Tatiana I. Morozova, Nicolás A. García, Jean-Louis Barrat
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
It appeared certain that elastin condensates retain liquid-like properties. However, a recent experimental study demonstrated that their aggregate states might depend on the length of hydrophobic domains. To gain microscopic insight into this behavior, we employ atomistic modeling to assess the conformational properties of hydrophobic elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). We find that short ELPs always remain in coil-like conformations, while the longer ones prefer globule states. While the former engages in intrapeptide hydrogen bonds temporarily, retaining their liquid-like properties, the latter forms hundreds of nanosecond-long intrapeptide hydrogen bonds attributed to ordered secondary structure motifs. Our work demonstrates that the sequence length modulates the material properties of elastin condensates.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Physical Chemistry (JPC) Letters is devoted to reporting new and original experimental and theoretical basic research of interest to physical chemists, biophysical chemists, chemical physicists, physicists, material scientists, and engineers. An important criterion for acceptance is that the paper reports a significant scientific advance and/or physical insight such that rapid publication is essential. Two issues of JPC Letters are published each month.