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Jia Y, Wu S, Mu Y, Xu L, Ren C, Sun K, Yi J, Jia Y, Yan W, Wang G. Efficient Coarse-Grained Superplasticity of a Gigapascal Lightweight Refractory Medium Entropy Alloy. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2023; 10:e2207535. [PMID: 36802138 PMCID: PMC10131849 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202207535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Superplastic metals that exhibit exceptional ductility (>300%) are appealing for use in high-quality engineering components with complex shapes. However, the wide application of most superplastic alloys has been constrained due to their poor strength, the relatively long superplastic deformation period, and the complex and high-cost grain refinement processes. Here these issues are addressed by the coarse-grained superplasticity of high-strength lightweight medium entropy alloy (Ti43.3 V28 Zr14 Nb14 Mo0.7 , at.%) with a microstructure of ultrafine particles embedded in the body-centered-cubic matrix. The results demonstrate that the alloy reached a high coarse-grained superplasticity greater than ≈440% at a high strain rate of 10-2 s-1 at 1173 K and with a gigapascal residual strength. A consecutively triggered deformation mechanism that sequences of dislocation slip, dynamic recrystallization, and grain boundary sliding in such alloy differs from conventional grain-boundary sliding in fine-grained materials. The present results open a pathway for highly efficient superplastic forming, broaden superplastic materials to the high-strength field, and guide the development of new alloys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuefei Jia
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringNational University of SingaporeSingapore117575Singapore
| | - Shiwei Wu
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringNational University of SingaporeSingapore117575Singapore
| | - Yongkun Mu
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
| | - Long Xu
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringNational University of SingaporeSingapore117575Singapore
| | - Chang Ren
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
| | - Kang Sun
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
| | - Jun Yi
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
| | - Yandong Jia
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
| | - Wentao Yan
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringNational University of SingaporeSingapore117575Singapore
| | - Gang Wang
- Institute of MaterialsShanghai UniversityShanghai200444China
- Zhejiang Institute of Advanced MaterialsShanghai UniversityJiashan314100China
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Santos-Luna D, Sixto-López Y, Bravo-Alfaro D, Cano-Sarmiento C, García H, Correa-Basurto J. Design and simulation of a caprylic acid enzymatically modified phosphatidylcholine micelle using a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations approach. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:13902-13913. [PMID: 36826442 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2180434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
Computationally simulated micelle models provide useful structural information on the molecular and biological sciences. One strategy to study the self-aggregation process of surfactant molecules that make up a micelle is through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In this study, a theoretical approach with a coarse-grained MD simulation (CG-MD) was employed to evaluate the critical micellar concentration (CMC), the micellization process, building a tridimensional (3D) model system of a micelle using data from the experimentally enzymatically modified phospholipids (PL) by phospholipase A1 (PA1). This required enzymatic interesterification of soybean phosphatidylcholine (PC) with caprylic acid, along with purification and characterization by chromatographic techniques to measure the esterified fatty acids and the corresponding PL composition. The number of molecules used in the CG-MD simulation system was determined from the experimental CMC data which was 0.025%. The molecular composition of the system is: 1 C 18:2, 2 C 8:0/8:0, 3 C 8:0/18:3n-9, 4 C 8:0/18:0, 5 C8:0/18:2n-6, 6 C8:0/18:1n-9, and 7 C 8:0/16:0. According to our theoretical results, the micelle model is structurally stable with an average Rg of 3.64 ± 0.10 Å, and might have an elliptical form with a radius of 24.6 Å. Regarding CMC value there was a relationship between the experimental data of the modified PLs and the theoretical analysis by GC-MD, which suggest that the enzymatic modification of PLs does not affect their self-aggregation properties. Finally, the micellar system obtained in the current research can be used as a simple and useful model to design optimal biocompatible nanoemulsions as possible vehicles for bioactive small molecules.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalia Santos-Luna
- Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de Alimentos, Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT de Veracruz, Veracruz, México
| | - Yudibeth Sixto-López
- Departamento de Química Farmacéutica y Orgánica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Cartuja, Granada, Spain
- Laboratorio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Nuevos Fármacos e Innovación Biotecnológica (Laboratory for the Design and Development of New Drugs and Biotechnological Innovation) SEPI-ESM, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Diego Bravo-Alfaro
- Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de Alimentos, Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT de Veracruz, Veracruz, México
| | - Cynthia Cano-Sarmiento
- CONACyT-Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de Alimentos, Tecnologico Nacional de México/IT de Veracruz, Veracruz, México
| | - Hugo García
- Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de Alimentos, Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT de Veracruz, Veracruz, México
| | - José Correa-Basurto
- Laboratorio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Nuevos Fármacos e Innovación Biotecnológica (Laboratory for the Design and Development of New Drugs and Biotechnological Innovation) SEPI-ESM, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Stevens JA, Grünewald F, van Tilburg PAM, König M, Gilbert BR, Brier TA, Thornburg ZR, Luthey-Schulten Z, Marrink SJ. Molecular dynamics simulation of an entire cell. Front Chem 2023; 11:1106495. [PMID: 36742032 PMCID: PMC9889929 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1106495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The ultimate microscope, directed at a cell, would reveal the dynamics of all the cell's components with atomic resolution. In contrast to their real-world counterparts, computational microscopes are currently on the brink of meeting this challenge. In this perspective, we show how an integrative approach can be employed to model an entire cell, the minimal cell, JCVI-syn3A, at full complexity. This step opens the way to interrogate the cell's spatio-temporal evolution with molecular dynamics simulations, an approach that can be extended to other cell types in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan A. Stevens
- Molecular Dynamics Group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Fabian Grünewald
- Molecular Dynamics Group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - P. A. Marco van Tilburg
- Molecular Dynamics Group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Melanie König
- Molecular Dynamics Group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Benjamin R. Gilbert
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Troy A. Brier
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Zane R. Thornburg
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Zaida Luthey-Schulten
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Siewert J. Marrink
- Molecular Dynamics Group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands,*Correspondence: Siewert J. Marrink,
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Jackson V, Hermann J, Tynan CJ, Rolfe DJ, Corey RA, Duncan AL, Noriega M, Chu A, Kalli AC, Jones EY, Sansom MSP, Martin-Fernandez ML, Seiradake E, Chavent M. The guidance and adhesion protein FLRT2 dimerizes in cis via dual small-X 3-small transmembrane motifs. Structure 2022; 30:1354-1365.e5. [PMID: 35700726 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2022.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Fibronectin Leucine-rich Repeat Transmembrane (FLRT 1-3) proteins are a family of broadly expressed single-spanning transmembrane receptors that play key roles in development. Their extracellular domains mediate homotypic cell-cell adhesion and heterotypic protein interactions with other receptors to regulate cell adhesion and guidance. These in trans FLRT interactions determine the formation of signaling complexes of varying complexity and function. Whether FLRTs also interact at the surface of the same cell, in cis, remains unknown. Here, molecular dynamics simulations reveal two dimerization motifs in the FLRT2 transmembrane helix. Single particle tracking experiments show that these Small-X3-Small motifs synergize with a third dimerization motif encoded in the extracellular domain to permit the cis association and co-diffusion patterns of FLRT2 receptors on cells. These results may point to a competitive switching mechanism between in cis and in trans interactions, which suggests that homotypic FLRT interaction mirrors the functionalities of classic adhesion molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verity Jackson
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 5RJ, UK
| | - Julia Hermann
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 5RJ, UK
| | - Christopher J Tynan
- Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0FA, UK
| | - Daniel J Rolfe
- Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0FA, UK
| | - Robin A Corey
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 5RJ, UK
| | - Anna L Duncan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 5RJ, UK
| | - Maxime Noriega
- Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 205 route de Narbonne, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Amy Chu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 5RJ, UK
| | - Antreas C Kalli
- Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine, School of Medicine and Astbury Center for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9NL, UK
| | - E Yvonne Jones
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Mark S P Sansom
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 5RJ, UK
| | - Marisa L Martin-Fernandez
- Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0FA, UK.
| | - Elena Seiradake
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 5RJ, UK.
| | - Matthieu Chavent
- Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 205 route de Narbonne, 31400 Toulouse, France.
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Li Q, Li HT, Bai YP, Zhu KR, Huang PH. Effect of Thermal Treatment on the Physicochemical, Ultrastructural, and Antioxidant Characteristics of Euryale ferox Seeds and Flour. Foods 2022; 11. [PMID: 36010403 DOI: 10.3390/foods11162404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Euryale ferox seeds (EFS) were less gelatinized, preventing the release of nutrients and functional compounds, resulting in limited applications in meals and the food industry. Nutraceutical importance of EFS includes starch, protein, lipids, 20 amino acids, minerals, and vitamins (C, E, and beta carotene). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of three different thermal treatments on EFS’s physicochemical and nutritional properties and expected to improve its applicability. The results showed that the bulk density, thousand-grain weight, and hardness of thermal treated EFS were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), whereas the maximum decrease was observed in the industrial infrared heating-assisted fluidized bed (IHFH) treatment. Meanwhile, there were more crevices, fissures, and heightened porous structures in EFS between the pericarp and episperm and the endosperm after heat treatment, which facilitated grinding and water absorption. Notably, EFS’s water and oil absorption capacities increased significantly (p < 0.05) with microwave and IHFH treatments. EFS ground’s solubility into powder was increased significantly with thermal treatment (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the functional properties of TPC, TFC, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and reducing power were significantly increased (p < 0.05). In general, the changes in the physicochemical properties of EFS and increased bioactivity were caused by microwave and IHFH treatments. Hence, it might improve the food value of EFS while providing valuable information to researchers and food manufacturers.
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Abstract
G-quadruplexes have raised considerable interest during the past years for the development of therapies against cancer. These noncanonical structures of DNA may be found in telomeres and/or oncogene promoters, and it has been observed that the stabilization of such G-quadruplexes may disturb tumor cell growth. Nevertheless, the mechanisms leading to folding and stabilization of these G-quadruplexes are still not well established, and they are the focus of much current work in this field. In seminal works, stabilization was observed to be produced by cations. However, subsequent studies showed that different kinds of small molecules, from planar and nonplanar organic molecules to square-planar and octahedral metal complexes, may also lead to the stabilization of G-quadruplexes. Thus, the comprehension and rationalization of the interaction of these small molecules with G-quadruplexes are also important topics of current interest in medical applications. To shed light on the questions arising from the literature on the formation of G-quadruplexes, their stabilization, and their interaction with small molecules, synergies between experimental studies and computational works are needed. In this review, we mainly focus on in silico approaches and provide a broad compilation of different leading studies carried out to date by different computational methods. We divide these methods into twomain categories: (a) classical methods, which allow for long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations and the corresponding analysis of dynamical information, and (b) quantum methods (semiempirical, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics, and density functional theory methods), which allow for the explicit simulation of the electronic structure of the system but, in general, are not capable of being used in long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations and, therefore, give a more static picture of the relevant processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iker Ortiz de Luzuriaga
- CIC nanoGUNE BRTA, 20018 Donostia, Euskadi, Spain; .,Polimero eta Material Aurreratuak: Fisika, Kimika eta Teknologia, Kimika Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Uniberstitatea, UPV/EHU, 20080 Donostia, Euskadi, Spain
| | - Xabier Lopez
- Polimero eta Material Aurreratuak: Fisika, Kimika eta Teknologia, Kimika Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Uniberstitatea, UPV/EHU, 20080 Donostia, Euskadi, Spain.,Donostia International Physics Center, 20018 Donostia, Spain
| | - Adrià Gil
- CIC nanoGUNE BRTA, 20018 Donostia, Euskadi, Spain; .,BioISI-Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal;
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March D, Bianco V, Franzese G. Protein Unfolding and Aggregation near a Hydrophobic Interface. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:polym13010156. [PMID: 33401542 PMCID: PMC7795562 DOI: 10.3390/polym13010156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The behavior of proteins near interfaces is relevant for biological and medical purposes. Previous results in bulk show that, when the protein concentration increases, the proteins unfold and, at higher concentrations, aggregate. Here, we study how the presence of a hydrophobic surface affects this course of events. To this goal, we use a coarse-grained model of proteins and study by simulations their folding and aggregation near an ideal hydrophobic surface in an aqueous environment by changing parameters such as temperature and hydrophobic strength, related, e.g., to ions concentration. We show that the hydrophobic surface, as well as the other parameters, affect both the protein unfolding and aggregation. We discuss the interpretation of these results and define future lines for further analysis, with their possible implications in neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- David March
- Secció de Física Estadística i Interdisciplinària—Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Valentino Bianco
- Chemical Physics Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza de las Ciencias, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Correspondence: (V.B.); (G.F.)
| | - Giancarlo Franzese
- Secció de Física Estadística i Interdisciplinària—Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
- Correspondence: (V.B.); (G.F.)
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Liu X, Lai H, Mi B, Qi X, Gan W, Du H. Associations of Coarse Grain Intake with Undiagnosed Hypertension among Chinese Adults: Results from the China Kadoorie Biobank. Nutrients 2020; 12:nu12123814. [PMID: 33322167 PMCID: PMC7764616 DOI: 10.3390/nu12123814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Whole grain intake was associated with better blood pressure control, but evidence is lacking in non-Western populations with different grain intake patterns. We aimed to determine the associations between coarse grain intake, usually considered as the best proxy of whole grain intake for Chinese diets, with blood pressure and undiagnosed hypertension using baseline data from the China Kadoorie Biobank study. After excluding participants with clinically diagnosed hypertension or use of antihypertensive dugs, 435,907 participants were included in our analysis. A self-reported questionnaire was used to measure coarse grain intake frequency. Overall, 12.8% and 29.2% of the participants reported daily consumption and never consumption, respectively. With multivariable adjustments including BMI, outdoor temperature, and physical activity, higher frequency of coarse grain intake was associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in those older than 40 years, p trend < 0.05. Compared to never consumers, the odds ratio (95% CI) of hypertension was 0.78 (0.73–0.84), 0.84 (0.77–0.91), 0.91 (0.88–0.94), and 0.97 (0.95–0.99) for daily, 4–6 days/week, 1–3 days/week, and monthly groups, P trend < 0.001. Our cross-sectional study in a nationwide sample of Chinese adults suggests that higher coarse grain intake was associated with lower blood pressure and lower hypertension risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 West Yanta Road, Xi’an 710061, China; (H.L.); (B.M.); (X.Q.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-29-82655108
| | - Hao Lai
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 West Yanta Road, Xi’an 710061, China; (H.L.); (B.M.); (X.Q.)
| | - Baibing Mi
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 West Yanta Road, Xi’an 710061, China; (H.L.); (B.M.); (X.Q.)
| | - Xin Qi
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 West Yanta Road, Xi’an 710061, China; (H.L.); (B.M.); (X.Q.)
| | - Wei Gan
- Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK; (W.G.); (H.D.)
- Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
| | - Huaidong Du
- Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK; (W.G.); (H.D.)
- Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
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Casalini T, Limongelli V, Schmutz M, Som C, Jordan O, Wick P, Borchard G, Perale G. Molecular Modeling for Nanomaterial-Biology Interactions: Opportunities, Challenges, and Perspectives. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2019; 7:268. [PMID: 31681746 PMCID: PMC6811494 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Injection of nanoparticles (NP) into the bloodstream leads to the formation of a so-called "nano-bio" interface where dynamic interactions between nanoparticle surfaces and blood components take place. A common consequence is the formation of the protein corona, that is, a network of adsorbed proteins that can strongly alter the surface properties of the nanoparticle. The protein corona and the resulting structural changes experienced by adsorbed proteins can lead to substantial deviations from the expected cellular uptake as well as biological responses such as NP aggregation and NP-induced protein fibrillation, NP interference with enzymatic activity, or the exposure of new antigenic epitopes. Achieving a detailed understanding of the nano-bio interface is still challenging due to the synergistic effects of several influencing factors like pH, ionic strength, and hydrophobic effects, to name just a few. Because of the multiscale complexity of the system, modeling approaches at a molecular level represent the ideal choice for a detailed understanding of the driving forces and, in particular, the early events at the nano-bio interface. This review aims at exploring and discussing the opportunities and perspectives offered by molecular modeling in this field through selected examples from literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Casalini
- Polymer Engineering Laboratory, Department of Innovative Technologies, Institute for Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Manno, Switzerland
| | - Vittorio Limongelli
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Center for Computational Medicine in Cardiology, Institute of Computational Science, Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), Lugano, Switzerland
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy
| | - Mélanie Schmutz
- Technology and Society Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Som
- Technology and Society Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Olivier Jordan
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Peter Wick
- Laboratory for Particles – Biology Interactions, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Gerrit Borchard
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Giuseppe Perale
- Polymer Engineering Laboratory, Department of Innovative Technologies, Institute for Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Manno, Switzerland
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Wien, Austria
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Kozuch DJ, Zhang W, Milner ST. Predicting the Flory-Huggins χ Parameter for Polymers with Stiffness Mismatch from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Polymers (Basel) 2016; 8:E241. [PMID: 30979334 DOI: 10.3390/polym8060241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2016] [Revised: 06/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Flory–Huggins χ parameter describes the excess free energy of mixing and governs phase behavior for polymer blends and block copolymers. For chemically-distinct nonpolar polymers, the value of χ is dominated by the mismatch in cohesive energy densities of the monomers. For blends of chemically-similar polymers, the entropic portion of χ, arising from non-ideal local packing, becomes more significant. Using polymer field theory, Fredrickson et al. predicted that a difference in backbone stiffness can result in a positive χ for chains consisting of chemically-identical monomers. To quantitatively investigate this phenomenon, we perform molecular dynamic (MD) simulations for bead-spring chains, which differ only in stiffness. From the simulations, we apply a novel thermodynamic integration to extract χ as low as 10-4 per monomer for blends with stiffness mismatch. To compare with experiments, we introduce a standardized effective monomer to map real polymers onto our bead-spring chains. The predicted χ agrees well with experimental values for a wide variety of pairs of chemically-similar polymers.
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Carbone P, Troisi A. Charge Diffusion in Semiconducting Polymers: Analytical Relation between Polymer Rigidity and Time Scales for Intrachain and Interchain Hopping. J Phys Chem Lett 2014; 5:2637-2641. [PMID: 26277956 DOI: 10.1021/jz501220g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We study the charge diffusion of semiconducting polymer bulk using simplified coarse grained models to investigate the relation between charge diffusion coefficient and the characteristics time of intrachain and interchain hopping, τ1 and τ2. We consider the process of charge diffusion in several standard models of polymer chains (rigid chain, Gaussian chain, worm-like chain), and we achieve an analytical expression for the diffusion coefficient in terms of the characteristic times and the geometric parameters defining the chain models. The diffusion depends only on the intrachain hopping for the rigid chain and on the geometric average of intrachain and interchain hopping times for the Gaussian chain (the least rigid model), with an analytical interpolation available between two limits. The model highlights the importance of large persistence lengths for improved transport properties. In all cases, it is incorrect to consider the slower interchain hopping as the rate-determining step for the charge transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Carbone
- †School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Alessandro Troisi
- ‡Department of Chemistry and Centre for Scientific Computing, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
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12
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Abstract
We present a new dynamic elastic network model (DENM) that describes the unfolding process of a force-loaded protein. The protein interaction network and its potentials are constructed based on information of its native-state structure obtained from the Protein Data Bank, with network nodes positioned at the Cα coordinates of the protein backbone. Specifically, to mimic the unfolding process, i.e., to simulate the process of overcoming the local energy barrier on the free energy landscape with force loading, the noncovalent protein network bonds (i.e., hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, hydrophobic contacts, etc.) are broken one-by-one with a certain probability, while the strong covalent bonds along the backbone (i.e., peptide bonds, disulfide bonds, etc.) are kept intact. The jumping event from local energy minima (bonds breaking rate) are chosen according to Kramer's theory and the Bell model. Moreover, we exploit the self-similar structure of proteins at different scales to design an effective coarse-graining procedure for DENM with optimal parameter selection. The robustness of DENM is validated by coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulation against atomistic MD simulation of force-extension processes of the Fibrinogen and Titin Immunoglobulin proteins. We observe that the native structure of the proteins determines the total unfolding dynamics (including large deviations) and not just the fluctuations around the native state.
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Affiliation(s)
- MINGGE DENG
- Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
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Abstract
The large quantity of protein sequences being generated from genomic data has greatly outpaced the throughput of experimental protein structure determining methods and consequently brought urgency to the need for accurate protein structure prediction tools. Reduced resolution, or coarse grained (CG) models, have become a mainstay in computational protein structure prediction perfoming among the best tools available. The quest for high quality generalized CG models presents an extremely challenging yet popular endeavor. To this point, a CG based interaction potential is presented here for the naturally occurring amino acids. In the present approach, three to four heavy atoms and associated hydrogens are condensed into a single CG site. The parameterization of the site-site interaction potential relies on experimental data thus providing a novel approach that is neither based on all-atom (AA) simulations nor experimental protein structural data. Specifically, intermolecular potentials, which are based on Lennard-Jones (LJ) style functional forms, are parameterized using thermodynamic data including surface tension and density. Using this approach, an amino acid potential dataset has been developed for use in modeling peptides and proteins. The potential is evaluated here by comparing the solvent accessible surface area (SASA) to AA representations and ranking of protein decoy data sets provided by Decoys 'R' Us. The model is shown to perform very well compared to other existing prediction models for these properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell DeVane
- Center for Molecular Modeling and Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323
| | - Wataru Shinoda
- Research Institute for Computational Sciences (RICS), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
| | - Preston B. Moore
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 600 s. 43rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Michael L. Klein
- Center for Molecular Modeling and Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323
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