Cooperative transitions involving hydrophobic polyelectrolytes

James L. Martin Robinson; Willem K. Kegel

doi:10.1073/pnas.2211088120

Cooperative transitions involving hydrophobic polyelectrolytes

James L. Martin Robinson, Willem K. Kegel^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Hydrophobic polyelectrolytes (HPEs) can solubilize bilayer membranes, form micelles, or can reversibly aggregate as a function of pH. The transitions are often remarkably sharp. We show that these cooperative transitions occur by a competition between two or more conformational states and can be explained within the framework of Monod–Wymann–Changeux (MWC) theory that was originally formulated for allosteric interactions. Here, we focus on the pH-dependent destabilization and permeation of bilayer membranes by HPEs. We formulate the general conditions that lead to sharp conformational transitions involving simple macromolecules mediated by concentration variations of molecular ligands. That opens up potential applications ranging from medicine to the development of switchable materials.

Original language	English
Article number	e2211088120
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Number of pages	10
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	120
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211088120
Publication status	Published - 7 Feb 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank Jinming Gao and Yang Li for kindly providing the data on HPE diblocks and Neshat Moslehi, Bas van Ravensteijn, and Tina Vermonden for discussions on hydrophobic polyelectrolytes. Antoinette Killian, Adrian Kopf, and Martijn Koorengevel are thanked for several illuminating brainstorming sessions on membrane disk formation. WKK thanks Rob Phillips andTalEinavforenlightenmentregardingMWCtheory.Finally,weacknowledge the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for funding (grant no 712.018.003).

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Funding

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank Jinming Gao and Yang Li for kindly providing the data on HPE diblocks and Neshat Moslehi, Bas van Ravensteijn, and Tina Vermonden for discussions on hydrophobic polyelectrolytes. Antoinette Killian, Adrian Kopf, and Martijn Koorengevel are thanked for several illuminating brainstorming sessions on membrane disk formation. WKK thanks Rob Phillips andTalEinavforenlightenmentregardingMWCtheory.Finally,weacknowledge the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for funding (grant no 712.018.003).

Funders	Funder number
Dutch Research Council (NWO)	712.018.003

Keywords

cooperativity
hydrophobic polyelectrolytes
membrane solubilization

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10.1073/pnas.2211088120Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

martin-robinson-kegel-2023-cooperative-transitions-involving-hydrophobic-polyelectrolytesFinal published version, 10.3 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

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abstract = "Hydrophobic polyelectrolytes (HPEs) can solubilize bilayer membranes, form micelles, or can reversibly aggregate as a function of pH. The transitions are often remarkably sharp. We show that these cooperative transitions occur by a competition between two or more conformational states and can be explained within the framework of Monod–Wymann–Changeux (MWC) theory that was originally formulated for allosteric interactions. Here, we focus on the pH-dependent destabilization and permeation of bilayer membranes by HPEs. We formulate the general conditions that lead to sharp conformational transitions involving simple macromolecules mediated by concentration variations of molecular ligands. That opens up potential applications ranging from medicine to the development of switchable materials.",

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Cooperative transitions involving hydrophobic polyelectrolytes

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Keywords

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