Complete inhibition of a polyol nucleation by a micromolar biopolymer additive

Xin Wen; Sen Wang; Robert Ramji; Luke O. Butler; Yelena Bagdagulyan; Audrey Kishishita; James A. Golen; Arnold L. Rheingold; Soo-Kyung Kim; William A. Goddard, III; Tod A. Pascal

Cell Reports Physical Science (Feb 2022)

Complete inhibition of a polyol nucleation by a micromolar biopolymer additive

Xin Wen,
Sen Wang,
Robert Ramji,
Luke O. Butler,
Yelena Bagdagulyan,
Audrey Kishishita,
James A. Golen,
Arnold L. Rheingold,
Soo-Kyung Kim,
William A. Goddard, III,
Tod A. Pascal

Affiliations

Xin Wen: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA; Corresponding author
Sen Wang: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
Robert Ramji: ATLAS Materials Physics Laboratory, Department of NanoEngineering and Chemical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Luke O. Butler: ATLAS Materials Physics Laboratory, Department of NanoEngineering and Chemical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Yelena Bagdagulyan: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
Audrey Kishishita: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
James A. Golen: University of California San Diego Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Arnold L. Rheingold: University of California San Diego Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Soo-Kyung Kim: Materials and Process Simulation Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
William A. Goddard, III: Materials and Process Simulation Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Corresponding author
Tod A. Pascal: ATLAS Materials Physics Laboratory, Department of NanoEngineering and Chemical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; University of California San Diego Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 3, no. 2
p. 100723

Abstract

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Summary: Preventing spontaneous crystallization of supersaturated solutions by additives is of critical interest to successful process design and implementation, with numerous applications in chemical, pharmaceutical, medical, pigment, and food industries, but challenges remain in laboratory and industry settings and fundamental understanding is lacking. When copresented with antifreeze proteins (AFPs), otherwise spontaneously crystallizing osmolytes are maintained at high supersaturations for months in over-wintering organisms. Thus, we here explore the inhibition phenomenon by AFPs, using persistent crystallization of a common sugar alcohol, D-mannitol, as a case study. We report experimentally that DAFP1, an insect AFP, completely inhibits D-mannitol nucleation. Computer simulations reveal a new mechanism for crystallization inhibition where the population of the crystal-forming conformers are selectively bound and randomized in solution by hydrogen bonding to the protein surface. These results highlight the advantages of using natural polymers to address crystallization inhibition challenges and suggest new strategies in controlling the nucleation processes.

Published in Cell Reports Physical Science

ISSN: 2666-3864 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics
Website: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science

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