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Nanomechanics of Drug-target Interactions and Antibacterial Resistance Detection
Published on: October 25, 2013
Reversible "irreversible" inhibition of chymotrypsin using nanoparticle receptors
Nicholas O Fischer1, Ayush Verma, Catherine M Goodman
1Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA.
Abstract:
Anionically functionalized amphiphilic nanoparticles efficiently inhibit chymotrypsin through electrostatic binding followed by protein denaturation. We demonstrate the ability to disrupt this "irreversible" inhibition of chymotrypsin through modification of the nanoparticle surface using cationic surfactants. Up to 50% of original chymotrypsin activity is rescued upon long-chain surfactant addition. Dynamic light-scattering studies demonstrate that chymotrypsin is released from the nanoparticle surface. The conformation of the rescued chymotrypsin was characterized by fluorescence and fluorescence anisotropy, indicating that chymotrypsin regains a high degree of native structure upon surfactant addition.
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