title: Elasticity in Macrophage-Synthesized Biocrystals.
abstract: Supramolecular crystalline assembly constitutes a rational approach to bioengineer intracellular structures. Here, biocrystals of clofazimine (CFZ) that form in vivo within macrophages were measured to have marked curvature. Isolated crystals, however, showed reduced curvature suggesting that intracellular forces bend these drug crystals. Consistent with the ability of biocrystals to elastically deform, the inherent crystal structure of the principal molecular component of the biocrystals-the hydrochloride salt of CFZ (CFZ-HCl)-has a corrugated packing along the (001) face and weak dispersive bonding in multiple directions. These characteristics were previously found to be linked to the elasticity of other organic crystals. Internal stress in bent CFZ-HCl led to photoelastic effects on the azimuthal orientation of polarized light transmittance. We propose that elastic, intracellular crystals can serve as templates to construct functional microdevices with different applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Horstman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 428 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Rahul K
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5077-3237
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Keswani
authors.affiliation: Morgan State University, 1700 E Cold Spring Ln, Baltimore, MD, 21251, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 428 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Phillip M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Rzeczycki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 428 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Vernon
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: LaLone
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Mathews Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffery A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bertke
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Paul J A
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kenis
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 428 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Gus R
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3214-5565
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Rosania
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002991:Clofazimine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004548:Elasticity; D008264:Macrophages / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D002991:Clofazimine
keywords: X-ray diffraction; biocrystals; clofazimine; crystal engineering; elasticity