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Title: Influence of protein charge patches on the structure of protein–polyelectrolyte complexes
We employ a combination of the single chain in mean field simulation approach with the solution of Poisson's equation to study the influence of charge heterogeneities on the structure of protein–polyelectrolyte complexes. By adopting a coarse-grained model of representing proteins as charged nanoparticles, we studied the influence of the pattern of charge heterogeneities, net charge, ratio of positive to negative charges on the patches, and the volume fraction of the particles on the structural and aggregation characteristics of proteins in polyelectrolyte solutions. Our results demonstrate that the pattern of charge heterogeneities can exert a significant influence on the resulting characteristics of the aggregates, in some cases leading to a transformation from polymer-bridged complexes into direct particle aggregates driven by the attraction between oppositely charged patches.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1721512
PAR ID:
10096937
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Soft Matter
Volume:
14
Issue:
46
ISSN:
1744-683X
Page Range / eLocation ID:
9475 to 9488
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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