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Xue Q, Jiao Z, Pan W, Liu X, Fu J, Zhang A. Multiscale computational simulation of pollutant behavior at water interfaces. Water Res 2024; 250:121043. [PMID: 38154340 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.121043] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
The investigation of pollutant behavior at water interfaces is critical to understand pollution in aquatic systems. Computational methods allow us to overcome the limitations of experimental analysis, delivering valuable insights into the chemical mechanisms and structural characteristics of pollutant behavior at interfaces across a range of scales, from microscopic to mesoscopic. Quantum mechanics, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, and dissipative particle dynamics simulations represent diverse molecular interaction calculation methods that can effectively model pollutant behavior at environmental interfaces from atomic to mesoscopic scales. These methods provide a rich variety of information on pollutant interactions with water surfaces. This review synthesizes the advancements in applying typical computational methods to the formation, adsorption, binding, and catalytic conversion of pollutants at water interfaces. By drawing on recent advancements, we critically examine the current challenges and offer our perspective on future directions. This review seeks to advance our understanding of computational techniques for elucidating pollutant behavior at water interfaces, a critical aspect of water research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiao Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Zhiyue Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wenxiao Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Xian Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jianjie Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS, Hangzhou 310024, China; Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China.
| | - Aiqian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS, Hangzhou 310024, China; Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China.
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Claro B, Peón A, González-Freire E, Goormaghtigh E, Amorín M, Granja JR, Garcia-Fandiño R, Bastos M. Macromolecular assembly and membrane activity of antimicrobial D,L-α-Cyclic peptides. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021; 208:112086. [PMID: 34492602 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides are viewed as a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics, as their activity through membrane targeting makes them less prone to resistance development. Among them, antimicrobial D,L-α-cyclic peptides (CPs) have been proposed as an alternative, specially due to their cyclic nature and to the presence of D-α-amino acids that increases their resistance to proteases. In present work, second generation D,L-α-cyclic peptides with proven antimicrobial activity are shown to form complex macromolecular assemblies in the presence of membranes. We addressed the CPs:membrane interactions through a combination of experimental techniques (DSC and ATR-FTIR) with coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG-MD) simulations, aiming at understanding their interactions, macromolecular assemblies and eventually unveil their mechanism of action. DSC shows that the interaction depends heavily on the negatively charge content of the membrane and on lipid/peptide ratio, suggesting different mechanisms for the different peptides and lipid systems. CG-MD proved that CPs can self-assemble at the lipid surface as nanotubes or micellar aggregates, depending on the peptide, in agreement with ATR-FTIR results. Finally, our results shed light into possible mechanisms of action of the peptides with pending hydrocarbon tail, namely membrane extensive segregation and/or membrane disintegration through the formation of disk-like lipid/peptide aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bárbara Claro
- CIQUP, Centro de Investigação em Química, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Antonio Peón
- CIQUP, Centro de Investigação em Química, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Eva González-Freire
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Erik Goormaghtigh
- Structure and Function of Biological Membranes, Center for Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, ULB, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Manuel Amorín
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Juan R Granja
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Rebeca Garcia-Fandiño
- CIQUP, Centro de Investigação em Química, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Margarida Bastos
- CIQUP, Centro de Investigação em Química, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
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Kozhunova EY, Rudyak VY, Li X, Shibayama M, Peters GS, Vyshivannaya OV, Nasimova IR, Chertovich AV. Microphase separation of stimuli-responsive interpenetrating network microgels investigated by scattering methods. J Colloid Interface Sci 2021; 597:297-305. [PMID: 33872886 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.03.178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [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: 11/14/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Polymer stimuli-responsive microgels find their use in various applications. The knowledge of its internal structure is of importance for further improvement and expanding the scope. Interpenetrating network (IPN) microgels may possess a remarkable feature of strongly non-uniform inner architecture, even microphase separation, in conditions of a selective solvent. In this research, we, for the first time, use a combination of static light scattering (SLS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques to collect the structure factors of aqueous dispersions of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-polyacrylic acid IPN microgels on the broad scale ofqvalues. We study the influence of solvent quality on microgel conformations and show that in a selective solvent, such a system undergoes microphase separation: the sub-network in a poor solvent conditions forms dense small aggregates inside the large swollen sub-network in a good solvent. We propose the microstructured sphere model for the IPN microgel structure factor interpretation and perform additional analysis and verification through coarse-grained molecular dynamics computer simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Yu Kozhunova
- Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.
| | - Vladimir Yu Rudyak
- Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.
| | - Xiang Li
- Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8581, Japan.
| | - Mitsuhiro Shibayama
- Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan.
| | - Georgy S Peters
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", Akademika Kurchatova pl., 1, Moscow 123182, Russian Federation
| | - Oxana V Vyshivannaya
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Irina R Nasimova
- Russian Academy of Science, Moscow 119991, Russia; Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.
| | - Alexander V Chertovich
- Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics, Moscow 119991, Russia; Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.
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Pirhadi S, Amani A. Molecular dynamics simulation of siRNA loading into a nanoemulsion as a potential carrier. J Mol Model 2020; 26:215. [PMID: 32712777 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-020-04471-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 07/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Nanoemulsions are used as drug delivery carriers for different types of systems. Nanoemulsions can enhance solubilization property of poorly water-soluble drugs and increase the drug loading. In this study, we used a nanoemulsion composed of benzalkonium chloride as surfactant, cyclohexane as oil phase, and ethanol as co-surfactant in water, to load small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecule. The system was investigated by three coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The results showed that siRNA attached to benzalkonium chloride on the surface of the nanoemulsion and the oil beads were located in the hydrophobic core of the nanoemulsion, which made its size larger. The ethanol beads distributed throughout the system and did not enter to the hydrophilic shell of the nanoemulsion. The nanoemulsion structure was a compact prolate ellipsoid shape, before and after carrying the siRNA. The average value of radius of gyration of the nanoemulsion was 1.68 nm before and after joining siRNA and the average value of physical radius was 2.17 nm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Somayeh Pirhadi
- Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Amir Amani
- Natural Products and Medicinal Plants Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran. .,Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Anggayasti WL, Ogino K, Yamamoto E, Helmerhorst E, Yasuoka K, Mancera RL. The acidic tail of HMGB1 regulates its secondary structure and conformational flexibility: A circular dichroism and molecular dynamics simulation study. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2020; 18:1160-1172. [PMID: 32514327 PMCID: PMC7261955 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2020.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [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: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule that triggers the progression of several pro-inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and cancer, by inducing signals upon interaction with the receptors such as the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) and toll-like receptors (TLRs). The acidic C-terminal tail of HMGB1 is an intrinsically disordered region of the protein which is known to determine the interaction of HMGB1 to DNA and histones. This study characterizes its structural properties using a combination of circular dichroism (CD) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The full-length and tail-less forms of HMGB1 were compared to rationalise the role of the acidic tail in maintaining the stability of the entire structure of HMGB1 in atomistic detail. Consistent with experimental data, the acidic tail was predicted to adopt an extended conformation that allows it to make a range of hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic interactions with the box-like domains that stabilize the overall structure of HMGB1. Absence of the acidic tail was predicted to increase structural fluctuations of all amino acids, leading to changes in secondary structure from α-helical to more hydrophilic turns along with increased exposure of multiple amino acids to the surrounding solvent. These structural changes reveal the intrinsic conformational dynamics of HMGB1 that are likely to affect the accessibility of its receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wresti L. Anggayasti
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Brawijaya University, Jl. MT Haryono 167, Malang 65145, East Java, Indonesia
| | - Kenta Ogino
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Eiji Yamamoto
- Department of System Design Engineering, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Erik Helmerhorst
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute and Curtin Institute for Computation, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
| | - Kenji Yasuoka
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Ricardo L. Mancera
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute and Curtin Institute for Computation, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
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