1
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Lin D, Bagnani M, Almohammadi H, Yuan Y, Zhao Y, Mezzenga R. Single-Step Control of Liquid-Liquid Crystalline Phase Separation by Depletion Gradients. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024:e2312564. [PMID: 38692672 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202312564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Fine-tuning nucleation and growth of colloidal liquid crystalline (LC) droplets, also known as tactoids, is highly desirable in both fundamental science and technological applications. However, the tactoid structure results from the trade-off between thermodynamics and nonequilibrium kinetics effects, and controlling liquid-liquid crystalline phase separation (LLCPS) in these systems is still a work in progress. Here, a single-step strategy is introduced to obtain a rich palette of morphologies for tactoids formed via nucleation and growth within an initially isotropic phase exposed to a gradient of depletants. The simultaneous appearance is shown of rich LC structures along the depleting potential gradient, where the position of each LC structure is correlated with the magnitude of the depleting potential. Changing the size (nanoparticles) or the nature (polymers) of the depleting agent provides additional, precise control over the resulting LC structures through a size-selective mechanism, where the depletant may be found both within and outside the LC droplets. The use of depletion gradients from depletants of varying sizes and nature offers a powerful toolbox for manipulation, templating, imaging, and understanding heterogeneous colloidal LC structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongdong Lin
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, 315211, P. R. China
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
- Qian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, 315211, P. R. China
| | - Massimo Bagnani
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Hamed Almohammadi
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Ye Yuan
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Yufen Zhao
- Qian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, 315211, P. R. China
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
- ETH Zurich, Department of Materials, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland
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2
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Environmental parameters-dependent rheological behaviors of whey protein fibril dispersions: Shear and extensional flow behaviors. Food Hydrocoll 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2022.107974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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3
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Thermal insulation TiN aerogels prepared by a combined freeze-casting and carbothermal reduction-nitridation technique. Ann Ital Chir 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2021.01.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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4
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Ostermeier L, de Oliveira GAP, Dzwolak W, Silva JL, Winter R. Exploring the polymorphism, conformational dynamics and function of amyloidogenic peptides and proteins by temperature and pressure modulation. Biophys Chem 2020; 268:106506. [PMID: 33221697 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2020.106506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Our understanding of amyloid structures and the mechanisms by which disease-associated peptides and proteins self-assemble into these fibrillar aggregates, has advanced considerably in recent years. It is also established that amyloid fibrils are generally polymorphic. The molecular structures of the aggregation intermediates and the causes of molecular and structural polymorphism are less understood, however. Such information is mandatory to explain the pathological diversity of amyloid diseases. What is also clear is that not only protein mutations, but also the physiological milieu, i.e. pH, cosolutes, crowding and surface interactions, have an impact on fibril formation. In this minireview, we focus on the effect of the less explored physical parameters temperature and pressure on the fibrillization propensity of proteins and how these variables can be used to reveal additional mechanistic information about intermediate states of fibril formation and molecular and structural polymorphism. Generally, amyloids are very stable and can resist harsh environmental conditions, such as extreme pH, high temperature and high pressure, and can hence serve as valuable functional amyloid. As an example, we discuss the effect of temperature and pressure on the catalytic activity of peptide amyloid fibrils that exhibit enzymatic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Ostermeier
- Physical Chemistry I - Biophysical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn Street 4a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Guilherme A P de Oliveira
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, National Institute of Science and Technology for Structural Biology and Bioimaging, National Center of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Jiri Jonas, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-901, Brazil
| | - Wojciech Dzwolak
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Pasteur 1 Str., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Jerson L Silva
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, National Institute of Science and Technology for Structural Biology and Bioimaging, National Center of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Jiri Jonas, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-901, Brazil.
| | - Roland Winter
- Physical Chemistry I - Biophysical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn Street 4a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany.
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5
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Khalesi H, Lu W, Fang Y. WITHDRAWN: Reinforcing the rheological and mechanical properties of WPI nanocomposite hydrogels with birefringence morphologies. Int J Biol Macromol 2020:S0141-8130(20)34981-3. [PMID: 33188813 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.11.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoda Khalesi
- Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
| | - Wei Lu
- Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
| | - Yapeng Fang
- Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
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6
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Wu D, Sinha N, Lee J, Sutherland BP, Halaszynski NI, Tian Y, Caplan J, Zhang HV, Saven JG, Kloxin CJ, Pochan DJ. Polymers with controlled assembly and rigidity made with click-functional peptide bundles. Nature 2019; 574:658-662. [PMID: 31666724 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1683-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The engineering of biological molecules is a key concept in the design of highly functional, sophisticated soft materials. Biomolecules exhibit a wide range of functions and structures, including chemical recognition (of enzyme substrates or adhesive ligands1, for instance), exquisite nanostructures (composed of peptides2, proteins3 or nucleic acids4), and unusual mechanical properties (such as silk-like strength3, stiffness5, viscoelasticity6 and resiliency7). Here we combine the computational design of physical (noncovalent) interactions with pathway-dependent, hierarchical 'click' covalent assembly to produce hybrid synthetic peptide-based polymers. The nanometre-scale monomeric units of these polymers are homotetrameric, α-helical bundles of low-molecular-weight peptides. These bundled monomers, or 'bundlemers', can be designed to provide complete control of the stability, size and spatial display of chemical functionalities. The protein-like structure of the bundle allows precise positioning of covalent linkages between the ends of distinct bundlemers, resulting in polymers with interesting and controllable physical characteristics, such as rigid rods, semiflexible or kinked chains, and thermally responsive hydrogel networks. Chain stiffness can be controlled by varying only the linkage. Furthermore, by controlling the amino acid sequence along the bundlemer periphery, we use specific amino acid side chains, including non-natural 'click' chemistry functionalities, to conjugate moieties into a desired pattern, enabling the creation of a wide variety of hybrid nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongdong Wu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Nairiti Sinha
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Jeeyoung Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Bryan P Sutherland
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Nicole I Halaszynski
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Yu Tian
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Jeffrey Caplan
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Huixi Violet Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jeffery G Saven
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Christopher J Kloxin
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA. .,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
| | - Darrin J Pochan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
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7
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Zhao J, Gulan U, Horie T, Ohmura N, Han J, Yang C, Kong J, Wang S, Xu BB. Advances in Biological Liquid Crystals. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2019; 15:e1900019. [PMID: 30892830 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201900019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Biological liquid crystals, a rich set of soft materials with rod-like structures widely existing in nature, possess typical lyotropic liquid crystalline phase properties both in vitro (e.g., cellulose, peptides, and protein assemblies) and in vivo (e.g., cellular lipid membrane, packed DNA in bacteria, and aligned fibroblasts). Given the ability to undergo phase transition in response to various stimuli, numerous practices are exercised to spatially arrange biological liquid crystals. Here, a fundamental understanding of interactions between rod-shaped biological building blocks and their orientational ordering across multiple length scales is addressed. Discussions are made with regard to the dependence of physical properties of nonmotile objects on the first-order phase transition and the coexistence of multi-phases in passive liquid crystalline systems. This work also focuses on how the applied physical stimuli drives the reorganization of constituent passive particles for a new steady-state alignment. A number of recent progresses in the dynamics behaviors of active liquid crystals are presented, and particular attention is given to those self-propelled animate elements, like the formation of motile topological defects, active turbulence, correlation of orientational ordering, and cellular functions. Finally, future implications and potential applications of the biological liquid crystalline materials are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Zhao
- Quanzhou Institute of Equipment Manufacturing, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Quanzhou, 362200, China
- Third Institute of Physics-Biophysics, University of Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Utku Gulan
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Takafumi Horie
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
| | - Naoto Ohmura
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
| | - Jun Han
- Quanzhou Institute of Equipment Manufacturing, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Quanzhou, 362200, China
| | - Chao Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jie Kong
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, School of Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China
| | - Steven Wang
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Ben Bin Xu
- Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK
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8
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Bagnani M, Nyström G, De Michele C, Mezzenga R. Amyloid Fibrils Length Controls Shape and Structure of Nematic and Cholesteric Tactoids. ACS NANO 2019; 13:591-600. [PMID: 30543398 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b07557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils offer the possibility of controlling their contour length, aspect ratio, and length distribution, without affecting other structural parameters. Here we show that a fine control in the contour length distribution of β-lactoglobulin amyloid fibrils, achieved by mechanical shear stresses of different levels, translates into the organization of tactoids of different shapes and morphologies. While longer fibrils lead to highly elongated nematic tactoids in an isotropic continuous matrix, only sufficiently shortened amyloid fibrils lead to cholesteric droplets. The progressive decrease in amyloid fibrils length leads to a linear decrease of the anchoring strength and homogeneous tactoid → bipolar tactoid → cholesteric droplet transitions. Upon fibrils length increase, we first find experimentally and predict theoretically a decrease of the cholesteric pitch, before full disappearance of the cholesteric phase. The latter is understood to arise from the decrease of the energy barrier separating cholesteric and nematic phases over thermal energy for progressively longer, semiflexible fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Bagnani
- Department of Health Science and Technology , ETH Zurich , Schmelzbergstrasse 9, LFO E23 Zurich 8092 , Switzerland
| | - Gustav Nyström
- Department of Health Science and Technology , ETH Zurich , Schmelzbergstrasse 9, LFO E23 Zurich 8092 , Switzerland
| | - Cristiano De Michele
- Dipartimento di Fisica , "Sapienza" Università di Roma , P.le A. Moro 2 , 00185 Roma , Italy
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- Department of Health Science and Technology , ETH Zurich , Schmelzbergstrasse 9, LFO E23 Zurich 8092 , Switzerland
- Department of Materials , ETH Zurich , Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10 , Zurich 8093 , Switzerland
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9
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Han X, Lv L, Li M, You J, Wu X, Li C. Sheet-like and tubular aggregates of protein nanofibril–phosphate hybrids. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:393-396. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cc08432g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Nanofibrils assembled by bovine serum albumin aligned into microtubes and nanosheets upon heating and cooling its solution in phosphate buffer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangsheng Han
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
| | - Lili Lv
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
| | - Mingjie Li
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
| | - Jun You
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
| | - Xiaochen Wu
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
| | - Chaoxu Li
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
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10
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Chen CH, Palmer LC, Stupp SI. Self-Repair of Structure and Bioactivity in a Supramolecular Nanostructure. NANO LETTERS 2018; 18:6832-6841. [PMID: 30379077 PMCID: PMC6320672 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Supramolecular nanostructures formed through self-assembly can have energy landscapes, which determine their structures and functions depending on the pathways selected for their synthesis and processing and on the conditions they are exposed to after their initial formation. We report here on the structural damage that occurs in supramolecular peptide amphiphile nanostructures, during freezing in aqueous media, and the self-repair pathways that restore their functions. We found that freezing converts long supramolecular nanofibers into shorter ones, compromising their ability to support cell adhesion, but a single heating and cooling cycle reverses the damage and rescues their bioactivity. Thermal energy in this cycle enables noncovalent interactions to reconfigure the nanostructures into the thermodynamically preferred long nanofibers, a repair process that is impeded by kinetic traps. In addition, we found that nanofibers disrupted during freeze-drying also exhibit the ability to undergo thermal self-repair and recovery of their bioactivity, despite the extra disruption caused by the dehydration step. Following both freezing and freeze-drying, which shorten the 1D nanostructures, their self-repair capacity through thermally driven elongation is inhibited by kinetically trapped states, which contain highly stable noncovalent interactions that are difficult to rearrange. These states decrease the extent of thermal nanostructure repair, an observation we hypothesize applies to supramolecular systems in general and is mechanistically linked to suppressed molecular exchange dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte H. Chen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Liam C. Palmer
- Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, 303 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Samuel I. Stupp
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, 303 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Medicine, Northwestern University, 251 East Huron Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
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11
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Cao Y, Bolisetty S, Adamcik J, Mezzenga R. Elasticity in Physically Cross-Linked Amyloid Fibril Networks. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 120:158103. [PMID: 29756901 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.158103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2017] [Revised: 02/02/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
We provide a constitutive model of semiflexible and rigid amyloid fibril networks by combining the affine thermal model of network elasticity with the Derjaguin-Landau-Vervey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory of electrostatically charged colloids. When compared to rheological experiments on β-lactoglobulin and lysozyme amyloid networks, this approach provides the correct scaling of elasticity versus both concentration (G∼c^{2.2} and G∼c^{2.5} for semiflexible and rigid fibrils, respectively) and ionic strength (G∼I^{4.4} and G∼I^{3.8} for β-lactoglobulin and lysozyme, independent from fibril flexibility). The pivotal role played by the screening salt is to reduce the electrostatic barrier among amyloid fibrils, converting labile physical entanglements into long-lived cross-links. This gives a power-law behavior of G with I having exponents significantly larger than in other semiflexible polymer networks (e.g., actin) and carrying DLVO traits specific to the individual amyloid fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiping Cao
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Sreenath Bolisetty
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Jozef Adamcik
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
- Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
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12
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Tomašovičová N, Hu PS, Zeng CL, Huráková M, Csach K, Majorošová J, Kubovčíková M, Kopčanský P. Dynamic morphogenesis of dendritic structures formation in hen egg white lysozyme fibrils doped with magnetic nanoparticles. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2018; 161:457-463. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.10.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Revised: 09/22/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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13
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Sornkamnerd S, Okajima MK, Kaneko T. Tough and Porous Hydrogels Prepared by Simple Lyophilization of LC Gels. ACS OMEGA 2017; 2:5304-5314. [PMID: 31457799 PMCID: PMC6641907 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.7b00602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 07/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Porous hydrogels possessing mechanical toughness were prepared from sacran, a supergiant liquid crystalline (LC) polysaccharide produced from Aphanothece sacrum. First, layered hydrogels were prepared by thermal cross-linking of film cast over a sacran LC solution. Then, anisotropic pores were constructed using a freeze-drying technique on the water-swollen layered hydrogels. Scanning electron microscopic observation revealed that pores were observable only on the side faces of sponge materials parallel to the layered structure but never on the top or bottom faces. The pore size, porosity, and swelling behavior were controlled by the thermal-cross-linking temperature. To clarify the freezing effect, a freeze-thawing method was used for comparison. The freeze-thawed hydrogels also formed layers but no pores. The mechanical properties and network structures of hydrogels were also studied, clarifying that porous hydrogels, even those with a high quantity of pores, were tough owing to the pores orienting along the layer direction like tunnels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saranyoo Sornkamnerd
- Energy and Environment Area,
School of Materials Science, Graduate School of Advanced Science and
Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of
Science and Technology (JAIST), 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan
| | - Maiko K. Okajima
- Energy and Environment Area,
School of Materials Science, Graduate School of Advanced Science and
Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of
Science and Technology (JAIST), 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan
| | - Tatsuo Kaneko
- Energy and Environment Area,
School of Materials Science, Graduate School of Advanced Science and
Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of
Science and Technology (JAIST), 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan
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14
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Nyström G, Fong WK, Mezzenga R. Ice-Templated and Cross-Linked Amyloid Fibril Aerogel Scaffolds for Cell Growth. Biomacromolecules 2017; 18:2858-2865. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.7b00792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gustav Nyström
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Science & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Wye-Khay Fong
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Science & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
- Drug
Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Science & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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15
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Wei G, Su Z, Reynolds NP, Arosio P, Hamley IW, Gazit E, Mezzenga R. Self-assembling peptide and protein amyloids: from structure to tailored function in nanotechnology. Chem Soc Rev 2017; 46:4661-4708. [PMID: 28530745 PMCID: PMC6364806 DOI: 10.1039/c6cs00542j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 521] [Impact Index Per Article: 74.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Self-assembled peptide and protein amyloid nanostructures have traditionally been considered only as pathological aggregates implicated in human neurodegenerative diseases. In more recent times, these nanostructures have found interesting applications as advanced materials in biomedicine, tissue engineering, renewable energy, environmental science, nanotechnology and material science, to name only a few fields. In all these applications, the final function depends on: (i) the specific mechanisms of protein aggregation, (ii) the hierarchical structure of the protein and peptide amyloids from the atomistic to mesoscopic length scales and (iii) the physical properties of the amyloids in the context of their surrounding environment (biological or artificial). In this review, we will discuss recent progress made in the field of functional and artificial amyloids and highlight connections between protein/peptide folding, unfolding and aggregation mechanisms, with the resulting amyloid structure and functionality. We also highlight current advances in the design and synthesis of amyloid-based biological and functional materials and identify new potential fields in which amyloid-based structures promise new breakthroughs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Wei
- Faculty of Production Engineering, University of Bremen, Bremen,
Germany
| | - Zhiqiang Su
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing
University of Chemical Technology, China
| | - Nicholas P. Reynolds
- ARC Training Centre for Biodevices, Swinburne University of
Technology, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Paolo Arosio
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH-Zurich,
Switzerland
| | | | - Ehud Gazit
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- Department of Health Science and Technology, ETH-Zurich,
Switzerland
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16
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Continuous Isotropic-Nematic Transition in Amyloid Fibril Suspensions Driven by Thermophoresis. Sci Rep 2017; 7:1211. [PMID: 28450728 PMCID: PMC5430637 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-01287-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The isotropic and nematic (I + N) coexistence for rod-like colloids is a signature of the first-order thermodynamics nature of this phase transition. However, in the case of amyloid fibrils, the biphasic region is too small to be experimentally detected, due to their extremely high aspect ratio. Herein, we study the thermophoretic behaviour of fluorescently labelled β-lactoglobulin amyloid fibrils by inducing a temperature gradient across a microfluidic channel. We discover that fibrils accumulate towards the hot side of the channel at the temperature range studied, thus presenting a negative Soret coefficient. By exploiting this thermophoretic behaviour, we show that it becomes possible to induce a continuous I-N transition with the I and N phases at the extremities of the channel, starting from an initially single N phase, by generating an appropriate concentration gradient along the width of the microchannel. Accordingly, we introduce a new methodology to control liquid crystal phase transitions in anisotropic colloidal suspensions. Because the induced order-order transitions are achieved under stationary conditions, this may have important implications in both applied colloidal science, such as in separation and fractionation of colloids, as well as in fundamental soft condensed matter, by widening the accessibility of target regions in the phase diagrams.
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Lutz-Bueno V, Zhao J, Mezzenga R, Pfohl T, Fischer P, Liebi M. Scanning-SAXS of microfluidic flows: nanostructural mapping of soft matter. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:4028-4035. [PMID: 27713983 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00690f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The determination of in situ structural information of soft matter under flow is challenging, as it depends on many factors, such as temperature, concentration, confinement, channel geometry, and type of imposed flow. Here, we combine microfluidics and scanning small-angle X-ray scattering (scanning-SAXS) to create a two-dimensional spatially resolved map, which represents quantitatively the variation of molecular properties under flow. As application examples, mappings of confined amyloid fibrils and wormlike micelles under flow into various channel geometries are compared. A simple process to fabricate X-rays resistant chips, based on polyimide and UV-curing resin, is discussed. During experiments, these chips remained in high-energy synchrotron radiation for more than 24 hours, causing constant low background scattering. Thus, sufficient statistics were obtained from sample scattering at exposure times as low as 0.1 s, even with the small scattering volumes in microfluidic channels. Scanning-SAXS of microfluidic flows has many potential applications from biology to fundamental soft matter physics. In general, any fluid which has enough contrast for X-ray scattering can be measured to obtain the dependence of molecular shape, conformation, alignment and size on the flow field. Besides, dynamic processes of soft matter caused by flow, temperature, concentration gradient, and confinement, for example self-assembling, aggregation, mixing, diffusion, and disintegration of macromolecules, can be quantified and visualized on a single image by this mapping technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviane Lutz-Bueno
- Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland and Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
| | - Jianguo Zhao
- Laboratory of Food and Soft Materials, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- Laboratory of Food and Soft Materials, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Pfohl
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Peter Fischer
- Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marianne Liebi
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
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Zhao J, Bolisetty S, Isabettini S, Kohlbrecher J, Adamcik J, Fischer P, Mezzenga R. Continuous Paranematic Ordering of Rigid and Semiflexible Amyloid-Fe3O4 Hybrid Fibrils in an External Magnetic Field. Biomacromolecules 2016; 17:2555-61. [PMID: 27304090 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.6b00539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
External magnetic field is a powerful approach to induce orientational order in originally disordered suspensions of magneto-responsive anisotropic particles. By small angle neutron scattering and optical birefringence measurement technology, we investigated the effect of magnetic field on the spatial ordering of hybrid amyloid fibrils with different aspect ratios (length-to-diameter) and flexibilities decorated by spherical Fe3O4 nanoparticles. A continuous paranematic ordering from an initially isotropic suspension was observed upon increasing magnetic field strength, with spatial orientation increasing with colloidal volume fraction. At constant dimensionless concentration, stiff hybrid fibrils with varying aspect ratios and volume fractions, fall on the same master curve, with equivalent degrees of ordering at identical magnetic fields. However, the semiflexible hybrid fibrils with contour length close to persistence length exhibit a lower degree of alignment. This is consistent with Khokhlov-Semenov theoretical predictions. These findings sharpen the experimental toolbox to design colloidal systems with controllable degree of orientational ordering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Zhao
- Laboratory of Food and Soft Materials, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich , 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sreenath Bolisetty
- Laboratory of Food and Soft Materials, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich , 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stéphane Isabettini
- Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich , 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joachim Kohlbrecher
- Laboratory of Neutron Scattering and Imaging, Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Jozef Adamcik
- Laboratory of Food and Soft Materials, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich , 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Peter Fischer
- Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich , 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- Laboratory of Food and Soft Materials, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich , 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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