scholarly journals Survival of Virus Particles in Water Droplets: Hydrophobic Forces and Landauer’s Principle

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Edward Bormashenko ◽  
Alexander A. Fedorets ◽  
Leonid A. Dombrovsky ◽  
Michael Nosonovsky

Many small biological objects, such as viruses, survive in a water environment and cannot remain active in dry air without condensation of water vapor. From a physical point of view, these objects belong to the mesoscale, where small thermal fluctuations with the characteristic kinetic energy of kBT (where kB is the Boltzmann’s constant and T is the absolute temperature) play a significant role. The self-assembly of viruses, including protein folding and the formation of a protein capsid and lipid bilayer membrane, is controlled by hydrophobic forces (i.e., the repulsing forces between hydrophobic particles and regions of molecules) in a water environment. Hydrophobic forces are entropic, and they are driven by a system’s tendency to attain the maximum disordered state. On the other hand, in information systems, entropic forces are responsible for erasing information, if the energy barrier between two states of a switch is on the order of kBT, which is referred to as Landauer’s principle. We treated hydrophobic interactions responsible for the self-assembly of viruses as an information-processing mechanism. We further showed a similarity of these submicron-scale processes with the self-assembly in colloidal crystals, droplet clusters, and liquid marbles.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Sprenger ◽  
Simona M. Migliano ◽  
Florian Oleschko ◽  
Marvin Kobald ◽  
Michael Hess ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) mediate various membrane remodeling processes in cells by mechanism that are incompletely understood. Here we combined genetic experiments in budding yeast with site-specific cross-linking to identify rules that govern the self-assembly of individual ESCRT-III proteins into functional ESCRT-III complexes on endosomes. Together with current structural models of ESCRT-III, our findings suggest that, once nucleated, the growing Snf7 protofilament seeds the lateral co-assembly of a Vps24 - Vps2 heterofilament. Both Vps24 and Vps2 use positively charged amino acid residues in their helices α1 to interact with negatively charged amino acids in helix α4 of Snf7 subunits of the protofilament. In the Vps24 - Vps2 heterofilament, the two subunits alternate and interact with each other using hydrophobic interactions between helices α2/α3. The co-assembly of the Vps24 - Vps2 heterofilament restricts the lateral expansion of Snf7 protofilaments and leads the immediate recruitment of the AAA-ATPase Vps4. This self-assembly process of three ESCRT-III subunits results in the formation of a Snf7 protofilament and the co-assembly of a Vps24 - Vps2 heterofilament. This sets the stage for Vps4 recruitment and the subsequent ATP-driven dynamic self-organization of ESCRT-III / Vps4 assemblies and the ensuing membrane budding and scission events.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Coucong Gong ◽  
Xinzhu Yuan ◽  
Gang Wei

Biomolecular self-assembly provides a facile way to synthesize functional nanomaterials. Due to the unique structure and functions of biomolecules, the created biological nanomaterials via biomolecular self-assembly have a wide range of applications, from materials science to biomedical engineering, tissue engineering, nanotechnology, and analytical science. In this review, we present recent advances in the synthesis of biological nanomaterials by controlling the biomolecular self-assembly from adjusting internal interactions and external stimulations. The self-assembly mechanisms of biomolecules (DNA, protein, peptide, virus, enzyme, metabolites, lipid, cholesterol, and others) related to various internal interactions, including hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, π–π stacking, DNA base pairing, and ligand–receptor binding, are discussed by analyzing some recent studies. In addition, some strategies for promoting biomolecular self-assembly via external stimulations, such as adjusting the solution conditions (pH, temperature, ionic strength), adding organics, nanoparticles, or enzymes, and applying external light stimulation to the self-assembly systems, are demonstrated. We hope that this overview will be helpful for readers to understand the self-assembly mechanisms and strategies of biomolecules and to design and develop new biological nanostructures or nanomaterials for desired applications.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (16) ◽  
pp. 2210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenifer Rubio ◽  
Ignacio Alfonso ◽  
M. Isabel Burguete ◽  
Santiago V. Luis

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Lindman ◽  
Bruno Medronho ◽  
Luís Alves ◽  
Magnus Norgren ◽  
Lars Nordenskiöld

Abstract Desoxyribosenucleic acid, DNA, and cellulose molecules self-assemble in aqueous systems. This aggregation is the basis of the important functions of these biological macromolecules. Both DNA and cellulose have significant polar and nonpolar parts and there is a delicate balance between hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions. The hydrophilic interactions related to net charges have been thoroughly studied and are well understood. On the other hand, the detailed roles of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions have remained controversial. It is found that the contributions of hydrophobic interactions in driving important processes, like the double-helix formation of DNA and the aqueous dissolution of cellulose, are dominating whereas the net contribution from hydrogen bonding is small. In reviewing the roles of different interactions for DNA and cellulose it is useful to compare with the self-assembly features of surfactants, the simplest case of amphiphilic molecules. Pertinent information on the amphiphilic character of cellulose and DNA can be obtained from the association with surfactants, as well as on modifying the hydrophobic interactions by additives.


Soft Matter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (30) ◽  
pp. 6320-6326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward D. H. Mansfield ◽  
Matthias Hartlieb ◽  
Sylvain Catrouillet ◽  
Julia Y. Rho ◽  
Sophie C. Larnaudie ◽  
...  

Self-assembling cyclic peptides (CP) consisting of amino acids with alternating d- and l-chirality form nanotubes by hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and π–π stacking in solution.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Conter ◽  
Luca Bombardi ◽  
Marco Pedretti ◽  
Filippo Favretto ◽  
Adele Di Matteo ◽  
...  

Centrins are conserved calcium (Ca2+)-binding proteins typically associated with centrosomes that have been implicated in several biological processes. In Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, three centrin isoforms have been recognized. We have recently characterized the metal binding and structural features of isoform 1 (TgCEN1), demonstrating that it possesses properties consistent with a role as a Ca2+ sensor and displays a Ca2+-dependent tendency to self-assemble. Herein, we expanded our studies, focusing on the self-association and target binding properties of TgCEN1 by combining biophysical techniques including dynamic light scattering, isothermal titration calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, circular dichroism, and fluorescence spectroscopy. We found that the self-assembly process of TgCEN1 depends on different physicochemical factors, including Ca2+ concentration, temperature, and protein concentration, and is mediated by both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. The process is completely abolished upon removal of the first 21-residues of the protein and is significantly reduced in the presence of a binding target peptide derived from the human XPC protein (P17-XPC). Titration of P17-XPC to the intact protein and isolated domains showed that TgCEN1 possesses two binding sites with distinct affinities and Ca2+ sensitivity; a high-affinity site in the C-lobe which may be constitutively bound to the peptide and a low-affinity site in the N-lobe which is active only upon Ca2+ stimulus. Overall, our results suggest a specific mechanism of TgCEN1 for Ca2+-modulated target binding and support a N-to-C self-assembly mode, in which the first 21-residues of one molecule likely interact with the C-lobe of the other.


RSC Advances ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 10938-10947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Motedayen ◽  
Mohammadreza Rezaeigolestani ◽  
Carole Guillaume ◽  
Valérie Guillard ◽  
Nathalie Gontard

The gas (O2 and CO2) permeability of an innovative stratified PE–organoclay (LLDPE/OMMT) nano-enabled composite films was studied for the first time and related to the self-assembly process driven by hydrophobic interactions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (82) ◽  
pp. 11349-11352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Li-Ki Fu ◽  
Sammual Yu-Lut Leung ◽  
Vivian Wing-Wah Yam

The self-assembly of strategically designed triazine-containing alkynylplatinum(ii) terpyridine complexes yielded sophisticated helical ribbons through a balance of multiple non-covalent interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomin Luo ◽  
Qianqian Huo ◽  
Xinhua Liu ◽  
Chi Zheng ◽  
Ying Liu

Abstract Peptide self-assembles with bionic properties have been widely utilized for bioactive drugs and biomedical materials. Collagen mimetic peptide (CMP) gains more attention due to its unique advantages in biosecurity and function. Unfortunately, the self-assembly mechanism of CMP, particularly the effect of intermolecular forces on its self-assembly behavior and morphology, is still unrecognized. Herein, the hydrophilic glycidol (GCD) and hydrophobic Y-glycidyl ether oxypropyl trimethoxysilane (GLH) were grafted onto the side chains of CMP through the ring-opening reaction (GCD/CMP, GLH/CMP). Subsequently, the effects of hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions on the self-assembly behavior and morphology of CMP were further studied. The results substantiated that the GCD/CMP and GLH/CMP self-assembly followed “nucleation-growth” mechanism, and the supererogatory hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups prolonged the nucleation and growth time of CMP self-assembly. Noted that the hydrophilic interaction had stronger driving effects than hydrophobic interaction on the self-assembly of CMP. The GCD/CMP and GLH/CMP self-assembles exhibited fibrous 3D network and microsphere morphology, respectively. Furthermore, the GLH/CMP self-assembles had better resistance to degradation. Consequently, the microtopography and degradation properties of CMP self-assembles could be controlled by the hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions between CMP, which would further provide a way for subsequent purposeful design of biomedical materials. Graphical abstract


Author(s):  
M. Kessel ◽  
R. MacColl

The major protein of the blue-green algae is the biliprotein, C-phycocyanin (Amax = 620 nm), which is presumed to exist in the cell in the form of distinct aggregates called phycobilisomes. The self-assembly of C-phycocyanin from monomer to hexamer has been extensively studied, but the proposed next step in the assembly of a phycobilisome, the formation of 19s subunits, is completely unknown. We have used electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation in combination with a method for rapid and gentle extraction of phycocyanin to study its subunit structure and assembly.To establish the existence of phycobilisomes, cells of P. boryanum in the log phase of growth, growing at a light intensity of 200 foot candles, were fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer, pH 7.0, for 3 hours at 4°C. The cells were post-fixed in 1% OsO4 in the same buffer overnight. Material was stained for 1 hour in uranyl acetate (1%), dehydrated and embedded in araldite and examined in thin sections.


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