Effects of Ionic Strength on the Morphology, Scattering, and Mechanical Response of Neurofilament-Derived Protein Brushes

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Yokokura, Takashi J., Duan, Chao, Ding, Erika A., Kumar, Sanjay, Wang, Rui
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Yokokura, Takashi J.
Duan, Chao
Ding, Erika A.
Kumar, Sanjay
Wang, Rui
author_facet Yokokura, Takashi J.
Duan, Chao
Ding, Erika A.
Kumar, Sanjay
Wang, Rui
contents Protein brushes not only play a key role in the functionality of neurofilaments but also have wide applications in biomedical materials. Here, we investigate the effect of ionic strength on the morphology of protein brushes using a continuous-space self-consistent field theory. A coarse-grained multi-block charged macromolecular model is developed to capture the chemical identity of amino acid sequences. For neurofilament heavy (NFH) brushes at pH 2.4, we predict three morphological regimes: swollen brushes, condensed brushes, and coexisting brushes which consist of both a dense inner layer and a diffuse outer layer. The brush height predicted by our theory is in good agreement with experimental data for a wide range of ionic strengths. The dramatic height decrease is a result of the electrostatic screening-induced transition from the overlapping state to the isolated state of the coexisting brushes. We also study the evolution of the scattering and mechanical responses accompanying the morphological change. The oscillation in the reflectivity spectra characterizes the existence and microstructure of the inner condensed layer, whereas the shoulder in the force spectra signifies the swollen morphology.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_02463
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Effects of Ionic Strength on the Morphology, Scattering, and Mechanical Response of Neurofilament-Derived Protein Brushes
Yokokura, Takashi J.
Duan, Chao
Ding, Erika A.
Kumar, Sanjay
Wang, Rui
Soft Condensed Matter
Protein brushes not only play a key role in the functionality of neurofilaments but also have wide applications in biomedical materials. Here, we investigate the effect of ionic strength on the morphology of protein brushes using a continuous-space self-consistent field theory. A coarse-grained multi-block charged macromolecular model is developed to capture the chemical identity of amino acid sequences. For neurofilament heavy (NFH) brushes at pH 2.4, we predict three morphological regimes: swollen brushes, condensed brushes, and coexisting brushes which consist of both a dense inner layer and a diffuse outer layer. The brush height predicted by our theory is in good agreement with experimental data for a wide range of ionic strengths. The dramatic height decrease is a result of the electrostatic screening-induced transition from the overlapping state to the isolated state of the coexisting brushes. We also study the evolution of the scattering and mechanical responses accompanying the morphological change. The oscillation in the reflectivity spectra characterizes the existence and microstructure of the inner condensed layer, whereas the shoulder in the force spectra signifies the swollen morphology.
title Effects of Ionic Strength on the Morphology, Scattering, and Mechanical Response of Neurofilament-Derived Protein Brushes
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.02463