PATCHES · Protein Adsorption onTo CHarged surfacES
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-05-16 → 2020-05-15
- EU contribution
- €168,277
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
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Results in brief
Protein Adsorption onTo CHarged surfacES
PATCHES focused on a multi-scale hybrid computation/experimental study of the tribologically induced surface charge of different biocompatible materials when subjected to common mechanical contacts such as sliding and fracture. Mechanical contacts are, indeed, known to affect the distribution of the charge on the materials surface and the redistribution of charged groups at the interface between proteins and surface and this is a key factor in the adsorption of the proteins, thus of materials biocompatibility. The study was conducted using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation methods and the computational models were validated by experimental tests. Overall the project met the main objective of designing a multi-scale hybrid computation/experimental method to analyse the surface charge of biocompatible materials for typical contact conditions. Specifically, this was achieved through two main objectives: i) simulating the charge density of different bio-materials, such as diamond, amorphous silica and diamond-like-carbon (DLC) as subjected to sliding and fracture and comparing the results with experimental measurements; ii) using the evaluated charge distribution to study how it affects the adsorption of saliva proteins onto the surface of the set of biomaterials considered. The results obtained from the analysis of the amorphous silica and the PTFE bulk at high pressure phase are one of the kinds. In fact, the amorphous silica results were obtained after a long computational calculation time, over a year, a study which was never done before and unlikely to be repeated. The PTFE structural values, instead, are a fundamental source for the scientific community because they will be the starting point for the modelling of a material to be used in a wide range of studies. Moreover, because of its unique properties PTFE is a major material for various other applications, in particular for green energy nanogenerators, which are devices that convert mechanical energy into electricity, and they are used for the development of smart cities. Therefore, the results of this study can also be exploited for environment climate challenges.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Biocompatibility of medical implants and devices is of paramount importance for their safety, effectiveness, and utility. The release of medical devices that are not biocompatible and biodurable is still an issue (for instance, more than 100.000 European patients are implanted with Metal-on-Metal hip joints which have been found toxic under specific circumstances), which has recently resulted in a proposal of the European Commission for the amendment of the Medical Device Directive.Biocompatible materials should be assessed based on their chemical, physical and toxicological properties as well as on their interaction with body fluids. A rapid adsorption of proteins on the foreign material will favour the anchorage of the cells, leading to safer and more durable medical implants/devices. Proteins adsorption is influenced by chemical and molecular structure characteristics and by the distribution of electric charges at the interface between surface and proteins. The distribution of surface charge has been so far attributed to the chemical reactions of the surfaces with body fluids. However, other aspects such as contact conditions and relative motions of surfaces have been recently appointed as crucial factors in the distribution of charge on the surface and thus on protein adsorptions. The proposed project will focus on the analysis of tribologically induced surface charge distribution on different biocompatible materials and on its impact on protein adsorption. This research will be conducted using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation methods and the models will be validated by experimental tests. The project’s main goal is the design of a multi-scale hybrid computation/experimental methodology that will allow to assess biocompatibility and pave the way to the future creation of novel biocompatible materials for both implant and nanomedical devices.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MODENA E REGGIO EMILIA · ModenaCoordinatorItaly
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union