title: Stimuli-sensitive intrinsically disordered protein brushes.
abstract: Grafting polymers onto surfaces at high density to yield polymer brush coatings is a widely employed strategy to reduce biofouling and interfacial friction. These brushes almost universally feature synthetic polymers, which are often heterogeneous and do not readily allow incorporation of chemical functionalities at precise sites along the constituent chains. To complement these synthetic systems, we introduce a biomimetic, recombinant intrinsically disordered protein that can assemble into an environment-sensitive brush. This macromolecule adopts an extended conformation and can be grafted to solid supports to form oriented protein brushes that swell and collapse dramatically with changes in solution pH and ionic strength. We illustrate the value of sequence specificity by using proteases with mutually orthogonal recognition sites to modulate brush height in situ to predictable values. This study demonstrates that stimuli-responsive brushes can be fabricated from proteins and introduces them as a new class of smart biomaterial building blocks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Nithya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Maniraj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhagawati
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Badriprasad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ananthanarayanan
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D032701:Biomimetics; D064267:Intrinsically Disordered Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D064267:Intrinsically Disordered Proteins; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D011108:Polymers; C051774:neurofilament protein H