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Despite the important role of membrane proteins in biological function and physiology, studying them remains challenging because of limited biomimetic systems for the protein to remain in its native membrane environment. Cryo electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) is emerging as a powerful tool for analyzing the structure of membrane proteins. However, Cryo-EM and other membrane protein analyses are better studied in a native lipid bilayer. Although traditional, mimetic systems have disadvantages that limit their use in the study of membrane proteins. As an alternative, styrene-maleic acid copolymers are used to form nanoparticles with POPC:POPG lipids. Traditional characterization of these styrene maleic acid lipid nanoparticles (SMALPs) includes dynamic light scattering (DLS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In this study a new method was developed that utilizes SMALPs using a styrene-maleic acid copolymer (SMA) thin film on a TEM grid, acting as a substrate. By directly adding POPC:POPG lipid vesicles to the SMA coated grid SMALPs can be formed, visualized, and characterized by TEM without the need to make them in solution prior to imaging. We envision these functionalized grids could aid in single particle specimen preparation, increasing the efficiency of structural biology and biophysical techniques such as Cryo-EM., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Protein-polymer bioconjugates present a way to make enzymes more efficient and robust for industrial and medicinal applications. While much work has focused on mono-functional conjugates, i.e. conjugates with one type of polymer attached such as poly(ethylene glycol) or poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), there is a practical interest in gaining additional functionality by synthesizing well-defined bifunctional conjugates in a hetero-arm star copolymer architecture with protein as the core. Using ubiquitin as a model protein, a synthetic scheme was developed to attach two different polymers (OEOMA and DMAm) directly to the protein surface, using orthogonal conjugation chemistries and grafting-from by photochemical living radical polymerization techniques. The additional complexity arising from attempts to selectively modify multiple sites led to decreased polymerization performance and indicates that ICAR-ATRP and RAFT are not well-suited to bifunctional bioconjugates applications. Nonetheless, the polymerization conditions preserve the native fold of the ubiquitin and enable production of a hetero-arm star protein-polymer bioconjugate.

Rational design of protein-polymer bioconjugates is hindered by limited experimental data and mechanistic understanding on interactions between the two. In this communication, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) reports on distances between paramagnetic spin labels and NMR active nuclei, informing on the conformation of conjugated polymers. 1 H/ 15 N-heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) NMR spectra were collected for ubiquitin (Ub) modified with block copolymers incorporating spin labels at different positions along their backbone. The resultant PRE data show that the conjugated polymers have conformations biased towards the nonpolar β-sheet face of Ub, rather than behaving as if in solution. The bioconjugates are stabilized against denaturation by guanidine-hydrochloride, as measured by circular dichroism (CD), and this stabilization is attributed to the interaction between the protein and conjugated polymer., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2020.)

Styrene-maleic acid copolymers have received significant attention because of their ability to interact with lipid bilayers and form styrene-maleic acid copolymer lipid nanoparticles (SMALPs). However, these SMALPs are limited in their chemical diversity, with only phenyl and carboxylic acid functional groups, resulting in limitations because of sensitivity to low pH and high concentrations of divalent metals. To address this limitation, various nucleophiles were reacted with the anhydride unit of well-defined styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers in order to assess the potential for a new lipid disk nanoparticle-forming species. These styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer derivatives (SMADs) can form styrene-maleic acid derivative lipid nanoparticles (SMADLPs) when they interact with lipid molecules. Polymers were synthesized, purified, characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and nuclear magnetic resonance and then used to make disk-like SMADLPs, whose sizes were measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The SMADs form lipid nanoparticles, observable by DLS and transmission electron microscopy, and were used to reconstitute a spin-labeled transmembrane protein, KCNE1. The polymer method reported here is facile and scalable and results in functional and robust polymers capable of forming lipid nanodisks that are stable against a wide pH range and 100 mM magnesium.

Spectroscopic studies of membrane proteins (MPs) are challenging due to difficulties in preparing homogenous and functional lipid membrane mimetic systems into which membrane proteins can properly fold and function. It has recently been shown that styrene-maleic acid (SMA) copolymers act as a macromolecular surfactant and therefore facilitate the formation of disk-shaped lipid bilayer nanoparticles (styrene-maleic acid copolymer-lipid nanoparticles (SMALPs)) that retain structural characteristics of native lipid membranes. We have previously reported controlled synthesis of SMA block copolymers using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and that alteration of the weight ratio of styrene to maleic acid affects nanoparticle size. RAFT-synthesis offers superior control over SMA polymer architecture compared to conventional radical polymerization techniques used for commercially available SMA. However, the interactions between the lipid bilayer and the solubilized RAFT-synthesized SMA polymer are currently not fully understood. In this study, EPR spectroscopy was used to detect the perturbation on the acyl chain upon introduction of the RAFT-synthesized SMA polymer by attaching PC-based nitroxide spin labels to the 5 th , 12 th , and 16 th positions along the acyl chain of the lipid bilayer. EPR spectra showed high rigidity at the 12 th position compared to the other two regions, displaying similar qualities to commercially available polymers synthesized via conventional methods. In addition, central EPR linewidths and correlation time data were obtained that are consistent with previous findings., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Membrane proteins play an important role in maintaining the structure and physiology of an organism. Despite their significance, spectroscopic studies involving membrane proteins remain challenging due to the difficulties in mimicking their native lipid bilayer environment. Membrane mimetic systems such as detergent micelles, liposomes, bicelles, nanodiscs, lipodisqs have improved the solubility and folding properties of the membrane proteins for structural studies, however, each mimetic system suffers from its own limitations. In this study, using three different lipid environments, vesicles were titrated with styrene-maleic acid (StMA) copolymer leading to a homogeneous SMALP system (∼10 nm) at a weight ratio of 1:1.5 (vesicle: StMA solution). A combination of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was used to characterize these SMALPs. We used a controlled synthesis mechanism to synthesize StMA based block copolymers called reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) SMALPs. Incorporation of the Voltage Sensor Domain of KCNQ1 (Q1-VSD) into RAFT SMALPs indicates that this is a promising application of this system to study membrane proteins using different biophysical techniques. V165C in Q1-VSD corresponding to the hydrophobic region was incorporated into the SMALP system. Continuous Wave-Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (CW-EPR) line shape analysis showed line shape broadening, exposing a lower rigid component and a faster component of the spin label., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This review article highlights recent developments in the field of photochemistry and photochemical reversible deactivation radical polymerization applied to aqueous polymerizations. Photochemistry is a topic of significant interest in the fields of organic, polymer, and materials chemistry because it allows challenging reactions to be performed under mild conditions. Aqueous polymerization is of significant interest because water is an environmentally benign solvent, and the use of water enables complex polymer self-assembly and bioconjugation processes to occur. This review focuses on powerful new developments in photochemical aqueous polymerization reactions and their applications to the synthesis of well-defined polymer nano-objects and bioconjugates. It is anticipated that these aqueous photopolymerizations will enable the next generation of self-assembled structures and biohybrid materials to be developed under mild and environmentally friendly conditions., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A thermophilic cellulase, FnCel5a, from Fervidobacterium nodosum was conjugated with various functional polymers including cationic, anionic, and strongly and weakly hydrogen bonding polymers. The activity of FnCel5a toward a high-molecular-weight carboxymethyl cellulose substrate was enhanced by polymer conjugation. Activity enhancements of 50% or greater observed for acrylamide and mixed N,N-dimethyl acrylamide-2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate polymers, suggesting that the greatest enhancements were caused by polymers capable of noncovalent interactions with the substrate. The conjugates were found to have nearly identical thermodynamic stability to the native enzyme, as assessed by free energy (ΔG), enthalpy (ΔH), and entropy (TΔS) parameters extracted from differential scanning fluorimetry. Polymers tended to confer comparable tolerance to high concentrations of dimethylformamide, with longer polymers typically enabling higher activity relative to shorter polymers. The new FnCel5a conjugates represent an advance in the production of cellulases that maintain activity at high temperatures or in the presence of denaturing organic solvents.