扫描探针显微技术在蛋白质分子结构与性质研究中的应用

由于与人类生活密切相关,蛋白质分子器件的研究得到了广泛的关注。扫描探针显微镜(SPM)技术的飞速发展无疑为从分子水平研究氧化还原蛋白质提供了有利的工具。氧化还原蛋白质的分子结构、力学性质、电学/电化学性质是蛋白质分子器件的重要研究内容。本文从SPM的电流电压特性曲线、力曲线、化学电势控制等方面介绍了相关的前沿性研究进展,为充分发挥SPM技术在蛋白质分子领域的研究提供参考。     

导电原子力显微镜对蛋白质在分子水平上的电学表征

蛋白质电子传递的研究不仅对阐述生物能量传递具有重要的意义,而且有助于促进生物分子在分子电子器件中的应用．金属蛋白以其固有的电化学和电学特性,在光合作用和呼吸作用中起到重要作用．其中铜蓝蛋白具有良好的电化学性质和明确的分子结构,常常用作研究蛋白质电子传递的模型分子。很多具有微观尺度表征能力的分析仪器可用于研究表面吸附的蛋白质分子。     

毛细管电泳法在测定蛋白多肽理化特性中的应用

蛋白质是生命物质基础,蛋白质性质和功能研究是生命科学现在和将来的研究热点之一。理化特性参数是分离、鉴定多肽或蛋白质的基础,已成为蛋白质组学重要研究内容之一。毛细管电泳是将电泳和色谱有机地结合在一起的快速分离技术,分离机制涉及到物质的荷电、分子空间结构和大小、扩散特性、相互作用等理化性质。通过对样品的定量分析或不同条件下迁移时间的变化,利用理化参数与浓度或迁移时间的定量关系,可以计算出多肽或蛋白质的理化特性参数。本文对近年来毛细管电泳测定蛋白质或多肽理化特性原理和方法进行了综述。     

单分子结的构筑及分子电导性质的测试

分子电子学已成为21世纪研究的热点. 通过将具有特定功能的分子连接在纳米尺度金属电极之间从而构筑包括分子导线、开关、整流器在内的各种分子尺度电子器件, 这引起了科学家们广泛的研究兴趣. 在分子电子学研究中, 构筑金属/分子/金属(MMM)分子结是研究分子器件中电子传输性质的关键. 尽管已经取得了很大的进展, 目前在纳米尺度下构筑稳定可靠的MMM分子结并测试单个分子的电学性质仍然面临很多挑战. 本文着重对单分子电学性质的测试技术和相关理论研究的最新进展以及存在的挑战做了概述.     

毛细管电泳法在测定蛋白质或多肽的理化特性中的应用

蛋白质是生命物质的基础,蛋白质性质和功能研究是生命科学现在和将来的研究热点之一。理化特性参数是分离、鉴定多肽或蛋白质的基础,已成为蛋白质组学的重要研究内容之一。毛细管电泳是将电泳和色谱有机地结合在一起的快速分离技术,分离机制涉及到物质的荷电、分子空间结构和大小、扩散特性、相互作用等理化性质。通过对样品的定量分析或不同条件下迁移时间的变化的测定,利用理化参数与浓度或迁移时间的定量关系可以计算出多肽或蛋白质的理化特性参数。本文对近年来毛细管电泳测定蛋白质或多肽理化特性的原理和方法方面的进展进行了综述。     

金属/分子/金属结的电子输运机理与表征

金属/分子/金属结是分子电子学中的基本单元.根据电子的相位是否发生改变,分子结中的电子输运可以分为相干输运和非相干输运两类.在实验上,分子结的表征方法可以分为电学性质表征和非电学性质表征两类.本文借助能级图,首先对分子结的电子输运机理作了简明解释.在此基础上,结合文献报道和本课题组此前的工作,对分子结的一些常用电学表征方法,包括电流-电压特性曲线、电流-时间曲线、电导统计柱状图、转变电压谱、散粒噪声测试、非弹性电子隧道谱和热电效应法进行了介绍.     

界面电场对血红蛋白在多孔金电极上的吸附和生物活性的影响(英文)

蛋白质的界面吸附及其生物活性因它在构建生物传感、生物电子器件和生物燃料电池等方面具有重要的作用而倍受关注.对此,界面电场是吸附的一个重要影响因素,它能明显地影响蛋白质分子在材料界面的吸附量、分子构象以及分子定向.本文应用电化学方法和红外光谱技术研究了血红蛋白在三维多孔金膜电极上的吸附动力学及其生物活性随界面电场的变化关系.结果表明,由界面电场产生的过量表面电荷可借助与蛋白质分子之间的静电作用加速蛋白质分子在电极表面的吸附,提高其吸附量;但是,过高的界面电场将破坏吸附蛋白质的构象以及降低它还原过氧化氢的催化活性;只有在零电荷电位下,吸附在电极表面的血红蛋白才能保持其天然的构象和生物催化活性.本研究将为生物传感器、生物电子器件和生物燃料电池的构建提供理论依据,加深对荷电生物界面上生物分子界面行为的认识.     

偶氮吡啶分子结的制备、表征及电学性质初步研究

具有特异电学性质的分子结的制备及电子输运特性研究是分子电子学领域中的主要内容,对构筑分子电子器件具有重要意义．但是,由于分子结的尺度通常在100nm以下,这使得分子结的低缺陷制备和准确有效的电学特性研究面临困难．目前,自组装方法已经成为降低分子结缺陷的主要手段,     

表面活性剂HLB值与渣油乳化体系分散性及电学性质的关系研究

为了研究表面活性剂亲水亲油平衡值（HLB值）与渣油乳化体系分散性和电学性质的关系,采用粒径和粒径分布相结合的方法来评价乳化体系的分散性,利用电导率值的变化来反应体系电学性质的差异,以表面活性剂B和A复合成实验用渣油乳化分散剂来分散渣油加氢裂化水溶性盐,考察了表面活性剂HLB值对渣油包盐水体系的分散性和电学性质的影响。结果表明,随表面活性剂HLB值从小到大的变化,不同水溶性盐在同种油中的分散性和电学性质不同,同种盐在不同油中的变化也存在着差异。乳化体系的分散性及电学性质随着HLB值的增加呈非线性变化。     

类蛋白质分子扩散系数的模拟计算

蛋白质分子是一类比较特殊的高分子，一方面它的性质与氨基酸序列密切相关，另一方面其二级结构（如α螺旋以及β折叠等）极大地影响着它的性质．另外它的内部结构又非常紧密，与一般的高分子链完全不同．同时随着计算机技术的发展，计算机模拟日益作为一种有效的手段广泛应用于高分子科学的研究．但是由于蛋白质分子比一般的高分子结构更加复杂，如氨基酸之间有复杂的互相作用等，因此对蛋白质性质的研究往往建立在简化模型的基础上，如基于格点的HP紧密高分子模型等．虽然建立在格点模型上的蛋白质分子和真实的蛋白质分子存在着一定的差异，但基本上能体现蛋白质分子的主要特征，因此把这一类分子称为类蛋白质分子．     

Proteomic strategies for the analysis of carbonyl groups on proteins

Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between formation and destruction of reactive oxygen species. Analysis of the reaction products of reactive oxygen species in biomolecules is an indirect way of determining the existence of oxidative stress. In this context, the formation of carbonyl groups in proteins has been one of the most studied oxidative stress markers because of its stability and easy detection. Various proteomic tools offer great potential for the discovery of new proteins susceptible to oxidative stress, determination of quantitative changes in the profile of these modifications under different biological conditions, and characterization of the type of modification it has suffered a particular protein. This paper reviews the different approaches used for the detection of protein carbonyls and the proteomic tools that can be used to identify them.     

Crown ether strategy toward chemical activation of biological protein functions

The chemical activation of biological proteins is outlined, in which small molecules are used to alter the chemical and physical properties of biological proteins through direct or indirect interactions. Crown ethers have the potential to modulate the protein functions by supramolecular complexations, because they bind alkylammonium and other ionic residues of the proteins as well as ionic components in their systems. Two interesting examples are described in which crown ether derivatives improved the protein functions: (1) enhancement of reactivity and enantioselectivity in lipase‐catalyzed asymmetric reactions; and (2) generation of catalytic activity in the oxidation with cytochrome c. This chemical activation based on crown ether chemistry can be viewed as a complementary method to biological mutation in modifying the biological protein functions.     

Mesoscopic model for mechanical characterization of biological protein materials

Mechanical characterization of protein molecules has played a role on gaining insight into the biological functions of proteins, because some proteins perform the mechanical function. Here, we present the mesoscopic model of biological protein materials composed of protein crystals prescribed by Go potential for characterization of elastic behavior of protein materials. Specifically, we consider the representative volume element (RVE) containing the protein crystals represented by C(alpha) atoms, prescribed by Go potential, with application of constant normal strain to RVE. The stress-strain relationship computed from virial stress theory provides the nonlinear elastic behavior of protein materials and their mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, quantitatively and/or qualitatively comparable with mechanical properties of biological protein materials obtained from experiments and/or atomistic simulations. Further, we discuss the role of native topology on the mechanical properties of protein crystals. It is shown that parallel strands (hydrogen bonds in parallel) enhance the mechanical resilience of protein materials.     

Analytical Methods for Characterizing the Nanoparticle–Protein Corona

When nanoparticles (NPs) enter a biological environment, medium components, especially proteins, compete for binding to the NP’s surface, leading to development of a new interface, commonly referred to as the “protein corona.” This rich protein shell gives the NPs a biological identity that can be very different from their synthetic one, in terms of their chemical–physical properties. Understanding NP–protein interaction is crucial for both the bioapplications and safety of nanomaterials. The protein corona provides the primary contact to the cells and their receptors. It defines in vivo fate of the delivery systems, governing the stability, immunogenicity, circulation, clearance rates and organ biodistribution of the NPs. Given its importance, the application and the development of analytical methods to investigate the protein corona are crucial. This review gives an overview of chromatographic, electrophoretic, mass spectrometric and proteomic methods because these techniques have the advantage to be able to identify and quantify individual proteins adsorbed onto the corona. This capability opens up the possibility to exploit the protein corona for specific cell targeting.     

Simultaneous definition of high resolution protein structure and backbone conformational dynamics using NMR residual dipolar couplings.

Despite the importance of molecular dynamics for biological activity, most approaches to protein structure determination, whether based on crystallographic or solution studies, propose three-dimensional atomic representations of a single configuration that take no account of conformational fluctuation. Non-averaged anisotropic NMR interactions, such as residual dipolar couplings, that become measurable under conditions of weak alignment, provide sensitive probes of both molecular structure and dynamics. Residual dipolar couplings are becoming increasingly powerful for the study of proteins in solution. In this minireview we present their use for the simultaneous determination of protein structure and dynamics.     

Analytical Methods for Characterizing the Nanoparticle–Protein Corona

When nanoparticles (NPs) enter a biological environment, medium components, especially proteins, compete for binding to the NP’s surface, leading to development of a new interface, commonly referred to as the “protein corona.” This rich protein shell gives the NPs a biological identity that can be very different from their synthetic one, in terms of their chemical–physical properties. Understanding NP–protein interaction is crucial for both the bioapplications and safety of nanomaterials. The protein corona provides the primary contact to the cells and their receptors. It defines in vivo fate of the delivery systems, governing the stability, immunogenicity, circulation, clearance rates and organ biodistribution of the NPs. Given its importance, the application and the development of analytical methods to investigate the protein corona are crucial. This review gives an overview of chromatographic, electrophoretic, mass spectrometric and proteomic methods because these techniques have the advantage to be able to identify and quantify individual proteins adsorbed onto the corona. This capability opens up the possibility to exploit the protein corona for specific cell targeting.

     

Photophysics of norharmane in solution phase: From homogeneous to microheterogeneous environments

The photobehavior of norharmane (9H-pyrido[3,4-b]-indole) (NHM), one of the vastly used skeleton of drugs in therapeutic applications, has recently been the subject of increasing interest due to the finding of their phototoxic and photocarcinogenic properties. Its absorption and fluorescence behavior from different prototropic species show remarkable sensitivity towards the polarity, viscosity and local pH, exhibited by various microheterogeneous bio and biomimetic environments like micelles, reverse micelles, proteins, etc. The significant results obtained for NHM in homogeneous and a series of microheterogeneous environments is reviewed in this account. Much attention has been given to the properties of the excited states, location and biodistribution of NHM in different biological environments. The results can help in understanding the photophysics of the probe in biological environments and in assessing the correlation between different prototropic forms and biological activity.     

蛋白质结构的FT-IR研究进展

随着蛋白质使用领域的增加，迫切需要知道它在不同环境中的结构特征及生物活性。目前，测定蛋白质结构的方法很多，包括X射线衍射技术、圆二色光谱(CD)、质谱、FT-IR等。FT-IR(傅立叶变换光谱)法不仅能够测定不同环境中的蛋白质结构及生物活性，而且能够测定其二级结构的相对含量。本文简要综述FT-IR技术用于蛋白质结构的研究进展。     

Influence of particle size on the binding activity of proteins adsorbed onto gold nanoparticles

We used optical extinction spectroscopy to study the structure of proteins adsorbed onto gold nanoparticles of sizes 5-60 nm and their resulting biological binding activity. For these studies, proteins differing in size and shape, with well-characterized and specific interactions-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG), goat anti-rabbit IgG (anti-IgG), Staphylococcal protein A, streptavidin, and biotin-were used as model systems. Protein interaction with gold nanoparticles was probed by optical extinction measurements of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the gold nanoparticles. Binding of the ligands in solution to protein molecules already immobilized on the surface of gold causes a small but detectable shift in the LSPR peak of the gold nanoparticles. This shift can be used to probe the binding activity of the adsorbed protein. Within the context of Mie theory calculations, the thickness of the adsorbed protein layer as well as its apparent refractive index is shown to depend on the size of the gold nanoparticle. The results suggest that proteins can adopt different orientations that depend on the size of the gold nanospheres. These different orientations, in turn, can result in different levels of biological activity. For example, we find that IgG adsorbed on spheres with diameter ≥20 nm does not bind to protein A. This study illustrates the principle that the size of nanoparticles can strongly influence the binding activity of adsorbed proteins. In addition to the importance of this in cases of direct exposure of proteins to nanoparticles, the results have implications for proteins adsorbed to materials with nanometer scale surface roughness.     

Highly anisotropic stability and folding kinetics of a single coiled coil protein under mechanical tension

Coiled coils are one of the most abundant protein structural motifs and widely mediate protein interactions and force transduction or sensation. They are thus model systems for protein engineering and folding studies, particularly the GCN4 coiled coil. Major single-molecule methods have also been applied to this protein and revealed its folding kinetics at various spatiotemporal scales. Nevertheless, the folding energy and the kinetics of a single GCN4 coiled coil domain have not been well determined at a single-molecule level. Here we used high-resolution optical tweezers to characterize the folding and unfolding reactions of a single GCN4 coiled coil domain and their dependence on the pulling direction. In one axial and two transverse pulling directions, we observed reversible, two-state transitions of the coiled coil in real time. The transitions equilibrate at pulling forces ranging from 6 to 12 pN, showing different stabilities of the coiled coil in regard to pulling direction. Furthermore, the transition rates vary with both the magnitude and the direction of the pulling force by greater than 1000 folds, indicating a highly anisotropic and topology-dependent energy landscape for protein transitions under mechanical tension. We developed a new analytical theory to extract energy and kinetics of the protein transition at zero force. The derived folding energy does not depend on the pulling direction and is consistent with the measurement in bulk, which further confirms the applicability of the single-molecule manipulation approach for energy measurement. The highly anisotropic thermodynamics of proteins under tension should play important roles in their biological functions.