Love and Death: What Happens When Proteins Fall For A Surface?

Many researchers work with proteins. Some of them may even enjoy working with proteins. The main problem they face is that most proteins are passionately attracted to surfaces and no matter what; most proteins seem to be willing to sacrifice their fleeting active life for a terminal encounter with a surface. Is perhaps the challenge imposed by the possibility of controlling the destiny of this relationship that drives their interest? In our case, is the intriguing possibility to link the outcomes of the encounter with the speed at which they relate. Interestingly, and against all social preconceptions, we have found that the quicker they engage, the merrier they are. Beyond the personality of the protein and the surface (keep in mind that some couples will just never work), our results show that the conditions selected for the initial encounter dictate the fate of the couple. Desperate and without many other options, part of our group have eavesdropped in the promiscuous affairs of several proteins with selected nanostructured surfaces. In particular, our group is interested in learning why beautiful proteins with incomparable attributes, could be interested in uniting with superficial partners with such small features. This presentation, which promises to debate the matter with some degree of philosophical double-talk, will reluctantly discuss the findings obtained by a combination of experimental and computational approaches. The seminar will also summarize some of the results obtained in relation to the importance of adsorbed proteins in the design of microfluidic devices. For further information