Thermodynamic study of the thermal denaturation of a globular protein in the presence of different ligands

By means of difference UV-Vis spectra, the thermal denaturation of catalase has been studied in the presence of different surfactants: sodium perfluorooctanoate, sodium octanoate and sodium dodecanoate. These results indicate that hydrogenated surfactants play two opposite roles in the folding and stability of catalase, they act as a structure stabiliser at a low molar concentrations (enhancing T _m) and as a destabilizer at a higher concentrations (diminishing T _m). Meanwhile sodium perfluorooctanoate enhances T _m in the whole concentration range. An approach for the determination of the heat capacity, enthalpy and entropy has been made, finding that for the three studied surfactants, at all concentrations, the enthalpy term dominates the entropy term.     

Regarding the effect that different hydrocarbon/fluorocarbon surfactant mixtures have on their complexation with HSA

The complexations between human serum albumin (HSA) and the sodium perfluorooctanoate/sodium octanoate and sodium perfluorooctanoate/sodium dodecanoate systems have been studied by a combination of electrical conductivity, ion-selective electrode, electrophoresis, and spectroscopy measurements. The binary mixtures of the surfactants deviated slightly from ideality. Binding plots revealed the existence of two specific binding sites, the first site being more accessible than the second. Positive cooperative binding has been found, thus revealing the importance of the hydrophobic interactions in both kinds of surfactants. The Gibbs energies of binding per mole of surfactant (DeltaG(nu)) were calculated from the Wyman binding potential where, on the basis of the elevated number of binding sites, a statistical contribution has been included. Initially these energies are large and negative, gradually decreasing as saturation is approached. Changes in the slope of Gibbs energies have been identified with the saturation of the first binding set. These facts denote that the surfactants under study have different favorite adsorption sites along the protein and that the adsorption process of perfluorooctanoate is more closely followed by dodecanoate than by octanoate. Finally, electrophoresis and spectroscopy measurements suggest induced conformational changes on HSA depending on the surfactant mixture as well as the mixed ratio.     

On relationships between surfactant type and globular proteins interactions in solution

The binding of sodium perfluorooctanoate (C8FONa), sodium octanoate (C8HONa), lithium perfluorooctanoate (C8FOLi), and sodium dodecanoate (C12HONa) onto myoglobin, ovalbumin, and catalase in water has been characterized using electrophoretic mobility. The tendency of the protein-surfactant complexes to change their charge in the order catalase < ovalbumin < myoglobin was observed which was related to the contents of alpha-helices in the proteins. alpha-Helices are more hydrophobic than beta-sheets. The effect of surfactant on the zeta potentials follows C8HONa < C8FONa < C8FOLi < C12HONa for catalase and ovalbumin; and C8HONa < C8FOLi < C8FONa < C12HONa for myoglobin. The numbers of binding sites on the proteins were determined from the observed increases of the zeta-potential as a function of surfactant concentration in the regions where the binding was a consequence of the hydrophobic effect. The Gibbs energies of binding of the surfactants onto the proteins were evaluated. For all systems, Gibbs energies are negative and large at low concentrations (where binding to the high energy sites takes place) and become less negative at higher ones. This fact suggests a saturation process. Changes in Gibbs energies with the different proteins and surfactants under study have been found to follow same sequence than that found for the charge. The role of hydrophobic interactions in these systems has been demonstrated to be the predominant.     

A comparative study of the physicochemical properties of perfluorinated and hydrogenated amphiphiles

In this work we studied and compared the physicochemical properties of perfluorinated (sodium perfluoroheptanoate, C7FONa, and perfluorooctanoate, C8FONa) and hydrogenated (sodium octanoate, C8HONa, decanoate, C10HONa, and dodecanoate, C12HONa) amphiphiles. First, we determined their Krafft points to study the solubility and appropriate temperature range of micellization of these compounds. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and ionization degree of micellization (beta) as a function of temperature (T) were estimated from conductivity data. Plots of cmc vs T appear to follow the typical U-shaped curve with a minimum T(min). The results show that the surfactants with CF2/CH2 ratio of 1.5 between alkyl chains (C12HONa-C8FONa and C10HONa-C7FONa) have nearly the same minimum value for cmc against temperature. The comparison between the cmc of hydrogenated amphiphiles and the corresponding perfluorinated amphiphiles must be done at this point. Thermodynamic functions of micellization were obtained by applying different theoretical models and choosing the one that best fit our experimental data. Although perfluorinated and hydrogenated amphiphiles present similar thermodynamic behavior, we have found a variation of 1.3 to 1.7 in the CF2/CH2 ratio, which did not remain constant with temperature. In the second part of this study the apparent molar volumes and adiabatic compressibilities were determined from density and ultrasound velocity measurements. Apparent molar volumes at infinite dilution presented the ratio 1.5 between alkyl chains again. However, apparent molar volumes upon micellization for sodium perfluoroheptanoate indicated a different aggregation pattern.     

Effect of metal ion hydration on the interaction between sodium carboxylates and aluminum(III) or chromium(III) ions in aqueous solution

The interaction between sodium octanoate, decanoate, and dodecanoate and aluminum(III) and chromium(III) has been studied in water at natural pH values, starting well below the surfactant critical micelle concentration, using electrical conductivity, turbidity, and potentiometric measurements. With decanoate or dodecanoate, maximum interaction occurs at 3:1 stoichiometry, corresponding to charge neutralization. Although the solutions become turbid with both metal ions, indicating phase separation, differences are observed and attributed to the fact that aluminum(III) is relatively labile to substitution and rapidly replaces its water ligands, whereas chromium(III) is substitution inert. This shows up in well-defined floc formation with Al(3+), whereas Cr(3+) suspensions do not precipitate, probably because that replacement of coordinated water by carboxylate ligands is impeded. This can be overcome by increasing temperature, and differences in the thermal behavior with Al(3+) and Cr(3+) are suggested to be due to increased involvement of substitution reactions in the latter case. The effect of octanoate on the trivalent metal ions is less clear, and with Cr(3+) interaction only occurs when the carboxylate is in excess. Hydrophobic interactions between alkyl chains play a major role in driving phase separation. At high surfactant concentrations, the solid phases do not dissolve, in contrast to what is observed with the corresponding alkylsulfates. This has implications for use of these systems in metal separation through froth flotation. The concentration of metal ions in supernatant solution has been determined for sodium dodecanoate and sodium dodecylsulfate with Al(3+) and Cr(3+) over the whole surfactant concentration range by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). From this, association constants have been determined and are found to be larger for the carboxylate than the alkylsulfate, in agreement with the greater Lewis basicity of the -CO(2)(-) group.     

What drives the precipitation of long-chain calcium carboxylates (soaps) in aqueous solution?

The interaction of sodium octanoate, decanoate or dodecanoate with calcium(ii) in aqueous solutions has been studied using turbidity, conductivity and potentiometric measurements. These show a marked alkyl chain length dependence on the behaviour. At the calcium concentration used (1.0 mM), there is little interaction with the octanoate, the decanoate shows initially formation of a 1:1 complex, followed by precipitation, while the dodecanoate precipitates at low surfactant concentrations. The solid calcium carboxylates were prepared, and show lamellar, bilayer structures with planes of calcium(II) ions coordinated to carboxylate groups through bidentate chelate linkages. Thermogravimetry and elemental analyses indicate the presence of coordinated water with the calcium decanoate but not with longer chain carboxylates. The results of both the solution and solid state studies suggest that precipitation of long-chain carboxylates depends on a balance between hydration effects and hydrophobic (largely van der Waals') interactions. Electrostatic effects make little energetic contribution but play the important structural role of ordering the carboxylate anions before precipitation. Differences are observed in the interactions between calcium(II) and long chain alkylcarboxylates and alkylsulfates, and are interpreted in terms of stronger binding to the metal of the carboxylate group. A general mechanism is proposed for calcium carboxylate precipitation from aqueous solution based on this and previous studies.     

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CATIONIC STARCH AND ANIONIC SURFACTANTS III RHEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF THE COMPLEX PHASE

This paper reports on studies of the rheological properties of cationic starch (CS)/ surfactant systems. The degree of substitution of the CS was 0.1 - 0.8. Surfactants investigated were sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), potassium octanoate (KOct), sodium decanoate (NaDe)potassium dodecanoate (KDod), sodium oleate (NaOl) and sodium erucate (NaEr). Aggregation of surfactant micelles with the polymer produces a hydrophobic and pseudoplastic gel-like complex phase with low water content and high viscosity. The rheological behavior of the gels is described by the Herschel-Bulkley model. In dilute aqueous solution the CS/surfactant aggregate structure resembles a randomly coiled polymer network, in which polymer molecules are linked by micelles. The rheological data for the gel are compatible with the assumption that the surfactants form liquid crystalline structures with the polymer anchored to the surfactant aggregates, as recently suggested for analogous systems. However, this conjecture needs to be corroborated by more direct determinations of the structure.     

A study on the protein concentration dependence of the thermodynamics of micellization

An investigation on the dependence of the thermodynamics of micellization of different surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium octanoate (C8HONa), and sodium perfluorooctanoate (C8FONa) on the concentration of human serum albumin (HSA) has been realized. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and ionisation degree of micellization, β, as a function of temperature (T), in solutions containing 0.125% and 0.250% in v/w of HSA, were estimated from conductivity data. From these results, the average number of surfactant monomers per protein molecule was calculated: higher values were found for C8HONa, the lowest value corresponded to SDS. For all the systems under study, electrostatic forces mainly drive the interaction between the surfactants and the proteins. Plots of cmc against temperature appear to follow the typical U-shaped curve with a minimum T_min. Thermodynamic functions of micellization were obtained by applying the theoretical models that best fit our experimental data, showing that the addition of HSA shows different patterns depending on the surfactant and thermodynamic quantity. Changes in the protein conformation due to the adsorption of surfactant molecules have been monitored by using UV-CD spectra. Greater changes in α-helical contents correspond with the concentrations over cmc, indicating that at low concentrations surfactants act as a structure stabilizer; meanwhile they act as a destabilizer at higher concentrations. C8HONa is the most effective reducing α-helical content, SDS is the less effective content.     

Effect of alkyl chain asymmetry on catanionic mixtures of hydrogenated and fluorinated surfactants

In this work we studied and compared the physicochemical properties of the catanionic mixtures cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide–sodium dodecanoate, cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide–sodium perfluorodacanoate, octyltrimethylammonium bromide–sodium perfluorodacanoate and cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide–sodium octanoate by a combination of rheological, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and polarized optical microscopy measurements. The binary mixtures of the surfactants have been analyzed at different mixed ratios and total concentration of the mixture. Mixtures containing a perfluorinated surfactant are able to form lamellar liquid crystals and stable spontaneous vesicles. Meanwhile, system containing just hydrogenated surfactants form hexagonal phases or they are arranged in elongated aggregates.     

The influence of sodium perfluorooctanoate on the conformational transitions of human immunoglobulin

In the field of bioscience, the study of the interactions between blood proteins and fluorinated materials is very important from both theoretical and applied points of view. Fluorinated materials have potential use in drug delivery, as blood substitutes, and in biotechnology. Using a combination of ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and ultraviolet-circular dichroism (UV-CD) spectroscopies and ion-selective electrodes, the complete interaction of sodium perfluorooctanoate (SPFO) and the most important immunoglobulin (on a quantitative basis) in human serum, immunoglobulin G (IgG), has been evaluated. The study has been focused on bulk solution. By the application of an SPFO selective electrode, it was determined that there were true specific unions between surfactant molecules and IgG structure. The experimental data were presented as Koltz and Scatchard plots and analyzed on the basis of an empirical Hill equation. The conformational changes at the bulk solution were well characterized by UV-vis and UV-CD spectroscopies. As a consequence of these changes, the protein structure was affected.     

Mixed adsorption of fluorinated and hydrogenated surfactants

The adsorption isotherms of sodium perfluorooctanoate and sodium decyl sulfate and their 1:1 mixture on gamma-alumina are recorded by depletion-type experiments with (1)H and (19)F NMR spectroscopy as the detection tool. The isotherms of the different surfactant species, obtained with and without added salt, closely resemble each other. Salt addition changes the isotherms from stepwise to the familiar S-shaped. After having reached saturation, a further increase of surfactant concentration in the mixed system leads to decyl sulfate desorption and increased perfluorooctanoate adsorption. The (19)F chemical shift of adsorbed perfluorooctanoate suggests that, for saturated surfaces, the two sorts of adsorbed surfactants form molecularly mixed surface aggregates.     

聚苯醚羧酸盐的聚集态结构

本文用热学、力学和散射方法研完了聚苯醚羧酸盐的链结构、羧化聚苯醚(C-PPO)在二氧六环溶液中用0.5 NaOH或CsOH的醇水溶液中和成钠型或铯型的C-PPO离聚体,用DSC测定一系列羧酸盐含量的C-PPO离聚体的玻璃化转变温度得到形成离子微区的临界阳离子浓度约为5mol％;动态力学谱中在高于玻璃化转变温度域出现的α松弛峰亦证明了微相结构的存在;SAXS结果表明其离子微区的尺寸约为30(?),其尺寸大小和离聚体中阳离子浓度无     

Structural micellar transition for fluorinated and hydrogenated sodium carboxylates induced by solubilization of benzyl alcohol

The solubility of benzyl alcohol in micellar solutions of sodium octanoate and sodium perfluorooctanoate was studied. From the isotherms of specific conductivity versus molality at different alcohol concentrations, the critical micelle concentration and the degree of ionization of the micelles were determined. The cmc linearly decreases upon increasing the amount of benzyl alcohol present in aqueous solutions with two distinct slopes. This phenomenon was interpreted as a clustering of alcohol molecules above a critical point, around 0.1 mol kg(-1). Attending to the equivalent conductivity versus square root of molality, the presence of a second micellar structure for the fluorinated compound was assumed. The thermodynamic parameters associated with the process of micellization were estimated by applying Motomura's model for binary surfactant mixtures, modified by Pérez-Villar et al. (Colloid Polym. Sci 1990, 268, 965) for the case of alcohol-surfactant solutions. A comparison of the hydrogenated and fluorinated compounds was carried out and discussed.     

Investigating the effect of an arterial hypertension drug on the structural properties of plasma protein

Propanolol is a betablocker drug used in the treatment of arterial hypertension related diseases. In order to achieve an optimal performance of this drug it is important to consider the possible interactions of propanolol with plasma proteins. In this work, we have used several experimental techniques to characterise the effect of addition of the betablocker propanolol on the properties of bovine plasma fibrinogen (FB). Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), circular dichroism (CD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), surface tension techniques and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements have been combined to carry out a detailed physicochemical and surface characterization of the mixed system. As a result, DSC measurements show that propranolol can play two opposite roles, either acting as a structure stabilizer at low molar concentrations or as a structure destabilizer at higher concentrations, in different domains of fibrinogen. CD measurements have revealed that the effect of propanolol on the secondary structure of fibrinogen depends on the temperature and the drug concentration and the DLS analysis showed evidence for protein aggregation. Interestingly, surface tension measurements provided further evidence of the conformational change induced by propanolol on the secondary structure of FB by importantly increasing the surface tension of the system. Finally, AFM imaging of the fibrinogen system provided direct visualization of the protein structure in the presence of propanolol. Combination of these techniques has produced complementary information on the behavior of the mixed system, providing new insights into the structural properties of proteins with potential medical interest.     

Gold nanoparticles decorated with oligo(ethylene glycol) thiols: protein resistance and colloidal stability

The interactions between proteins and gold colloids functionalized with protein-resistant oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) thiol, HS(CH2)11(OCH2CH2)6OMe (EG6OMe), in aqueous solution have been studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and UV-vis spectroscopy. The mean size, 2R, and the size distribution of the decorated gold colloids have been characterized by SAXS. The monolayer-protected gold colloids have no correlations due to the low volume fraction in solution and are stable in a wide range of temperatures (5-70 degrees C), pH (1.3-12.4), and ionic strength (0-1.0 M). In contrast, protein (bovine serum albumin) solutions with concentrations in the range of 60-200 mg/mL (4.6-14.5 vol %) show a pronounced correlation peak in SAXS, which results from the repulsive electrostatic interaction between charged proteins. These protein interactions show significant dependence on ionic strength, as would be expected for an electrostatic interaction (Zhang et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2007, 111, 251). For a mixture of proteins and gold colloids, the protein-protein interaction changes little upon mixing with OEG-decorated gold colloids. In contrast, the colloid-colloid interaction is found to be strongly dependent on the protein concentration and the size of the colloid itself. Adding protein to a colloidal solution results in an attractive depletion interaction between functionalized gold colloids, and above a critical protein concentration, c*, the colloids form aggregates and flocculate. Adding salt to such mixtures enhances the depletion effect and decreases the critical protein concentration. The aggregation is a reversible process (i.e., diluting the solution leads to dissolution of aggregates). The results also indicate that the charge of the OEG self-assembled monolayer at a curved interface has a rather limited effect on the colloidal stabilization and the repulsive interaction with proteins.     

聚苯醚羧酸盐的链结构

本文用热学,力学和光散射方法研究了聚苯醚羧酸盐的链结构。羧化聚苯醚(CPPO)在二氧六环溶液中用0.5N NaOH(或 CsOH)的醇水溶液中和成钠型或铯型的 CPPO 离聚体,用 DSC测定一系列羧盐含量的 CPPO 离聚体的玻璃化转变温度得到形成离子微区的临界阳离子浓度约为5mol%,动态力学谱中在高于玻璃化转变温度域出现的α松弛峰亦证明了微相结构的存在。SAXS 结果表明其离子微区的尺寸约为3nm,其尺寸大小和离聚体中阳离子浓度无关。     

Surfactant--polymer aggregates formed by sodium dodecyl sulfate, poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone), and poly(ethylene glycol)

The interaction of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution with poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (M(w) = 55,000 g/mol) in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (M(w) = 8000 g/mol) is investigated by electrical conductivity, zeta potential measurements, viscosity measurements, fluorescence spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The results indicate that SDS-polymer interaction occurs at low surfactant concentration, and its critical aggregation concentration is fairly dependent on polymer composition. The polymer-supported micelles have average aggregation numbers dependent on surfactant concentration, are highly dissociated when compared with aqueous SDS micelles, and have zeta potentials that increase linearly with the fraction of PVP at constant SDS concentration. The analysis of the SAXS measurements indicated that the PVP/PEG/SDS system forms surface-charged aggregates of a cylindrical shape with an anisometry (length to cross-section dimension ratio) of about 3.0.     

Salicylic acid-induced effects in the mixed-lipid (dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine-dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanolamine) model membrane

The effect of the keratolytic drug salicylic acid (SA) on the thermotropic properties and fluidity of the mixed lipid membrane dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC)-dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE) had been studied using DSC, (1H and 31P) NMR, SAXS, and dynamic light scattering. The membrane was in multilamellar vesicular (MLV) and unilamellar vesicular (ULV) form with SA/(DPPC+DPPE) molar ratios, R(m), in the range from 0 to 0.5. It was found that the mechanism of interaction of SA with the lipid mixture exhibited similar patterns in both ULV and MLV. Both the NMR and DSC studies indicated that the drug molecules were probably localized in the lipid-water interfacial region neighboring the lipid headgroups or the glycerol moiety. The presence of the drug increased the fluidity of the membrane and the acyl chain order. However, studies on MLV showed that the presence of the drug in high concentration (R(m)0.2), caused destabilization of the DPPC-DPPE mixture, as indicated by the appearance of two endothermic transitions. DSC studies indicated that prolonged equilibration of the membrane led to reduced interaction between the lipid headgroups and the SA molecules. This reduced interaction could be due to the sequestering of the drug molecules into the lipid-water interfacial region, out of proximity to the polar headgroup or glycerol moiety. Effect of inclusion of cholesterol in the membrane systems was also studied.     

Preparation and Characterization of Polyesterurethane Metallopolymers Containing Transition Metal Ions

Several series of metallopolymers (MP) were synthesized from a MDI-based polyesterurethane and various transition metal ion species, namely, copper(II), manganese(II), cobalt(II), iron(III) and chromium(III). Each series of MP were prepared by using different initial molar ratios urethane groups/metal ions (U/M). MP were characterized in comparison with the parent polyurethane (PU) by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and tensile testing. The transition metal ions form coordination complexes with polyurethane functional groups, the intermolecular complexation resulting in the crosslinking of polymer chains. As a consequence, modifications take place in the original structure of PU, e.g. hydrogen bonding and crystallinity of the hard-segment domains. MP compared with PU present differences in viscoelastic and mechanical behaviors, which generally indicate the reinforcing effect of metal ions on the polyurethane matrix, as well in thermal stability. It was revealed that each transition metal ion has specific effects on the structure and properties of PU. The implications and mechanisms behind these observations are discussed.     

Small-angle X-ray scattering and light scattering on lysozyme and sodium glycocholate micelles

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) together with static (SLS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements were carried out on aqueous solutions of lysozyme (LY) and of the ionic biological detergent sodium glycocholate (NaGC). Apparent diffusion coefficients (D app), excess Rayleigh ratio, and SAXS spectra were measured for 0.1 M NaGC solutions at different ionic strengths (0.05-0.30 M NaCl). The same data were collected for LY in sodium acetate buffer 50 mM without and with 92 mM NaCl as a function of protein concentration (10-80 g L(-1)). A correlated analysis of SLS data and SAXS spectra was first tested on the LY samples and then extended to the interpretation of the NaGC data to infer information on particle structure and interaction potential. A hard-core (HC) interaction shell of uniform thickness, a screened Coulomb potential of the electric double layer (EDL) or the complete DLVO potential were alternatively used to represent the long-range tail of the interaction potential. Whenever an essentially repulsive tail is expected, all the representations give reasonable results, but the data analysis does not allow the discrimination between the oblate and the prolate symmetries of the NaGC aggregates. The DLVO model allows the interpretation of the data even when the attractive component determines the tail character. With this model an overall fit of the micelle data at all the NaCl concentrations was successfully performed by assuming a simple spherical symmetry of the micelles and invariant values of their ionization degree and Hamaker constant, thus considering just the screening effect of the added electrolyte. Whatever model is used, the results point out that the aggregates are quite hydrated (26-38 water molecules per monomer) and very slightly grow by increasing the NaCl concentration. When spherical symmetry is assumed the aggregate radii for all the samples fall in the range 15-16 A. From the SAXS and SLS, best fitting geometrical parameters, and interparticle structure factor, a D app value was calculated for each sample. An excellent consistence is achieved for LY results. On the contrary, calculated D app values systematically lower than the experimental values are always obtained for the NaGC micelles. Micelle polydispersity and internal dynamics seem to be the most probable reasons of the bad agreement.