Inducing protein aggregation by extensional flow

Relative to other extrinsic factors, the effects of hydrodynamic flow fields on protein stability and conformation remain poorly understood. Flow-induced protein remodelling and/or aggregation is observed both in Nature and during the large-scale industrial manufacture of proteins. Despite its ubiquity, the relationships between the type and magnitude of hydrodynamic flow, a protein’s structure and stability and the resultant aggregation propensity are unclear. Here, we assess the effects of a defined and quantified flow-field dominated by extensional flow on the aggregation of bovine serum albumin (BSA), β2-microglobulin (β2m), granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We show that the device induces protein aggregation after exposure to an extensional flow field for 0.36-1.8 ms, at concentrations as low as 0.5 mg mL-. In addition, we reveal that the extent of aggregation depends on the applied strain rate and the concentration, structural scaffold and sequence of the protein. Finally we demonstrate the in situ labelling of a buried cysteine residue in BSA during extensional stress. Together, these data indicate that an extensional flow readily unfolds thermodynamically and kinetically stable proteins, exposing previously sequestered sequences whose aggregation propensity determines the probability and extent of aggregation.