Fundamental understanding of biomolecular interfacial behavior, such as protein adsorption at the microscopic scale, is critical to broad applications in biomaterials, nanomedicine, and nanoparticle-based biosensing techniques. The goal of achieving both computational efficiency and accuracy presents a major challenge for simulation studies at both atomistic and molecular scales. In this work, we developed a unique, accurate, high-throughput simulation method which, by integrating discontinuous molecular dynamics (DMD) simulations with the Golike protein−surface interaction model, not only solves the dynamics efficiently, but also describes precisely the protein intramolecular and intermolecular interactions at the atomistic scale and the protein−surface interactions at the coarse-grained scale. Using our simulation method and in-house developed software, we performed a systematic study of α-helical ovispirin-1 peptide adsorption on a graphene surface, and our study focused on the effect of surface hydrophobic interactions and π−π stacking on protein adsorption. Our DMD simulations were consistent with full-atom molecular dynamics simulations and showed that a single ovispirin-1 peptide lay down on the flat graphene surface with randomized secondary structure due to strong protein−surface interactions. Peptide aggregates were formed with an internal hydrophobic core driven by strong interactions of hydrophobic residues in the bulk environment. However, upon adsorption, the hydrophobic graphene surface can break the hydrophobic core by denaturing individual peptide structures, leading to disassembling the aggregate structure and further randomizing the ovispirin-1 peptide's secondary structures.
Solar‐driven hydrogel evaporator used for water purification demonstrates great potential in seawater desalination and domestic sewage treatment. However, much uncertainty still exists about the most efficient design to obtain cost‐effective drinkable water. In this paper, a natural rich biomass Nicandra physalodes (Linn.) Gaertn. polysaccharide was introduced into the polyvinyl alcohol network to control the water distribution during evaporation and build a low‐cost hybrid hydrogel solar evaporator with a total material cost of $7.95 m−2. The mixed evaporator works stably in a long‐span acid–base range (pH 1–14) and salinity range (0–320 g kg−1). Its daily water purification capacity can reach 24.4 kg m−2 with a water purification capacity of 3.51 kg m−2 h−1 under sunlight. This paper provides a new possibility for a highly efficient and cost‐effective water desalination system with guaranteed water quality by focusing on the dynamic regulation of water molecules at the evaporation interface.
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