Protein Adsorption on Solid Surfaces

The adsorption of proteins onto solid surfaces is the initial even that occurs when a man-made object comes into contact with a biological system. This comes into play in a range of areas including implants and other medical devices, cell grow surfaces for tissue engineering, and the attachment of barnacles and other marine organisms onto ships.

There is a lot of interest in understanding the microscopic mechanisms on protein adsorption onto surfaces, as this will allow us to design or engineer surfaces with specific interactions with biological systems. To do this we need to have a molecular level understanding of the adsorption mechanism and the factors that control protein-surface interactions.

Recently, in collaboration with experimental groups at the Universities of Birmingham and Kent, I have investigated how anastellin, a fragment of fibronectin, absorbed onto a polyurethane surface. From the simulations we found that the protein readily adsorbs onto the surface.

This adsorption was mediated by polar amino acids that would form hydrogen bonds with carbonyl and amine groups in the polymer backbone. These residues are also often found in flexible regions of the protein, making it easier for them to come into contact with the surface.