pH-sensitivity and Conformation Change of the N-terminal Methacrylated Peptide VK20

MRS Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (47) ◽  
pp. 2571-2579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zewang You ◽  
Marc Behl ◽  
Candy Löwenberg ◽  
Andreas Lendlein

ABSTRACTN-terminal methacrylation of peptide MAX1, which is capable of conformational changes by variation of the pH, results in a peptide, named VK20. Increasing the reactivity of this terminal group enables further coupling reactions or chemical modifications of the peptide. However, this end group functionalization may influence the ability of conformational changes of VK20, as well as its properties. In this paper, the influence of pH on the transition between random coil and ß-sheet conformation of VK20, including the transition kinetics, were investigated. At pH values of 9 and higher, the kinetics of ß-sheet formation increased for VK20, compared to MAX1. The self-assembly into ß-sheets recognized by the formation of a physically crosslinked gel was furthermore indicated by a significant increase of G’. An increase in pH (from 9 to 9.5) led to a faster gelation of the peptide VK20. Simultaneously, G’ was increased from 460 ± 70 Pa (at pH 9) to 1520 ± 180 Pa (at pH 9.5). At the nanoscale, the gel showed a highly interconnected fibrillary network structure with uniform fibril widths of approximately 3.4 ± 0.5 nm (N=30). The recovery of the peptide conformation back to random coil resulted in the dissolution of the gel, whereby the kinetics of the recovery depended on the pH. Conclusively, the ability of MAX1 to undergo conformational changes was not affected by N-terminal methacrylation whereas the kinetics of pH-sensitive ß-sheet formations has been increased.

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (12) ◽  
pp. 2091-2097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor X Jin ◽  
Donal H Macartney ◽  
Erwin Buncel

A series of dinuclear platinum(II) complexes, [(dien)Pt(NH2(CH2)nNH2)Pt(dien)]Cl4 (dien = diethylenetriamine, n = 8, 9, 10, and 12) and their corresponding [2]rotaxanes with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), [(dien)Pt{NH2(CH2)nNH2·α-CD}Pt(dien)]Cl4, have been synthesized and characterized by 1H, 13C, and 195Pt NMR spectroscopy and electrospray mass spectrometry. The rotaxanes were prepared by reacting the {NH2(CH2)nNH2·α-CD} pseudorotaxanes with [Pt(dien)]Cl, to stopper the included linear α,ω-diaminoalkane chains with the inert Pt(II) end groups. The kinetics of the self-assembly and dissociation of the β-CD rotaxane, [(dien)Pt{NH2(CH2)10NH2·β-CD}Pt(dien)]4+, were investigated by using 1H NMR and are indicative of a slippage mechanism, owing to the comparable sizes of the β-CD cavity and the [Pt(dien)]+ end group. A relatively weak inclusion of the end group in the β-CD cavity precedes a thermally promoted passage of the β-CD over the [Pt(dien)]+ end group onto the hydrophobic polymethylene chain of the bridging ligand of the thread. Key words: rotaxanes, pseudorotaxanes, cyclodextrin, platinum complexes, slippage mechanism.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 2720
Author(s):  
Anca-Dana Bendrea ◽  
Luminita Cianga ◽  
Gabriela-Liliana Ailiesei ◽  
Elena-Laura Ursu ◽  
Demet Göen Göen Colak ◽  
...  

End-group functionalization of homopolymers is a valuable way to produce high-fidelity nanostructured and functional soft materials when the structures obtained have the capacity for self-assembly (SA) encoded in their structural details. Herein, an end-functionalized PCL with a π-conjugated EDOT moiety, (EDOT-PCL), designed exclusively from hydrophobic domains, as a functional “hydrophobic amphiphile”, was synthesized in the bulk ROP of ε-caprolactone. The experimental results obtained by spectroscopic methods, including NMR, UV-vis, and fluorescence, using DLS and by AFM, confirm that in solvents with extremely different polarities (chloroform and acetonitrile), EDOT-PCL presents an interaction- and structure-based bias, which is strong and selective enough to exert control over supramolecular packing, both in dispersions and in the film state. This leads to the diversity of SA structures, including spheroidal, straight, and helical rods, as well as orthorhombic single crystals, with solvent-dependent shapes and sizes, confirming that EDOT-PCL behaves as a “block-molecule”. According to the results from AFM imaging, an unexpected transformation of micelle-type nanostructures into single 2D lamellar crystals, through breakout crystallization, took place by simple acetonitrile evaporation during the formation of the film on the mica support at room temperature. Moreover, EDOT-PCL’s propensity for spontaneous oxidant-free oligomerization in acidic media was proposed as a presumptive answer for the unexpected appearance of blue color during its dissolution in CDCl3 at a high concentration. FT-IR, UV-vis, and fluorescence techniques were used to support this claim. Besides being intriguing and unforeseen, the experimental findings concerning EDOT-PCL have raised new and interesting questions that deserve to be addressed in future research.


2006 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 2313-2323 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Whitten ◽  
Komandoor E. Achyuthan ◽  
Gabriel P. Lopez ◽  
Oh-Kil Kim

We recently found that certain cyanines form tight complexes with carboxymethylamylose (CMA) in aqueous solutions and that in these complexes the cyanine exists as a strongly fluorescent and stable J-aggregate. Cyanine dyes are characterized by their ability to form J-aggregates showing very narrow absorption and fluorescence spectra relative to the monomer. Although they have found uses in sensing applications, the practicability has been limited in many cases due to the low quantum efficiencies for J-aggregate fluorescence. The CMA-cyanine complex is formed by a cooperative self-assembly in which both components undergo conformational changes during the association. The CMA exists as a random coil in solution prior to complex formation; helix formation is prevented due to repulsion of the charges on the carboxymethylated glucose units. The cyanine exists as a nonfluorescent monomer in the same solutions. A helical atomic force microscopy image and large induced circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the cyanine J-aggregate indicate that the self-assembly is a superhelix scaffold of CMA decorated with J-aggregates of the cyanine. Similar behavior was also observed with carboxymethylated cellulose (CMC). Enzymatic disruption of the helical structures (e.g., by the use of amylase to disrupt the structure of CMA helix) leads to the disappearance of the J-aggregate-associated fluorescence. The photophysical behavior and applications of this complex for sensing are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Wu ◽  
Jeffrey Ting ◽  
Siqi Meng ◽  
Matthew Tirrell

We have directly observed the <i>in situ</i> self-assembly kinetics of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) micelles by synchrotron time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering, equipped with a stopped-flow device that provides millisecond temporal resolution. This work has elucidated one general kinetic pathway for the process of PEC micelle formation, which provides useful physical insights for increasing our fundamental understanding of complexation and self-assembly dynamics driven by electrostatic interactions that occur on ultrafast timescales.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 5116
Author(s):  
Marco Mendozza ◽  
Arianna Balestri ◽  
Costanza Montis ◽  
Debora Berti

Lipid liquid crystalline mesophases, resulting from the self-assembly of polymorphic lipids in water, have been widely explored as biocompatible drug delivery systems. In this respect, non-lamellar structures are particularly attractive: they are characterized by complex 3D architectures, with the coexistence of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions that can conveniently host drugs of different polarities. The fine tunability of the structural parameters is nontrivial, but of paramount relevance, in order to control the diffusive properties of encapsulated active principles and, ultimately, their pharmacokinetics and release. In this work, we investigate the reaction kinetics of p-nitrophenyl phosphate conversion into p-nitrophenol, catalysed by the enzyme Alkaline Phosphatase, upon alternative confinement of the substrate and of the enzyme into liquid crystalline mesophases of phytantriol/H2O containing variable amounts of an additive, sucrose stearate, able to swell the mesophase. A structural investigation through Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, revealed the possibility to finely control the structure/size of the mesophases with the amount of the included additive. A UV–vis spectroscopy study highlighted that the enzymatic reaction kinetics could be controlled by tuning the structural parameters of the mesophase, opening new perspectives for the exploitation of non-lamellar mesophases for confinement and controlled release of therapeutics.


2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (15) ◽  
pp. 4761-4765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessy S. Thomas ◽  
Wonseok Hwang ◽  
Lawrence R. Sita

Biochemistry ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 9 (20) ◽  
pp. 3894-3902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palmer W. Taylor ◽  
Rodney William King ◽  
Arnold S. V. Burgen

2004 ◽  
Vol 124 (5) ◽  
pp. 475-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Ehnes ◽  
Ian C. Forster ◽  
Katja Kohler ◽  
Andrea Bacconi ◽  
Gerti Stange ◽  
...  

The putative first intracellular and third extracellular linkers are known to play important roles in defining the transport properties of the type IIa Na+-coupled phosphate cotransporter (Kohler, K., I.C. Forster, G. Stange, J. Biber, and H. Murer. 2002b. J. Gen. Physiol. 120:693–705). To investigate whether other stretches that link predicted transmembrane domains are also involved, the substituted cysteine accessibility method (SCAM) was applied to sites in the predicted first and fourth extracellular linkers (ECL-1 and ECL-4). Mutants based on the wild-type (WT) backbone, with substituted novel cysteines, were expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and their function was assayed by isotope uptake and electrophysiology. Functionally important sites were identified in both linkers by exposing cells to membrane permeant and impermeant methanethiosulfonate (MTS) reagents. The cysteine modification reaction rates for sites in ECL-1 were faster than those in ECL-4, which suggested that the latter were less accessible from the extracellular medium. Generally, a finite cotransport activity remained at the end of the modification reaction. The change in activity was due to altered voltage-dependent kinetics of the Pi-dependent current. For example, cys substitution at Gly-134 in ECL-1 resulted in rate-limiting, voltage-independent cotransport activity for V ≤ −80 mV, whereas the WT exhibited a linear voltage dependency. After cys modification, this mutant displayed a supralinear voltage dependency in the same voltage range. The opposite behavior was documented for cys substitution at Met-533 in ECL-4. Modification of cysteines at two other sites in ECL-1 (Ile-136 and Phe-137) also resulted in supralinear voltage dependencies for hyperpolarizing potentials. Taken together, these findings suggest that ECL-1 and ECL-4 may not directly form part of the transport pathway, but specific sites in these linkers can interact directly or indirectly with parts of NaPi-IIa that undergo voltage-dependent conformational changes and thereby influence the voltage dependency of cotransport.


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