Probing specificity of protein-protein interactions with chiral plasmonic nanostructures

Rodier, M., Keijzer, C., Milner, J. , Karimullah, A. , Barron, L., Gadegaard, N. , Lapthorn, A. and Kadodwala, M. (2019) Probing specificity of protein-protein interactions with chiral plasmonic nanostructures. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 10, pp. 6105-6111. (doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.9b02288) (PMID:31549842)

Abstract

Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) play a pivotal role in many biological processes. Discriminating functionally important well-defined protein–protein complexes formed by specific interactions from random aggregates produced by nonspecific interactions is therefore a critical capability. While there are many techniques which enable rapid screening of binding affinities in PPIs, there is no generic spectroscopic phenomenon which provides rapid characterization of the structure of protein–protein complexes. In this study we show that chiral plasmonic fields probe the structural order and hence the level of PPI specificity in a model antibody–antigen system. Using surface-immobilized Fab′ fragments of polyclonal rabbit IgG antibodies with high specificity for bovine serum albumin (BSA), we show that chiral plasmonic fields can discriminate between a structurally anisotropic ensemble of BSA-Fab′ complexes and random ovalbumin (OVA)-Fab′ aggregates, demonstrating their potential as the basis of a useful proteomic technology for the initial rapid high-throughput screening of PPIs.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lapthorn, Dr Adrian and Kadodwala, Professor Malcolm and Keijzer, Dr Chantal and Karimullah, Dr Affar and Barron, Professor Laurence and Milner, Dr Joel and Rodier, Ms Marion and Gadegaard, Professor Nikolaj
• Authors: Rodier, M., Keijzer, C., Milner, J., Karimullah, A., Barron, L., Gadegaard, N., Lapthorn, A., and Kadodwala, M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences; College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
• Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• ISSN: 1948-7185
• ISSN (Online): 1948-7185
• Published Online: 30 September 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society
• First Published: First published in Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 10:6105-6111
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
173324		Mapping the mesoscale structural landscape using "sculpted" chiral plasmonic fields	Malcolm Kadodwala	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/P00086X/1	Chemistry