Smart hydrogel crystal gardens

Abstract

Smart hydrogel crystal gardensGrowing good-quality single crystals of proteins for high resolution X-ray diffraction relies on the use of a diverse range of materials as nucleating agents. Smart hydrogels, in the form of molecularly imprinted polymers, may provide a general solution. Michael J. WhitcombeProteomics and genomic studies are set to provide a much deeper understanding of the structure and function of living organisms at the molecular level by gaining insight into the role of newly discovered proteins in the cell. As more and more proteins are identified, it becomes a pressing matter to determine their 3-dimensional structures -particularly through the use of high-resolution X-ray diffraction studies. Proteins are, however, notoriously difficult to crystallise, especially in high enough quality to obtain good X-ray diffraction patterns.Crystallographers know that the best method to produce good crystals is to grow them under metastable conditions -conditions under which nucleation will not spontaneously occur.The trick, therefore, is to find a substance that acts as a nucleation centre, kicking-off crystal growth which can then proceed at a controlled rate. The ideal candidate would be a small crystal of the protein in question, but for most proteins this represents the classic chickenand-egg situation! Instead, a variety of materials -including objects such as hair, minerals, charged surfaces, thin films and porous solids -are used in the hope that they will provide the vital nucleation step. Now, writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Naomi Chayen and colleagues have shown 1 that help may be at hand in the shape of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs).MIPs are cross-linked materials formed in the presence of a molecular template. Interactions between the template and the functional groups of the monomers present in the polymerization mixture ensure that affinity sites -complementary in size and functionality to the templating agent -are formed (Fig. 1a) in the imprinted material and these remain after

Crystallization in Gels

“…Excellent reviews covering the crystallization of small and large molecules in gels have been published by Robert and Lefacheux [22], Garcia-Ruiz [21], Sauter et al [14], Biertü mpel et al [23], and Lorber et al [30]. The use of smart hydrogels either for protein crystallization or for crystal gardens has been suggested [251]. The use of smart hydrogels either for protein crystallization or for crystal gardens has been suggested [251].…”

Preparation of protein imprinted materials by hierarchical imprinting techniques and application in selective depletion of albumin from human serum

“…Recently, molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs), a kind of artificial synthetic materials with specific recognition capacity for target molecules, have attracted much attention123. Although MIPs for small molecules recognition have been successfully applied in solid-phase extraction (SPE), chiral separation, chemical sensor, enzyme-like catalysis, drug delivery and library screening, the preparation of biomacromolcule, such as proteins, imprinted polymers are rather difficult45678.…”

Protein-imprinted materials: rational design, application and challenges

“…With the development of proteomics and genomic studies, scientists are eager for a much deeper understanding of the structure and function of living organisms at the molecular level by gaining insight into the function of newly discovered proteins in cells [1][2][3][4]. Therefore, selective detection and quantification of target proteins have attracted much attention in several analytical fields, including biosensors, chromatography, and electrophoresis [5,6].…”

“…Protein-imprinted materials have specific recognition sites formed by interaction with template proteins, which direct the positioning and orientation of the material's structural components a by self-assembly mechanism [1,4,14,15]. As artificial antibodies, protein-imprinted materials have several advantages, for example notably long-term storage stability, potential re-usability, resistance to harsh environment, and low cost.…”