Automated detection of protein unfolding events in atomic force microscopy force curves
Atomic force microscopy is not only a high-resolution imaging device but also a mechanical machine, which can be used either to indent or stretch (soft) biomaterials. Due to the statistical nature of such materials (i.e., hydrogels or polymers) hundreds of force-distance curves are required to describe their mechanical properties. In this manuscript, we present an automated system for polymer unfolding detection based on continuous wavelet analysis. We have tested the automated program on elastin, which is an important protein that provides elasticity to tissues and organs. Our results show that elastin changes its mechanical behavior in the presence of electrolytes. In particular, we show …
Dynamic Structural Changes and Thermodynamics in Phase Separation Processes of an Intrinsically Disordered–Ordered Protein Model
Elastin-like proteins (ELPs) are biologically important proteins and models for intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and dynamic structural transitions associated with coacervates and liquid-liquid phase transitions. However, the conformational status below and above coacervation temperature and its role in the phase separation process is still elusive. Employing matrix least-squares global Boltzmann-fitting of the circular dichroism spectra of the ELPs (VPGVG) 20 , (VPGVG) 40 and (VPGVG) 60 , we found that coacervation occurs sharply when a certain number of repeat units has acquired β-turn conformation (in our sequence setting a threshold of ~20 repeat units). The differential scatter…