Effects of Ionic Liquids on Aqueous Urea Solutions: Insights into the Ionic Liquid-Assisted Protein Renaturation. 2021

Mohammad Homaidur Rahman, and Sanjib Senapati
Department of Biotechnology, BJM School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are designer solvents that find wide applications in various areas. Recently, ILs have been shown to induce the refolding of certain proteins that were previously denatured under the treatment of urea. A molecular-level understanding of the counteracting mechanism of ILs on urea-induced protein denaturation remains elusive. In this study, we employ atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the ternary urea-water-IL solution in comparison to the aqueous urea solution to understand how the presence of ILs can modulate the structure, energetics, and dynamics of urea-water solutions. Our results show that the ions of the IL used, ethylammonium nitrate (EAN), interact strongly with urea and disrupt the urea aggregates that were known to stabilize the unfolded state of the proteins. Results also suggest a disruption in urea-water interaction that releases more free water molecules in solution. We subsequently strengthened these findings by simulating a model peptide in the absence and presence of EAN, which showed broken versus intact secondary structure in urea solution. Analyses show that these changes were accomplished by the added IL, which enforced a gradual displacement of urea from the peptide surface by water. We propose that the ILs facilitate protein renaturation by breaking down the urea aggregates and increasing the amount of free water molecules around the protein.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011489 Protein Denaturation Disruption of the non-covalent bonds and/or disulfide bonds responsible for maintaining the three-dimensional shape and activity of the native protein. Denaturation, Protein,Denaturations, Protein,Protein Denaturations
D014508 Urea A compound formed in the liver from ammonia produced by the deamination of amino acids. It is the principal end product of protein catabolism and constitutes about one half of the total urinary solids. Basodexan,Carbamide,Carmol
D014867 Water A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Hydrogen Oxide
D052578 Ionic Liquids Salts that melt below 100 C. Their low VOLATILIZATION can be an advantage over volatile organic solvents. Ionic Liquid,Ionic Solvents,Liquid, Ionic,Liquids, Ionic,Solvents, Ionic
D020673 Protein Renaturation The reconstitution of a protein's activity following denaturation. Renaturation, Protein,Protein Renaturations,Renaturations, Protein

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