Nuñez Velez Vanessa Lucía, Villamizar Gomez Liseth Daniela, Mendoza Ospina Jhon E, Hayek-Orduz Yasser, Fernandez-Niño Miguel, Restrepo Restrepo Silvia, Álvarez Solano Óscar Alberto, Reyes Barrios Luis H, Gonzalez Barrios Andres F
Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia.
Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Leibniz-Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Hale, Germany.
PeerJ. 2024 Dec 3;12:e17239. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17239. eCollection 2024.
Surfactants are molecules derived primarily from petroleum that can reduce the surface tension at interfaces. Their slow degradation is a characteristic that could cause environmental issues. This and other factors contribute to the allure of biosurfactants today. Progress has been made in this area of research, which aims to satisfy the need for effective surfactants that are not harmful to the environment. In previous studies, we demonstrated the surface tension activity of the transmembrane protein OmpA. Here, we carried out DNA shuffling on to improve its interfacial activity. We evaluated changes in interfacial tension when exposing mutants to a water-oil interface to identify the most promising candidates. Two mutants reached an interfacial tension value lower (9.10 mN/m and 4.24 mN/m) than the original protein OmpA (14.98 mN/m). Since predicted isoelectric point values are far from neutral pH, the charge of the protein was a crucial factor in explaining the migration of proteins towards the interface. Low molecular weight mutants did not exhibit a significant difference in their migration to the interface.
表面活性剂是主要来源于石油的分子，能够降低界面处的表面张力。它们降解缓慢，这一特性可能会引发环境问题。正是这一点以及其他因素，造就了如今生物表面活性剂的吸引力。该研究领域已取得进展，其目的是满足对环境无害的有效表面活性剂的需求。在之前的研究中，我们证明了跨膜蛋白OmpA的表面张力活性。在此，我们进行了DNA改组以提高其界面活性。我们评估了将突变体暴露于水 - 油界面时界面张力的变化，以确定最有前景的候选者。两个突变体的界面张力值（分别为9.10 mN/m和4.24 mN/m）低于原始蛋白OmpA（14.98 mN/m）。由于预测的等电点值远离中性pH，蛋白质的电荷是解释蛋白质向界面迁移的关键因素。低分子量突变体在向界面迁移方面未表现出显著差异。
