Nickel (II) and Cobalt (II) Alginate Biopolymers as a “Carry and Release” Platform for Polyhistidine-Tagged Proteins

Gels

Andrei-Mihai Dumitrașcu¹  Cătălin Țucureanu¹  Iuliana Caraș¹  Vlad-Constantin Tofan¹  Andreea-Laura Ermeneanu¹ 

[1] Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development, 050096 Bucharest, Romania;

关键词: nickel alginate;    cobalt alginate;    polyhistidine-tagged proteins;    biopolymer;    hydrogel;   

DOI  :  10.3390/gels8020066

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Protein immobilization using biopolymer scaffolds generally involves undesired protein loss of function due to denaturation, steric hindrance or improper orientation. Moreover, most methods for protein immobilization require expensive reagents and laborious procedures. This work presents the synthesis and proof of concept application of two alginate hydrogels that are able to bind proteins with polyhistidine tags by means of interaction with the crosslinking cations. Nickel (II) and cobalt (II) alginate hydrogels were prepared using a simple ionic gelation method. Hydrogels were characterized by optical microscopy and AFM, and evaluated for potential cytotoxicity. In addition, binding capacity was tested towards proteins with or without HisTAG. Hydrogels had moderate cytotoxicity and were able to exclusively bind polyhistidine-tagged proteins with a binding capacity of approximately 300 µg EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) per 1 mL of hydrogel. A lyophilized hydrogel-protein complex dissolved upon the addition of PBS and allowed the protein release and regain of biological activity. In conclusion, the nickel (II) and cobalt (II) alginate biopolymers provided an excellent platform for the “carry and release” of polyhistidine-tagged proteins.

【 授权许可】

Unknown