Engineering Research Equipment Grant: Acoustophoretic Titrator With Fiber Optic Laser Light Scattering Probe for Proteins and Micelles

在这项研究中使用的暗场显微镜/图像分析系统已经获得了500到5000埃范围内蛋白质胶束的直接观察。用这种技术对酪蛋白胶束的研究表明，范德华力和双层作用力不能充分解释未水解胶束的稳定性。另一种立体力量似乎很重要。相反，双层力和范德华力之间的平衡对水解胶束起主导作用。这些观察结果表明，准确测量相对集中胶束溶液的Zeta电位对于理解蛋白质胶束是必不可少的。这笔赠款将用于购买一台声光滴定仪，其中包括一个光纤激光光散射探头。该仪器将允许测量Zeta电位和表面电荷，以表征蛋白质胶束溶液的行为。该项目的目标是了解控制蛋白质胶束相互作用的传输基本原理和速率过程，以便可以使用先进的计算方法模拟这些有组织的组装的行为。这项工作将使人们更好地理解控制蛋白质在固体表面上的行为的参数，哺乳动物和细菌系统中活细胞之间的相互作用，并将多肽的电荷与其电离势联系起来。这一理解将对生物医学技术、蛋白质分离和纯化以及生物技术产生影响。

A darkfield microscope/image analysis system used in this research has obtained direct observations of protein micelles in the range of 500 to 5000 angstroms. Studies of casein micelles by this technique have shown that van der Waals and double layer forces do not adequately account for the stability of the unhydrolized micelles. An additional steric force appears to be important. In contrast, the balance between double layer forces and van der Waals forces dominate for hydrolyzed micelles. It is concluded from these observations that the accurate measurement of zeta potentials for relatively concentrated micellar solutions is essential for understanding protein micelles. This grant will be used to purchase an acoustophoretic titrator which includes a fiber optic laser light scattering probe. This instrument will allow measurement of the zeta potential and surface charge in the characterization of the behavior of solutions of protein of micelles. The objective of the project is to understand the transport fundamentals and rate processes governing interactions of protein micelles so that the behavior of these organized assemblies can be simulated using advanced computational methods. This work will lead to improved general understanding of parameters which control behavior of proteins with respect to solid surfaces, interactions between living cells in mammalian and bacterial systems, and relating the charge of peptides to their ionization potential. The understanding will have implications for biomedical technology, protein separation and purification, and biotechnology.