Warner S. Weber

A series of naphthalimide derivatives as intra and extracellular pH sensors

A series of new naphthalimide derivatives were synthesized and studied. Three of the materials (SM1, SM2, and SM3) possess methacrylate(s) moieties as pH sensor monomers, enabling these compounds to be polymerized with other monomers for thin film preparation for extracellular pH sensing. Herein, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-co-poly(acrylamide) (PHEMA-co-PAM) was chosen as the polymer matrix. Structure influences on pH responses and pK(a) values were studied. The film P3 composed of the sensing moiety SM3 has a pK(a) close to the usual biological environmental pH of approximately 7. It was used as an extracellular pH sensor to monitor pH change during the metabolism of prokaryotic Escherichia coli (E. coil). On the other hand, the three sensor monomers are new intracellular biomarkers to sense lysosomes of eukaryotic cells since (1) their pK(a) values are in a range of 5.9-6.8; (2) their emission intensities at acidic conditions (such as at pH 5) are much stronger than those at a neutral condition of pH 7; (3) lysosomes range in size from 0.1 to 1.2 mum in diameter with pH ranging from 4.5 to 5.0, which is much more acidic than the pH value of the cytoplasm (usually with a pH value of approximately 7.2); and (4) the acidity of lysosomes enables a protonation of the amino groups of the pH probes making the sensors emit brightly in acidic organelles by inhibiting the photo-induced electron transfer from the amino groups to the fluorophores. Lysosome sensing was demonstrated using live human brain glioblastoma U87MG cell line, human cervical cancer HeLa cell line, and human esophagus premalignant CP-A and CP-D cell lines by observations of small acidic spherical organelles (lysosomes) and significant colocalizations (82-95%) of the sensors with a commercially available lysosome-selective staining probe LysoTracker Red under confocal fluorescence microscopy.

β-Sheet nanocrystalline domains formed from phosphorylated serine-rich motifs in caddisfly larval silk: a solid state NMR and XRD study.

Adhesive silks spun by aquatic caddisfly (order Trichoptera) larvae are used to build both intricate protective shelters and food harvesting nets underwater. In this study, we use (13)C and (31)P solid-state NMR and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) as tools to elucidate molecular protein structure of caddisfly larval silk from the species Hesperophylax consimilis . Caddisfly larval silk is a fibroin protein based biopolymer containing mostly repetitive amino acid motifs. NMR and X-ray results provide strong supporting evidence for a structural model in which phosphorylated serine repeats (pSX)4 complex with divalent cations Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) to form rigid nanocrystalline β-sheet structures in caddisfly silk. (13)C NMR data suggests that both phosphorylated serine and neighboring valine residues exist in a β-sheet conformation while glycine and leucine residues common in GGX repeats likely reside in random coil conformations. Additionally, (31)P chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) analysis indicates that the phosphates on phosphoserine residues are doubly ionized, and are charge-stabilized by divalent cations. Positively charged arginine side chains also likely play a role in charge stabilization. Finally, WAXD results finds that the silk is at least 7-8% crystalline, with β-sheet interplane spacings of 3.7 and 4.5 Å.

Nephila clavipes Flagelliform silk-like GGX motifs contribute to extensibility and spacer motifs contribute to strength in synthetic spider silk fibers.

Flagelliform spider silk is the most extensible silk fiber produced by orb weaver spiders, though not as strong as the dragline silk of the spider. The motifs found in the core of the Nephila clavipes flagelliform Flag protein are GGX, spacer, and GPGGX. Flag does not contain the polyalanine motif known to provide the strength of dragline silk. To investigate the source of flagelliform fiber strength, four recombinant proteins were produced containing variations of the three core motifs of the Nephila clavipes flagelliform Flag protein that produces this type of fiber. The as-spun fibers were processed in 80% aqueous isopropanol using a standardized process for all four fiber types, which produced improved mechanical properties. Mechanical testing of the recombinant proteins determined that the GGX motif contributes extensibility and the spacer motif contributes strength to the recombinant fibers. Recombinant protein fibers containing the spacer motif were stronger than the proteins constructed without the spacer that contained only the GGX motif or the combination of the GGX and GPGGX motifs. The mechanical and structural X-ray diffraction analysis of the recombinant fibers provide data that suggests a functional role of the spacer motif that produces tensile strength, though the spacer motif is not clearly defined structurally. These results indicate that the spacer is likely a primary contributor of strength, with the GGX motif supplying mobility to the protein network of native N. clavipes flagelliform silk fibers.

Mechanical and physical properties of recombinant spider silk films using organic and aqueous solvents.

Spider silk has exceptional mechanical and biocompatibility properties. The goal of this study was optimization of the mechanical properties of synthetic spider silk thin films made from synthetic forms of MaSp1 and MaSp2, which compose the dragline silk of Nephila clavipes. We increased the mechanical stress of MaSp1 and 2 films solubilized in both HFIP and water by adding glutaraldehyde and then stretching them in an alcohol based stretch bath. This resulted in stresses as high as 206 MPa and elongations up to 35%, which is 4× higher than the as-poured controls. Films were analyzed using NMR, XRD, and Raman, which showed that the secondary structure after solubilization and film formation in as-poured films is mainly a helical conformation. After the post-pour stretch in a methanol/water bath, the MaSp proteins in both the HFIP and water-based films formed aligned β-sheets similar to those in spider silk fibers.

Conserved C-terminal domain of spider tubuliform spidroin 1 contributes to extensibility in synthetic fibers.

Spider silk is renowned for its extraordinary mechanical properties, having a balance of high tensile strength and extensibility. To date, the majority of studies have focused on the production of dragline silks from synthetic spider silk gene products. Here we report the first mechanical analysis of synthetic egg case silk fibers spun from the Latrodectus hesperus tubuliform silk proteins, TuSp1 and ECP-2. We provide evidence that recombinant ECP-2 proteins can be spun into fibers that display mechanical properties similar to other synthetic spider silks. We also demonstrate that silks spun from recombinant thioredoxin-TuSp1 fusion proteins that contain the conserved C-terminal domain exhibit increased extensibility and toughness when compared to the identical fibers spun from fusion proteins lacking the C-terminus. Mechanical analyses reveal that the properties of synthetic tubuliform silks can be modulated by altering the postspin draw ratios of the fibers. Fibers subject to increased draw ratios showed elevated tensile strength and decreased extensibility but maintained constant toughness. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction studies indicate that postdrawn fibers containing the C-terminal domain of TuSp1 have more amorphous content when compared to fibers lacking the C-terminus. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that recombinant tubuliform spidroins that contain the conserved C-terminal domain with embedded protein tags can be effectively spun into fibers, resulting in similar tensile strength but increased extensibility relative to nontagged recombinant dragline silk proteins spun from equivalently sized proteins.

Effects of different post-spin stretching conditions on the mechanical properties of synthetic spider silk fibers

Spider silk is a biomaterial with impressive mechanical properties, resulting in various potential applications. Recent research has focused on producing synthetic spider silk fibers with the same mechanical properties as the native fibers. For this study, three proteins based on the Argiope aurantia Major ampullate Spidroin 2 consensus repeat sequence were expressed, purified and spun into fibers. A number of post-spin draw conditions were tested to determine the effect of each condition on the mechanical properties of the fiber. In all cases, post-spin stretching improved the mechanical properties of the fibers. Aqueous isopropanol was the most effective solution for increasing extensibility, while other solutions worked best for each fiber type for increasing tensile strength. The strain values of the stretched fibers correlated with the length of the proline-rich protein sequence. Structural analysis, including X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, showed surprisingly little change in the initial as-spun fibers compared with the post-spin stretched fibers.

Reversible assembly of β-sheet nanocrystals within caddisfly silk.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments reveal the structural importance of divalent cation-phosphate complexes in the formation of β-sheet nanocrystals from phosphorylated serine-rich regions within aquatic silk from caddisfly larvae of the species Hesperophyla consimilis. Wide angle XRD data on native caddisfly silk show that the silk contains a significant crystalline component with a repetitive orthorhombic unit cell aligned along the fiber axis with dimensions of 5.9 Å × 23.2 Å × 17.3 Å. These nanocrystalline domains depend on multivalent cations, which can be removed through chelation with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). A comparison of wide angle X-ray diffraction data before and after EDTA treatment reveals that the integrated peak area of reflections corresponding to the nanocrystalline regions decreases by 15-25% while that of the amorphous background reflections increases by 20%, indicating a partial loss of crystallinity. (31)P solid-state NMR data on native caddisfly silk also show that the phosphorylated serine-rich motifs transform from a rigid environment to one that is highly mobile and water-solvated after treatment with EDTA. The removal of divalent cations through exchange and chelation has therefore caused a collapse of the β-sheet structure. However, NMR results show that the rigid phosphorus environment is mostly recovered after the silk is re-treated with calcium. The (31)P spin-lattice (T1) relaxation times were measured at 7.6 ± 3.1 and 1 ± 0.5 s for this calcium-recovered sample and the native silk sample, respectively. The shorter (31)P T1 relaxation times measured for the native silk sample are attributed to the presence of paramagnetic iron that is stripped away during EDTA chelation treatment and replaced with diamagnetic calcium.

Structural characterization of nanofiber silk produced by embiopterans (webspinners)

Embiopterans produce silken galleries and sheets using exceptionally fine silk fibers in which they live and breed. In this study, we use electron microscopy (EM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) techniques to elucidate the molecular level protein structure of webspinner (embiid) silks. Silks from two species Antipaluria urichi and Aposthonia ceylonica are studied in this work. Electron microscopy images show that the fibers are about 90-100 nm in diameter, making webspinner silks among the finest of all known animal silks. Structural studies reveal that the silk protein core is dominated by β-sheet structures, and that the protein core is coated with a hydrophobic alkane-rich surface coating. FTIR spectra of native embiid silk shows characteristic alkane CH2 stretchings near 2800-2900 cm-1, which decrease approximately 50% after washing the silk with 2 : 1 CHCl3 : MeOH. Furthermore, 13C ssNMR data shows a significant CH2 resonance that is strongly affected by the presence of water, supporting the idea that the silk fibers are coated with a hydrocarbon-rich layer. Such a layer is likely used to protect the colonies from rain. FTIR data also suggests that embiid silks are dominated by β-sheet secondary structures similar to spider and silkworm silk fibers. NMR data confirms the presence of β-sheet nanostructures dominated by serine-rich repetitive regions. A deconvolution of the serine Cβ NMR resonance reveals that approximately 70% of all seryl residues exist in a β-sheet structure. This is consistent with WAXD results that suggest webspinner silks are 70% crystalline, which is the highest crystalline fraction reported for any animal silks. The work presented here provides a molecular level structural picture of silk fibers produced by webspinners.

Protein secondary structure of Green Lynx spider dragline silk investigated by solid-state NMR and X-ray diffraction

In this study, the secondary structure of the major ampullate silk from Peucetia viridans (Green Lynx) spiders is characterized by X-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. From X-ray diffraction measurement, β-sheet nanocrystallites were observed and found to be highly oriented along the fiber axis, with an orientational order, fc≈0.98. The size of the nanocrystallites was determined to be on average 2.5nm×3.3nm×3.8nm. Besides a prominent nanocrystalline region, a partially oriented amorphous region was also observed with an fa≈0.89. Two-dimensional (13)C-(13)C through-space and through-bond solid-state NMR experiments were employed to elucidate structure details of P. viridans silk proteins. It reveals that β-sheet nanocrystallites constitutes 40.0±1.2% of the protein and are dominated by alanine-rich repetitive motifs. Furthermore, based upon the NMR data, 18±1% of alanine, 60±2% glycine and 54±2% serine are incorporated into helical conformations.