Regensburg 2016 – scientific programme
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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik
MM 39: Biomaterials and Biopolymers I (joint session CPP/BP/MM)
MM 39.10: Talk
Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 17:45–18:00, H40
Reaction kinetics and diffusion in cell-free protein synthesis altered in polymer hydrogels — •Julian Thiele1, Maike M. K. Hansen2, David Foschepoth2, Hans A. Heus2, and Wilhelm T. S. Huck2 — 1Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), Leibniz Research Cluster (LRC) and Department of Nanostructured Materials, Hohe Straße 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany — 2Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, NL
Despite the viscous and highly crowded interior of a cell and its influence on diffusion and reaction kinetics, in vitro studies on protein synthesis often fail to take into account the density and spatial organization of the cytoplasm.
We mimic the complex cellular environment using a porous hydrogel matrix, and study the effects of macromolecular crowding on gene expression. While gene expression is strongly decreased by macromolecular crowding in conventional dilute bulk solutions, both gene transcription and translation are significantly enhanced 5x and 4x, respectively, when performed in a microscopic hydrogel environment.
These results highlight the need to consider the influence of the physical environment on complex biochemical reactions including macromolecular crowding as well as microscale confinement and spatial organization.