Self-Assembled Reverse Micelles in Supercritical CO₂ Entrap Protein in Native State

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations of random quaternary mixtures of protein-water-CO2-fluorosurfactants show the self-assembly of reverse micelles in supercritical carbon dioxide where the protein becomes entrapped inside the aqueous pool. Analyses show that the protein native state remains intact in the water pool. This is because of the bulk nature of the enclosed water that provides a suitable environment for the extracted protein. Results from ab initio calculations imply that the existing fluorosurfactants can be made more effective in stabilizing water-in-CO2 microemulsions by a partial hydrogenation in their tails. A Lewis acid-Lewis base interaction among CO2 and the surfactant tails enhances the stability of the aqueous droplets substantially. The study can help accelerate the search for surfactant process for environmentally benign applications in dense CO2.

Activity of immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica (Lipozyme 435) and its performance on the esterification of oleic acid in supercritical carbon dioxide

“…Therefore, observing the behavior of ∆G # and ∆E # and comparing them with literature data, it can be stated that the immobilized lipase treated with SC-CO 2 in this work is less stable than those obtained by other works with lipases [25,44,45]. This instability was described by many researches through molecular dynamic simulation [33,38,46,47].…”

Protein folding in a reverse micelle environment: The role of confinement and dehydration

“…24,[40][41][42] Marchi and co-workers used explicit molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the structure and dynamics of an AOT/H 2 O/isooctane RM assembly. 40 They found that the RMs did not retain a spherical shape.…”

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Aerosol-OT Reverse Micelles

“…The presence of a bulklike core for RM radius comparable to and larger than w 0 ) 7.5 has important implications for the solvation of biomolecules in RMs. 15,76 As indicated by the intrinsic density profiles, the interfacial region within 10 Å from the headgroup sulfur atoms contains two well-defined peaks. The first peak corresponds to water molecules interacting directly with the headgroup and represents an outermost shell region.…”