Correlating topography and elastic properties of Elastin-Like Polypeptide scaffolds probed at the nanoscale: Intermodulation Atomic Force Microscopy experiments and Molecular Dynamic simulations

28 October 2021, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

The synthesis and property characterization of soft biomaterials has taken precedence in recent years. Although bulk physical-chemical properties are well known for these bio-materials, nanoscale properties still need to be probed and evaluated to fine tune the bio-compatibility (structural as well as functional) with natural tissues for regenerative medicine, prosthetics and other biological applications. In this study, we focus on a popular soft biomaterial, ELastin-like polypeptide (ELP) which has been prepared under different pH conditions. We explore the topographical features of the ELP at the nanoscale using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Additionally, we employ a non linear mode of AFM called Intermodulation-AFM (ImAFM) to correlate the elastic properties (Young's modulus) of ELP probed at the nanoscale with the topographical features which gives us a deep insight into the mechanical properties offered by ELP when the structural features are altered by change in the ELP synthesis conditions. The noteworthy point is that we measure theses properties at a spatial resolution of 0.9 nm. Finally, we explain the change in the structural features of ELP with varying pH through atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations. We follow the interaction mechanisms of the amino acid sequences and crosslinkers with proteins as they form the backbone and sidechain of the ELP at different pH.

Keywords

Elastin-like Polypeptide
Intermodulation Atomic Force Microscopy
Mechanical Properties
Young Modulus
Nanoscale regime
Topography
Soft biomaterials

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.