title: Light Scattering Analysis of Mono- and Multi-PEGylated Bovine Serum Albumin in Solution: Role of Composition on Structure and Interactions.
abstract: The effect of polymer conjugation on the interactions between proteins in solution is evaluated by systematic analysis of the second virial coefficient (A2) for the particular example of single- and double-PEGylated bovine serum albumin (PEG-BSA) in dilute PBS solution. The effect of PEGylation on A2 is found to sensitively depend on both the composition and the distribution of PEG segments within the conjugate. Most importantly, at a given PEG volume fraction, A2 significantly increases with the degree of polymerization of tethered chains. Hence, a lesser number of long chains is more effective in solubilizing BSA than a correspondingly larger number of short chains. Analysis of the hydrodynamic radii of protein-PEG conjugates suggests that the increased solubility is concurrent with a structural transition in the case of high molecular PEG grafts that results in compact core-shell-type structures. The results reveal a link between the composition, structure, and solubility of polymer conjugates that might benefit the understanding of their biochemical characteristics and their design for functional material applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferebee
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors.forename: Ilhem F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Hakem
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research , Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Amelie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors.forename: Maggie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.affiliation: FLIR Systems, Inc. , 2240 William Pitt Way, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15238, United States.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: FLIR Systems, Inc. , 2240 William Pitt Way, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15238, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Poole
authors.affiliation: FLIR Systems, Inc. , 2240 William Pitt Way, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15238, United States.
authors.forename: Jeremy P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research , Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fytas
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Bockstaller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D000067493:Dynamic Light Scattering; D007368:Interferometry; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012995:Solubility; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols