abstract
Amyloid fibrils have recently gained a lot of attention due to their morphology, functionality and mechanical strength, allowing for their application in nanofiber-based materials, biosensors, bioactive membranes and tissue engineering scaffolds. The in vitro production of amyloid fibrils is still a slow process, thus hampering the massive production of nanofibers and its consequent use. This work presents a new and faster (2-3 h) fibrillation method for hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) using a deep eutectic solvent based on cholinium chloride and acetic acid. Nanofibers with dimensions of 0.5-1 mu m in length and 0.02-0.1 mu m in thickness were obtained. Experimental variables such as temperature and pH were also studied, unveiling their influence in fibrillation time and nanofibers morphology. These results open a new scope for protein fibrillation into nanofibers with applications ranging from medicine to soft matter and nanotechnology. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
keywords
EGG-WHITE LYSOZYME; TRANSITION-TEMPERATURE MIXTURES; AMYLOID FIBRIL FORMATION; HUMAN SERUM-ALBUMIN; IONIC LIQUIDS; CHOLINE CHLORIDE; CARBOXYLIC-ACIDS; ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN; HEN LYSOZYME; X-RAY
subject category
Biophysics; Chemistry; Materials Science
authors
Silva, NHCS; Pinto, RJB; Freire, CSR; Marrucho, IM
our authors
Carmen Sofia da Rocha Freire Barros
Coordinating Researcher
Nuno Helder da Cruz Simões Silva
Researcher
Ricardo Pinto
Researcheracknowledgements
Nuno H.C.S. Silva is grateful to Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia for the PhD grant SFRH/BD/85690/2012, and Ricardo J.B. Pinto for the Post-Doc grant SFRH/BPD/89982/2012. Carmen S.R. Freire and Isabel M. Marrucho acknowledge FCT/MCTES (Portugal) for contracts under Investigador FCT 2012, and for the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-041484. This work was financed by Research Unit GREEN-it