Coil State Research Articles

Design and Mechanism of On–Off Pulsed Drug Release Using Nonenteric Polymeric Systems via pH Modulation

The aim was to design a pH-sensitive pulsatile drug delivery system that allows for an on-off pulsed release of a drug using polyacrylic acid (PAA) blended with ethyl cellulose (EC) in different ratios. PAA, a polyelectrolyte polymer, exhibits a highly coiled conformation at low pH but a highly extended structure at high pH. Fumaric acid, which is an internal acidifying agent, was incorporated into the hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-based core tablets to create an acidic microenvironmental pH (pH(M)). The concentration of fumaric acid inside the core tablet and the ratio of PAA/EC in the coating layer were very crucial in modulating drug release behaviors. When the fumaric acid was retained in the core tablet, it gave a more acidic pH(M), so that the PAA was kept in a highly coiled state in the coated film, which hindered drug release ("off" release pattern). Interestingly, the release profiles of the drug and fumaric acid from coated tablets showed the on-off pulsed pattern upon dissolution. Imaging analyses using scanning electron microscopy, near-infrared imaging, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed this on-off release behavior of the drug and fumaric acid from coated tablets.

Temperature dependent free energy surface of polymer folding from equilibrium and quench studies

Langevin dynamics simulation studies have been employed to calculate the temperature dependent free energy surface and folding characteristics of a 500 monomer long linear alkane (polyethylene) chain with a realistic interaction potential. Both equilibrium and temperature quench simulation studies have been carried out. Using the shape anisotropy parameter (S) of the folded molecule as the order parameter, we find a weakly first order phase transition between the high-temperature molten globule and low-temperature rodlike crystalline states separated by a small barrier of the order of k(B)T. Near the melting temperature (580 K), we observe an intriguing intermittent fluctuation with pronounced "1/f noise characteristics" between these two states with large difference in shape and structure. We have also studied the possibilities of different pathways of folding to states much below the melting point. At 300 K starting from the all-trans linear configuration, the chain folds stepwise into a very regular fourfold crystallite with very high shape anisotropy. Whereas, when quenched from a high temperature (900 K) random coil regime, we identify a two step transition from the random coiled state to a molten globulelike state and, further, to a anisotropic rodlike state. The trajectory reveals an interesting coupling between the two order parameters, namely, radius of gyration (R(g)) and the shape anisotropy parameter (S). The rodlike final state of the quench trajectory is characterized by lower shape anisotropy parameter and significantly larger number of gauche defects as compared to the final state obtained through equilibrium simulation starting from all-trans linear chain. The quench study shows indication of a nucleationlike pathway from the molten globule to the rodlike state involving an underlying rugged energy landscape.

Discrepancies between Conformational Distributions of a Polyalanine Peptide in Solution Obtained from Molecular Dynamics Force Fields and Amide I′ Band Profiles

Structural preferences in the unfolded state of peptides determined by molecular dynamics still contradict experimental data. A remedy in this regard has been suggested by MD simulations with an optimized Amber force field ff03* ( Best, R. Hummer, G. J. Phys. Chem. B 2009 , 113 , 9004 - 9015 ). The simulations yielded a statistical coil distribution for alanine which is at variance with recent experimental results. To check the validity of this distribution, we investigated the peptide H-A(5)W-OH, which with the exception of the additional terminal tryptophan is analogous to the peptide used to optimize the force fields ff03*. Electronic circular dichroism, vibrational circular dichroism, and infrared spectroscopy as well as J-coupling constants obtained from NMR experiments were used to derive the peptide's conformational ensemble. Additionally, Förster resonance energy transfer between the terminal chromophores of the fluorescently labeled peptide analogue H-Dbo-A(5)W-OH was used to determine its average length, from which the end-to-end distance of the unlabeled peptide was estimated. Qualitatively, the experimental (3)J(H(N),C(α)), VCD, and ECD indicated a preference of alanine for polyproline II-like conformations. The experimental (3)J(H(N),C(α)) for A(5)W closely resembles the constants obtained for A(5). In order to quantitatively relate the conformational distribution of A(5) obtained with the optimized AMBER ff03* force field to experimental data, the former was used to derive a distribution function which expressed the conformational ensemble as a mixture of polyproline II, β-strand, helical, and turn conformations. This model was found to satisfactorily reproduce all experimental J-coupling constants. We employed the model to calculate the amide I' profiles of the IR and vibrational circular dichroism spectrum of A(5)W, as well as the distance between the two terminal peptide carbonyls. This led to an underestimated negative VCD couplet and an overestimated distance between terminal carbonyl groups. In order to more accurately account for the experimental data, we changed the distribution parameters based on results recently obtained for the alanine-based tripeptides. The final model, which satisfactorily reproduced amide I' profiles, J-coupling constant, and the end-to-end distance of A(5)W, reinforces alanine's high structural preference for polyproline II. Our results suggest that distributions obtained from MD simulations suggesting a statistical coil-like distribution for alanine are still based on insufficiently accurate force fields.

High-Pressure SAXS Study of Folded and Unfolded Ensembles of Proteins

A structural interpretation of the thermodynamic stability of proteins requires an understanding of the structural properties of the unfolded state. High-pressure small-angle x-ray scattering was used to measure the effects of temperature, pressure, denaturants, and stabilizing osmolytes on the radii of gyration of folded and unfolded state ensembles of staphylococcal nuclease. A set of variants with the internal Val-66 replaced with Ala, Tyr, or Arg was used to examine how changes in the volume and polarity of an internal microcavity affect the dimensions of the native state and the pressure sensitivity of the ensemble. The unfolded state ensembles achieved for these proteins with high pressure were more compact than those achieved at high temperature, and were all very sensitive to the presence of urea and glycerol. Substitutions at the hydrophobic core detectably altered the conformation of the protein, even in the folded state. The introduction of a charged residue, such as Arg, inside the hydrophobic interior of a protein could dramatically alter the structural properties, even those of the unfolded state. The data suggest that a charge at an internal position can interfere with the formation of transient hydrophobic clusters in the unfolded state, and ensure that the pressure-unfolded form of a protein occupies the maximum volume possible. Only at high temperatures does the radius of gyration of the unfolded state ensemble approach the value for a statistical random coil.

PH-Controlled Carbon Nanotube Aggregation/Dispersion Based on Intermolecular I-Motif DNA Formation

In this work, we report a new strategy to manipulate the aggregation and dispersion of carbon nanotube in solution via formation of intermolecular i-motif (four-stranded C-quadruplex) structures in a pH dependent manner. Firstly, single-stranded (ss) DNAs containing two stretches of cytosine (C)-rich domains are covalently linked to carbon nanotubes. At pH 8.0, DNAs are at random coil state, which enhance the dispersion of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in water; after changing pH to 5.0, the intermolecular i-motif structures formed by the C-rich ssDNAs on neighboring carbon nanotube could drive the MWNTs aggregate. This process is reversible and the transition process has been verified by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, gel electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Considering the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube, this finding will benefit many application research fields, such as artificial muscle, functional nano-devices and so on.

Role of the Conformational Versatility of the Neurotrophin N-Terminal Regions in Their Recognition by Trk Receptors

Neurotrophins (NTs) represent a family of proteins that play an important role in the survival, development, and function of neurons. Extensive efforts are currently being made to develop small molecules endowed with agonist or antagonist NT activity. The structurally versatile N-termini of these proteins are considered regions of interest for the design of new molecules. By combining experimental and computational approaches, we analyzed the intrinsic conformational preferences of the N-termini of two of the most important NTs: NGF (NGF-Nter) and NT4 (NT4-Nter). Circular dichroism spectra clearly indicate that both peptides show a preference for random coil states. Because this finding does not preclude the possibility that structured forms may occur in solution as minor conformational states, we performed molecular-dynamics simulations to gain insights into the structural features of populated species. In line with the circular dichroism analysis, the simulations show a preference for unstructured states for both peptides. However, the simulations also show that for NT4-Nter, and to a lesser extent for NGF-Nter, helical conformations, which are required for binding to the Trk receptor, are present in the repertoire of structures that are intrinsically accessible to these peptides. Accordingly, molecular recognition of NTs by the Trk receptor is accomplished by the general mechanism known as population shift. These findings provide a structural rationale for the observed activity of synthetic peptides based on these NT regions. They also suggest strategies for the development of biologically active peptide-based compounds.

A polyethylene chain investigated with replica exchange molecular dynamics simulation: Equilibrium lamellar thickness and melting point, ordering and free energy

In the present work, a polyethylene chain with N=200 CH2 units was simulated using replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD). Simulations were performed in a broad temperature range and for intra-chain interactions varying from the fully interacting to the ideal spring chain.Our work demonstrates that REMD is a very efficient method to obtain equilibrium data. It is found that the coil-to-globule transition is dominated by the vdW energy, whereas the globule-to-folded chain transition is accompanied by transitional behavior in the torsion and vdW energies. Our data clearly show that for the chain length considered here, the chain folded crystal to globule transition is a continuous transition. Nevertheless, we can establish with good accuracy the equilibrium transition temperature for the chain folded crystal to globule transition.A set of orientational order parameters was used to investigate the order in the polymer chain. At the globule-to-folded chain transition an abrupt change in the value of the order parameter is observed, whereas there is no or almost no change in the value of the order parameter at the coil-to-globule transition temperature. The (apparent) order in the disordered globular and coiled states indicated by some studied order parameters is related to the definition of the order parameter and depends on the chain length of the polymer.Below the equilibrium melting temperature the (largest principal component of the) radius of gyration and the equilibrium lamellar thickness of the folded chain crystal decrease with increasing temperature, which gives support to the theory of Muthukumar but is opposite to the prediction of classical crystallization theories. The agreement between simulations and theory may hint to universal behavior of the relative equilibrium thickness versus the relative super cooling.

ON-OFF switching of transcriptional activity of large DNA through a conformational transition in cooperation with phospholipid membrane.

We report that structural transitions of DNA cause the ON−OFF switching of transcriptional activity in cooperation with phospholipid membrane in a reconstituted artificial cell. It has been shown that long DNA of more than 20−30 kilo base-pairs exhibits a discrete conformational transition between a coiled state and highly folded states in aqueous solution, depending on the presence of various condensing agents such as polyamine. Recently, we reported a conformational transition of long DNA through interplay with phospholipid membrane, from a folded state in aqueous phase to an extended coil state on a membrane surface, in a cell-sized water-in-oil microdroplet covered by phosphatidylethanolamine monolayer (Kato, A.; Shindo, E.; Sakaue, T.; Tsuji, A.; Yoshikawa, K. Biophys. J.2009, 132, 1678−1686). In this study, to elucidate the effects of these conformational changes on the biologically important function of DNA, transcription, we investigated the transcriptional activity of DNA in a microdroplet. Transcriptional activity was evaluated at individual DNA molecule level by a method we developed, in which mRNA molecules are labeled with fluorescent oligonucleotide probes. Transcription proceeded on almost all of the DNA molecules with a coiled conformation in the aqueous phase. In the presence of a tetravalent amine, spermine, the DNA had a folded conformation, and transcription was completely inhibited. When the Mg2+ concentration was increased, DNA was adsorbed onto the inner surface of the membrane and exhibited an extended conformation. The transcription experiments showed that this conformational transition recovered transcriptional activity; transcription occurred on DNA molecules that were on the membrane.

2H NMR and Simulation Studies of Chain Segment Orientation in PDMS Bimodal Networks

We present a systematic study through 2H NMR and molecular simulations of chain segment orientation in model PDMS bimodal networks. Estimates of the average segment orientation order parameter in model PDMS bimodal networks compare well to those of equivalent simulated networks. We find that line shapes of short and long chains are different due to the dissimilar degrees of motional restrictions. Short-chain conformations are perturbed from random coiled states when incorporated into bimodal networks whereas long-chain conformations are unaffected. Although experiments and simulations both indicate that the overall segment orientation normalized by the elastic modulus is fairly constant across all bimodal network compositions, short-chain normalized segment orientation displays a nonmonotonic trend with the network composition (related to changes in network microstructure and mechanical properties). Finally, we show that the unusual outer splittings observed in spectra of highly extended unimodal and bimodal samples correspond to segments in long chains able to be exceptionally stretched and oriented along the strain axis.

Melting of a β-Hairpin Peptide Using Isotope-Edited 2D IR Spectroscopy and Simulations

Isotope-edited two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy has been used to characterize the conformational heterogeneity of the beta-hairpin peptide TrpZip2 (TZ2) across its thermal unfolding transition. Four isotopologues were synthesized to probe hydrogen bonding and solvent exposure of the beta-turn (K8), the N-terminus (S1), and the midstrand region (T10 and T3T10). Isotope-shifts, 2D lineshapes, and other spectral changes to the amide I 2D IR spectra of labeled TZ2 isotopologues were observed as a function of temperature. Data were interpreted on the basis of structure-based spectroscopic modeling of conformers obtained from extensive molecular dynamics simulations. The K8 spectra reveal two unique turn geometries, the type I' beta-turn observed in the NMR structure, and a less populated disordered or bulged loop. The data indicate that structures at low temperature resemble the folded NMR structure with typical cross-strand hydrogen bonds, although with a subpopulation of misformed turns. As the temperature is raised from 25 to 85 degrees C, the fraction of population with a type I' turn increases, but the termini also fray. Hydrogen bonding contacts in the midstrand region remain at all temperatures although with increasing thermal disorder. Our data show no evidence of an extended chain or random coil state for the TZ2 peptide at any temperature. The methods demonstrated here offer an approach to characterizing conformational variation within the folded or unfolded states of proteins and peptides.

Temperature‐dependent structural changes in intrinsically disordered proteins: Formation of α‒helices or loss of polyproline II?

Structural characterization of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is mandatory for deciphering their potential unique physical and biological properties. A large number of circular dichroism (CD) studies have demonstrated that a structural change takes place in IDPs with increasing temperature, which most likely reflects formation of transient alpha-helices or loss of polyproline II (PPII) content. Using three IDPs, ACTR, NHE1, and Spd1, we show that the temperature-induced structural change is common among IDPs and is accompanied by a contraction of the conformational ensemble. This phenomenon was explored at residue resolution by multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. Intrinsic chemical shift referencing allowed us to identify regions of transiently formed helices and their temperature-dependent changes in helicity. All helical regions were found to lose rather than gain helical structures with increasing temperature, and accordingly these were not responsible for the change in the CD spectra. In contrast, the nonhelical regions exhibited a general temperature-dependent structural change that was independent of long-range interactions. The temperature-dependent CD spectroscopic signature of IDPs that has been amply documented can be rationalized to represent redistribution of the statistical coil involving a general loss of PPII conformations.

Effects of the English (H6R) and Tottori (D7N) Familial Alzheimer Disease Mutations on Amyloid β-Protein Assembly and Toxicity

Mutations in the amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) precursor gene cause autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease in a number of kindreds. In two such kindreds, the English and the Tottori, the mutations produce amyloid beta-proteins containing amino acid substitutions, H6R and D7N, respectively, at the peptide N terminus. To elucidate the structural and biological effects of the mutations, we began by examining monomer conformational dynamics and oligomerization. Relative to their wild type homologues, and in both the Abeta40 and Abeta42 systems, the English and Tottori substitutions accelerated the kinetics of secondary structure change from statistical coil --> alpha/beta --> beta and produced oligomer size distributions skewed to higher order. This skewing was reflected in increases in average oligomer size, as measured using electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Stabilization of peptide oligomers using in situ chemical cross-linking allowed detailed study of their properties. Each substitution produced an oligomer that displayed substantial beta-strand (H6R) or alpha/beta (D7N) structure, in contrast to the predominately statistical coil structure of wild type Abeta oligomers. Mutant oligomers functioned as fibril seeds, and with efficiencies significantly higher than those of their wild type homologues. Importantly, the mutant forms of both native and chemically stabilized oligomers were significantly more toxic in assays of cell physiology and death. The results show that the English and Tottori mutations alter Abeta assembly at its earliest stages, monomer folding and oligomerization, and produce oligomers that are more toxic to cultured neuronal cells than are wild type oligomers.

Hydrophobic collapse and cold denaturation in the Jagla model of water

The Jagla model is a coarse-grained model of water which describes interactions betweengroups of water molecules by a spherically symmetric potential characterized by a hardcore, a linear repulsive ramp and a long-range attractive ramp. The Jagla modelqualitatively reproduces the thermodynamics and dynamics of liquid water includingdensity and diffusion anomalies as well as certain chemical properties such the increase ofsolubility of small hydrophobic particles upon cooling. We examine, via molecular dynamicssimulation, the behavior of the bead-on-a-string polymers of various lengths in the Jaglamodel. We find that such polymers exhibit swelling upon cooling similar to colddenaturation of proteins in water. We show that while for short polymers the swelling isgradual, longer polymers exhibit a first-order-like phase transition between a globularphase at high temperatures to a random coil state at cold temperatures. Thistransition is associated with the formation of a liquid–polymer phase boundarysurrounding the globule and complete dewetting of the central parts of the globule athigh temperatures. We study thermodynamics of this transition and find thatthe entropy, volume, and potential energy of the solvent–random coil systemis lower than those of the globule–solvent system. Accordingly the slope of thecoil–globule transition line on a PT plane has positive slope. We present simplethermodynamic considerations similar to classical nucleation theory, which relatethe temperature of the cold swelling transition to polymer length and relate thedewetting of the globule to its diameter and to the Egelstaff–Widom length scale.

Plastic deformation of glassy polymethylene: Computer-aided molecular-dynamic simulation

Molecular-dynamic simulation of low-temperature plastic deformation (T def = 50 K, T def/T g ≤ 0.3) is studied for glassy polymethylene under the regime of active uniaxial compression and tension for a cell composed of 64 chains containing 100 -CH2 groups in each (as united atoms) and with periodic boundary conditions. Thirty-two such cells are created, and, in each cell, polymethylene chains in the statistical coil conformation are independently constructed. The cells are subjected to isothermal uniaxial compression at T def = 50 K by ɛ = 30% and by ɛ = 70% under uniaxial tension. In the course of loading, a σ-ɛ diagram is recorded, while the mechanical work spent on deformation, the changes in the overall potential energy of the system, and the contributions from various potential interactions (noncovalent van der Waals bonds, chemical links, valence and torsional angles) are estimated. The results are averaged over all 32 cells. The relaxation of stored potential energy and residual strain after complete unloading of the deformed sample is studied. The relaxation of stored energy and residual strain is shown to be incomplete. Most of this energy and strain is stored in the sample at the deformation temperature for long period. The conformational composition of chains and the average density of polymer glass during loading are analyzed. Simulation results show that inelastic deformations commence not with the conformational unfolding of coils but with the nucleation of strain-bearing defects of a nonconformational nature. The main contribution to the energy of these defects is provided by van der Waals interactions. Strain-bearing defects are nucleated in a polymer glass during tension and compression primarily as short-scale positive volume fluctuations in the sample. During tension, the average density of the glass decreases; during compression, this parameter slightly increases to ɛ ≈ 8% and then decreases. An initial increase in the density indicates that, during compression and at ɛ < 8%, coils undergo compactization via an increase in chain packing. During compression, the concentration of trans conformers remains unchanged below ɛ ≈ 8% and then decreases. During compression, it means that in a glass, coils do not increase their sizes at strains below ɛ ≈ 8%. During tensile drawing, coils remain unfolded below ɛ ≈ 35%; at higher strains, coils become enriched with trans conformers or unfold. At this stage, the concentration of trans conformers linearly increases. The development of a strain-induced excess volume (strain-bearing defects) entails an increase in the potential energy of the sample. Under the given conditions of deformation, nucleation of strain-bearing defects and an increase in their concentration are found to be the only processes occurring at the initial stage of loading of glassy polymethylene. The results of computer-aided simulation are compared with the experimental data reported in the literature.

Volume Transition of PNIPAM in a Nonionic Surfactant Hexagonal Mesophase

We investigate the volume transition of a thermoresponsive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM, in the presence of an aqueous solution of nonionic surfactant, C12E9. We combine turbidimetry with optical microscopy, NMR, and SAXS to follow the volume transition of the PNIPAM and the H1-isotropic transition of the surfactant/water system. Nonionic surfactants such as C12E9 are known to interact weakly with PNIPAM. Accordingly, we show that there is only a small change in the volume transition temperature for the PNIPAM in isotropic micellar solutions of C12E9, even for relatively high concentrations of C12E9. Interestingly, once the surfactant forms an H1 phase, there is a dramatic decrease in the coil−globule transition onset temperature. We believe that this behavior results from a competition between C12E9 in the H1 phase, and PNIPAM to associate with water. When PNIPAM in the H1 phase is cooled to low enough temperatures so as to be in the coil state, it locally disturbs the hexagonal phase ordering. Thus, we show that for PNIPAM in a weakly interacting surfactant matrix, it is the phase behavior of the matrix rather than the matrix chemistry that governs the coil−globule transition. Finally, we show that in a PNIPAM copolymer with a higher LCST we observe an interesting sequence of transitions in the surfactant phase: on cooling from a high temperature free-flowing turbid globular state (∼75 °C), we enter a free-flowing translucent coil phase (∼47 °C), then a turbid gel (∼25 °C) where the copolymer is collapsed in the H1 phase, and finally a low-temperature clear gel (∼5 °C) where the copolymer is in the expanded coil state.

Thermal effects of added propanol on the helix–coil transition of (Pro-Pro-Gly) 10 in D 2O solution: An NMR study

The conformational transition of collagen model peptide, (Pro-Pro-Gly) 10, from the triple helical structure to the statistical coil was observed in various aqueous alcohol solutions by NMR measurements. In methanol or ethanol solution, the thermal transition temperature, T m, of the peptide increased regularly with the concentration of alcohols. In 1- or 2-propanol, however, T m first decreased and then increased steeply, in apparent contrast to the general trend that the addition of alcohol on aqueous solution increases the stability of ordered structure of polypeptides. This exceptional behavior of the collagen model peptide in propanols might provide a clue to investigate the mechanism of stabilization of protein conformation.

Refinement of Ensembles Describing Unstructured Proteins Using NMR Residual Dipolar Couplings

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) are unique probes of the structural and dynamical properties of biomolecules on the sub-millisecond time scale that can be used as restraints in ensemble molecular dynamics simulations to study the relationship between macromolecular motion and biological function. To date, however, this powerful strategy is applicable only to molecules that do not undergo shape changes on the time scale sampled by RDCs, thus preventing the study of key biological macromolecules such as multidomain and unstructured proteins. In this work, we circumvent this limitation by using an algorithm that explicitly computes the individual alignment tensors of the different ensemble members from their coordinates at each step in the simulation. As a first application, we determine an ensemble of conformations that accurately describes the structure and dynamics of chemically denatured ubiquitin. In analogy to dynamic refinement of folded, globular proteins, where simulations are initiated from average structures, we use statistical coil models as starting configuration because they represent the best available descriptions of unstructured proteins. We find that refinement with RDCs causes significant structural corrections and yields an ensemble that is in complete agreement with the measured RDCs and presents transient mid-range inter-residue interactions between strands beta1 and beta2 of the native protein, also observed in other studies based on trans-hydrogen bond (3)J(NC') scalar couplings and paramagnetic relaxation enhancements. Finally, and in spite of the high structural heterogeneity of the refined ensemble, we find that it can be cross-validated against RDCs not used to restrain the simulation. This method increases the range of systems that can be studied using ensemble simulations restrained by RDCs and is likely to yield new insights into how the large-scale motions of macromolecules relate to biological function.

Effects of a lipid environment on the fibrillogenic pathway of the N-terminal polypeptide of human apolipoprotein A-I, responsible for in vivo amyloid fibril formation

In amyloidosis associated with apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), heart amyloid deposits are mainly constituted by the 93-residue ApoA-I N-terminal region. A recombinant form of the amyloidogenic polypeptide, named [1-93]ApoA-I, shares conformational properties and aggregation propensity with its natural counterpart. The polypeptide, predominantly in a random coil state at pH 8.0, following acidification to pH 4.0 adopts a helical/molten globule transient state, which leads to formation of aggregates. Here we provide evidence that fibrillogenesis occurs also in physiologic-like conditions. At pH 6.4, [1-93]ApoA-I was found to assume predominantly an alpha-helical state, which undergoes aggregation at 37 degrees C over time at a lower rate than at pH 4.0. After 7 days at pH 6.4, protofibrils were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Using a multidisciplinary approach, including circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence, electrophoretic, and AFM analyses, we investigated the effects of a lipid environment on the conformational state and aggregation propensity of [1-93]ApoA-I. Following addition of the lipid-mimicking detergent Triton X-100, the polypeptide was found to be in a helical state at both pH 8.0 and 6.4, with no conformational transition occurring upon acidification. These helical conformers are stable and do not generate aggregated species, as observed by AFM after 21 days. Similarly, analyses of the effects of cholesterol demonstrated that this natural ApoA-I ligand induces formation of alpha-helix at physiological concentrations at both pH 8.0 and 6.4. Zwitterionic, positively charged, and negatively charged liposomes were found to affect [1-93]ApoA-I conformation, inducing helical species. Our data support the idea that lipids play a key role in [1-93]ApoA-I aggregation in vivo.

Peculiarities of gold nanoparticle formation in chitosan solutions doped with HAuCl4

The possibility of preparing gold dispersions with a narrow and controlled size distribution of nanoparticles in the process of a UV-induced reduction of Au3+ of HAuCl4 in chitosan solutions by varying the polysaccharide macromolecule conformation is shown. Solutions with a spiral conformation of chitosan macromolecules are characterized by the formation of Au nanoparticles with smaller average sizes \( \bar l \) = 2 nm and a narrower distribution from 1 to 7 nm, when compared to the conformation of a statistical coil (\( \bar l \) = 5 nm; from 2 to 14 nm, respectively). The particle shape in both cases is close to spherical. Nanodispersions are aggregately stable for no less than 160 days.

Interactions between milk proteins and gellan gum in acidified gels

The mechanical properties, microstructure and water holding capacity of systems formed from whey protein concentrate (0–3% WPC w/w), sodium caseinate (0–2% w/w), and gellan gum (0.1–0.3% w/w) in the coil or helix conformational state (Coil/Helix), were investigated. This polymer combination resulted in bi-polymeric or tri-polymeric systems, which were slowly acidified to pH 4.0 by the addition of GDL in order to favor electrostatic protein–polysaccharide interactions. The properties of the tri-polymeric systems differed considerably from the bi-polymeric ones. At high polymer concentrations the WPC-gellan samples showed incompatibility and microphase separation, which resulted in weaker and less deformable gels. However, in systems with coil gellan the incompatibility was less intense, which was attributed to the formation of electrostatic complexes between the protein and the polysaccharide during the mixing process. In caseinate–gellan systems, complex formation was observed and an increase in the gel mechanical properties as the caseinate concentration rose, although the water holding capacity decreased at higher gellan concentrations. The caseinate–gellan coacervate was not visualized in the tri-polymeric systems and the incompatibility between the biopolymers was intensified, although the mechanical properties were considerably higher than in the bi-polymeric gels.