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research article

Hard sphere-like glass transition in eye lens alpha-crystallin solutions

Foffi, Giuseppe  
•
Savin, Gabriela
•
Bucciarelli, Saskia
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2014
Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America (PNAS)

We study the equilibrium liquid structure and dynamics of dilute and concentrated bovine eye lens alpha-crystallin solutions, using small-angle X-ray scattering, static and dynamic light scattering, viscometry, molecular dynamics simulations, and mode-coupling theory. We find that a polydisperse Percus-Yevick hard-sphere liquid-structure model accurately reproduces both static light scattering data and small-angle X-ray scattering liquid structure data from alpha-crystallin solutions over an extended range of protein concentrations up to 290 mg/mL or 49% vol fraction and up to ca. 330 mg/mL for static light scattering. The measured dynamic light scattering and viscosity properties are also consistent with those of hard-sphere colloids and show power laws characteristic of an approach toward a glass transition at alpha-crystallin volume fractions near 58%. Dynamic light scattering at a volume fraction beyond the glass transition indicates formation of an arrested state. We further perform event-driven molecular dynamics simulations of polydisperse hard-sphere systems and use mode-coupling theory to compare the measured dynamic power laws with those of hard-sphere models. The static and dynamic data, simulations, and analysis show that aqueous eye lens alpha-crystallin solutions exhibit a glass transition at high concentrations that is similar to those found in hard-sphere colloidal systems. The alpha-crystallin glass transition could have implications for the molecular basis of presbyopia and the kinetics of molecular change during cataractogenesis.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1406990111
Web of Science ID

WOS:000345662700035

Author(s)
Foffi, Giuseppe  
Savin, Gabriela
Bucciarelli, Saskia
Dorsaz, Nicolas  
Thurston, George M.
Stradner, Anna
Schurtenberger, Peter
Date Issued

2014

Publisher

National Academy of Sciences

Published in
Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America (PNAS)
Volume

111

Issue

47

Start page

16748

End page

16753

Subjects

alpha crystallin

•

scattering

•

mode-coupling theory

•

molecular dynamics

•

glass transition

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
GR-FO  
Available on Infoscience
December 30, 2014
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/109657
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