Insights on the Structure, Molecular Weight and Activity of an Antibacterial Protein-Polymer Hybrid.

ABSTRACT: Protein-polymer conjugates are attractive biomaterials which combine the functions of both proteins and polymers. The bioactivity of these hybrid materials, however, is often reduced upon conjugation. It is important to determine and monitor the protein structure and active site availability in order to optimize the polymer composition, attachment point, and abundance. The challenges in probing these insights are the large size and high complexity in the conjugates. Herein, we overcome the challenges by combining electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and characterize the structure of antibacterial hybrids formed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) and an antibacterial protein. We discovered that the primary reasons for activity loss were PEG blocking

SUBMITTER: Pan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6122959 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature