Protein compactness and interaction valency define the architecture of a biomolecular condensate across scales

Non-membrane-bound biomolecular condensates have been proposed to represent an important mode of subcellular organization in diverse biological settings. However, the fundamental principles governing the spatial organization and dynamics of condensates at the atomistic level remain unclear. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Lge1 protein is required for histone H2B ubiquitination and its N-terminal intrinsically disordered fragment (Lge11-80) undergoes robust phase separation. This study connects single- and multi-chain all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of Lge11-80 with the in vitro behavior of Lge11-80 condensates. Analysis of modeled protein-protein interactions elucidates the key determinants of Lge11-80 condensate formation and links configurational entropy, valency, and compactness of proteins inside the condensates. A newly derived analytical formalism, related to colloid fractal cluster formation, describes condensate architecture across length scales as a function of protein valency and compactness. In particular, the formalism provides an atomistically resolved model of Lge11-80 condensates on the scale of hundreds of nanometers starting from individual protein conformers captured in simulations. The simulation-derived fractal dimensions of condensates of Lge11-80 and its mutants agree with their in vitro morphologies. The presented framework enables a multiscale description of biomolecular condensates and embeds their study in a wider context of colloid self-organization.

On the Cluster Formation of α-Synuclein Fibrils

The dense accumulation of α-Synuclein fibrils in neurons is considered to be strongly associated with Parkinson’s disease. These intracellular inclusions, called Lewy bodies, also contain significant amounts of lipids. To better understand such accumulations, it should be important to study α-Synuclein fibril formation under conditions where the fibrils lump together, mimicking what is observed in Lewy bodies. In the present study, we have therefore investigated the overall structural arrangements of α-synuclein fibrils, formed under mildly acidic conditions, pH = 5.5, in pure buffer or in the presence of various model membrane systems, by means of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). At this pH, α-synuclein fibrils are colloidally unstable and aggregate further into dense clusters. SANS intensities show a power law dependence on the scattering vector, q, indicating that the clusters can be described as mass fractal aggregates. The experimentally observed fractal dimension was d = 2.6 ± 0.3. We further show that this fractal dimension can be reproduced using a simple model of rigid-rod clusters. The effect of dominatingly attractive fibril-fibril interactions is discussed within the context of fibril clustering in Lewy body formation.

Effect of SiO₂ Nanoparticles on the Performance of PVdF-HFP/Ionic Liquid Separator for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Safety concerns related to the use of potentially explosive, liquid organic electrolytes in commercial high-power lithium-ion batteries are constantly rising. One promising alternative is to use thermally stable ionic liquids (ILs) as conductive media, which are however, limited by low ionic conductivity at room temperature. This can be improved by adding fillers, such as silica or alumina nanoparticles (NPs), in the polymer matrix that hosts the IL. To maximize the effect of such NPs, they have to be uniformly dispersed in the matrix while keeping their size as small as possible. In this work, starting from a water dispersion of silica NPs, we present a novel method to incorporate silica NPs at the nanoscale level (<200 nm) into PVdF-HFP polymer clusters, which are then blended with the IL solution and hot-pressed to form separators suitable for battery applications. The effect of different amounts of silica in the polymer matrix on the ionic conductivity and cyclability of the separator is investigated. A membrane containing 10 wt.% of silica (with respect to the polymer) was shown to maximize the performance of the separator, with a room temperature ionic conductivity of of 1.22 mS cm - 1 . The assembled half-coin cell with LiFePO 4 and Li as the cathode and the anode exhibited a capacity retention of more than 80% at a current density of 2C and 60 ∘ C.