Being comprehensively utilized, sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy can help to reveal chain conformational order and secondary structural change happening at polymer and biomacromolecule interfaces.
As a second-order nonlinear optical spectroscopy, sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy has widely been used in investigating various surfaces and interfaces. This non-invasive optical technique can provide the local molecular-level information with monolayer or submonolayer sensitivity. We here are providing experimental methodology on how to selectively detect the buried interface for both macromolecules and biomacromolecules. With this in mind, interfacial secondary structures of silk fibroin and water structures around model short-chain oligonucleotide duplex are discussed. The former shows a chain-chain overlap or spatial confinement effect and the latter shows a protection function against the Ca2+ ions resulting from the chiral spine superstructure of water.
Development of sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy can be dated back to the work done by Shen et al. thirty years ago1,2. The uniqueness of the interfacial selectivity and sub-monolayer sensitivity makes SFG vibrational spectroscopy appreciated by a large number of researchers in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science, etc3,4,5. Currently, a broad range of scientific issues related to surfaces and interfaces are being investigated using SFG, especially for complex interfaces with respect to polymers and biomacromolecules, such as the chain structures and structural relaxation at the buried polymer interfaces, the protein secondary structures, and the interfacial water structures9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26.
For polymer surfaces and interfaces, thin-film samples are generally prepared by spin-coating to obtain the desired surfaces or interfaces. The problem arises due to the signal interference from the two interfaces of the as-prepared films, which leads to inconvenience for analyzing the collected SFG spectra27,28,29. In most cases, the vibrational signal only from one single interface, either film/substrate or film/the other medium, is desirable. Actually, the solution to this problem is quite easy, namely, to experimentally maximize the light fields at the desirable interface and minimize the light fields at the other interface. Hence, the Fresnel coefficients or the local field coefficients need to be calculated via the thin film model and to be validated with respect to the experimental results3,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,30.
With the above background in mind, some polymer and biological interfaces could be investigated in order to understand fundamental science from the molecular level. In the following, taking three interfacial issues as examples: probing poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) surface and buried interface with substrate9, formation of silk fibroin (SF) secondary structures on the polystyrene (PS) surface and water structures surrounding model short-chain oligonucleotide duplex16,21, we will show how the SFG vibrational spectroscopy helps to reveal the interfacial molecular-level structures in connection to the underlying science.
1. SFG experimental
2. Fresnel coefficients
3. Chiral SFG polarization combination
4. Sample preparation
In the Fresnel coefficient part of Protocol Section, we have shown that, theoretically, it is feasible to selectively detect only one single interface at one time. Here, experimentally, we confirmed that this methodology is basically correct, as shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6.
Figure 5 shows the buried interfacial PHEMA structure after water intrusion with a ~150 nm PHEMA hydrogel film and Figure 6 shows the surface structure in water with a ~430 nm PHEMA hydrogel film. Panels A and B correspond to the CH and CO ranges respectively for both figures. At the buried interface, all the observed vibrational peaks are sharp and clear. The reason is that the CaF2 substrate is smooth and cannot be penetrated by PHEMA molecules, leading to a sharp CaF2/PHEMA interface. However, at the surface, because water molecules can interact with PHEMA and diffuse into the bulk, the PHEMA/water interface would be not as sharp as the buried one. Therefore, different spectral profiles are observed for these two interfaces.
Figure 1. Schematic show of the SFG process (left panel) with the energy transition diagram (right panel). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2. The SFG system in the lab. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3. Schematic shows the light propagation path in prism for SFG experiment. The numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 represent the air, prism, PHEMA and bottom medium (the bottom medium can be air, solid or liquid.), respectively. Reproduced from Li, X.; Li, B.; Zhang, X.; Li, C.; Guo, Z.; Zhou, D.; Lu, X. Macromolecules 2016, 49, 3116−3125 (ref 9). Copyright 2016 American Chemical Society. This figure has been modified from [9]. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4. Calculated Fresnel coefficients as a function of the film thickness for the prism geometry in water for ssp and ppp polarization combinations. Panels A1 に C1 correspond to the CH range and Panels A2 に C2 correspond to the CO range. Reproduced from Li, X.; Li, B.; Zhang, X.; Li, C.; Guo, Z.; Zhou, D.; Lu, X. Macromolecules 2016, 49, 3116−3125 (ref 9). Copyright 2016 American Chemical Society. This figure has been modified from [9].
Figure 5. ssp and ppp spectra of the CaF2/PHEMA interface after water exposure. A: CH and OH range; B: CO range. The black curves are the fitted results by using Lorentz equation. The spectra have been offset for clarity. Reproduced from Li, X.; Li, B.; Zhang, X.; Li, C.; Guo, Z.; Zhou, D.; Lu, X. Macromolecules 2016, 49, 3116−3125 (ref 9). Copyright 2016 American Chemical Society. This figure has been modified from [9].
Figure 6. ssp and ppp spectra of the PHEMA surface on CaF2 prism. A: CH and OH range; B: CO range. The sample was placed into contact with water. The black curves are the fitted results by using Lorentz equation. The spectra have been offset for clarity. Reproduced from Li, X.; Li, B.; Zhang, X.; Li, C.; Guo, Z.; Zhou, D.; Lu, X. Macromolecules 2016, 49, 3116−3125 (ref 9). Copyright 2016 American Chemical Society. This figure has been modified from [9].
Figure 7. Normalized chiral (psp) SFG spectra in the amide I (Panel A) and N-H (Panel B) ranges for the PS/SF solution (90 mg/mL) interface before and after adding methanol. The dots are experimental data and the solid lines are the fitted curves. Spectra have been offset for clarity. Reproduced from Li, X.; Deng, G.; Ma, L.; Lu, X.; Langmuir 2018, 34, 9453−9459 (ref 16). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. This figure has been modified from [16].
Figure 8. Normalized chiral (psp) SFG spectra in the amide I (Panel A) and N-H (Panel B) ranges for the PS/SF solution (1 mg/mL) interface before and after adding methanol. The dots are experimental data and the solid lines are the fitted curves (blue). Spectra have been offset for clarity. Reproduced from Li, X.; Deng, G.; Ma, L.; Lu, X.; Langmuir 2018, 34, 9453−9459 (ref 16). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. This figure has been modified from [16].
Figure 9. Achiral (ssp, A) and chiral (spp, B) SFG spectra for the duplex oligonucleotide-anchored lipid bilayer in contact with the Ca2+ solutions with different concentrations (from 0.6 mM to 6 mM). The data points were approximately fitted by using the Lorentz equation. The change of the integrated area for the water vibrational signals as a function of the Ca2+ concentration was presented (ssp, C; spp, D). All the spectra have been normalized and offset for clarity. Reproduced from Li, X.; Ma, L.; Lu, X.; Langmuir 2018, 34, 14774−14779 (ref 21). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. This figure has been modified from [21].
To investigate the structural information from a molecular level, SFG has its inherent advantages (i.e., monolayer or sub-monolayer sensitivity and interfacial selectivity), which can be applied to study various interfaces, such as the solid/solid, solid/liquid, solid/gas, liquid/gas, liquid/liquid interfaces. Although the equipment maintenance and the optical alignment are still time-consuming, the payoff is significant in that the detailed molecular-level information at the surfaces and interfaces can be obtained.
Probing Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) Surface and Buried interface in Solution: As we demonstrated above, the light field coefficients can be adjusted. We can confirm this experimentally. At the buried interface with the substrate, because the CaF2 substrate surface is smooth and cannot be penetrated by PHEMA molecules, this interface is a sharp one. However, at the surface with water, water molecules can interact with PHEMA molecules and diffuse into the bulk. Hence this interface is blurry, and not as sharp as the buried one. Therefore, different SFG spectral profiles would be observed for these two interfaces. Our experimental SFG data did prove this, indicating the capability to selectively probe the buried interface with the substrate or the surface in solution.
Interchain Interaction or Confinement effect on Formation of Silk Fibroin Secondary Structures: A key factor is the critical overlapping concentration (C*). For SF, C* is ~1.8 mg/mL. Experimentally, for the SF solution of ~90 mg/mL (above C*), no chiral (psp) SFG vibrational signals were detected at the SF solution/PS interface unless an inducing agent-methanol was added, as shown in Figure 7. But, for the SF solution of ~1 mg/mL (below C*), chiral (psp) SFG vibrational signals can be directly detected without adding methanol, as shown in Figure 8, which indicates that the ordered secondary structures have already been formed at the SF solution/PS interface. Since C* is a threshold concentration for the chain-chain overlap, the chain-chain interaction or the spatial confinement has to be taken as a regulating factor here for the formation of SF secondary structures at the interface.
Water Molecular Structures Surrounding Short-chain Oligonucleotide Duplex: For a short-chain oligonucleotide duplex in the water solution, chiral water SFG vibrational signals correspond to the hydration layer of the chiral spine in the minor groove. Achiral water SFG vibrational signals mostly correspond to the water layer surrounding the oligonucleotide duplex chain and the bilayer (the chiral spine of the water layer also contributes)33. In a Ca2+ concentration range from 0.6 to 6 mM, as shown in Figure 9, we found, there was no obvious change for the chiral water vibrational signals in terms of the Ca2+ concentration. However, the achiral water vibrational signals were strongly affected when the Ca2+ concentration was changed. This indicates that the chiral spine of the water layer closely binding to the oligonucleotide duplex may protect the oligonucleotide from the Ca2+ ions, in the normal biological condition.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This study was supported by the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (2017YFA0700500) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21574020). The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) and the National Demonstration Center for Experimental Biomedical Engineering Education (Southeast University) were also greatly appreciated.
1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) | Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc. | 850355P-1g | |
Anhydrous ethanol | Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd | 100092680 | ≥99.7% |
CaF2 prism | Chengdu YaSi Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. | ||
Calcium chloride anhydrous | Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd | 10005817 | ≥96.0% |
deuterated DPPC (d-DPPC) | Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc. | 860345P-100mg | |
Electromagnetic oven | Zhejiang Supor Co., Ltd | C21-SDHCB37 | |
Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) trough | KSV NIMA Co., Ltd. | KN 2003 | |
Lithium bromide anhydrous | Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd | 20056926 | |
Milli-Q synthesis system | Millipore | Ultrapure water | |
Plasma cleaner | Chengdu Mingheng Science&Technology Co., Ltd | PDC-MG | Oxygen plasma cleaning |
Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) | Sigma-Aldrich Co., LLC. | 192066 MSDS | Mw = 300 000 |
Polystyrene | Sigma-Aldrich Co., LLC. | 330345 MSDS | Mw = 48 kDa and Mn = 47 kDa |
Silk cocoons | From Bombyx mori | ||
Single complementary strand of oligonucleotide | Nanjing Genscript Biotechnology Co., Ltd. | H03596 | 5'-CGAAGGCTTCCAGCT-3' |
Single strand of oligonucleotide | Nanjing Genscript Biotechnology Co., Ltd. | H04936 | 3¢-end modified by cholesterol-triethylene glycol(Chol-TEG) (5¢-GCTTCCGAAGGTCGA-3¢) |
Sodium carbonate anhydrous | Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd | 10019260 | ≥99.8% |
Spin-coater | Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences | KW-4A | For the prepartion of ploymer films |
Step profiler | Veeco | DEKTAK 150 | For the measurement of film thickness |
Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy system | EKSPLA | A commercial picosecond SFG system |