TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental and Theoretical Determination of the pH inside the Confinement of a Virus-Like Particle
AU - Maassen, Stan J.
AU - van der Schoot, Paul
AU - Cornelissen, Jeroen J.L.M.
N1 - Wiley deal
PY - 2018/9/6
Y1 - 2018/9/6
N2 - In biology, a variety of highly ordered nanometer-size protein cages is found. Such structures find increasing application in, for example, vaccination, drug delivery, and catalysis. Understanding the physiochemical properties, particularly inside the confinement of a protein cage, helps to predict the behavior and properties of new materials based on such particles. Here, the relation between the bulk solution pH and the local pH inside a model protein cage, based on virus-like particles (VLPs) built from the coat proteins of the cowpea chlorotic mottle virus, is investigated. The pH is a crucial parameter in a variety of processes and is potentially significantly influenced by the high concentration of charges residing on the interior of the VLPs. The data show a systematic more acidic pH of 0.5 unit inside the VLP compared to that of the bulk solution for pH values above pH 6, which is explained using a theoretical model based on a Donnan equilibrium. The model agrees with the experimental data over almost two orders of magnitude, while below pH 6 the experimental data point to a buffering capacity of the VLP. These results are a first step in a better understanding of the physiochemical conditions inside a protein cage.
AB - In biology, a variety of highly ordered nanometer-size protein cages is found. Such structures find increasing application in, for example, vaccination, drug delivery, and catalysis. Understanding the physiochemical properties, particularly inside the confinement of a protein cage, helps to predict the behavior and properties of new materials based on such particles. Here, the relation between the bulk solution pH and the local pH inside a model protein cage, based on virus-like particles (VLPs) built from the coat proteins of the cowpea chlorotic mottle virus, is investigated. The pH is a crucial parameter in a variety of processes and is potentially significantly influenced by the high concentration of charges residing on the interior of the VLPs. The data show a systematic more acidic pH of 0.5 unit inside the VLP compared to that of the bulk solution for pH values above pH 6, which is explained using a theoretical model based on a Donnan equilibrium. The model agrees with the experimental data over almost two orders of magnitude, while below pH 6 the experimental data point to a buffering capacity of the VLP. These results are a first step in a better understanding of the physiochemical conditions inside a protein cage.
KW - UT-Hybrid-D
KW - nanotechnology
KW - pH measurements
KW - physical chemistry
KW - virus capsids
KW - confinement
KW - 2023 OA procedure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052663179&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/smll.201802081
DO - 10.1002/smll.201802081
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85052663179
SN - 1613-6810
VL - 14
JO - Small
JF - Small
IS - 36
M1 - 1802081
ER -