Hughes, MDG orcid.org/0000-0001-5838-7939, Cussons, S orcid.org/0000-0002-9318-3859, Mahmoudi, N orcid.org/0000-0003-4936-6911 et al. (2 more authors) (2020) Single molecule protein stabilisation translates to macromolecular mechanics of a protein network. Soft Matter. ISSN 1744-683X
Abstract
Folded globular proteins are attractive building blocks for biopolymer-based materials, as their mechanically resistant structures carry out diverse biological functionality. While much is now understood about the mechanical response of single folded proteins, a major challenge is to understand and predictably control how single protein mechanics translates to the collective response of a network of connected folded proteins. Here, by utilising the binding of maltose to hydrogels constructed from photo-chemically crosslinked maltose binding protein (MBP), we investigate the effects of protein stabilisation at the molecular level on the macroscopic mechanical and structural properties of a protein-based hydrogel. Rheological measurements show an enhancement in the mechanical strength and energy dissipation of MBP hydrogels in the presence of maltose. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry measurements show that MBP remains both folded and functional in situ. By coupling these mechanical measurements with mesoscopic structural information obtained by small angle scattering, we propose an occupation model in which higher proportions of stabilised, ligand occupied, protein building blocks translate their increased stability to the macroscopic properties of the hydrogel network. This provides powerful opportunities to exploit environmentally responsive folded protein-based biomaterials for many broad applications.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Molecular & Nanoscale Physics |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/P02288X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 30 Jun 2020 13:43 |
Last Modified: | 20 Dec 2024 14:36 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/c9sm02484k |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:162393 |