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Enzyme driven modulation of spatiotemporal dynamic self-assembly patterns

Work done in the lab of Dr. Subhabrata Maiti at IISER MOHALI.

About author

Priyanka is from Una, Himachal Pradesh. She has completed her graduation from Govt. Degree College Una Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla and currently pursuing Ph.D. at IISER Mohali with Dr. Subhabrata Maiti. She is presently working on Bio-catalysis in Self assembled Systems. Apart from research, Priyanka enjoys travelling, and listening to music in her free time. Here, she talks about her recent work titled “Spatiotemporal dynamics of self-assembled structures in enzymatically induced agonistic and antagonistic conditions” published in the Chemical Science journal.

Interview

How would you explain your research outcomes to the non-scientific community?

Nature has always been the source of inspiration due to the occurrence of a wide variety of shapes and structures. Among all individual species, the living world is rich with strips and molted patterns of contrasting colors with sculptural counterparts of those manifested as surface crests and troughs, with organizational and behavioral patterns. For example, the color patterns in butterflies, snail shells, seashells, etc., are a unique phenomenon of biological pattern generation. The shell pattern may be thought of as a space-time map. Spider creates its sticky orb according to a genetic formula for setting up the web’s various radii and spirals. Self-organizing patterns may also be seen in the non- living environment. They can be found in mineral deposits between sedimentary rock layers, along the course of a lightning bolt as it falls to the earth, and in the undulating ripples of windblown sand on a desert dune.

Spatiotemporally dynamic assemblies generated by chemical interaction between components result in the emergence of a complicated phenomenon. The spatiotemporal word consists of two words: spatial means in space and temporal means with time. This area has been advanced as one of the most important scientific problems for understanding complex networking patterns in nature, such as connectivity in living cells or neuronal networks or the creation of next-generation materials. Chemists have also succeeded in developing dynamic self-organized systems with superior properties such as self-sorting, self-replication, and the capacity to use both physical and chemical energy from the environment in the previous decade. Many functional chemical-fuel- driven transiently produced self-assembled structures inspired by the dynamic self- organization of tubulin or actin (powered by GTP or ATP) have been described in this field. However, the propagation and durability of chemical-fuel-driven ordered systems or transiently developed systems owing to a catalytic process have not been thoroughly investigated in a synthetic approach, especially in terms of their spatial organization over time.

Herein, we demonstrated how population dynamics of self-assembled units emerged under both agonistic and antagonistic situations as a function of time and space. Agonistic refers to the condition which favors the assembly while antagonistic refers to those favoring the disassembly. In one scenario, concentration gradients of the surfactant (principal self-assembly controlling unit) and the enzyme were introduced from two distinct locations in a system containing uniform substrate concentration. In another scenario, the spatiotemporal aggregation behaviour of a uniformly distributed ATP- stabilized surfactant in a two-dimensional space was observed when HK and ALP concentration gradients were introduced simultaneously from opposing sides, resulting in agonistic and antagonistic conditions.

How do these findings contribute to your research area?

As the population of self-assembling units may be ordered at will, it might be possible to control numerous reactions or other forms of functionality selectively at specific places in the assembled or disassembled state, resulting in multilayer spatiotemporal control over various functions. As a result, this method might be helpful in the development of nature- like autonomous and intelligent systems.

“Facilitating a more collaborative research environment in the Indian science community would be fantastic since this would result in the pooling of skills and resources, which, in my opinion, would be highly beneficial to the advancement of science.”

What was the exciting moment during your research?

Using a computational model, we first investigated the emergent behavior under flow circumstances. We discovered that it is also feasible to sustain the assembly behavior and generate a surface pattern based on the spatiotemporal modulation of the aggregate population density. As suggested by the theoretical predictions, we were curious to see if the assembled structures could be developed in spatially separated zones with concentration gradients of both substrates and enzymes (ALP and HK) on two opposing sides. We were very excited to see the experimental validation of the theoretical predictions made during current research.

What do you hope to do next?

In the recent publication we’ve demonstrated that strategic use of enzymes can result in various spatiotemporal dynamic self-assembly patterns. Following that, we’ll try to regulate cascade reactions at particular locations in the assembled or disassembled state, resulting in spatiotemporal control over numerous functionalities.

Where do you seek scientific inspiration from?

So far in my research life, I’ve been fortunate to be mentored by excellent, perceptive mentors. I’m grateful to have had outstanding professors who sparked my interest in science. My doctoral thesis adviser and supervisor, Dr. Subhabrata Maiti (IISER Mohali), has inspired a strong desire to pursue a research career. He has been patient with me, and I have learned a lot from him, including planning, executing, and presenting scientific findings with the least amount of time. He is the source of my scientific motivation.

How do you intend to help Indian science improve?

Many bright scientists are working on various fascinating and challenging scientific problems. Facilitating a more collaborative research environment in the Indian science community would be fantastic since this would result in the pooling of skills and resources, which, in my opinion, would be highly beneficial to the advancement of science.

I also believe that spurring youthful personalities can be exceptionally helpful for science in our country. I am confident that I can contribute to the growth of science in India by motivating young children and graduate students to choose science as a career.

Reference

Priyanka, Shandilya E, Brar S K, Mahato R R, Maiti S (2022) Spatiotemporal dynamics of self-assembled structures in enzymatically induced agonistic and antagonistic conditions. Chem. Sci. 2022, 13, 274-282

Edited by: Pratibha Siwach

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