Corundum Particles as Trypsin Carrier for Efficient Protein Digestion

Influence of salts on hydrolysis of β-lactoglobulin by free and immobilised trypsin

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of modified titanium (Ti) surfaces on the initial events of plasma proteins adsorption. 'Ti disks' with three types of surface modifications were compared: machined, acid-etched and acid-etched and blasted. Physical and chemical characterizations of the surfaces were performed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) used for analysis of surface topography, characterization of the titanium oxide (TiO2) layer was carried out by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and characterization of surface energy by the determination of contact angles. Evaluation of plasma proteins' adsorption to the treated Ti surfaces was performed by mass spectrometry, confocal laser scanning microscopy and XPS. Quantitative proteins' assessment was carried out by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. SEM images revealed major differences in the topography of the examined surfaces. Acid-etched and blasted Ti surfaces were found to have higher roughness values and a thicker TiO2 layer as compared with acid-etched and machined surfaces. Moreover, acid-etched and blasted surfaces showed high surface area differentiation, pointing to a high increase in the three-dimensional (3D) surface area over the 2D surface area compared with the other surfaces. Adsorption of plasma proteins to the acid-etched and blasted Ti surfaces was both qualitatively and quantitatively more intense compared with the machined and acid-etched surfaces. This was shown for each examined protein, total proteins and by the removal degree of the protein coat. The preferential adsorption of plasma proteins to the acid-etched and blasted Ti surfaces may be explained by its topographical characteristics and by the increase of the 3D surface area of this modified surface.

Porous silicon (PSi) nanomaterials combine a high drug loading capacity and tunable surface chemistry with various surface modifications to meet the requirements for biomedical applications. In this work, alkyne-terminated thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon (THCPSi) nanoparticles were fabricated and postmodified using five bioactive molecules (targeting peptides and antifouling polymers) via a single-step click chemistry to modulate the bioactivity of the THCPSi nanoparticles, such as enhancing the cellular uptake and reducing the plasma protein association. The size of the nanoparticles after modification was increased from 176 to 180-220 nm. Dextran 40 kDa modified THCPSi nanoparticles showed the highest stability in aqueous buffer. Both peptide- and polymer-functionalized THCPSi nanoparticles showed an extensive cellular uptake which was dependent on the functionalized moieties presented on the surface of the nanoparticles. The plasma protein adsorption study showed that the surface modification with different peptides or polymers induced different protein association profiles. Dextran 40 kDa functionalized THCPSi nanoparticles presented the least protein association. Overall, these results demonstrate that the "click" conjugation of the biomolecules onto the alkyne-terminated THCPSi nanoparticles is a versatile and simple approach to modulate the surface chemistry, which has high potential for biomedical applications.

Adhesion studies of Staphylococcus epidermidis RP62A were conducted using a rotating disk system to determine the roles of surface physicochemistry and topographies under physiologic shear conditions. Six materials were investigated: biomedical reference polyethylene and polydimethylsiloxane; argon plasma-treated reference polyethylene (Ar-PE); Silastic; expanded polytetrafluoroethylene; and woven Dacron. All of the polymers except Dacron demonstrated reduced bacterial adhesion with increasing shear stress. Argon plasma treatment of polyethylene reduced the level of staphylococcal adhesion. Adsorption of human plasma proteins effected significantly lower numbers of adherent bacteria. The lowest adhesion was observed for Ar-PE in 1% human plasma protein solution, whereas Dacron had the highest number of adherent bacteria. The high adhesion on Dacron was attributed to increased bacterial flux caused by topography-induced turbulent flow and physical entrapment of the bacteria in the fiber interstices. The results indicate that the driving force for S. epidermidis adhesion is strongly influenced by substrate physicochemistry, but this may be dominated by physical forces such as shear and turbulence.

Upon administration, nanoparticles (NPs) are exposed to biological fluids from which they adsorb proteins and other biomolecules to form a “protein corona”. NP–protein interactions are still poorly understood and quantitative studies to characterize them remain scarce. Here, we have investigated the effect of neutral dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and cholesterol on the adsorption of human plasma proteins onto the surface of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP)-based cationic liposomes of 100 nm in diameter. Quantitative analysis of the protein corona revealed that replacing cationic DOTAP lipids with neutral lipids, being indifferently DOPE or cholesterol, reduces the affinity of fibrinogen, prothrombin, vitamin K, and vitronectin for the lipid surface. On the other side, DOPE specifically promotes the adsorption of apolipoproteins and serum albumin, while cholesterol induces the preferential binding of immunoglobulins and complement proteins. The results of this study will help to explain why NPs of different lipid compositions have a dramatic difference in their in vivo transfection efficiency and will be useful for design of lipid NPs with optimal circulation profiles.

The distribution of drug delivery systems into the body is affected by plasma proteins adsorbed onto their surface. Furthermore, an exact understanding of the structure and morphology of drug carriers is fundamental to understand their role as gene delivery systems. In this work, the adsorption of human plasma proteins bound to cationic liposomes and to their relative DNA lipoplexes was compared. A shotgun proteomics approach based on HPLC coupled to high resolution MS was used for an efficient identification of proteins adsorbed onto liposome and lipoplex surfaces. The distinct pattern of proteins adsorbed helps to better understand the DNA compaction process. The experimental evidence leads us to hypothesize that polyanionic DNA is associated to the lipoplex surface and can interact with basic plasma proteins. Such a finding is in agreement with recent results showing that lipoplexes are multilamellar DNA/lipid domains partially decorated with DNA at their surface. Proteomics experiments showed that the lipoplex corona is rich of biologically relevant proteins such as fibronectin, histones and complement proteins. Our results provide novel insights to understand how lipoplexes activate the immune system and why they are rapidly cleared from the blood stream. The differences in the protein adsorption data detected in the presented experiments could be the basis for the establishment of a correlation between protein adsorption pattern and in vivo fate of intravenously administered nanoparticles and will require some consideration in the future.

We report the effect of chemical modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on their activation of the human serum complement system, as well as the adsorption of human plasma proteins on MWNTs. Four different types of chemically-modified MWNTs were tested for complement activation via the classical and alternative pathways using haemolytic assays. Human plasma protein binding was also tested using an affinity chromatography technique based on carbon nanotube-Sepharose matrix. Covalent functionalization of MWNTs greatly altered the level of activation of the complement system via the classical pathway. For example, MWNTs functionalised with epsilon-caprolactam or L-alanine showed respectively >90% and >75% reduction in classical pathway activation compared with unmodified MWNTs. These results demonstrate for the first time that these types of chemical modification are able to alter considerably the levels of specific complement proteins bound by pristine MWNTs (used as a control experiment). The reduced levels of complement activation via the classical pathway, that are likely to increase biocompatibility, were directly correlated with the amount of C1q protein bound to chemically modified carbon nanotubes. An inverse correlation was also observed between the amount of complement factor H bound to chemically modified MWNTs and the level of complement consumption via the alternative pathway. Binding of human plasma and serum proteins to pristine and modified MWNTs was highly selective. The chemical modifications studied generally increased nanotube dispersibility in aqueous media, but diminished protein adsorption.

Plasma proteins enriched on the surface of drug-delivery-purpose nanoparticles are regarded as key factors for determination of in vivo organ distribution after intravenous injection. Polysorbate 80-coated polybutylcyanoacrylate (PBCA) nanoparticles, preferentially adsorbing apolipoprotein E (apoE) on their surface, have previously been considered to deliver various drugs to the brain. In the present study, in vivo well tolerable solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) using different types of polysorbates as stabilizers were produced. The influence of the different surfactants on in vitro adsorption of human plasma proteins was investigated using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Possible correlations of different amounts of adsorbed apoE to the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) of the polysorbates are shown and discussed. Apolipoprotein C-II, albumin and immunoglobulin G, which are also decisive plasma proteins with regard to site-specific drug delivery of intravenously injected carriers to the brain, are compared with regard to adsorption. Moreover, certain similarities to the plasma protein adsorption patterns of previously analysed brain-specific PBCA nanoparticles could be detected. Despite some differences in adsorption behavior of proteins on the surface of polysorbate-stabilized SLN and PBCA nanoparticles, we conclude that in both cases polysorbate 80 might have the highest potential to deliver drugs to the brain.

This study intends to improve blood compatibility of polysulfone (PSF) membranes by generating a nonthrombogenic surface through heparin immobilization. To achieve this task, the support membrane prepared from a blend of PSF and sulfonated polysulfone (SPSF) was modified with layer by layer (LBL) deposition of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and alginate (ALG) and heparin blended with ALG was immobilized only on the outermost surface of the LBL assembly. The results have shown that the adsorption of human plasma proteins and platelet activation on the LBL modified membranes decreased significantly compared with the unmodified PSF and PSF-SPSF blend membranes. Furthermore, blending ALG with a small amount of heparin remarkably prolonged the APTT values of heparin free PEI/ALG coated membranes. It is envisaged that the use of a blend of HEP and ALG only in the terminating layer of the LBL assembly can be an economical and alternative modification technique to create nonthrombogenic surfaces.

Immobilization of superoxide dismutase/catalase onto polysulfone membranes to suppress hemodialysis-induced oxidative stress: A comparison of two immobilization methods

Self-assembly synthes is of trypsin-immobilized monolithic microreactor for fast and efficient proteolysis

Poly(D,L-lactic acid) (P(D,L)LA) is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer whose use is limited to orthopaedic applications. In fact, the mechanical properties of P(D,L)LA are not usually utilized for cardiovascular applications, as the polymer has been proven to activate both granulocyte- and platelet-causing inflammation. In order to improve P(D,L)LA haemocompatibility vitamin E (α-tocoferol, 10–30% (w/w)), a natural biological anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, was added during the solvent casting of P(D,L)LA film. The P(D,L)LA films obtained were then analysed using FT-IR analysis to assess vitamin E presence; polymer surface wettability and human plasma protein adsorption were measured by sessile drop test, spectrophotometric protein quantification and Western blot, respectively, and polymer haemocompatibility was assessed measuring platelet and granulocyte adhesion and whole blood coagulation. Vitamin E presence caused an increase in polymer surface wettability and human plasma protein adsorption. The combination of both effects may account for the decrease in platelet and granulocyte adhesion and for the doubling of whole blood clotting time measured onto vitamin-E-enriched P(D,L)LA compared to control P(D,L)LA. Our results indicate that vitamin E addition improves P(D,L)LA haemocompatibility, making this polymer suitable for cardiovascular application.

Improved preparation of immobilized trypsin on superparamagnetic nanoparticles decorated with metal ions

Human plasma protein adsorption onto dextranized surfaces: A two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry study

We demonstrate a new, efficient method for the preparation of phosvitin phosphopeptides using immobilised-trypsin enzymolysis technology. Immobilised trypsin was prepared using a covalent binding method, and then was added to degrade egg yolk phosvitin for the production of phosphopeptides. In our results, the prepared immobilised trypsin demonstrated a higher hydrolysing activity toward phosvitin than free trypsin, and the hydrolysing activity was retained well even after trypsin was repeatedly used up to five times. Interestingly, the phosvitin phosphopeptides prepared with immobilised trypsin demonstrated a lower N/P ratio and a higher calcium-binding efficiency than those prepared with free trypsin. Furthermore, phosphopeptides significantly increased the rate of calcium absorption and serum calcium content in vivo. Based on these results, we conclude that trypsin immobilised onto chitosan has a greater phosvitin hydrolysing activity than free trypsin, and the prepared phosphopeptides can be used as a new calcium supplement to significantly increase calcium absorption in growing rats.