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New Insight into Cataract Formation: Enhanced Stability through Mutual Attraction

A. Stradner, G. Foffi, N. Dorsaz, G. Thurston, and P. Schurtenberger
Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 198103 – Published 9 November 2007
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Abstract

Small-angle neutron scattering experiments and molecular dynamics simulations combined with an application of concepts from soft matter physics to complex protein mixtures provide new insight into the stability of eye lens protein mixtures. Exploring this colloid-protein analogy we demonstrate that weak attractions between unlike proteins help to maintain lens transparency in an extremely sensitive and nonmonotonic manner. These results not only represent an important step towards a better understanding of protein condensation diseases such as cataract formation, but provide general guidelines for tuning the stability of colloid mixtures, a topic relevant for soft matter physics and industrial applications.

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  • Received 17 May 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.198103

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Stradner1, G. Foffi2,*, N. Dorsaz2, G. Thurston3,†, and P. Schurtenberger1,‡

  • 1Physics Department and Fribourg Center for Nanomaterials, University of Fribourg, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
  • 2Institut Romand de Recherche Numérique en Physique des Matériaux (IRRMA) and Institute of Theoretical Physics (ITP), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
  • 3Department of Physics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York 14623-5603, USA

  • *giuseppe.foffi@epfl.ch
  • george.thurston@rit.edu
  • peter.schurtenberger@unifr.ch

See Also

Clarity through Diversity

Don Monroe
Phys. Rev. Focus 20, 16 (2007)

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Issue

Vol. 99, Iss. 19 — 9 November 2007

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