Entropic repulsion of cholesterol-containing layers counteracts bioadhesion

Jens Friedrichs, Ralf Helbig, Julia Hilsenbeck, Prithvi Raj Pandey, Jens-Uwe Sommer, Lars David Renner, Tilo Pompe and Carsten Werner ()
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Jens Friedrichs: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Ralf Helbig: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Julia Hilsenbeck: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Prithvi Raj Pandey: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Jens-Uwe Sommer: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Lars David Renner: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Tilo Pompe: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Carsten Werner: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden

Nature, 2023, vol. 618, issue 7966, 733-739

Abstract: Abstract Control of adhesion is a striking feature of living matter that is of particular interest regarding technological translation1–3. We discovered that entropic repulsion caused by interfacial orientational fluctuations of cholesterol layers restricts protein adsorption and bacterial adhesion. Moreover, we found that intrinsically adhesive wax ester layers become similarly antibioadhesive when containing small quantities (under 10 wt%) of cholesterol. Wetting, adsorption and adhesion experiments, as well as atomistic simulations, showed that repulsive characteristics depend on the specific molecular structure of cholesterol that encodes a finely balanced fluctuating reorientation at the interface of unconstrained supramolecular assemblies: layers of cholesterol analogues differing only in minute molecular variations showed markedly different interfacial mobility and no antiadhesive effects. Also, orientationally fixed cholesterol layers did not resist bioadhesion. Our insights provide a conceptually new physicochemical perspective on biointerfaces and may guide future material design in regulation of adhesion.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06033-4

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