Proteins at Interfaces

Abstract

Proteins at interfaces are involved in a wide variety of phenomena, including mammalian cell growth in culture, reactions to implanted biomaterials, growth of soil bacteria, and formation of organized layers of proteins at the oil/water and air/water interfaces.This broad range of phenomena has attracted the interest of a correspondingly broad range of scientists and engineers, many with different backgrounds and different perspectives. As a result, the field of proteins at interfaces displays as much breadth as depth, and many of the investigators in this field of research conduct investigations that are unique with respect both to the particular protein/surface system studied and to the methods used. The many different approaches and systems under investigation, and in particular the wide variety of applications towards which the research is directed, means that an overview such as this one which is limited in length, must be selective. In selecting subtopics for discussion we had to be somewhat arbitrary, and therefore tried to focus on broad aspects which are common to most application areas.The contributions to the San Diego Symposium and to this volume represent a significant fraction of the workers who are actively involved in studying the behavior of proteins at interfaces. We have therefore chosen to organize our overview around six major aspects of protein behavior at interfaces which emerged from the Symposium. These aspects are: (1) theory, including molecular mechanisms; (2) competitive adsorption; (3) conformation and orientation of proteins at interfaces; (4) surface chemistry effects on adsorption; (5) the behavior of proteins at fluid interfaces; and (6) effects of proteins on cell interactions with surfaces.For each topic, current understanding is briefly summarized, and the contributions of the articles in this volume are then discussed. Inevitably this type of subdivision is to some extent arbitrary and artificial, so there is some overlap of material from one section to another. We trust, however, that on balance our approach will facilitate the readers' (as well as the authors') task of understanding the state of the art in this field.0097-6156/95/0602-0001$12.75/0

Adsorption of human serum albumin onto gold: a combined electrochemical and ellipsometric study

“…Adsorption of serum proteins onto surfaces also plays a key role in biomaterial design because of the change of material properties of the adsorbed proteins [1][2][3][4][5]. In either case, the properties of the protein-substrate system will critically depend on the surface concentration (or the adsorption layer thickness), the conformation, and the surface coverage of the protein.…”

Chain-End Functionalized Nanopatterned Polymer Brushes Grown via in Situ Nitroxide Free Radical Exchange

“…[21][22][23] Studies have demonstrated that surfaces grafted with polymers such as PDMA and polyethylene glycol (PEG) minimize protein adsorption as compared with hydrophobic or other polar surfaces. [24][25][26] While living free radical polymerization of N,N-dimethylacrylamide is challenging, reports of controlled preparation of PDMA with low polydispersities have appeared. These include NMP, [27][28][29][30] atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), [31][32][33][34] and reversible additionϪfragmentation chain transfer (RAFT).…”

Dispersability of Carbon Nanotubes in Biopolymer-Based Fluids

“…Vincent reported convincing evidence on the depletion of silica particles covalently covered by PEO-like polymers in presence of the same in the bulk [48]. In the case of proteins, depletion depends on biopolymer content, pH, and ionic strength [49].…”