Self-assembly of high molecular weight polypeptide copolymers studied via diffusion limited aggregation

The assembly of high molecular weight polypeptides into complex architectures exhibiting structural complexity ranging from the nano- to the mesoscale is of fundamental importance for various protein-related diseases but also hold great promise for various nano- and biotechnological applications. Here, the aggregation of partially unfolded high molecular weight polypeptides into multiscale fractal structures is investigated by means of diffusion limited aggregation and atomic force microscopy. The zeta potential, the hydrodynamic radius, and the obtained fractal morphologies were correlated with the conformation of the polypeptide backbones as obtained from circular dichroism measurements. The polypeptides are modified with polyethylene oxide side chains to stabilize the polypeptides and to normalize intermolecular interactions. The modification with the hydrophobic thioctic acid alters the folding of the polypeptide backbone, resulting in a change in solution aggregation and fractal morphology. We found that a more compact folding results in dense and highly branched structures, whereas a less compact folded polypeptide chain yields a more directional assembly. Our results provide first evidence for the role of compactness of polypeptide folding on aggregation. Furthermore, the mesoscale-structured biofilms were used to achieve a hierarchical protein assembly, which is demonstrated by deposition of Rhodamine-labeled HSA with the preassembled fractal structures. These results contribute important insights to the fundamental understanding of the aggregation of high molecular weight polypeptides in general and provide opportunities to study nanostructure-related effects on biological systems such as adhesion, proliferation, and the development of, for example, neuronal cells.