The adsorption of alpha-synuclein and inhibition of fibrillization by nanocellulose and nanocellulose coated with gold atoms

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the adsorption of alpha-synuclein (aSyn) and inhibition of fibrillization by nanocellulose (NC) and NC coated with gold atoms (NCCGAs) using in silico approaches. First, the 3D structure of NC, NCCGAs, partial aSyn (36–55), and full-length aSyn (1-140) was designed, modeled, and saved in PDB format. HDOCK server and Ascalaph designer software were used to understand the possible molecular interaction of partial aSyn (36–55) and full-length aSyn (1-140) when exposed to NC and NCCGAs. In the experimental section, acid hydrolysis was used for the synthesis of NC and then reacted with HAuCl4 to achieve NCCGAs. The Adsorption of aSyn by NC and NCCGAs was analyzed at 280 nm and the inhibition of aSyn fibrillization was assessed using Thioflavin T. A numerical comparison of docking results showed that NCCGAs have more and better adsorption to partial/full-length aSyn than NC. Also, MD simulation showed us that adsorbed molecules had enough stable interaction and they even become more stable over time. Experimentally, the adsorption of aSyn and the inhibition of aSyn fibrillization were seen when they were exposed to NC or NCCGAs. Although both NC and NCCGAs were able to absorb aSyn, NCCGAs had a higher capability (P > 0.05). The same pattern was observed for the inhibition of fibrillization of aSyn. You should end with a sentence explaining the implication of the findings – why is this important?