The Effects of Surface Chemistry on the Properties of Proteins Confined in Nano-porous Materials

The entrapment of proteins using the sol-gel route provides a means to retain its native properties and artifi cially reproduce the molecular crowding and confi nement experienced by proteins in the cell allowing investigation of the physico-chemical and structural properties of biomolecules at the biotic/abiotic interface. The biomolecules are spatially separated and ‘caged’ in the gel structure but solutes can freely permeate the matrix. Thus, properties such as the folding of ensembles of individual molecules can be examined in the absence of aggregation effects that can occur in solution studies. Green fl uorescent protein from Aequorea coerulescens was used as a model protein to examine the unfolding/re-folding properties of protein in silica gels. The recombinant protein was isolated and purifi ed from Escherichia coli extracts by cell lysis, three-phase partitioning, dialysis, and anion exchange chromatography. The purity of the protein was greater than 90% as judged by SDS PAGE gel analysis. Sol-gels were synthesized using tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) in combination with, methyltrimethoxyorthosilane (MTMOS), ethyltrimethoxyorthosilane (ETMOS), 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), and 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS). The acid induced denaturation and renaturation of GFP was analyzed by UV-visible, fl uorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. No renaturation was observed in gels that were made with TMOS only, and in the presence of APTES, MTMOS, and ETMOS. However, in gels that were made with GPTMS, the CD and UV-visible spectra indicated that the protein had refolded. The fl uorescence emission spectrum indicated that approximately 20% of fl uorescence had returned. This study highlights the importance of the surface chemistry of the silica gels for the refolding properties of the entrapped GFP. Future studies will investigate the effect of surface chemistry on the thermal and solvent stability of the entrapped protein.