Characterization and Functionalization of Suckerin-12 Protein
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CHARACTERIZATION AND FUNCTIONALIZATION OF SUCKERIN-12 PROTEIN HYDROGELS Dissertation Submitted to The School of Engineering of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering By Chelsea Buck, M.S. UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Dayton, Ohio December 2018 CHARACTERIZATION AND FUNCTIONALIZATION OF SUCKERIN-12 PROTEIN HYDROGELS Name: Buck, Chelsea Carolyn APPROVED BY: Kristen K. Comfort, Ph. D. Donald A. Klosterman, Ph. D. Advisory Committee Chairman Committee Member Associate Professor Associate Professor Chemical and Materials Engineering Chemical and Materials Engineering Margaret F. Pinnell, Ph. D. Patrick B. Dennis, Ph. D. Committee Member Committee Member Associate Dean Research Scientist Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Air Force Research Laboratory Robert J. Wilkens, Ph.D., P.E. Eddy M. Rojas, Ph.D., M.A., P.E. Associate Dean for Research and Innovation Dean Professor School of Engineering School of Engineering ii © Copyright by Chelsea Carolyn Buck All rights reserved 2018 iii ABSTRACT CHARACTERIZATION AND FUNCTIONALIZATION OF SUCKERIN-12 PROTEIN HYDROGELS Name: Buck, Chelsea Carolyn University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Kristen K. Comfort Previous research of suckerin proteins identified in the sucker ring teeth of cephalopods have impressive mechanical properties and behave as thermoplastic materials. In this research, one isoform of suckerin protein, suckerin-12 was explored as a mechanically robust material. The protein was isolated and recombinantly expressed in E. coli. Gram-scale quantities of pure protein were expressed and purified to create enzymatically crosslinked hydrogels. Exposure to select salt anion conditions caused the hydrogels to contract significantly, at rates highly dependent upon the anion present in the buffer, which followed a trend modeled by the Hofmeister Series of anions. Mechanical properties of the condensed material were also found to be anion specific. However, the observed changes in hydrogel mechanical properties were best explained by the ability of the salt to neutralize charges in suckerin-12 by deprotonation or charge screening of histidine residues, which are plentiful in the suckerin-12 protein (8 mol%). Thus, by changing the anions in the condensing salt solution, it is possible to tune the mechanical properties of suckerin-12 hydrogels. In addition to anion responsive iv properties, suckerin-12 hydrogels were discovered to exhibit the same order of magnitude of mechanical properties at both 3 wt% and 6 wt% protein concentrations. However, the final condensed size for 3 % samples is smaller than 6 %. This observation could suggest a mechanism of concentration gradient for the creation of teeth in the native ring tooth structure. In addition to the characterization of mechanical properties associated with suckerin-12 protein hydrogels, this dissertation dually focused on assessing a route for enzyme stabilization utilizing suckerin-12 as the protein matrix. The condensed protein hydrogels were hypothesized to exhibit protection via low water content, beta-sheet secondary structure, and potential molecular crowding mechanisms. Simple adsorption of enzyme in these protein hydrogels proved unsuccessful, as diffusion limited the protection. Many iterations of chemical conjugation molecules were created that tethered the enzyme of choice to suckerin-12 protein. The most successful conjugation method utilized Spy Tag/Catcher chemistry where the enzyme was covalently attached to GFP, a hydrophobic beta-barrel protein that was also discovered in this research to bind non- specifically and tightly to suckerin-12 hydrogels. Having demonstrated successful spy chemistry, this research will allow for the functionalization of suckerin-12 hydrogels with enzymes, nanoparticles, drug and pharmaceutical related small molecules, and even antibodies. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would have been impossible without the help, support, advice and encouragement from a long list of people. My foremost thanks to my advisor, Dr. Comfort. Thank you for the constant support, ensuring I met deadlines and kept my sanity. I’d also like to thank my committee member and government supervisor, Dr. Dennis. Your technical advice undoubtedly shaped me into a better scientist. Thanks to my additional committee members, Dr. Pinnell and Dr. Klosterman, for all the guidance and support. I would also like to acknowledge DAGSI, AFRL, UES and AFOSR for crucial financial support. A special thanks to Dr. Naik and Dr. Tomczak for being awesome supervisors. To my lab mates and coworkers, thank you ALL for the laughter and fun times. What a blessing to work among friends. I have so many fond memories of you all. Marquise, I couldn’t have done any of this without you. I’ll always cherish our singing and constant laughter together in the lab. You will be an excellent attribute to the scientific community. A special thanks to our Northwestern collaborators, Dr. Michael Jewett and Jasmine Hershewe. Jazzy, I consider you a dear friend, a wonderful person, and a phenomenal young scientist. vi Lastly, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my family and husband. The support you’ve offered me over the past 4 years, and for my entire life, has allowed me to achieve great things. I couldn’t have done any of this without you all. My sweet husband, you really are the kindest person I know. Your selfless support and constant encouragement has meant more to me than I could ever express. My utmost thankfulness and appreciation to all of you. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xxiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND NOTATIONS ...................................................... xxiv CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Motivation ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Proteins ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology ........................................................ 2 1.2.2 Secondary Protein Structure .............................................................................. 5 1.2.3 Tertiary and Quaternary Protein Structure ......................................................... 7 1.3 Bio-Inspired Protein Materials .................................................................................. 8 1.4 Bombyx mori Silk Fibroin ......................................................................................... 9 1.4.1 Protein History ................................................................................................... 9 1.4.2 Architecture...................................................................................................... 11 1.4.3 Processing ........................................................................................................ 14 viii 1.4.4 Silk Fibroin as a Stabilization Matrix .............................................................. 16 1.5 Sucker Ring Teeth Proteins .................................................................................... 21 1.5.1 Protein History ................................................................................................. 21 1.5.2 Protein Architecture ......................................................................................... 24 1.5.3 Suckerin Protein Isoforms & Recombinant Expression .................................. 27 1.5.4 Self-Healing Protein Properties ....................................................................... 28 1.5.5 Suckerin Proteins: Drug Delivery and Gold Nanoparticles ............................. 30 1.5.6 The Potential of Suckerins ............................................................................... 32 1.6 Dissertation Overview ............................................................................................ 33 CHAPTER 2 AIM 1 MATERIAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF RECOMBINANT SUCKERIN-12 ................................................................................... 35 2.1 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 37 2.2 Table of Contents Entry .......................................................................................... 37 2.3 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 38 2.4 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 40 2.4.1 Expression and Purification of Recombinant Suckerin-12 in E. coli .............. 40 2.4.2 Suckerin-12 Hydrogel Formation .................................................................... 41 2.4.3 Proton NMR Characterization of Suckerin-12 Hydrogels ............................... 42 2.4.4 Contraction of Suckerin-12 Hydrogels ...........................................................