title: Probing the interactions of intrinsically disordered proteins using nanoparticle tags.
abstract: The structural plasticity of intrinsically disordered proteins serves as a rich area for scientific inquiry. Such proteins lack a fix three-dimensional structure but can interact with multiple partners through numerous weak bonds. Nevertheless, this intrinsic plasticity possesses a challenging hurdle in their characterization. We underpin the intermolecular interactions between intrinsically disordered neurofilaments in various hydrated conditions, using grafted gold nanoparticle (NP) tags. Beyond its biological significance, this approach can be applied to modify the surface interaction of NPs for the creation of future tunable "smart" hybrid biomaterials.
authors.affiliation: †School of Physics and Astronomy, ‡Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and §School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Stive
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pregent
authors.affiliation: †School of Physics and Astronomy, ‡Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and §School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lichtenstein
authors.affiliation: †School of Physics and Astronomy, ‡Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and §School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Avinery
authors.affiliation: †School of Physics and Astronomy, ‡Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and §School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Adi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laser-Azogui
authors.affiliation: †School of Physics and Astronomy, ‡Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and §School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Patolsky
authors.affiliation: †School of Physics and Astronomy, ‡Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and §School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000737:chemistry*; D064267:Intrinsically Disordered Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping
chemical_list: D064267:Intrinsically Disordered Proteins; D006046:Gold
keywords: Gold nanoparticles; intrinsically disordered proteins; neurofilaments; small-angle X-ray scattering; spectroscopy