Zhou Danhua, Zhou Hu, Zhou Shufeng, Tong Yen Wah
College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University (Xiamen Campus), No.668 Jimei Avenue, Xiamen 361021, China.
NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI), National University of Singapore (NUS), 1 Create Way, Singapore 138602, Singapore.
Polymers (Basel). 2020 Aug 28;12(9):1944. doi: 10.3390/polym12091944.
Aquaporin-Z (AqpZ) are water channel proteins with excellent water permeability and solute rejection properties. AqpZ can be reconstituted into vesicles utilizing cell-like bilayer membranes assembled from amphiphilic block copolymers, for the preparation of high-performance biomimetic membranes. However, only a few copolymers have been found suitable to act as the membrane matrix for protein reconstitution. Hence, this work analyzes the mechanism of protein reconstitution based on a composition-reconstitution relationship. The vesicle formation and AqpZ reconstitution processes in various amphiphilic block copolymers were investigated in terms of size, morphology, stability, polymeric bilayer membrane rigidity, and thermal behavior. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of the composition-reconstitution relationship of biomimetic membranes based on AqpZ-reconstituted polymeric vesicles.
水通道蛋白-Z（AqpZ）是具有出色水渗透性和溶质截留特性的水通道蛋白。利用由两亲性嵌段共聚物组装而成的类细胞膜双层膜，可将AqpZ重构到囊泡中，用于制备高性能仿生膜。然而，仅发现少数几种共聚物适合用作蛋白质重构的膜基质。因此，这项工作基于组成-重构关系分析了蛋白质重构的机制。从尺寸、形态、稳定性、聚合物双层膜刚性和热行为等方面研究了各种两亲性嵌段共聚物中的囊泡形成和AqpZ重构过程。总体而言，本研究有助于理解基于AqpZ重构聚合物囊泡的仿生膜的组成-重构关系。
