The mechanism of crosslinking by proteins that create adhesive gels

产生粘合凝胶的蛋白质交联机制

• 批准号: 7072470
• 负责人: ANDREW M SMITH
• 金额: $ 20.05万
• 依托单位: ITHACA COLLEGE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-07 至 2010-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7072470
• 关键词: crosslink; gel; proteins

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A wide variety of animals use gel-based glues to create strong attachments. These gels consist of roughly 97% water, yet they can create attachments that approach the strength of the solid cements of other marine animals. The ability to form such strong attachments in wet environments with a highly deformable, water- based adhesive would be highly useful for a medical adhesive. Thus, it is important to determine how these adhesives function. A key component of the gel-based glues of molluscs is the presence of glue proteins, which non-specifically stiffen gels. The goal of the proposed research is to determine the mechanism by which the glue proteins do this. It is hypothesized that the glue proteins crosslink larger polymers through a combination of ionic and hydrophobic interactions. Three approaches will be used to test this. First, the glue proteins from terrestrial snails or slugs will be purified, then added to commercial gel-forming polymers. The gel-stiffening ability of the glue proteins will be measured under a variety of conditions that interfere with specific interactions. Second, column chromatography will be used to measure the ability of the glue proteins to interact with different substrates under the same kind of conditions. Finally, mass spectrometry and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based methods will be used to determine the primary sequence of one of the main glue proteins. This will help identify possible cross-linking regions and give further insight into how they may function. The long-term goal of this research is to provide sufficient information to design a practical adhesive using a biomimetic approach. This is relevant to public health because there is a clear need for improved medical adhesives. Once the remarkable natural adhesives used by animals are understood, it may be possible to design adhesives with similar properties that could be used in a wide variety of medical applications.

描述（由申请人提供）：各种动物使用基于凝胶的胶水来形成牢固的附着。这些凝胶由大约97%的水组成，但它们可以产生接近其他海洋动物固体水泥强度的附着物。在潮湿环境中用高度可变形的水基粘合剂形成这种牢固附着的能力对于医用粘合剂将是非常有用的。因此，重要的是确定这些粘合剂如何起作用。软体动物的基于凝胶的胶的关键组分是胶蛋白的存在，其非特异性地粘附凝胶。这项研究的目的是确定胶蛋白这样做的机制。据推测，胶蛋白交联较大的聚合物通过离子和疏水相互作用的组合。将使用三种方法来测试这一点。首先，从陆生蜗牛或蛞蝓中提取的胶蛋白将被纯化，然后添加到商业凝胶形成聚合物中。将在干扰特定相互作用的各种条件下测量胶蛋白的凝胶硬化能力。其次，柱层析将用于测量胶蛋白在相同条件下与不同底物相互作用的能力。最后，质谱和聚合酶链反应（PCR）为基础的方法将被用来确定一个主要的胶蛋白的主要序列。这将有助于确定可能的交联区域，并进一步了解它们如何发挥作用。这项研究的长期目标是提供足够的信息，设计一个实用的粘合剂使用仿生方法。这与公共卫生有关，因为显然需要改进的医用粘合剂。一旦了解了动物使用的非凡天然粘合剂，就有可能设计出具有类似特性的粘合剂，这些粘合剂可用于各种医疗应用。

项目成果

Robust cross-links in molluscan adhesive gels: testing for contributions from hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2008.10.004
• 发表时间: 2009-02
• 期刊: COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
• 影响因子: 2.2
• 作者: Smith, A. M.;Robinson, T. M.;Salt, M. D.;Hamilton, K. S.;Silvia, B. E.;Blasiak, R.
• 通讯作者: Blasiak, R.