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Coacervation of Interfacial Adhesive Proteins for Initial Mussel Adhesion to a Wet Surface
Author(s) -
Yang Byeongseon,
Jin Sila,
Park Yeonju,
Jung Young Mee,
Cha Hyung Joon
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201803377
Subject(s) - coacervate , adhesion , mussel , adhesive , wetting , chemical engineering , materials science , surface tension , chemistry , nanotechnology , layer (electronics) , chromatography , composite material , thermodynamics , biology , ecology , physics , engineering
Coacervation of mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs) is proposed as a potential strategy that mussels may use during secretion due to their high concentration density, lack of dispersion into seawater, and low interfacial tension. Particularly, coacervations of interfacial MAPs, foot protein type‐3 fast variant (fp‐3F) and type‐5 (fp‐5), are important in the initial mussel adhesion process due to the relationship between the easy secretion/surface wetting properties of the coacervate and primer‐like surface adhesive role of interfacial MAPs, which directly contact the marine surface. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on coacervate formation of major recombinant interfacial MAPs with high charge densities and the highest 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) contents. Specifically, salt‐induced coacervation of fp‐3F is observed at low pH values corresponding to the acidified environment of the distal depression during mussel secretion. In addition, it shows enthalpy driven upper critical solution temperature behavior, possibly relying on bridging interactions between like‐charged cationic fp‐3Fs including salt‐bridge and cation–π/π–π interactions in the presence of specific counterions, supported by Raman spectroscopy. It is believed that this study has broadened the scope of the understanding of coacervation of MAPs and may provide new insight for responsive biomaterial design.