Mineral Surface Chemistry and Nanoparticle-aggregation Control Membrane Self-Assembly

Sahai, Nita; Kaddour, Hussein; Dalai, Punam; Wang, Ziqiu; Bass, Garrett; Gao, Min

doi:10.1038/srep43418

Cited by 43 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…Interaction between RNA and lipids is believed to be mediated by both electrostatic interactions with the headgroup and hydrophobic interactions to nucleobases 53 , and may be enhanced by an ordered bilayer 54 . Electrostatic effects appear to dominate the interaction between fatty acids and minerals 55 . Consistent with the importance of headgroup charge, we found that the zwitterionic lipid POPC decreased aptamer activity more ( K D = 48 ± 8.6 μM) than the negatively charged lipids MA ( K D = 6.8 ± 1.4 μM) and DOPG ( K D = 20 ± 1.7 μM).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lipid vesicles chaperone an encapsulated RNA aptamer

2018

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The organization of molecules into cells is believed to have been critical for the emergence of living systems. Early protocells likely consisted of RNA functioning inside vesicles made of simple lipids. However, little is known about how encapsulation would affect the activity and folding of RNA. Here we find that confinement of the malachite green RNA aptamer inside fatty acid vesicles increases binding affinity and locally stabilizes the bound conformation of the RNA. The vesicle effectively ‘chaperones’ the aptamer, consistent with an excluded volume mechanism due to confinement. Protocellular organization thereby leads to a direct benefit for the RNA. Coupled with previously described mechanisms by which encapsulated RNA aids membrane growth, this effect illustrates how the membrane and RNA might cooperate for mutual benefit. Encapsulation could thus increase RNA fitness and the likelihood that functional sequences would emerge during the origin of life.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lipid vesicles chaperone an encapsulated RNA aptamer

2018

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“…1 B), in which the turbidity of a sample is measured using the widely available spectrophotometer. Researchers have used this technique to assess a variety of vesicle properties, including vesicle formation (11)(12)(13), dissolution (14), permeability (15), flocculation (16), average vesicle size (17)(18)(19)(20), membrane bilayer thickness (21), and change in average vesicle size (22). Changes in turbidity are usually attributed to just a single parameter, even though the turbidity of a sample depends on all of these quantities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Core-Shell Modeling of Light Scattering by Vesicles: Effect of Size, Contents, and Lamellarity

Wang

Miller

Szostak

2019

Biophysical Journal

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Having a fast, reliable method for characterizing vesicles is vital for their use as model cell membranes in biophysics, synthetic biology, and origins of life studies. Instead of the traditionally used Rayleigh-Gans-Debye approximation, we use an exact extended Lorenz-Mie solution for how core-shell particles scatter light to model vesicle turbidity. This approach enables accurate interpretations of simple turbidimetric measurements and is able to accurately model highly scattering vesicles, such as larger vesicles, those with multiple layers, and those with encapsulated material. We uncover several surprising features, including that vesicle lamellarity has a larger effect on sample turbidity than vesicle size and that the technique can be used to measure the membrane thickness of vesicles. We also examine potential misinterpretations of turbidimetry and discuss when measurements are limited by forward and multiple scattering and by the geometry of the instrument.

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“…As a result, nanomaterials are intertwined with all space and time components of the Earth system (4). Important examples of this include the likely role of nanomineral surfaces in influencing the polymerization and selfassembly of the molecular building blocks of life and promoting the self-assembly of protocells in the origin of life and in the early evolution of bacterial cell walls (5)(6)(7)(8); iron fertilization of the oceans by dissolution of natural iron oxyhydroxide nanominerals, which influences primary pro-ductivity and thus global temperature and the carbon cycle (9-11); and the global occurrence of nanoplastics in biota and other natural environments (12).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural, incidental, and engineered nanomaterials and their impacts on the Earth system

Hochella

Mogk

Ranville

et al. 2019

Science

Self Cite

543

354

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Nanomaterials are critical components in the Earth system’s past, present, and future characteristics and behavior. They have been present since Earth’s origin in great abundance. Life, from the earliest cells to modern humans, has evolved in intimate association with naturally occurring nanomaterials. This synergy began to shift considerably with human industrialization. Particularly since the Industrial Revolution some two-and-a-half centuries ago, incidental nanomaterials (produced unintentionally by human activity) have been continuously produced and distributed worldwide. In some areas, they now rival the amount of naturally occurring nanomaterials. In the past half-century, engineered nanomaterials have been produced in very small amounts relative to the other two types of nanomaterials, but still in large enough quantities to make them a consequential component of the planet. All nanomaterials, regardless of their origin, have distinct chemical and physical properties throughout their size range, clearly setting them apart from their macroscopic equivalents and necessitating careful study. Following major advances in experimental, computational, analytical, and field approaches, it is becoming possible to better assess and understand all types and origins of nanomaterials in the Earth system. It is also now possible to frame their immediate and long-term impact on environmental and human health at local, regional, and global scales.

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Mineral Surface Chemistry and Nanoparticle-aggregation Control Membrane Self-Assembly

Cited by 43 publications

References 51 publications

Lipid vesicles chaperone an encapsulated RNA aptamer

Lipid vesicles chaperone an encapsulated RNA aptamer

Core-Shell Modeling of Light Scattering by Vesicles: Effect of Size, Contents, and Lamellarity

Natural, incidental, and engineered nanomaterials and their impacts on the Earth system

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