

Polypeptide based biosilica composites show promise as next generation multi-functional nano-platforms for diagnostics and bio-catalytic applications. Following the identification of a strong silica binder (LDHSLHS) by phage display, we conduct structural analysis of the polypeptide at the interface with amorphous silica nanoparticles in an aqueous environment. Our approach relies on modelling infrared and Raman spectral responses using predictions of molecular dynamics simulations and quantum studies of the normal modes for several potential structures. By simultaneously fitting both infrared and Raman responses in the amide spectral region, we show that the main structural conformer has a beta-like central region and helix-twisted terminals. Classical simulations, as conducted previously (Chem. Mater., 2014, 26, 5725), predict that the association of the main structure with the interface is stimulated by electrostatic interactions though surface binding also requires spatially distributed sodium ions to compensate for negatively charged acidic silanol groups. Accordingly, diffusion of sodium ions would contribute to a stochastic character of the peptide association with the surface. Consistent with the described dynamics at the interface, the results obtained from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) confirm a significant enhancement of polypeptide binding to silica at higher concentrations of Na+. The results of this study suggest that the tertiary structure of a phage capsid protein plays a significant role in regulating the conformation of peptide LDHSLHS, increasing its binding to silica during the phage display process. The results presented here support design-led engineering of polypeptide-silica nanocomposites for bio-technological applications.

Thermal behavior, structure, dynamic properties of aqueous glycine solutions confined in mesoporous silica MCM-41 investigated by x-ray diffraction and quasi-elastic neutron scattering

Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) measurements of aqueous glycine solutions confined in mesoporous silica (MCM-41) were performed at different glycine concentrations, pH, and loading ratio (=mass of glycine solution/mass of dry MCM-41) in the temperature range from 305 to 180 K to discuss the confinement effect on the thermal behavior, the structure, and the dynamic properties of the solutions. The freezing points of the confined glycine solutions decreased, compared with those of the bulk solutions. The corresponding exothermic peak due to ice formation became broader with an increase in the glycine concentration. By subtracting X-ray diffraction patterns of dry MCM-41 from those of glycine solution-loaded MCM-41, information about the structure of the confined glycine solutions was obtained. The radial distribution functions of the confined glycine solutions showed that the peaks assigned to the interaction between glycine molecules and the surface silanol (Si-OH) groups of MCM-41 at pH = 5 were observed, in contrast to the case at pH = 2. The QENS data on H/D substituted aqueous glycine solutions gave the translational diffusion coefficients and the residence time of glycine and water molecules confined in MCM-41 individually. The activation energy of the diffusion coefficient of a glycine molecule at pH = 5 was larger than that at pH = 2. These results imply that glycine molecules locate near the pore surface of MCM-41 due to the formation of hydrogen bonding between glycine molecules and the silanol group of the MCM-41 wall at pH = 5.

Adsorption of organic molecules on mineral surfaces studied by first-principle calculations: A review

First-principle calculations, especially by the density functional theory (DFT) methods, are becoming a power technique to study molecular structure and properties of organic/inorganic interfaces. This review introduces some recent examples on the study of adsorption models of organic molecules or oligomers on mineral surfaces and interfacial properties obtained from first-principles calculations. The aim of this contribution is to inspire scientists to benefit from first-principle calculations and to apply the similar strategies when studying and tailoring interfacial properties at the atomistic scale, especially for those interested in the design and development of new molecules and new products.

Amino acid adsorption on anatase (101) surface at vacuum and aqueous solution: a density functional study

The adsorption of 20 amino acids (AAs) on the (101) surface of anatase titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has been investigated under the scheme of density functional theory. Through the analysis of adsorption geometries, amino group and side chains of AAs have been identified as the major side to adsorb on TiO₂, while the carboxyl group prefers to stay outside to avoid the repulsion between negatively charged oxygen from TiO₂ and AAs. On the surface, two-coordinated oxygen is the major site to stabilize AAs through O-H interactions. The above conclusion does not change when it is in the aqueous solution based on the calculations with AAs surrounded by explicit water molecules. The above knowledge is helpful in predicting how AAs and even peptides adsorb on inorganic materials. Graphical abstract The adsorption of 20 amino acids (AAs) on the (101) surface of anatase titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has been investigated under the scheme of density functional theory.

A new adsorption-elution technique for the concentration of aquatic extracellular antibiotic resistance genes from large volumes of water

Extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs) that help in the transmission and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are emerging environmental contaminants in water, and there is therefore a growing need to assess environmental levels and associated risks of eARGs. However, as they are present in low amounts, it is difficult to detect eARGs in water directly with PCR techniques. Here, we prepared a new type of nucleic acid adsorption particle (NAAP) with high capacity and developed an optimal adsorption-elution method to concentrate eARGs from large volumes of water. With this technique, we were able to achieve an eARG recovery rate of above 95% from 10 L of water samples. Moreover, combining this new method with quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), the sensitivity of the eARG detection was 10(4) times that of single qPCR, with the detection limit lowered to 100 gene copies (GCs)/L. Our analyses showed that the eARG load, virus load and certain water characteristics such as pH, chemical oxygen demand (CODMn), and turbidity affected the eARGs recovery rate. However, high eARGs recovery rates always remained within the standard limits for natural surface water quality, while eARG levels in water were lower than the detection limits of single qPCR assays. The recovery rates were not affected by water temperature and heterotrophic plate counts (HPC). The eARGs whatever located in the plasmids or the short-length linear DNAs can be recovered from the water. Furthermore, the recovery rate was high even in the presence of high concentrations of plasmids in different natural water (Haihe river, well water, raw water for drinking water, Jinhe river, Tuanbo lake and the Yunqiao reservoir). By this technology, eARGs concentrations were found ranging from (2.70 ± 0.73) × 10(2) to (4.58 ± 0.47) × 10(4) GCs/L for the extracellular ampicillin resistance gene and (5.43 ± 0.41) × 10(2) to (2.14 ± 0.23) × 10(4) GCs/L for the extracellular gentamicin resistance gene in natural water for the first time, respectively. All these findings suggest that NAAPs have great potential for the monitoring of eARGs pollution in water.

Water adsorption on the LaMnO3 surface

Studying the adsorption of water on the metallic LaMnO3 surface can provide insight into this complicated surface-adsorbate interaction. Using density functional theory, we investigated the adsorption of a water monomer, dimer, trimer, and a monolayer on the surface. The electronic structure of ground state configurations is explored using analysis of density of states, charge density, and crystal orbital overlap populations. We found that the interaction between the surface and water molecules is stronger than hydrogen bonding between molecules, which facilitates wetting of the surface. Adsorbed water molecules form very strong hydrogen bonds, with substantially shifted OH stretch modes. For the monolayer of adsorbed water, a hint of a bilayer is observed with a height separation of only 0.2 A. However, simulated scanning tunneling microscopy images and vibrational spectra suggest a significant difference between the two layers due to intermolecular bonding and interaction with the substrate.

Hydration in silica based mesoporous materials: a DFT model

In this work, calculable and realistic DFT models of MCM-41 material that follow temperature dependence of silanol density were developed. They can be easily applied in further studies of adsorption or as a support for catalysts.

Zwitterionic versus canonical amino acids over the various defects in zeolites: a two-layer ONIOM calculation

Defects are often considered as the active sites for chemical reactions. Here a variety of defects in zeolites are used to stabilize zwitterionic glycine that is not self-stable in gas phase; in addition, effects of acidic strengths and zeolite channels on zwitterionic stabilization are demonstrated. Glycine zwitterions can be stabilized by all these defects and energetically prefer to canonical structures over Al and Ga Lewis acidic sites rather than Ti Lewis acidic site, silanol and titanol hydroxyls. For titanol (Ti-OH), glycine interacts with framework Ti and hydroxyl sites competitively, and the former with Lewis acidity predominates. The transformations from canonical to zwitterionic glycine are obviously more facile over Al and Ga Lewis acidic sites than over Ti Lewis acidic site, titanol and silanol hydroxyls. Charge transfers that generally increase with adsorption energies are found to largely decide the zwitterionic stabilization effects. Zeolite channels play a significant role during the stabilization process. In absence of zeolite channels, canonical structures predominate for all defects; glycine zwitterions remain stable over Al and Ga Lewis acidic sites and only with synergy of H-bonding interactions can exist over Ti Lewis acidic site, while automatically transform to canonical structures over silanol and titanol hydroxyls.

Exploring the molecular structure of imidazolium-silica-based nanoparticle networks by combining solid-state NMR spectroscopy and first-principles calculations

A DFT-based molecular model for imidazolium-silica-based nanoparticle networks (INNs) is presented. The INNs were synthesized and characterized by using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), NMR spectroscopy, and theoretical ab initio calculations. (11)B and (31)P HETCOR CP MAS experiments were recorded. Calculated (19)F NMR spectroscopy results, combined with the calculated anion-imidazolium (IM) distances, predicted the IM chain density in the INN, which was also confirmed from thermogravimetric analysis/mass spectrometry results. The presence of water molecules trapped between the nanoparticles is also suggested. First considerations on possible π-π stacking between the IM rings are presented. The predicted electronic properties confirm the photoluminescence emissions in the correct spectral domain.

The amorphous silica-liquid water interface studied by ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD): local organization in global disorder

The structural organization of water at a model of amorphous silica-liquid water interface is investigated by ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations at room temperature. The amorphous surface is constructed with isolated, H-bonded vicinal and geminal silanols. In the absence of water, the silanols have orientations that depend on the local surface topology (i.e. presence of concave and convex zones). However, in the presence of liquid water, only the strong inter-silanol H-bonds are maintained, whereas the weaker ones are replaced by H-bonds formed with interfacial water molecules. All silanols are found to act as H-bond donors to water. The vicinal silanols are simultaneously found to be H-bond acceptors from water. The geminal pairs are also characterized by the formation of water H-bonded rings, which could provide special pathways for proton transfer(s) at the interface. The first water layer above the surface is overall rather disordered, with three main domains of orientations of the water molecules. We discuss the similarities and differences in the structural organization of the interfacial water layer at the surface of the amorphous silica and at the surface of the crystalline (0 0 0 1) quartz surface.

Co-adsorption of water and glycine on Cu{110}

In this study, we use density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the surface co-adsorption of glycine with water on Cu{110}. Our results show that, under UHV conditions and for a wide range of temperatures, a pure glycine monolayer is more stable than either mixed gly-water phases or pure water (ice) monolayers, but for a high water pressure half-dissociated water layers can appear on the surface at low and medium temperatures.

Enzymes immobilized in mesoporous silica: a physical-chemical perspective

Mesoporous materials as support for immobilized enzymes have been explored extensively during the last two decades, primarily not only for biocatalysis applications, but also for biosensing, biofuels and enzyme-controlled drug delivery. The activity of the immobilized enzymes inside the pores is often different compared to that of the free enzymes, and an important challenge is to understand how the immobilization affects the enzymes in order to design immobilization conditions that lead to optimal enzyme activity. This review summarizes methods that can be used to understand how material properties can be linked to changes in enzyme activity. Real-time monitoring of the immobilization process and techniques that demonstrate that the enzymes are located inside the pores is discussed by contrasting them to the common practice of indirectly measuring the depletion of the protein concentration or enzyme activity in the surrounding bulk phase. We propose that pore filling (pore volume fraction occupied by proteins) is the best standard for comparing the amount of immobilized enzymes at the molecular level, and present equations to calculate pore filling from the more commonly reported immobilized mass. Methods to detect changes in enzyme structure upon immobilization and to study the microenvironment inside the pores are discussed in detail. Combining the knowledge generated from these methodologies should aid in rationally designing biocatalyst based on enzymes immobilized in mesoporous materials.

Ionic nanoparticle networks: development and perspectives in the landscape of ionic liquid based materials

This article summarizes the research performed on ionic nanoparticle networks compared with other hybrid materials like ionogels or imidazolium modified nanoparticles.

Does Dispersion Dominate over H-Bonds in Drug-Surface Interactions? The Case of Silica-Based Materials As Excipients and Drug-Delivery Agents

Amorphous silica is widely employed in pharmaceutical formulations both as a tableting, anticaking agent and as a drug delivery system, whereas MCM-41 mesoporous silica has been recently proposed as an efficient support for the controlled release of drugs. Notwithstanding the relevance of this topic, the atomistic details about the specific interactions between the surfaces of the above materials and drugs and the energetic of adsorption are almost unknown. In this work, we resort to a computational ab initio approach, based on periodic Density Functional Theory (DFT), to study the adsorption behavior of two popular drugs (aspirin and ibuprofen) on two models of an amorphous silica surface characterized by different hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties due to different SiOH surface groups' density. Particular effort was devoted to understand the role of dispersive (vdW) interactions in the adsorption mechanism and their interplay with H-bond interactions. On the hydrophilic silica surface, the H-bond pattern of the Si-OH groups rearranges to comply with the formation of new H-bond interactions triggered by the adsorbed drug. The interaction energy of ibuprofen with the hydrophilic model of the silica surface is computed to be very close to the sublimation energy of the ibuprofen molecular crystal, accounting for the experimental evidence of ibuprofen crystal amorphization induced by the contact with the mesoporous silica material. For both surface models, dispersion interactions play a crucial role in dictating the features of the drug/silica system, and they become dominant for the hydrophobic surface. It was proved that a competition may exist between directional H-bonds and nonspecific dispersion driven interactions, with important structural and energetic consequences for the adsorption. The results of this work emphasize the inadequacy of plain DFT methods to model adsorption processes involving inorganic surfaces and drugs of moderate size, due to the missing term accounting for London dispersion interactions.

Development of a tuned interfacial force field parameter set for the simulation of protein adsorption to silica glass

Adsorption free energies for eight host-guest peptides (TGTG-X-GTGT, with X = N, D, G, K, F, T, W, and V) on two different silica surfaces [quartz (100) and silica glass] were calculated using umbrella sampling and replica exchange molecular dynamics and compared with experimental values determined by atomic force microscopy. Using the CHARMM force field, adsorption free energies were found to be overestimated (i.e., too strongly adsorbing) by about 5-9 kcal/mol compared to the experimental data for both types of silica surfaces. Peptide adsorption behavior for the silica glass surface was then adjusted using a modified version of the CHARMM program, which we call dual force-field CHARMM, which allows separate sets of nonbonded parameters (i.e., partial charge and Lennard-Jones parameters) to be used to represent intra-phase and inter-phase interactions within a given molecular system. Using this program, interfacial force field (IFF) parameters for the peptide-silica glass systems were corrected to obtain adsorption free energies within about 0.5 kcal/mol of their respective experimental values, while IFF tuning for the quartz (100) surface remains for future work. The tuned IFF parameter set for silica glass will subsequently be used for simulations of protein adsorption behavior on silica glass with greater confidence in the balance between relative adsorption affinities of amino acid residues and the aqueous solution for the silica glass surface.

EFFECTS AND ROLE OF WATER ENVIRONMENT ON A GEMINAL HYDROXYLATED SILICA SURFACE — SELF-CONSISTENT CHARGE DENSITY FUNCTIONAL TIGHT BINDING THEORY BASED MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION

The presence of aqueous solution is inevitable in complex systems involving biological and material components and could affect the interaction between them substantially. To properly simulate such an interaction system, it is necessary to quantitatively explore the effects and specific roles of the water environment on the material surface. In this work, a silica surface was adopted as an example to study the impact of water environment ( 144H2O ) on the structure and energetics using a self-consistent charge density functional tight binding/molecular dynamic method. First, we demonstrated that the silica surface in a vacuum involves a large deformation due to the formation of hydrogen bonds among the surface silanols; in contrast, the deformation is eased in water environment because water molecules could locate in between the silanols and form many hydrogen bonds with the silanols. Therefore, water molecules play an important role to maintain surface from not getting heavily deformed. Our work not only tested the feasible computational methodology of studying nanoscale large systems under water environment at a quantum-mechanical level of theory, but also provided clear evidence on the impact of water environment to the inorganic surface.

Disentangling protein-silica interactions

We present the results of modelling studies aimed at the understanding of the interaction of a 7 nm sized water droplet containing a negatively charged globular protein with flat silica surfaces. We show how the droplet interaction with the surface depends on the electrostatic surface charge, and that adhesion of the droplet occurs when the surface is negatively charged as well. The key role of water and of the charge-balancing counter ions in mediating the surface-protein adhesion is highlighted. The relevance of the present results with respect to the production of bioinorganic hybrids via encapsulation of proteins inside mesoporous silica materials is discussed.

Investigation of the interface in silica-encapsulated liposomes by combining solid state NMR and first principles calculations

In the context of nanomedicine, liposils (liposomes and silica) have a strong potential for drug storage and release schemes: such materials combine the intrinsic properties of liposome (encapsulation) and silica (increased rigidity, protective coating, pH degradability). In this work, an original approach combining solid state NMR, molecular dynamics, first principles geometry optimization, and NMR parameters calculation allows the building of a precise representation of the organic/inorganic interface in liposils. {(1)H-(29)Si}(1)H and {(1)H-(31)P}(1)H Double Cross-Polarization (CP) MAS NMR experiments were implemented in order to explore the proton chemical environments around the silica and the phospholipids, respectively. Using VASP (Vienna Ab Initio Simulation Package), DFT calculations including molecular dynamics, and geometry optimization lead to the determination of energetically favorable configurations of a DPPC (dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine) headgroup adsorbed onto a hydroxylated silica surface that corresponds to a realistic model of an amorphous silica slab. These data combined with first principles NMR parameters calculations by GIPAW (Gauge Included Projected Augmented Wave) show that the phosphate moieties are not directly interacting with silanols. The stabilization of the interface is achieved through the presence of water molecules located in-between the head groups of the phospholipids and the silica surface forming an interfacial H-bonded water layer. A detailed study of the (31)P chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) parameters allows us to interpret the local dynamics of DPPC in liposils. Finally, the VASP/solid state NMR/GIPAW combined approach can be extended to a large variety of organic-inorganic hybrid interfaces.

Biomolecule-biomaterial interaction: a DFT-D study of glycine adsorption and self-assembly on hydroxylated Cr2O3 surfaces

The adsorption of glycine, the building block of amino acids, on hydroxylated (0001)-Cr2O3 model surfaces, representing the stainless steel passive film surface, was modeled by means of the GGA + U method. The roles of glycine coverage and surface termination (hydroxylated Cr- and O-terminated surfaces) on the adsorption mode and self-assembly properties were explored. The hydroxylated Cr-terminated Cr2O3 surface, which presents two types of (H)OH groups exhibiting different acidic character, is more reactive than the hydroxylated O-terminated surface, where one single type of OH group is present, for all adsorption modes and coverages considered. Outer sphere adsorption occurs in the zwitterion form, stabilized at low coverage through H-bond formation with coadsorbed water molecules, and at the monolayer coverage by glycine self-assembling. The OH substitution by glycinate is favored on the hydroxylated Cr-terminated surface and not on the O-terminated one. The inclusion of dispersion forces does not change the observed tendencies. An atomistic thermodynamics approach suggests that outer sphere adsorption is thermodynamically favored over inner sphere adsorption in the whole domain of glycine concentration. The obtained SAM's free energies of formation are rationalized in a model considering the balance between sublimation and solvation free energies, and extrapolated to other amino acids, to predict the SAMs formation above hydroxylated surfaces. It is found that hydrophobic AA tend to self-assemble at the surface, whereas hydrophilic ones do not.

Understanding protein adsorption phenomena at solid surfaces

Protein adsorption at solid surfaces plays a key role in many natural processes and has therefore promoted a widespread interest in many research areas. Despite considerable progress in this field there are still widely differing and even contradictive opinions on how to explain the frequently observed phenomena such as structural rearrangements, cooperative adsorption, overshooting adsorption kinetics, or protein aggregation. In this review recent achievements and new perspectives on protein adsorption processes are comprehensively discussed. The main focus is put on commonly postulated mechanistic aspects and their translation into mathematical concepts and model descriptions. Relevant experimental and computational strategies to practically approach the field of protein adsorption mechanisms and their impact on current successes are outlined.

Molecular level characterization of the inorganic-bioorganic interface by solid state NMR: alanine on a silica surface, a case study

The molecular interface between bioorganics and inorganics plays a key role in diverse scientific and technological research areas including nanoelectronics, biomimetics, biomineralization, and medical applications such as drug delivery systems and implant coatings. However, the physical/chemical basis of recognition of inorganic surfaces by biomolecules remains unclear. The molecular level elucidation of specific interfacial interactions and the structural and dynamical state of the surface bound molecules is of prime scientific importance. In this study, we demonstrate the ability of solid state NMR methods to accomplish these goals. L-[1-(13)C,(15)N]Alanine loaded onto SBA-15 mesoporous silica with a high surface area served as a model system. The interacting alanine moiety was identified as the -NH(3)(+) functional group by (15)N{(1)H}SLF NMR. (29)Si{(15)N} and (15)N{(29)Si}REDOR NMR revealed intermolecular interactions between the alanine -NH(3)(+) and three to four surface Si species, predominantly Q(3), with similar internuclear N...Si distances of 4.0-4.2 A. Distinct dynamic states of the adsorbed biomolecules were identified by (15)N{(13)C}REDOR NMR, indicating both bound and free alanine populations, depending on hydration level and temperature. In the bound populations, the -NH(3)(+) group is surface anchored while the free carboxylate end undergoes librations, implying the carboxylate has small or no contributions to surface binding. When surface water clusters grow bigger with increased hydration, the libration amplitude of the carboxyl end amplifies, until onset of dissolution occurs. Our measurements provide the first direct, comprehensive, molecular-level identification of the bioorganic-inorganic interface, showing binding functional groups, geometric constraints, stoichiometry, and dynamics, both for the adsorbed amino acid and the silica surface.