The role of helicity in PFAS resistance to degradation: DFT simulation of electron capture and defluorination.

Defluorination of perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) via the direct capture of excess electrons poses a promising path to environmental decontamination. Herein we show that quantum-chemical model optimization methods can be adapted to simulate the changes to molecular geometry that result from electron capture. These reaction pathways demonstrate that the introduction of an additional electron causes a loss of the helical arrangement along linear carbon tail chains. Regaining helicity is sufficiently favourable to enable fluoride release in C7-C10 PFAS chains; shorter chains are enthalpically hindered from degradation while the additional charge is stabilized on longer chains by the greater entropy their flexibility permits. These results suggest that reductive PFAS treatment processes could be made more effective under high pressure or confined conditions.

Folic Acid-Functionalized Nanomedicine: Folic Acid Conjugated Copolymer and Folate Receptor Interactions Disrupt Receptor Functionality Resulting in Dual Therapeutic Anti-Cancer Potential in Breast and Prostate Cancer.

We have previously reported on a functionalized folic acid (FA) conjugated poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (SMA) via biological linker 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DABA) (FA-DABA-SMA) copolymer. This biocompatible nanocopolymer self-assembles in a pH-dependent manner, providing stimuli responsiveness, active targeting, and extended release of hydrophobic chemotherapeutic agents and effectively penetrates the inner core of 3-dimensional cancer spheroid models. The empty FA-DABA-SMA decreased tumor spheroid volume, revealing a previously unknown mechanism of action. Here, we investigated the potential mechanism of the small (20 kDa) and large (350 kDa) FA-DABA-SMA empty copolymers affecting the folic acid receptor alpha (FRα) signaling properties in breast and prostate cancer cell lines. Microscopic imaging, immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, Caspase 3/7 apoptosis assays, Incucyte live cell tracking, the scratch wound assay, the water-soluble tetrazolium salt-1 (WST-1) cell viability assay, morphologic changes, and Western blot for the expression levels of FRα on the cell surface were used on MDA MB-231 and MCF-7 breast and DU-145 prostate cancer cell lines. The findings indicate that FA-DABA-SMA increases FRα expression levels in breast MDA MB-231 cancer cells and then disrupts FR signaling by reducing HES1 and NOTCH1 protein expression levels. Also, FA-DABA-SMA induces apoptosis and further causes a change in the MDA MB-231 cells' morphology and significantly reduces their ability to migrate in a scratch wound assay. Collectively, these findings provide a novel insight into the functionalized FA-DABA-SMA copolymer. The 350 and 20 kDa copolymers actively target FRα to initialize internationalization. However, only the large size and sheet-shaped 350 kDa copolymers disrupt FRα signaling. The significance of these novel findings reveals that the copolymer's intracellular activity is critically dependent on the size and structural shape. This report offers novel therapeutic insight into a dual mechanism of the FA-DABA-SMA copolymer for its therapeutic potential to treat cancer.

Impact of dimensionality and confinement on reaction dynamics and thermodynamics within 1D and 2D nanostructures.

Confinement has been shown to contribute to the dynamics of small molecules within nanoscale hydrophobic or hydrophilic cavities. Enclosure within a confined space can also influence energy transfer pathways, such as the enhancement of fluorescence over thermal relaxation. In this paper, the effect of confinement on the thermodynamic properties and reaction kinetics of small hydrophobic molecules confined in a soft polymeric template is detailed. A quasi-elastic neutron scattering experiment identified a substantial decrease in translational diffusion of pyrrole after solubilization within a hydrophobic cavity. This decrease in mobility is due to pyrrole's closer packing and increased density under confinement vs the bulk liquid. The decreased mobility and increased density explain the spontaneous polymerization reaction of pyrrole observed within the cavity. The precise characterization of the polymerization kinetics under confinement found that the reaction is independent of pyrrole concentration, consistent with the close packing density. Kinetic data also show that confinement dimensionality finds a thermodynamic expression in the transition state entropy. The dynamics and kinetics experiments reported here offer rare empirical insight into the important influence that cavity geometry places on the reactions they host.

Effects of co-solvents on peptide hydration water structure and dynamics.

We evaluate the molecular response of hydration water as a function of temperature and proximity to the surface of the peptide N-acetyl-leucine-methylamide (NALMA) when in the presence of the kosmotrope co-solvent glycerol or the chaotrope co-solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), using molecular dynamics simulation with a polarizable force field. These detailed microscopic studies complement established thermodynamic analysis on the role of co-solvents in shifting the equilibrium for proteins away from or towards the native folded state. We find that the structure of the water at the peptide interfaces reflects an increase in hydration number in the glycerol solution and a decrease in hydration numbers in the DMSO solution. While the water dynamics around NALMA in the presence of both co-solvents is slower than that observed with the water solvent alone, in the DMSO mixture we no longer measure a separation in water motion time scales at low temperatures as is seen in the pure water solvent, but rather one single relaxation time. In the glycerol, however, we do observe a separation of time scales at low temperatures, supporting the hypothesis that hydration water near a hydrophobic solute evolves on a separate time scale than the extensive hydrogen-bonding network of more bulk-like water. Our simulation studies highlight the differences in the two co-solvent solutions due to the relative frequency of water contacts with the hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic peptide surface, and direct water interactions with the co-solvents.

Structure and water dynamics of aqueous peptide solutions in the presence of co-solvents.

We perform neutron diffraction and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) to probe hydration water structure, and dynamics down to supercooled temperatures, of a concentrated amphiphilic peptide system with the co-solvents glycerol and dimethyl sulfoxide. We find that the kosmotropic co-solvent glycerol preserves the hydration structure near the peptide that is observed in the water solvent alone, that in turn preserves the dynamical temperature trends of two water relaxation processes--one corresponding to a localized relaxation process of the peptide bound surface water and a second relaxation process of the outer hydration layers. By contrast the chaotropic co-solvent, by disrupting the hydration layer near the peptide surface, eliminates the inner hydration layer relaxation process induced by the peptide, to show a single time scale for translational water dynamics.

Hydration water dynamics near biological interfaces.

We performed classical molecular dynamics simulations using both fixed-charge and polarizable water and protein force fields to contrast the hydration dynamics near hydrophilic and amphiphilic peptides as a function of temperature. The high peptide concentrations we use serve as a model for the surface of folded proteins where hydration layers around each residue overlap significantly. Through simulation we determine that there are notable differences in the water dynamics analyzed from the outer and inner hydration layer regions of the amphiphilic peptide solution that explains the experimentally observed presence of two translational relaxations, while the hydrophilic peptide solution shows only a single non-Arrhenius translational process with no distinction between hydration layers. Given that water dynamics for the amphiphilic peptide system reproduces all known rotational and translational hydration dynamical anomalies exhibited by hydration water near protein surfaces, our analysis provides strong evidence that dynamical signatures near biological interfaces arises because of frustration in the hydration dynamics induced by chemical heterogeneity, as opposed to just topological roughness, of the protein surface.

Next-Generation Multimodality of Nanomedicine Therapy: Size and Structure Dependence of Folic Acid Conjugated Copolymers Actively Target Cancer Cells in Disabling Cell Division and Inducing Apoptosis.

Nanomedicine as a multimodality treatment of cancer utilizes the advantages of nanodelivery systems of drugs. They are superior to the clinical administration of different therapeutic agents in several aspects, including simultaneous delivery of drugs to the active site, precise ratio control of the loading drugs and overcoming multidrug resistance. The role of nanopolymer size and structural shape on the internalization process and subsequent intracellular toxicity is limited. Here, the size and shape dependent mechanism of a functionalized copolymer was investigated using folic acid (FA) covalently bonded to the copolymer poly (styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (SMA) on its hydrophilic exterior via a biological linker 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DABA) to target folic acid receptors (FR) overly expressed on cancer cells actively. We recently reported that unloaded FA-DABA-SMA copolymers significantly reduced cancer cell viability, suggesting a secondary therapeutic mechanism of action of the copolymer carrier post-internalization. Here, we investigated the size and shape dependent secondary mechanism of unloaded 350 kDa and 20 kDa FA-DABA-SMA. The 350 kDa and 20 kDa copolymers actively target folic acid receptors (FR) to initialize internationalization, but only the large size and sheet shaped copolymer disables cell division by intracellular disruptions of essential oncogenic proteins including p53, STAT-3 and c-Myc. Furthermore, the 350 kDa FA-DABA-SMA activates early and late apoptotic events in both PANC-1 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. These findings indicate that the large size and structural sheet shape of the 350 kDa FA-DABA-SMA copolymer facilitate multimodal tumor targeting mechanisms together with the ability to internalize hydrophobic chemotherapeutics to disable critical oncogenic proteins controlling cell division and to induce apoptosis. The significance of these novel findings reveals copolymer secondary cellular targets and therapeutic actions that extend beyond the direct delivery of chemotherapeutics. This report offers novel therapeutic insight into the intracellular activity of copolymers critically dependent on the size and structural shape of the nanopolymers.

Functionalized Folic Acid-Conjugated Amphiphilic Alternating Copolymer Actively Targets 3D Multicellular Tumour Spheroids and Delivers the Hydrophobic Drug to the Inner Core.

Engineering of a "smart" drug delivery system to specifically target tumour cells has been at the forefront of cancer research, having been engineered for safer, more efficient and effective use of chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer. However, selective targeting and choosing the right cancer surface biomarker are critical for a targeted treatment to work. Currently, the available delivery systems use a two-dimensional monolayer of cancer cells to test the efficacy of the drug delivery system, but designing a "smart" drug delivery system to be specific for a tumour in vivo and to penetrate the inner core remains a major design challenge. These challenges can be overcome by using a study model that integrates the three-dimensional aspect of a tumour in a culture system. Here, we tested the efficacy of a functionalized folic acid-conjugated amphiphilic alternating copolymer poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (FA-DABA-SMA) via a biodegradable linker 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DABA) to specifically target and penetrate the inner core of three-dimensional avascular human pancreatic and breast tumour spheroids in culture. The copolymer was quantitatively analyzed for its hydrophobic drug encapsulation efficiency using three different chemical drug structures with different molecular weights. Their release profiles and tumour targeting properties at various concentrations and pH environments were also characterized. Using the anticancer drug curcumin and two standard clinical chemotherapeutic hydrophobic drugs, paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil, we tested the ability of FA-DABA-SMA nanoparticles to encapsulate the differently sized drugs and deliver them to kill monolayer pancreatic cancer cells using the WST-1 cell proliferation assay. The findings of this study revealed that the functionalized folic acid-conjugated amphiphilic alternating copolymer shows unique properties as an active "smart" tumor-targeting drug delivery system with the ability to internalize hydrophobic drugs and release the chemotherapeutics for effective killing of cancer cells. The novelty of the study is the first to demonstrate a functionalized "smart" drug delivery system encapsulated with a hydrophobic drug effectively targeting and penetrating the inner core of pancreatic and breast cancer spheroids and reducing their volumes in a dose- and time-dependent manner.

Synthesis and characterization of a pH responsive folic acid functionalized polymeric drug delivery system.

We report the computational analysis, synthesis and characterization of folate functionalized poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride), PSMA for drug delivery purpose. The selection of the proper linker between the polymer and the folic acid group was performed before conducting the synthesis using Density Functional Theory (DFT). The computational results showed the bio-degradable linker 2, 4-diaminobutyric acid, DABA as a good candidate allowing flexibility of the folic acid group while maintaining the pH sensitivity of PSMA, used as a trigger for drug release. The synthesis was subsequently carried out in multi-step experimental procedures. The functionalized polymer was characterized using InfraRed spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Dynamic Light Scattering confirming both the chemical structure and the pH responsiveness of PSMA-DABA-Folate polymers. This study provides an excellent example of how computational chemistry can be used in selection process for the functional materials and product characterization. The pH sensitive polymers are expected to be used in delivering anti-cancer drugs to solid tumors with overly expressed folic acid receptors.

Folic acid-conjugated amphiphilic alternating copolymer as a new active tumor targeting drug delivery platform.

Targeted drug delivery using polymeric nanostructures is an emerging cancer research area, engineered for safer, more efficient, and effective use of chemotherapeutic drugs. A pH-responsive, active targeting delivery system was designed using folic acid functionalized amphiphilic alternating copolymer poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (FA-DABA-SMA) via a biodegradable linker 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DABA). The polymeric template is pH responsive, forming amphiphilic nanostructures at pH 7, allowing the encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs on its interior. Moreover, the structure is stable only at neutral pH and collapses in the acidic tumor microenvironment, releasing drugs on-site from its core. The delivery vehicle is investigated using human pancreatic PANC-1 cancer cells and RAW-Blue™ mouse macrophage reporter cell line, both of which have overly expression of folic acid receptors. To trace the cellular uptake by both cell lines, curcumin was selected as a dye and drug mimic owing to its fluorescence nature and hydrophobic properties. Fluorescent microscopy of FA-DABA-SMA loaded with curcumin revealed a significant internalization of the dye by human pancreatic PANC-1 cancer cells compared to those with unfunctionalized polymers (SMA). Moreover, the FA-DABA-SMA polymers exhibit rodlike association specific to the cells. Both empty SMA and FA-DABA-SMA show little toxicity to PANC-1 cells as characterized by WST-1 cell proliferation assay. These results clearly indicate that FA-DABA-SMA polymers show potential as an active tumor targeting drug delivery system with the ability to internalize hydrophobic chemotherapeutics after they specifically attach to cancer cells.

Aqueous peptides as experimental models for hydration water dynamics near protein surfaces.

We report quasi-elastic neutron scattering experiments to contrast the water dynamics as a function of temperature for hydrophilic and amphiphilic peptides under the same level of confinement, as models for understanding hydration dynamics near chemically heterogeneous protein surfaces. We find that the hydrophilic peptide shows only a single non-Arrhenius translational process with no evidence of spatial heterogeneity unlike the amphiphilic peptide solution that exhibits two translational relaxations with an Arrhenius and non-Arrhenius dependence on temperature. Together these results provide experimental proof that heterogeneous dynamical signatures near protein surfaces arise in part from chemical heterogeneity (energy disorder) as opposed to mere topological roughness of the protein surface.

Separable cooperative and localized translational motions of water confined by a chemically heterogeneous environment.

We report quasi-elastic neutron scattering experiments at two resolutions that probe timescales of picoseconds to nanoseconds for the hydration dynamics of water, confined in a concentrated solution of N-acetyl-leucine-methylamide (NALMA) peptides in water over a temperature range of 248 K to 288 K. The two QENS resolutions used allow for a clean separation of two observable translational components, and ultimately two very different relaxation processes, that become evident when analyzed under a combination of the jump diffusion model and the relaxation cage model. The first translational motion is a localized beta-relaxation process of the bound surface water, and exhibits an Arrhenius temperature dependence and a large activation energy of approximately 8 kcal mol(-1). The second non-Arrhenius translational component is a dynamical signature of the alpha-relaxation of more fluid water, exhibiting a glass transition temperature of approximately 116 K when fit to the Volger Fulcher Tamman functional form. These peptide solutions provide a novel experimental system for examining confinement in order to understand the dynamical transition in bulk supercooled water by removing the unwanted interface of the confining material on water dynamics.