Examination of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) and globular and disordered proteins temperature dependent interactions by NMR spectroscopy
The poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm) could be one of the most promising materials in the future, due to its temperature sensitivity, non-toxic and biocompatible properties. The PNIPAAm-water interaction is widely known, however, the PNIPAAm-protein interactions in water at different temperatures have not been studied in every detail, which is a very important question in potential human application possibilities. The three research groups are looking for the answers to which interactions may occur and how they affect the properties and the structures of the PNIPAAm and proteins in water.
First step of our work is synthesizing linear poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and tested for temperature sensitivity dependence on concentration, heating rate, wavelength and number of cycle with UV-Vis spectroscopy. Based on these measurements PNIPAAm clouds point (TCP) will be specified of the corresponding measurement conditions. NMR spectroscopy analysis of the polymer structure is carried out at temperatures and concentrations chosen based on the previous measurements. The selected ordered and disordered proteins structure will be defined by CD and NMR spectroscopy. Then, we are planning to examine the PNIPAAm-protein interactions by NMR, UV-Vis and CD spectroscopy. The measurements will be intended at various temperature - in particular close to the human body temperature - and possibly on different concentration taking into account of experiments.
There are three main questions in this research (1) are there any interactions between the PNIPAAm and proteins, and if there are any, what type, (2) are there any changes the PNIPAAm phase transition (3) are there any differences or changes in the proteins in PNIPAAm-water system at different temperatures e. g. conformational changes.
András Láng - Beáta Némethné Szabó - Zsófia Osváth