title: Probing the weak interaction of proteins with neutral and zwitterionic antifouling polymers.
abstract: Protein-polymer interactions are of great interest in a wide range of scientific and technological applications. Neutral poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (pSBMA) are two well-known nonfouling materials that exhibit strong surface resistance to proteins. However, it still remains unclear or unexplored how PEG and pSBMA interact with proteins in solution. In this work, we examine the interactions between two model proteins (bovine serum albumin and lysozyme) and two typical antifouling polymers of PEG and pSBMA in aqueous solution using fluorescence spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The effect of protein:polymer mass ratios on the interactions is also examined. Collective data clearly demonstrate the existence of weak hydrophobic interactions between PEG and proteins, while there are no detectable interactions between pSBMA and proteins. The elimination of protein interaction with pSBMA could be due to an enhanced surface hydration of zwitterionic groups in pSBMA. New evidence is given to demonstrate the interactions between PEG and proteins, which are often neglected in the literature because the PEG-protein interactions are weak and reversible, as well as the structural change caused by hydrophobic interaction. This work provides a better fundamental understanding of the intrinsic structure-activity relationship of polymers underlying polymer-protein interactions, which are important for designing new biomaterials for biosensor, medical diagnostics and drug delivery applications.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Rundong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Weifeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Qiuming
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bilinovich
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Leeper
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Lingyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Harry M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: schen@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shengfu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA. Electronic address: zhengj@uakron.edu.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057219:Biofouling; D002417:Cattle; D005453:Fluorescence; D007477:Ions; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000378:metabolism*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009113:Muramidase / Q000378:metabolism*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D008689:Methacrylates; C521589:sulfobetaine methacrylate polymer; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D009113:Muramidase
keywords: Antifouling materials; Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG); Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (pSBMA); Protein–polymer interaction