1
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Balima M, Morfin I, Sudre G, Montembault A. Stretchable hydrogels of chitosan/hyaluronic acid induced by polyelectrolyte complexation around neutral pH. Carbohydr Polym 2024; 339:122265. [PMID: 38823929 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
In this work, we propose the formation of stretchable hydrogels at neutral pH from the physical crosslinking of chitosan (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) by polyelectrolyte complexation. A mixture of CS (Mw ≈ 600 kg/mol, degree of acetylation ≈ 50 %) solution and HA (Mw ≈ 77 kg/mol) solution was prepared with an excess of salts screening the electrostatic interactions CS/HA. In a controlled manner, the polyelectrolyte complexation was induced through the progressive dialysis of the salted polymer mixture against a sodium acetate solution (AcONa, 0.01 M) for 7 days. Depending on [HA], various materials were obtained: viscous solutions at [HA] = 0.75 % (w/v); hydrogels at [HA] = 1.50-2.24 % (w/v) with Young modulus of 14 kPa and stretchable to 200 %. The small angle X-ray scattering characterization of the hydrogels revealed a multiscale organization related to the conformation of the polymers induced by the physical interactions. The dialysis process with AcONa was optimized by adding a dialysis step against a zinc acetate solution containing Zn2+. The combination of polyelectrolyte complexation between CS/HA and metal complexation between Zn2+ and the polymers led to an enhancement of the hydrogel stretchability up to 400 %.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maeva Balima
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, INSA Lyon, Université Jean Monnet, CNRS, UMR 5223, Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cédex, France
| | | | - Guillaume Sudre
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, INSA Lyon, Université Jean Monnet, CNRS, UMR 5223, Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cédex, France.
| | - Alexandra Montembault
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, INSA Lyon, Université Jean Monnet, CNRS, UMR 5223, Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cédex, France.
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2
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Holkar A, Gao S, Villaseñor K, Lake M, Srivastava S. Quantitative turbidimetric characterization of stabilized complex coacervate dispersions. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:5060-5070. [PMID: 38743276 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01761c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Stabilizing complex coacervate microdroplets is desirable due to their various applications, such as bioreactors, drug delivery vehicles, and encapsulants. Here, we present quantitative characterization of complex coacervate dispersion stability inferred by turbidimetry measurements. The stability of the dispersions is shown to be modulated by the concentrations of comb polyelectrolyte (cPE) stabilizers and salt. We demonstrate cPEs as effective stabilizers for complex coacervate dispersions independent of the chemistry or length of the constituent polyelectrolytes, salts, or preparation routes. By monitoring the temporal evolution of dispersion turbidity, we show that cPEs suppress microdroplet coalescence with minimal change in microdroplet sizes over 48 hours, even at salt concentrations up to 300 mM. The number density and average microdroplet size are shown to be controlled by varying the cPE and salt concentrations. Lastly, turbidity maps, akin to binodal phase maps, depict an expansion of the turbid two-phase region and an increase in the salt resistance of the coacervates upon the introduction of cPEs. The coacervate salt resistance is shown to increase by >3×, and this increase is maintained for up to 15 days, demonstrating that cPEs impart higher salt resistance over extended durations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Advait Holkar
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Shang Gao
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Kathleen Villaseñor
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Michael Lake
- NSF BioPACIFIC MIP, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Samanvaya Srivastava
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
- NSF BioPACIFIC MIP, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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3
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Lalwani S, Hellikson K, Batys P, Lutkenhaus JL. Counter Anion Type Influences the Glass Transition Temperature of Polyelectrolyte Complexes. Macromolecules 2024; 57:4695-4705. [PMID: 38827958 PMCID: PMC11140738 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.3c02200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Salt acts as a plasticizer in polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs), which impacts the physical, thermal, and mechanical properties, thus having implications in applications, such as drug delivery, energy storage, and smart coatings. Added salt disrupts polycation-polyanion intrinsic ion pairs, lowering a hydrated PEC's glass transition temperature (Tg). However, the relative influence of counterion type on the PEC's Tg is not well understood. Here, the effect of anion type (NaCl, NaBr, NaNO3, and NaI) on the Tg of solid-like, hydrated PECs composed of poly(diallydimethylammonium) (PDADMA)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) is investigated. With increasing the chaotropic nature of the salt anion, the Tg decreases. The relative differences are attributed to the doping level, the amount of bound water, the mobility of water molecules within the PECs, and the strength of interactions between the PEs. For all studied salt concentrations and salt types, the Tg followed the scaling of -1/Tg ≈ ln([IP]/[H2O]), in which [IP]/[H2O] is the ratio of intrinsic pairs to water. The scaling estimates that about 7 to 17% of the intrinsic ion pairs should be weakened for the PEC to partake in a glass transition. Put together, this study highlights that the Tg in PECs is impacted by the salt anion, but the mechanism of the glass transition remains unchanged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suvesh
Manoj Lalwani
- Artie
McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Kayla Hellikson
- Artie
McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Piotr Batys
- Jerzy
Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Niezapominajek 8, Krakow PL-30239, Poland
| | - Jodie L. Lutkenhaus
- Artie
McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas
A&M University, College Station, Texas 77840, United States
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4
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Galland P, Iqbal MH, Favier D, Legros M, Schaaf P, Boulmedais F, Vahdati M. Tuning the underwater adhesiveness of antibacterial polysaccharides complex coacervates. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 661:196-206. [PMID: 38301458 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.01.193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS Adjusting the water content and mechanical properties of polyelectrolyte coacervates for optimal underwater adhesion requires simultaneous control of the macromolecular design and the type and concentration of the salt used. Using synthetic or bio-inspired polymers to make coacervates often involves complicated chemistries and large variations in salt concentration. The underwater adhesiveness of simple, bio-sourced coacervates can be tuned with relatively small variations in salt concentration. Bio-sourced polymers can also impart beneficial biological activities to the final material. EXPERIMENTS We made complex coacervates from charged chitosan (CHI) and hyaluronic acid (HA) with NaCl as the salt. Their water content and viscoelastic properties were investigated to identify the formulation with optimal underwater adhesion in physiological conditions. The coacervates were also studied in antibacterial and cytotoxicity experiments. FINDINGS As predicted by linear rheology, the CHI-HA coacervates at 0.1 and 0.2 M NaCl had the highest pull-off adhesion strengths of 44.4 and 40.3 kPa in their respective supernatants. In-situ physical hardening of the 0.2 M coacervate upon a salt switch in 0.1 M NaCl resulted in a pull-off adhesion strength of 62.9 kPa. This material maintained its adhesive properties in physiological conditions. Finally, the optimal adhesive was found to be non-cytotoxic and inherently antimicrobial through a chitosan release-killing mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Perrine Galland
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron, UPR 22, 67200, Strasbourg, France
| | - Muhammad Haseeb Iqbal
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron, UPR 22, 67200, Strasbourg, France
| | - Damien Favier
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron, UPR 22, 67200, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mélanie Legros
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron, UPR 22, 67200, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre Schaaf
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron, UPR 22, 67200, Strasbourg, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unité 1121, Biomatériaux et Bioingénierie, 67000, Strasbourg, France; Université de Strasbourg, Faculty of Dental Surgery, 67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Fouzia Boulmedais
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron, UPR 22, 67200, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Mehdi Vahdati
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron, UPR 22, 67200, Strasbourg, France.
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5
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van Lange SGM, te Brake DW, Portale G, Palanisamy A, Sprakel J, van der Gucht J. Moderated ionic bonding for water-free recyclable polyelectrolyte complex materials. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadi3606. [PMID: 38198554 PMCID: PMC10780884 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi3606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
While nature extensively uses electrostatic bonding between oppositely charged polymers to assemble and stabilize materials, harnessing these interactions in synthetic systems has been challenging. Synthetic materials cross-linked with a high density of ionic bonds, such as polyelectrolyte complexes, only function properly when their charge interactions are attenuated in the presence of ample amounts of water; dehydrating these materials creates such strong Coulombic bonding that they become brittle, non-thermoplastic, and virtually impossible to process. We present a strategy to intrinsically moderate the electrostatic bond strengths in apolar polymeric solids by the covalent grafting of attenuator spacers to the charge carrying moieties. This produces a class of polyelectrolyte materials that have a charge density of 100%, are processable and malleable without requiring water, are highly solvent- and water-resistant, and are fully recyclable. These materials, which we coin "compleximers," marry the properties of thermoplastics and thermosets using tailored ionic bonding alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie G. M. van Lange
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Diane W. te Brake
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Giuseppe Portale
- Macromolecular Chemistry and New Polymeric Materials, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Anbazhagan Palanisamy
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Joris Sprakel
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Jasper van der Gucht
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, Netherlands
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6
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van Westerveld L, Es Sayed J, de Graaf M, Hofman AH, Kamperman M, Parisi D. Hydrophobically modified complex coacervates for designing aqueous pressure-sensitive adhesives. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:8832-8848. [PMID: 37947361 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01114c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The rheology of complex coacervates can be elegantly tuned via the design and control of specific non-covalent hydrophobic interactions between the complexed polymer chains. The well-controlled balance between elasticity and energy dissipation makes complex coacervates perfect candidates for pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). In this work, the polyanion poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate) (PSPMA) and the polycation quaternized poly(4-vinylpyridine) (QP4VP) were used to prepare complex coacervates in water. Progressive increase of hydrophobicity is introduced to the polyanion via partial deprotection of the protected precursor. Hence, the polymer chains in the complex coacervates can interact via both electrostatic (controlled by the amount of salt) and hydrophobic (controlled by the deprotection degree) interactions. It was observed that: (i) a rheological time-salt-hydrophobicity superposition principle is applicable, and can be used as a predictive tool for rheology, (ii) the slowdown of the stress relaxation dynamics, due to the increase of hydrophobic stickers (lower deprotection degree), can be captured by the sticky-Rouse model, and (iii) the systematic variation of hydrophobic stickers, amount of salt, and molecular weight of the polymers, enables the identification of optimizing parameters to design aqueous PSA systems. The presented results offer new pathways to control the rheology of complex coacervates and their applicability as PSAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa van Westerveld
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Julien Es Sayed
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Marijn de Graaf
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Anton H Hofman
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Marleen Kamperman
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Daniele Parisi
- Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
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7
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Muthukumar M. Fluctuations, structure, and size inside coacervates. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2023; 46:79. [PMID: 37682368 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00335-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Aqueous solutions of oppositely charged macromolecules exhibit the ubiquitous phenomenon of coacervation. This subject is of considerable current interest due to numerous biotechnological applications of coacervates and the general premise of biomolecular condensates. Towards a theoretical foundation of structural features of coacervates, we present a field-theoretic treatment of coacervates formed by uniformly charged flexible polycations and polyanions in an electrolyte solution. We delineate different regimes of polymer concentration fluctuations and structural features of coacervates based on the concentrations of polycation and polyanion, salt concentration, and experimentally observable length scales. We present closed-form formulas for correlation length of polymer concentration fluctuations, scattering structure factor, and radius of gyration of a labelled polyelectrolyte chain inside a concentrated coacervate. Using random phase approximation suitable for concentrated polymer systems, we show that the inter-monomer electrostatic interaction is screened by interpenetration of all charged polymer chains and that the screening length depends on the individual concentrations of the polycation and the polyanion, as well as the salt concentration. Our calculations show that the scattering intensity decreases monotonically with scattering wave vector at higher salt concentrations, while it exhibits a peak at intermediate scattering wave vector at lower salt concentrations. Furthermore, we predict that the dependence of the radius of gyration of a labelled chain on its degree of polymerization generally obeys the Gaussian chain statistics. However, the chain is modestly swollen, the extent of which depending on polyelectrolyte composition, salt concentration, and the electrostatic features of the polycation and polyanion such as the degree of ionization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murugappan Muthukumar
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
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8
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Kovacevic B, Jones M, Wagle SR, Ionescu CM, Foster T, Đanić M, Mikov M, Mooranian A, Al-Salami H. Influence of poly-L-ornithine-bile acid nano hydrogels on cellular bioactivity and potential pharmacological applications. Ther Deliv 2023. [PMID: 37667908 DOI: 10.4155/tde-2023-0034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: Cellular bioactivity and pathophysiological changes associated with chronic disorders are considered pivotal detrimental factors when developing novel formulations for biomedical applications. Methods: This paper investigates the use of bile acids and synthetic polypeptide poly-L-ornithine (PLO) in formulations and their impacts on a variety of cell lines, with a particular focus on their cellular bioactivity. Results: The hepatic cell line was the most negatively affected by the presence of PLO, while the muscle and beta-pancreatic cell lines did not show as profound of a negative impact of PLO on cellular viability. PLO was the least disruptive regarding mitochondrial function for muscle and beta cells. Conclusion: The addition of bile acids generally decreased mitochondrial respiration and altered bioenergetic parameters in all cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bozica Kovacevic
- The Biotechnology & Drug Development Research Laboratory, Curtin Medical School & Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Melissa Jones
- The Biotechnology & Drug Development Research Laboratory, Curtin Medical School & Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Susbin Raj Wagle
- The Biotechnology & Drug Development Research Laboratory, Curtin Medical School & Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Corina Mihaela Ionescu
- The Biotechnology & Drug Development Research Laboratory, Curtin Medical School & Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Thomas Foster
- The Biotechnology & Drug Development Research Laboratory, Curtin Medical School & Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Maja Đanić
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, 21101, Serbia
| | - Momir Mikov
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, 21101, Serbia
| | - Armin Mooranian
- The Biotechnology & Drug Development Research Laboratory, Curtin Medical School & Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
- School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, 9016, New Zealand
| | - Hani Al-Salami
- The Biotechnology & Drug Development Research Laboratory, Curtin Medical School & Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, 6000, Australia
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9
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Zhao Y, Kang J, Cui Y, Ji S, Nian R, Yu W, Sun Y. Mechanically tunable, antibacterial and bioactive mussel adhesive protein/hyaluronic acid coacervates as bioadhesives. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 247:125773. [PMID: 37437673 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
In this work a bioadhesive was developed based on coacervates composed of recombinant mussel adhesive protein (MAP) and dopamine grafted hyaluronic acid (HA). Dopamine profoundly affected rheological attributes of the coacervates, leading to reduced rigidity, enhanced chain flexibility, more sol-like and fluid character and higher tolerance against structural collapse. The coacervates were rendered flowability, injectability, and adaptability, benefiting convenient delivery and making good contact with the skin to provide firm sealing for wounds of various shape and depth. It is the first time reported that MAP/HA coacervates are inherently antibacterial with 100 % growth inhibition against Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. The antibacterial capability was disclosed to be positively related to catechol content. To further enhance the coacervates bioactivity, a small bioactive peptide thymosin was added and was revealed to promote fibroblasts migration. The coacervates hold great potential as practical bioadhesives both from the perspective of rheological properties and biological activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jia Kang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Yuting Cui
- CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Shengli Ji
- ReaLi Tide Biological Technology (Weihai) Co., Ltd, South Yangguang Road&East Longhai Road, Nanhai New District, Weihai 264402, China
| | - Rui Nian
- CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Wenfa Yu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China.
| | - Yue Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, No. 189 Songling Road, Qingdao 266101, China.
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10
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Kubota R, Hiroi T, Ikuta Y, Liu Y, Hamachi I. Visualizing Formation and Dynamics of a Three-Dimensional Sponge-like Network of a Coacervate in Real Time. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:18316-18328. [PMID: 37562059 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c03793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Coacervates, which are formed by liquid-liquid phase separation, have been extensively explored as models for synthetic cells and membraneless organelles, so their in-depth structural analysis is crucial. However, both the inner structure dynamics and formation mechanism of coacervates remain elusive. Herein, we demonstrate real-time confocal observation of a three-dimensional sponge-like network in a dipeptide-based coacervate. In situ generation of the dipeptide allowed us to capture the emergence of the sponge-like network via unprecedented membrane folding of vesicle-shaped intermediates. We also visualized dynamic fluctuation of the network, including reversible engagement/disengagement of cross-links and a stochastic network kissing event. Photoinduced transient formation of a multiphase coacervate was achieved with a thermally responsive phase transition. Our findings expand the fundamental understanding of synthetic coacervates and provide opportunities to manipulate their physicochemical properties by engineering the inner network for potential applications in development of artificial cells and life-like material fabrication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryou Kubota
- Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan
| | - Taro Hiroi
- Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan
| | - Yuriki Ikuta
- Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan
| | - Yuchong Liu
- Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan
| | - Itaru Hamachi
- Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan
- JST-ERATO, Hamachi Innovative Molecular Technology for Neuroscience, Kyoto University, Nishikyo-ku, Katsura 615-8530, Japan
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11
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Sinha NJ, Cunha KC, Murphy R, Hawker CJ, Shea JE, Helgeson ME. Competition between β-Sheet and Coacervate Domains Yields Diverse Morphologies in Mixtures of Oppositely Charged Homochiral Polypeptides. Biomacromolecules 2023; 24:3580-3588. [PMID: 37486022 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Biomolecular assembly processes involving competition between specific intermolecular interactions and thermodynamic phase instability have been implicated in a number of pathological states and technological applications of biomaterials. As a model for such processes, aqueous mixtures of oppositely charged homochiral polypeptides such as poly-l-lysine and poly-l-glutamic acid have been reported to form either β-sheet-rich solid-like precipitates or liquid-like coacervate droplets depending on competing hydrogen bonding interactions. Herein, we report studies of polypeptide mixtures that reveal unexpectedly diverse morphologies ranging from partially coalescing and aggregated droplets to bulk precipitates, as well as a previously unreported re-entrant liquid-liquid phase separation at high polypeptide concentration and ionic strength. Combining our experimental results with all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of folded polypeptide complexes reveals a concentration dependence of β-sheet-rich secondary structure, whose relative composition correlates with the observed macroscale morphologies of the mixtures. These results elucidate a crucial balance of interactions that are important for controlling morphology during coacervation in these and potentially similar biologically relevant systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nairiti J Sinha
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Materials Department and Materials Research Laboratory, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Keila Cristina Cunha
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Robert Murphy
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Craig J Hawker
- Materials Department and Materials Research Laboratory, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Matthew E Helgeson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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12
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Es Sayed J, Caïto C, Arunachalam A, Amirsadeghi A, van Westerveld L, Maret D, Mohamed Yunus RA, Calicchia E, Dittberner O, Portale G, Parisi D, Kamperman M. Effect of Dynamically Arrested Domains on the Phase Behavior, Linear Viscoelasticity and Microstructure of Hyaluronic Acid - Chitosan Complex Coacervates. Macromolecules 2023; 56:5891-5904. [PMID: 37576476 PMCID: PMC10413963 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.3c00269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Complex coacervates make up a class of versatile materials formed as a result of the electrostatic associations between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. It is well-known that the viscoelastic properties of these materials can be easily altered with the ionic strength of the medium, resulting in a range of materials from free-flowing liquids to gel-like solids. However, in addition to electrostatics, several other noncovalent interactions could influence the formation of the coacervate phase depending on the chemical nature of the polymers involved. Here, the importance of intermolecular hydrogen bonds on the phase behavior, microstructure, and viscoelasticity of hyaluronic acid (HA)-chitosan (CHI) complex coacervates is revealed. The density of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between CHI units increases with increasing pH of coacervation, which results in dynamically arrested regions within the complex coacervate, leading to elastic gel-like behavior. This pH-dependent behavior may be very relevant for the controlled solidification of complex coacervates and thus for polyelectrolyte material design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Es Sayed
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Clément Caïto
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Abinaya Arunachalam
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Armin Amirsadeghi
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Larissa van Westerveld
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Denise Maret
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Akdar Mohamed Yunus
- Engineering
and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Eleonora Calicchia
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- Department
of Nanomedicine & Drug Targeting, Groningen Research Institute
of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Olivia Dittberner
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Giuseppe Portale
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Daniele Parisi
- Engineering
and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marleen Kamperman
- Zernike
Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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13
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Hamley IW, Castelletto V. Small-angle scattering techniques for peptide and peptide hybrid nanostructures and peptide-based biomaterials. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 318:102959. [PMID: 37473606 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2023.102959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
The use of small-angle scattering (SAS) in the study of the self-assembly of peptides and peptide conjugates (lipopeptides, polymer-peptide conjugates and others) is reviewed, highlighting selected research that illustrates different methods and analysis techniques. Both small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) are considered along with examples that exploit their unique capabilities. For SAXS, this includes the ability to perform rapid measurements enabling high throughput or fast kinetic studies and measurements under dilute conditions. For SANS, contrast variation using H2O/D2O mixtures enables the study of peptides interacting with lipids and TR-SANS (time-resolved SANS) studies of exchange kinetics and/or peptide-induced structural changes. Examples are provided of studies measuring form factors of different self-assembled structures (micelles, fibrils, nanotapes, nanotubes etc) as well as structure factors from ordered phases (lyotropic mesophases), peptide gels and hybrid materials such as membranes formed by mixing peptides with polysaccharides or peptide/liposome mixtures. SAXS/WAXS (WAXS: wide-angle x-ray scattering) on peptides and peptide hybrids is also discussed, and the review concludes with a perspective on potential future directions for research in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian W Hamley
- Department of Chemistry, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, UK.
| | - Valeria Castelletto
- Department of Chemistry, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, UK
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14
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Stevens K, Marras AE, Campagna TR, Ting JM, Tirrell MV. Effect of Charged Block Length Mismatch on Double Diblock Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelle Cores. Macromolecules 2023; 56:5557-5566. [PMID: 37521249 PMCID: PMC10373519 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.3c00555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Polyelectrolyte complex micelles are hydrophilic nanoparticles that self-assemble in aqueous environments due to associative microphase separation between oppositely charged blocky polyelectrolytes. In this work, we employ a suite of physical characterization tools to examine the effect of charged block length mismatch on the equilibrium structure of double diblock polyelectrolyte complex micelles (D-PCMs) by mixing a diverse library of peptide and synthetic charged-neutral block polyelectrolytes with a wide range of charged block lengths (25-200 units) and chemistries. Early work on D-PCMs suggested that this class of micelles can only be formed from blocky polyelectrolytes with identical charged block lengths, a phenomenon referred to as chain length recognition. Here, we use salt annealing to create PCMs at equilibrium, which shows that chain length recognition, a longstanding hurdle to repeatable self-assembly from mismatched polyelectrolytes, can be overcome. Interestingly, D-PCM structure-property relationships display a range of values that vary systematically with the charged block lengths and chemical identity of constituent polyelectrolyte pairings and cannot be described by generalizable scaling laws. We discuss the interdependent growth behavior of the radius, ionic pair aggregation number, and density in the micelle core for three chemically distinct diblock pairings and suggest a potential physical mechanism that leads to this unique behavior. By comparing the results of these D-PCMs to the scaling laws recently developed for single diblock polyelectrolyte complex micelles (S-PCMs: diblock + homopolymer), we observe that D-PCM design schemes reduce the size and aggregation number and restrict their growth to a function of charged block length relative to S-PCMs. Understanding these favorable attributes enables more predictive use of a wider array of charged molecular building blocks to anticipate and control macroscopic properties of micelles spanning countless storage and delivery applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaden
C. Stevens
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, The University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Alexander E. Marras
- Walker
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Texas
Materials Institute, The University of Texas
at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Trinity R. Campagna
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, The University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | | | - Matthew V. Tirrell
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, The University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
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15
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Aliakseyeu A, Shah PP, Ankner JF, Sukhishvili SA. Salt-Induced Diffusion of Star and Linear Polyelectrolytes within Multilayer Films. Macromolecules 2023; 56:5434-5445. [PMID: 38357536 PMCID: PMC10863069 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.3c00777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
This study explores the effect of salt on the diffusivity of polyelectrolytes of varied molecular architecture in layer-by-layer (LbL) films in directions parallel and perpendicular to the substrate using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and neutron reflectivity (NR) techniques, respectively. A family of linear, 4-arm, 6-arm, and 8-arm poly(methacrylic acids) (LPMAA, 4PMAA, 6PMAA, and 8PMAA, respectively) of matched molecular weights were synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization and assembled with a linear polycation, poly[2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl methacrylate chloride] (QPC). NR studies involving deuterated QPC revealed ∼10-fold higher polycation mobility for the 8PMAA/QPC system compared to all-linear LbL films upon exposure to 0.25 M NaCl solutions at pH 6. FRAP experiments showed, however, that lateral diffusion of star PMAAs was lower than LPMAA at NaCl concentrations below ∼0.22 M NaCl, with a crossover to higher mobility of star polymers in more concentrated salt solutions. The stronger response of diffusion of star PMAA to salt is discussed in the context of several theories previously suggested for diffusivity of polyelectrolyte chains in multilayer films and coacervates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliaksei Aliakseyeu
- Department
of Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Parin Purvin Shah
- Department
of Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - John F. Ankner
- Spallation
Neutron Source Second Target Station Project, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Svetlana A. Sukhishvili
- Department
of Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
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16
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Herrera SE, Agazzi ML, Apuzzo E, Cortez ML, Marmisollé WA, Tagliazucchi M, Azzaroni O. Polyelectrolyte-multivalent molecule complexes: physicochemical properties and applications. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:2013-2041. [PMID: 36811333 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01507b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The complexation of polyelectrolytes with other oppositely charged structures gives rise to a great variety of functional materials with potential applications in a wide spectrum of technological fields. Depending on the assembly conditions, polyelectrolyte complexes can acquire different macroscopic configurations such as dense precipitates, nanosized colloids and liquid coacervates. In the past 50 years, much progress has been achieved to understand the principles behind the phase separation induced by the interaction of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes in aqueous solutions, especially for symmetric systems (systems in which both polyions have similar molecular weight and concentration). However, in recent years, the complexation of polyelectrolytes with alternative building blocks such as small charged molecules (multivalent inorganic species, oligopeptides, and oligoamines, among others) has gained attention in different areas. In this review, we discuss the physicochemical characteristics of the complexes formed by polyelectrolytes and multivalent small molecules, putting a special emphasis on their similarities with the well-known polycation-polyanion complexes. In addition, we analyze the potential of these complexes to act as versatile functional platforms in various technological fields, such as biomedicine and advanced materials engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago E Herrera
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, INQUIMAE, CONICET. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina.
| | - Maximiliano L Agazzi
- Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud (IDAS), (UNRC, CONICET), Ruta Nacional 36 KM 601, 5800 Río Cuarto, Argentina.
| | - Eugenia Apuzzo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), Sucursal 4, Casilla de Correo 16, 1900 La Plata, Argentina.
| | - M Lorena Cortez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), Sucursal 4, Casilla de Correo 16, 1900 La Plata, Argentina.
| | - Waldemar A Marmisollé
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), Sucursal 4, Casilla de Correo 16, 1900 La Plata, Argentina.
| | - Mario Tagliazucchi
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, INQUIMAE, CONICET. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina.
| | - Omar Azzaroni
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), Sucursal 4, Casilla de Correo 16, 1900 La Plata, Argentina.
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17
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Digby ZA, Chen Y, Akkaoui K, Schlenoff JB. Bulk Biopolyelectrolyte Complexes from Homopolypeptides: Solid "Salt Bridges". Biomacromolecules 2023; 24:1453-1462. [PMID: 36753621 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c01456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
Salt bridges, pairings between oppositely charged amino acids, are dispersed throughout proteins to assist folding and interactions. Biopolyelectrolyte complexes (BioPECs) were made between the homopolypeptides poly-l-arginine (PLR) and poly-l-lysine (PLK) with sodium triphosphate (STPP), as well as from polypeptide-only combinations. Viscoelastic measurements on these high salt bridge density materials showed many were solid, even glassy, in nature. Although the polypeptide-phosphate complexes had similar moduli at room temperature, the PLR-STPP complex displayed an unusual melting event above 70 °C not seen in PLK-STPP. This event was supported with differential scanning calorimetry. Infrared spectroscopy showed the PLK-STPP system contained β-sheets, while PLR-STPP did not. Stoichiometric, macroscopic BioPECs of PLR and PLK with poly-l-aspartic acid (PLD) and poly-l-glutamic acid (PLE) were made. PLR-PLD was found to undergo a melting event similar to that in PLR-STPP. ATR-FTIR studies showed that BioPECs made with PLD do not contain β-sheets, while those composed of PLE do. This work illustrates an expanded palette of unique properties from these biomaterials, such as strong viscoelastic differences between PECs containing PLE and PLD, even though they differ by only one carbon on the side chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary A Digby
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
| | - Yuhui Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
| | - Khalil Akkaoui
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
| | - Joseph B Schlenoff
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
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18
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Xue B, Lai Y, Liu Y, Li M, Li X, Yin P. The Counterion-Mediated Controllable Coacervation of Nano-Ions with Polyelectrolytes. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 641:853-860. [PMID: 36966574 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2023]
Abstract
Nano-ions can complex with polyelectrolytes for coacervates with hierarchical structures; however, the rational design of functional coacervations is still rare due to the poor understanding of their structure-property relationship from their complex interaction. Herein, 1 nm anionic metal oxide clusters, PW12O403-, with well-defined, mono-disperse structures are applied to complex with cationic polyelectrolyte and the system shows tunable coacervation via the alternation of counterions (H+ and Na+) of PW12O403-. Suggested from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and isothermal titration studies, the interaction between PW12O403- and cationic polyelectrolytes can be modulated by the bridging effect of counterions via hydrogen bonding or ion-dipole interaction to carbonyl groups of polyelectrolytes. The condensed structures of the complexed coacervates are explored by small angle X-ray and neutron scattering techniques, respectively. The coacervate with H+ as counterions shows both crystallized and discrete PW12O403- clusters, with a loose polymer-cluster network in comparison to the system of Na+ which shows a dense packing structure with aggregated nano-ions filling the meshes of polyelectrolyte networks. The bridging effect of counterions helps understand the super-chaotropic effect observed in nano-ion system and provides avenues for the design of metal oxide cluster-based functional coacervates.
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19
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Avazverdi E, Mirzadeh H, Ehsani M, Bagheri-Khoulenjani S. Polysaccharide-based polyampholyte complex formation: Investigating the role of intra-chain interactions. Carbohydr Polym 2023; 313:120836. [PMID: 37182945 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
The difference in inter-chain and intra-chain electrostatic attraction was investigated in polyelectrolyte and polyampholyte electrostatic complex formation. Three polymers with similar backbone molecular structures including chitosan (Ch) polycation, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMCe) polyanion, and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCh) polyampholyte were used for this purpose. The turbidimetric, water content, and rheological measurements for polyampholyte self-complex showed more dependence on the ionic strength rather than the polyelectrolyte one. The degree of dissociation (α), dissociation constant (pKa), and intrinsic persistence length were calculated by applying the Katchalsky-Lifson model to potentiometric data. We studied the gyration radii as a function of Debye length and observed the polyampholyte chain contractions due to the intra-chain electrostatic attractions, which minimize the entropic gain of the inter-chain complex formation. This is in accordance with the decrease in pKa by αc for CMCh which is the opposite of that for the Ch and CMCe samples. We also found that the polyampholyte has less intrinsic and electrostatic persistence length compared with both polyanion and polycation with similar chain structures indicating the impact of the inter-chain electrostatic interaction on the complex properties. This study deepens our insight about the behavior of CMCh and the nature of difference between CMCh and Ch/CMCe electrostatic complexes.
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20
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Shi WH, Adhikari RS, Asthagiri DN, Marciel AB. Influence of Charge Block Length on Conformation and Solution Behavior of Polyampholytes. ACS Macro Lett 2023; 12:195-200. [PMID: 36695540 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the effect of charge block length on polyampholyte chain conformation and phase behavior using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and implicit-solvent molecular simulations. To this end, we use solid phase peptide synthesis to precision-tailor a series of polyampholytes consisting of l-glutamic acid (E) and l-lysine (K) monomers arranged in alternating blocks from 2 to 16 monomers. We observe that the polyampholytes tend to phase separate as block size increases. With addition of NaCl, phase separated polyampholytes exhibit a salting-in effect dependent on charge block length. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy reveals the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds that are disrupted upon the addition of NaCl, implicating both electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding in the phase behavior. SAXS spectra at no-added salt conditions show minimal dependence of charge block length on the radius of gyration (Rg) for soluble polyampholytes, but local chain stiffening is found to be dependent on charge block length. With increasing NaCl, consistent with electrostatic screening, all polyampholytes expand and behave as neutral or swollen chains in good solvent conditions. Molecular simulations are qualitatively consistent with experiments. Implications for understanding intracellular condensates and material design are noted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Winnie H Shi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas77005, United States
| | - Rohan S Adhikari
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas77005, United States
| | | | - Amanda B Marciel
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas77005, United States
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21
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Mitra S, Kundagrami A. Polyelectrolyte complexation of two oppositely charged symmetric polymers: A minimal theory. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:014904. [PMID: 36610965 DOI: 10.1063/5.0128904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Interplay of Coulomb interaction energy, free ion entropy, and conformational elasticity is a fascinating aspect in polyelectrolytes (PEs). We develop a theory for complexation of two oppositely charged PEs, a process known to be the precursor to the formation of complex coacervates in PE solutions, to explore the underlying thermodynamics of complex formation, at low salts. The theory considers general degrees of solvent polarity and dielectricity within an implicit solvent model, incorporating a varying Coulomb strength. Explicit calculation of the free energy of complexation and its components indicates that the entropy of free counterions and salt ions and the Coulomb enthalpy of bound ion-pairs dictate the equilibrium of PE complexation. This helps decouple the self-consistent dependency of charge and size of the uncomplexed parts of the polyions, derive an analytical expression for charge, and evaluate the free energy components as functions of chain overlap. Complexation is observed to be driven by enthalpy gain at low Coulomb strengths, driven by entropy gain of released counterions but opposed by enthalpy loss due to reduction of ion-pairs at moderate Coulomb strengths, and progressively less favorable due to enthalpy loss at even higher Coulomb strengths. The total free energy of the system is found to decrease linearly with an overlap of chains. Thermodynamic predictions from our model are in good quantitative agreement with simulations in literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumik Mitra
- Department of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
| | - Arindam Kundagrami
- Department of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
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22
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Pitch GM, Matsushima LN, Kraemer Y, Dailing EA, Ayzner AL. Energy Transfer in Aqueous Light Harvesting Antennae Based on Brush-like Inter-Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Complexes. Macromolecules 2022; 55:10302-10311. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M. Pitch
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California95064, United States
| | - Levi N. Matsushima
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California95064, United States
| | - Yannick Kraemer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California95064, United States
| | - Eric A. Dailing
- The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California94720, United States
| | - Alexander L. Ayzner
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California95064, United States
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23
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Castelletto V, de Mello L, Arfara F, Iatrou H, Seitsonen J, Hamley IW. Influence of polymer molar mass and mixture stoichiometry on polyelectrolyte complexes of poly(l-arginine) and Poly(l-glutamic acid). POLYMER 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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24
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Kim S, Lee WB, de Souza NR, Choi SH. QENS study on local segmental dynamics of polyelectrolytes in complex coacervates. POLYMER 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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25
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Yu B, Liang H, Rumyantsev AM, de Pablo JJ. Isotropic-to-Nematic Transition in Salt-Free Polyelectrolyte Coacervates from Coarse-Grained Simulations. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Boyuan Yu
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois60637, United States
| | - Heyi Liang
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois60637, United States
| | - Artem M. Rumyantsev
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois60637, United States
| | - Juan J. de Pablo
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois60637, United States
- Center for Molecular Engineering, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois60439, United States
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26
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Agrawal A, Douglas JF, Tirrell M, Karim A. Manipulation of coacervate droplets with an electric field. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2203483119. [PMID: 35925890 PMCID: PMC9372540 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2203483119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many biopolymers are highly charged, and as in the case of many polymer mixtures, they tend to phase separate as a natural consequence of chain connectivity and an associated relatively low entropy of polymer mixing. Recently, it has become appreciated that the phase-separated structures formed by such polyelectrolyte blends, called "complex coacervates," underlie numerous biological structures and processes essential to living systems, and there has been intense interest in understanding the unique physical features of this type of phase-separation process. In the present work, we are particularly concerned with the field responsiveness of stabilized coacervate droplets formed after the phase separation of polyelectrolyte blend solution and then exposed to deionized water, making the droplet interfacial layer acquire a viscoelastic character that strongly stabilizes it against coalescence. We show that we can precisely control the positions of individual droplets and arrays of them with relatively low-voltage electric fields (on the order of 10 V/cm) and that the imposition of an oscillatory field gives rise to chain formation with coarsening of these chains into long fibers. Such a phase-separation-like process is generally observed in electrorheological fluids of solid colloidal particles subjected to much larger field strengths. The key to these coacervates' electrorheological properties is the altered interfacial viscoelastic properties when the droplets are introduced into deionized water and the associated high polarizability of the droplets, similar to the properties of many living cells. Since many different molecular payloads can be incorporated into these stable droplets, we anticipate many applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aman Agrawal
- William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
| | - Matthew Tirrell
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
| | - Alamgir Karim
- William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204
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Kumari S, Dwivedi S, Podgornik R. On the nature of screening in Voorn–Overbeek type theories. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:244901. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0091721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
By using a recently formulated Legendre transform approach to the thermodynamics of charged systems, we explore the general form of the screening length in the Voorn–Overbeek-type theories, which remains valid also in the cases where the entropy of the charged component(s) is not given by the ideal gas form as in the Debye–Hückel theory. The screening length consistent with the non-electrostatic terms in the free energy ansatz for the Flory–Huggins and Voorn–Overbeek type theories, derived from the local curvature properties of the Legendre transform, has distinctly different behavior than the often invoked standard Debye screening length, though it reduces to it in some special cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunita Kumari
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shikha Dwivedi
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Rudolf Podgornik
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- Wenzhou Institute of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, China
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28
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Slim AH, Shi WH, Safi Samghabadi F, Faraone A, Marciel AB, Poling-Skutvik R, Conrad JC. Electrostatic Repulsion Slows Relaxations of Polyelectrolytes in Semidilute Solutions. ACS Macro Lett 2022; 11:854-860. [PMID: 35758769 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We investigate the structure and dynamics of unentangled semidilute solutions of sodium polystyrenesulfonate (NaPSS) using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and neutron spin-echo (NSE) spectroscopy. The effects of electrostatic interactions and chain structure are examined as a function of ionic strength and polymer concentration, respectively. The SANS profiles exhibit a characteristic structural peak, signature of polyelectrolyte solutions, that can be fit with a combination of a semiflexible chain with excluded volume interactions form factor and a polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) structure factor. We confirm that electrostatic interactions vary with ionic strength across solutions with similar geometries. The segmental relaxations from NSE deviate from theoretical predictions from Zimm and exhibit two scaling behaviors, with the crossover between the two regimes taking place around the characteristic structural peak. The chain dynamics are suppressed across the length scale of the correlation blob, and inversely related to the structure factor. These observations suggest that the highly correlated nature of polyelectrolytes presents an additional energy barrier that leads to de Gennes narrowing behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali H Slim
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Winnie H Shi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Farshad Safi Samghabadi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Antonio Faraone
- National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Amanda B Marciel
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Ryan Poling-Skutvik
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, United States
| | - Jacinta C Conrad
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
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29
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A Study of the Buffer Capacity of Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules Depending on Their Ionic Environment and Incubation Temperature. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23126608. [PMID: 35743051 PMCID: PMC9223497 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PMCs) are used in the development of new forms of drugs, coatings and diagnostic systems. Their buffer capacity, depending on the conditions of the medium, has not been practically studied, although it can affect the structure of both the capsule itself and the encapsulated agents. In this connection, we studied the buffer capacity of polyelectrolyte microcapsules of the composition (polystyrene sulfonate/polyallylamine)3 ((PSS/PAH)3) depending on the concentration and the type of salt in solution, as well as the microcapsule incubation temperature. It was found that the buffer capacity of microcapsules in the presence of mono- and di-valent salts of the same ionic strength did not differ practically. Increasing the NaCl concentration to 1 M led to an increase of buffer capacity of PMCs at pH ≥ 5, and an increase in NaCl concentration above 1 M did not change buffer capacity. The study of the buffer capacity of pre-heated PMCs showed that buffer capacity decreased with increasing incubation temperature, which was possibly due to the compaction of the PMCs and an increase in the number of compensated PAH sites. The addition of 1 M sodium chloride to heated PMCs presumably reversed the process described above, since an increase in the ionic strength of the solution led to an increase of the buffer capacity of the PMCs. The effects described above confirm the hypothesis put forward that the buffer properties of microcapsules are determined by uncompensated PAH regions in their composition.
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30
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Rheological characterization of β-lactoglobulin/lactoferrin complex coacervates. Lebensm Wiss Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2022.113577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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31
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Matsumoto A, Shen AQ. Rheological scaling of ionic-liquid-based polyelectrolytes in ionic liquid solutions: the effect of the ion diameter of ionic liquids. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:4197-4204. [PMID: 35607974 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00484d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the effect of the ion diameter a of ionic liquids (ILs) on the shear viscosity of polymerized ionic liquids (PILs) in IL solutions. When both the PIL and IL contain large PFSI anions (a ≈ 0.57 nm), the specific viscosity ηsp first decreases with increasing IL concentration cIL in the low cIL regime, reaches a minimum and then increases with increasing cIL in the high cIL regime. By comparing the measured ηsp with the modified charge screening model proposed in our previous study [Matsumoto et al., Macromolecules, 2021, 54, 5648-5661], we attribute the observed non-monotonic trend of ηsp against cIL to the charge underscreening phenomenon, i.e., an increase of the screening length at high cIL leads to the upturn of ηsp. On the other hand, when the PIL and IL contain small BF4 anions (a ≈ 0.34 nm), the ηsp decreases asymptotically with increasing cIL, because the charge on the PIL chain is likely screened fully in the entire cIL regime. Our results demonstrate that the ion diameter of ILs plays an important role in governing the charge screening mechanism of PILs in IL solutions, and thus influencing the viscoelastic properties of PIL solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Matsumoto
- Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan.
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui, 3-9-1 Bunkyo, Fukui City, Fukui 910-8507, Japan.
| | - Amy Q Shen
- Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan.
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32
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Efremov VV, Karpushkin EA, Litmanovich EA. The Effect of Microbarite Additive on Rheological Properties of Semidilute Aqueous-Saline Solutions of Polyanionic Cellulose. POLYMER SCIENCE SERIES A 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s0965545x22030105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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33
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Yang M, Digby ZA, Chen Y, Schlenoff JB. Valence-induced jumps in coacervate properties. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm4783. [PMID: 35584213 PMCID: PMC9116606 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm4783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Spontaneous phase separation, or coacervation, of oppositely charged macromolecules is a powerful and ubiquitous mechanism for the assembly of natural and synthetic materials. Two critical triggering phenomena in coacervation science and technology are highlighted here. The first is the transition from one (mixed) to two (separated) phases of polyelectrolytes coacervated with small molecules upon the addition of one or two charges per molecule. The second is a large jump in coacervate modulus and viscosity mediated by the addition of just one additional charge to a three-charged system. This previously unknown viscoelastic transition is relevant to those aspects of disease states that are characterized by abnormal mechanical properties and irreversible assembly.
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34
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Zhang P, Wang ZG. Supernatant Phase in Polyelectrolyte Complex Coacervation: Cluster Formation, Binodal, and Nucleation. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-Dimension Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Zhen-Gang Wang
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States
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35
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Liang H, de Pablo JJ. A Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Study of Strongly Charged Polyelectrolyte Coacervates: Interfacial, Structural, and Dynamical Properties. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Heyi Liang
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Juan J. de Pablo
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
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36
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Luo Y, Gu M, Edwards CER, Valentine MT, Helgeson ME. High-throughput microscopy to determine morphology, microrheology, and phase boundaries applied to phase separating coacervates. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:3063-3075. [PMID: 35363236 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01763b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Evolution of composition, rheology, and morphology during phase separation in complex fluids is highly coupled to rheological and mass transport processes within the emerging phases, and understanding this coupling is critical for materials design of multiphase complex fluids. Characterizing these dependencies typically requires careful measurement of a large number of equilibrium and transport properties that are difficult to measure in situ as phase separation proceeds. Here, we propose and demonstrate a high-throughput microscopy platform to achieve simultaneous, in situ mapping of time-evolving morphology and microrheology in phase separating complex fluids over a large compositional space. The method was applied to a canonical example of polyelectrolyte complex coacervation, whereby mixing of oppositely charged species leads to liquid-liquid phase separation into distinct solute-dense and dilute phases. Morphology and rheology were measured simultaneously and kinetically after mixing to track the progression of phase separation. Once equilibrated, the dense phase viscosity was determined to high compositional accuracy using passive probe microrheology, and the results were used to derive empirical relationships between the composition and viscosity. These relationships were inverted to reconstruct the dense phase boundary itself, and further extended to other mixture compositions. The resulting predictions were validated by independent equilibrium compositional measurements. This platform paves the way for rapid screening and formulation of complex fluids and (bio)macromolecular materials, and serves as a critical link between formulation and rheology for multi-phase material discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimin Luo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106, USA.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
| | - Mengyang Gu
- Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
| | - Chelsea E R Edwards
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106, USA.
| | - Megan T Valentine
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
| | - Matthew E Helgeson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106, USA.
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37
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Lebold KM, Best RB. Tuning Formation of Protein-DNA Coacervates by Sequence and Environment. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:2407-2419. [PMID: 35317553 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c00424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The high concentration of nucleic acids and positively charged proteins in the cell nucleus provides many possibilities for complex coacervation. We consider a prototypical mixture of nucleic acids together with the polycationic C-terminus of histone H1 (CH1). Using a minimal coarse-grained model that captures the shape, flexibility, and charge distributions of the molecules, we find that coacervates are readily formed at physiological ionic strengths, in agreement with experiment, with a progressive increase in local ordering at low ionic strength. Variation of the positions of charged residues in the protein tunes phase separation: for well-mixed or only moderately blocky distributions of charge, there is a modest increase of local ordering with increasing blockiness that is also associated with an increased propensity to phase separate. This ordering is also associated with a slowdown of rotational and translational diffusion in the dense phase. However, for more extreme blockiness (and consequently higher local charge density), we see a qualitative change in the condensed phase to become a segregated structure with a dramatically increased ordering of the DNA. Naturally occurring proteins with these sequence properties, such as protamines in sperm cells, are found to be associated with very dense packing of nucleic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M Lebold
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Robert B Best
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
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38
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Bos I, Brink E, Michels L, Sprakel J. DNA dynamics in complex coacervate droplets and micelles. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:2012-2027. [PMID: 35191449 PMCID: PMC8905490 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01787j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Single stranded DNA (ssDNA), or another polyanion, can be mixed with polycations to form liquid-like complex coacervates. When the polycations are replaced by cationic-neutral diblock copolymers, complex coacervate core micelles (C3Ms) can be formed instead. In both complex coacervates and C3Ms, dynamics plays an important role. Yet, to date, the effect of chain length on the dynamics effect is still not fully understood. The DNA complexes provide a versatile platform to further elucidate these chain length effects because the DNA is monodisperse and its length can be easily adapted. Therefore, we study in this paper the dynamics of fluorescently labelled ssDNA in both complex coacervate droplets and micelles. The DNA dynamics in the complex coacervate droplets is probed by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). We observe that the DNA diffusion coefficient depends more strongly on the DNA length than predicted by the sticky Rouse model and we show that this can be partly explained by changes in complex coacervate density, but that also other factors might play a role. We measure the molecular exchange of C3Ms by making use of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and complement these measurements with Langevin dynamics simulations. We conclude that chain length polydispersity is the main cause of a broad distribution of exchange rates. We hypothesise that the different exchange rates that we observe for the monodisperse DNA are mainly caused by differences in dye interactions and show that the dye can indeed have a large effect on the C3M exchange. In addition, we show that a new description of the C3M molecular exchange is required that accounts among others for the effect of the length of the oppositely charged core species. Together our findings can help to better understand the dynamics in both specific DNA systems and in complex coacervate droplets and micelles in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inge Bos
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Eline Brink
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Lucile Michels
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Joris Sprakel
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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39
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Madinya JJ, Sing CE. Hybrid Field Theory and Particle Simulation Model of Polyelectrolyte–Surfactant Coacervation. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason J. Madinya
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 600 S. Matthews Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61820, United States
| | - Charles E. Sing
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 600 S. Matthews Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61820, United States
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40
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Xiao X, Ji J, Zhao W, Nangia S, Libera M. Salt Destabilization of Cationic Colistin Complexation within Polyanionic Microgels. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xixi Xiao
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, United States
| | - Jingjing Ji
- Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Wenhan Zhao
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, United States
| | - Shikha Nangia
- Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Matthew Libera
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, United States
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41
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Bobbili SV, Milner ST. Closed-Loop Phase Behavior of Nonstoichiometric Coacervates in Coarse-Grained Simulations. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sai Vineeth Bobbili
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Scott T. Milner
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
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42
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Gong Z, Zacharia NS, Vogt BD. Sodium dodecyl sulfate modulates the structure and rheological properties of Pluronic F108-poly(acrylic acid) coacervates). SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:340-350. [PMID: 34882160 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01273h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Micelles formed within coacervate phases can impart functional properties, but it is unclear if this micellization provides mechanical reinforcement of the coacervate whereby the micelles act as high functionality crosslinkers. Here, we examine how sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) influences the structure and properties of Pluronic F108-polyacrylic acid (PAA) coacervates as SDS is known to decrease the aggregation number of Pluronic micelles. Increasing the SDS concentration leads to larger water content in the coacervate and an increase in the relative concentration of PAA to the other solids. Rheological characterization with small angle oscillatory shear (SAOS) demonstrates that these coacervates are viscoelastic liquids with the moduli decreasing with the addition of the SDS. The loss factor (tan δ) initially increases linearly with the addition of SDS, but a step function increase in the loss factor occurs near the reported CMC of SDS. However, this change in rheological properties does not appear to be correlated with any large scale structural differences in the coacervate as determined by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) with no signature of Pluronic micelles in the coacervate when SDS concentration is >4 mM during formation of the coacervate, which is less than that observed (6 mM SDS) in initial Pluronic F108 solution despite the higher polymer concentration in the coacervate. These results suggest that the mechanical properties of polyelectrolyte-non-ionic surfactant coacervates are driven by the efficicacy of binding between the complexing species driving the coacervate, which can be disrupted by competitive binding of the SDS to the Pluronic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyuan Gong
- Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
| | - Nicole S Zacharia
- Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
| | - Bryan D Vogt
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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43
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Influence of divalent ions on composition and viscoelasticity of polyelectrolyte complexes. JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/pol.20210668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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44
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Litmanovich EA, Efremov VV, Efimova AA, Zezin SB. Rheological Properties and Sedimentation Stability of Polyanionic Cellulose-Microbarite Compositions in Aqueous Medium. POLYMER SCIENCE SERIES B 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s1560090421060166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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45
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Abbett RL, Chen Y, Schlenoff JB. Self-Exchange of Polyelectrolyte in Multilayers: Diffusion as a Function of Salt Concentration and Temperature. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c01464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L. Abbett
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States
| | - Yuhui Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States
| | - Joseph B. Schlenoff
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States
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46
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Lin K, Jing B, Zhu Y. pH-Dependent complexation and polyelectrolyte chain conformation of polyzwitterion-polycation coacervates in salted water. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:8937-8949. [PMID: 34549769 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00880c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The phase behavior and chain conformational structure of biphasic polyzwitterion-polyelectrolyte coacervates in salted aqueous solution are investigated with a model weak cationic polyelectrolyte, poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP), whose charge fraction can be effectively tuned by pH. It is observed that increasing the pH leads to the increase of the yielding volume fraction and the water content of dense coacervates formed between net neutral polybetaine and cationic P2VP in contrast to the decrease of critical salt concentration for the onset of coacervation, where the P2VP charge fraction is reduced correspondingly. Surprisingly, a single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopic study suggests that P2VP chains upon coacervation seem to adopt a swollen or an even more expanded conformational structure at higher pH. As the hydrophobicity of P2VP chains is accompanied by a reduced charge fraction by increasing the pH, a strong pH-dependent phase and conformational behaviors suggest the shift of entropic and enthalpic contribution to the underlying thermodynamic energy landscape and chain structural dynamics of polyelectrolyte coacervation involving weak polyelectrolytes in aqueous solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kehua Lin
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
| | - Benxin Jing
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
| | - Yingxi Zhu
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
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Heo TY, Kim S, Chen L, Sokolova A, Lee S, Choi SH. Molecular Exchange Kinetics in Complex Coacervate Core Micelles: Role of Associative Interaction. ACS Macro Lett 2021; 10:1138-1144. [PMID: 35549078 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Molecular exchange dynamics between spherical complex coacervate core micelles (C3Ms) are documented using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering measurements (TR-SANS), and the effects of salt concentration, type of charges, and core block polydispersity to the chain exchange are quantified. Isotopically labeled block copolyelectrolytes were prepared by postpolymerization modification of two nearly identical poly(ethylene oxide-b-allyl glycidyl ether), one with normal and the other with deuterated PEO blocks (i.e., hPEO-PAGE and dPEO-PAGE). The observed rates at multiple salt concentrations are consolidated using time-salt superposition shift factors representing chain exchange rates and analyzed. Our comprehensive analytical relaxation function based on the sticky-Rouse model and the thermodynamic barrier for core block extraction successfully describes the molecular exchange kinetics between the isotopically labeled C3Ms. We believe this work provides fundamental design criteria for C3Ms with engineered chain exchange dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae-Young Heo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, 04066, Republic of Korea
| | - Sojeong Kim
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Liwen Chen
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Anna Sokolova
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, New South Wales 2234, Australia
| | - Sangwoo Lee
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Soo-Hyung Choi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, 04066, Republic of Korea
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Lee M, Perry SL, Hayward RC. Complex Coacervation of Polymerized Ionic Liquids in Non-aqueous Solvents. ACS POLYMERS AU 2021; 1:100-106. [PMID: 36855425 PMCID: PMC9954202 DOI: 10.1021/acspolymersau.1c00017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Oppositely charged polymerized ionic liquids (PILs) were used to form complex coacervates in two different organic solvents, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) and hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP), and the corresponding phase diagrams were constructed using UV-vis, NMR, and turbidity experiments. While previous studies on complex coacervates have focused almost exclusively on aqueous environments, the use of PILs in the current work enabled studies in solvents with substantially lower dielectric constants (27.0 for TFE, 16.7 for HFIP). The critical salt concentration required to induce complete miscibility was roughly 2-fold larger in HFIP compared with TFE, and two different PIL complexes, solidlike precipitates and liquidlike coacervates, were found in both systems. This study provides insight into the effects of low-dielectric-constant solvents on complex coacervation, which has not been widely studied because of the limited solubility of conventional polyelectrolytes in these media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minjung Lee
- Department
of Polymer Science and Engineering, University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-9263, United States
| | - Sarah L. Perry
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, 686 North Pleasant
Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-9303, United States
| | - Ryan C. Hayward
- Department
of Polymer Science and Engineering, University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-9263, United States,Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 596
UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States,
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Boas M, Martin P, Vasilyev G, Lee JG, Vilensky R, Xu C, Greiner A, Zussman E. Electrostatically crosslinked cellulose nanocrystal and polyelectrolyte complex sponges with pH responsiveness. Carbohydr Polym 2021; 266:118131. [PMID: 34044947 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This work focuses on the development of a responsive sponge made of an anionic cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) skeleton that is electrostatically crosslinked by a pH-responsive poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) polyelectrolyte complex (PEC). The results prove the formation of a global percolated network comprised of disordered CNC rods crosslinked by PEC clusters. The bulk density of the freeze-dried CNC-PEC sponges increases from 35 to 93 mg/cm3 with PEC concentration, while the compression modulus of dry specimens increases from 7 up to 62 kPa. At the lowest PEC concentration of 1 wt%, at pH 2.0, the compression modulus decreases to 0.9 kPa, whereas at pH 5.5, it increases to 42 kPa. The intensive complexation between sponge constituents is also reflected in a reduced ability to bind charged dyes at neutral pH values. Decreasing the pH results in an increased adsorption efficiency for anionic dyes, while raising the pH improves the cationic dye adsorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mor Boas
- NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
| | - Patrick Martin
- NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
| | - Gleb Vasilyev
- NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
| | - Jong-Gun Lee
- NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
| | - Rita Vilensky
- NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
| | - Chengzhang Xu
- Bavarian Polymer Institute, Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany
| | - Andreas Greiner
- Bavarian Polymer Institute, Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany
| | - Eyal Zussman
- NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
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Dinic J, Marciel AB, Tirrell MV. Polyampholyte physics: Liquid–liquid phase separation and biological condensates. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2021.101457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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