Here we present a protocol to measure the force of interactions between a well-defined inorganic surface and either peptides or amino acids by single-molecule force spectroscopy measurements using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The information obtained from the measurement is important to better understand the peptide-inorganic material interphase.
The interactions between proteins or peptides and inorganic materials lead to several interesting processes. For example, combining proteins with minerals leads to the formation of composite materials with unique properties. In addition, the undesirable process of biofouling is initiated by the adsorption of biomolecules, mainly proteins, on surfaces. This organic layer is an adhesion layer for bacteria and allows them to interact with the surface. Understanding the fundamental forces that govern the interactions at the organic-inorganic interface is therefore important for many areas of research and could lead to the design of new materials for optical, mechanical and biomedical applications. This paper demonstrates a single-molecule force spectroscopy technique that utilizes an AFM to measure the adhesion force between either peptides or amino acids and well-defined inorganic surfaces. This technique involves a protocol for attaching the biomolecule to the AFM tip through a covalent flexible linker and single-molecule force spectroscopy measurements by atomic force microscope. In addition, an analysis of these measurements is included.
The interaction between proteins and inorganic minerals leads to the construction of composite materials with distinctive properties. This includes materials with high mechanical strength or unique optical properties.1,2 For example, the combination of the protein collagen with the mineral hydroxyapatite generates either soft or hard bones for different functionalities. 3 Short peptides can also bind inorganic materials with high specificity. 4,5,6 The specificity of these peptides has been used for designing new magnetic and electronic materials,7,8,9 fabricating nanostructured materials, growing crystals, 10 and synthesizing nanoparticles.11Understanding the mechanism underlying interactions between peptides or proteins and inorganic materials will therefore allow us to design new composite materials with improved adsorptive properties. In addition, since the interphase of implants with an immune response is mediated by proteins, better understanding the interactions of proteins with inorganic materials will improve our ability to design implants. Another important area that involves proteins interacting with inorganic surfaces is the fabrication of antifouling materials.12,13,14,15 Biofouling is an undesirable process in which organisms attach to a surface. It has many detrimental implications on our lives. For example, biofouling of bacteria on medical devices leads to hospital-acquired infections. Biofouling of marine organisms on boats and large ships increases the consumption of fuel.12,16,17,18
Single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS), using an AFM, can directly measure the interactions between an amino acid or a peptide with a substrate.19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26 Other methods such as phage display,27,28 quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)29or surface plasmon resonance (SPR)29,30,31,32,33 measure the interactions of peptides and proteins to inorganic surfaces in bulk.34,35,36 This means that the results obtained by these methods relate to ensembles of molecules or aggregates. In SMFS, one or very few molecules are fixed to the AFM tip and their interactions with the desired substrate is measured. This approach can be expanded to study protein folding by pulling the protein from the surface. In addition, it can be used to measure interactions between cells and proteins and the binding of antibodies to their ligands.37,38,39,40 This paper describes in detail how to attach either peptides or amino acids to the AFM tip using silanol chemistry. In addition, the paper explains how to perform force measurements and how to analyze the results.
1. Tip Modification
2. Surface Preparation
3. Single-molecule Force Spectroscopy Measurements
4. Data Analysis
Figure 1 exhibits the tip modification procedure. In the first step, a plasma treatment changes the surface of the silicon nitride tip. The tip presents OH groups. These groups will then react with the silanes. At the end of this step, the surface of the tip will be covered by free -NH2 groups. These free amines will then react with Fmoc -PEG-NHS, a covalent linker. The Fmoc group of the PEG linker is removed by pipyridine, a deprotecting reagent. Finally, the examined amino acid or peptide molecule is coupled through the free amine group of the PEG using the coupling reagent HBTU.
With the modified AFM tip it is possible to examine the interactions of the amino acid or peptide with the surface (Figure 2). The PEG molecule separates the peptide or amino acid from the tip and allows them to freely orient. A typical force measurement results in a Force-distance curve (Figure 3). This curve has a characteristic point of separation of the tip from the surface, and a single molecule adhesion event. The first peak indicates nonspecific interactions between the tip and the surface and the second peak refers to the specific adhesion event. From several hundred F-D curves it is possible to construct a histogram by plotting the number of adhesion events versus force. Applying a Gaussian fit on these histograms will determine the most probable force (MPF).
Figure 1: Tip modification procedure. Schematic representation of the chemical modification of the AFM tip. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: SMFS experimental setup. Schematic illustration of the single-molecule force spectroscopy setup for measuring the interactions between amino acids or peptides and a desired surface. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Force-distance Curve. Typical single-molecule F-D curves for the rupture of (A) the peptide Gln-Pro-Ala-Ser-Ser-Arg-Tyr from a mica surface, and (B) the amino acid phenylalanine from a TiO2 surface. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: The histograms plot the Most Probable Force (MPF) and the graphs plot the force Vs. loading rate. Typical histograms of the rupture force values of (A) the peptide Gln-Pro-Ala-Ser-Ser-Arg-Tyr from mica (at a loading rate of 3.1 ± 0.6 nN/s (N = 7 8)), (B) the amino acid phenylalanine from TiO2 (at loading rate of 4.2 ± 0.7 nN/s (N = 79)). The most probable force (MPF) value was calculated based on the Gaussian fit (the black lines). Loading-rate dependence for the rupture forces for (C) the peptide Gln-Pro-Ala-Ser-Ser-Arg-Tyr and (D) the amino acid phenylalanine. The kinetic parameters were extrapolated from the linear plot of the force vs. the logarithm of the apparent loading rate. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Steps 1.3, 1.4 and 1.7 in the protocol should be carried out with extensive care and in a very gentle manner. In step 1.3, the tip should not be in contact with the silane mixture and the silanization process should be carried out in an inert atmosphere (moisture free).45 This is done in order to prevent multilayer formation and because silane molecules readily undergo hydrolysis in the presence of moisture.45
In step 1.4, the temperature and time should be kept properly. Before starting step 1.5, the tip should be cooled down to room temperature; otherwise it will be damaged. In the coupling step (1.7), the HBTU and the examined amino acid or peptide should be completely dissolved in the mixture. After coupling, washing the tip with the different solvents should be done in a very gentle manner to avoid any damage to the tip.
The reported technique can be applied to any peptide or amino acid. To modify the silicon tip, we use silanes. This is general chemistry which can be altered. For example, one can use either two or one type of PEGylated silane to modify the tip.23,25,26 If the tip is made of gold, then thiol groups can be used for the modification of the tip. Alternative protocols exploit nitrilotriacetate (NTA)-terminated linkers, able to target histidine, together with recombinant histidine-tagged proteins. Recently, Lyubchenko et al. described the synthesis and examining of a novel polymer linker and showed its application in several SMFS experiments. The synthesis of the linker is based on the well-developed phosphoramidate (PA) chemistry. This chemistry allows a routine synthesis of linkers with predetermined lengths and PA composition. These linkers are homogeneous in length and can be terminated with various functional groups. Furthermore, biomolecules can be anchored on gold substrates or tips through native or engineered thiol groups as gold form covalent bonds with the sulfur atoms.
This method allows the quantitative and detailed measurement of the force needed to unbind a molecule from a surface at the single-molecule level and not in bulk. Future applications of the technique include the attachment of proteins to the tip and the design of new hybrid materials. The design and development of new composite materials and functional surfaces will benefit from obtaining a fundamental understanding of the interactions between proteins or peptides with inorganic materials. The protocol provided here for SMFS with AFM can serve as a powerful tool for studying the interactions between proteins, peptides and amino acids with different surfaces.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work was supported by the Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant (EP7). P. D. acknowledges the support of the Israel Council for Higher Education.
Silicon nitride (Si3N4) AFM cantilevers with silicon tips | Bruker (Camarilo, CA, USA) | MSNL10, nominal cantilevers radius ~2 nm | |
Methyltriethoxysilane | Acros Organics (New Jersey, USA) | For Silaylation of the AFM tip | |
3-(Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane | Sigma-Aldrich (Jerusalem, Israel) | Used for tip modification | |
Triisopropylsilane | Sigma-Aldrich (Jerusalem, Israel) | Used for tip modification | |
N-Ethyldiisopropylamine | Alfa-Aesar (Lancashire, UK) | Used for tip modification | |
Triethylamine | Alfa-Aesar (Lancashire, UK) | Used for tip modification | |
Piperidine | Alfa-Aesar (Lancashire, UK) | Used for tip modification | |
Fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl-PEG-N-hydroxysuccinimide (Fmoc-PEG-NHS) | Iris Biotech GmbH (Deutschland, Germany) | Used as the covalent flexible linker (MW = 5000 Da) | |
2-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3,-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU) | Alfa Aser (Heysham, England) | Used as a coupling reagent. | |
N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) | Acros Organics (New Jersey, USA) | Used as Solvent in Tip modification procedure | |
DMF (dimethylformamide) | Merck (Darmstadt, Germany) | Used as Solvent in Tip modification procedure | |
Trifluoro acetic acid (TFA) | Merck (Darmstadt, Germany) | ||
Acetic anhydride | Merck (Darmstadt, Germany) | ||
Peptides | GL Biochem (Shanghai, China). | ||
Phenylalanine and Tyrosine | Biochem (Darmstadt, Germany) | ||
30% TiO2 dispersion in the mixture of solvent 2-(2-Methoxyethoxy) ethanol (DEGME) and Ethyl 3-Ethoxypropionate (EEP) | Applied Vision Laboratories (Jerusalem, Israel) | (30%) in the mixture of solvent 2-(2 Methoxyethoxy) ethanol (DEGME) and Ethyl 3-Ethoxypropionate (EEP) | |
Mica substrates | TED PELLA, INC. (Redding, California, USA) | 9.9 mm diameter |