AASTY

Poly(acrylic acid-co-styrene) or AASTY is a polymer recently developed by Smith et al for the synthesis of synthetic nanodiscs ^[1]. It is a highly alternating copolymer composed of acrylic acid and styrene by taking advantage of the fundamental reactivity ratios of these monomers. According to Smith et al, AASTY was conceived to be developed as effective nanodisc polymers on the basis of SMA on account of their structural similarity to SMA (i.e., they both contain STY and carboxylate functionalities) and their highly alternating behavior due to the reactivity ratios between STY and AA in radical polymerizations. AASTY can be synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerizations which allows control of copolymer length and dispersity of size, compared with free-radical polymerization. Thus, AASTY is presumably more efficient than copolymers that are less homogeneous. Additionally, it also has greater tolerance of salt and divalent cations. At present, AASTY has been shown to be an effective solubilizer for membrane protein expression in mammalian cells, and has been found to be superior in the extraction of membrane proteins compared to SMA, across multiple systems.

Alfa Chemistry offers a wide range of AASTY products, which have various acrylic acid-to-styrene ratios and show different molecular weight.

Fig. 1. Depiction of an AASTY-based synthetic nanodisc.

Fig.2. Comparison of molecular weight distribution of AASTY copolymers synthesized through RAFT and free-radical polymerization

Our Products

We offer many AASTY products, and the main difference between them is the difference in acrylic acid-to-styrene ratios and molecular weight. The different ratios of acrylic acid to styrene and the different molecular weights determine the hydrophilic properties of AASTYs. In addition, heavier AASTYs show higher thermodynamic stability.

Product Name	AASTY (10-45)	AASTY (10-50)	AASTY (10-55)	AASTY (5-45)	AASTY (5-50)	AASTY (5-55)
Structure
Catalog	N-SNP-23	N-SNP-24	N-SNP-25	N-SNP-26	N-SNP-27	N-SNP-28
Physical State	Lyophilized powder, to be solved with water	Lyophilized powder, to be solved with water	Lyophilized powder, to be solved with water	Lyophilized powder, to be solved with water	Lyophilized powder, to be solved with water	Lyophilized powder, to be solved with water
Acrylic Acid to Styrene Ratio	45% to 55%	50% to 50%	55% to 45%	45% to 55%	50% to 50%	55% to 45%
Formula Weight	10-11 kDa	10-11 kDa	10-11 kDa	5-6 kDa	5-6 kDa	5-6 kDa
pH	7.5 after solving	7.5 after solving	7.5 after solving	7.5 after solving	7.5 after solving	7.5 after solving
Divalent Cationic Tolerance	6 mM	6 mM	6 mM	6 mM	6 mM	6 mM
Buffer	HEPES	HEPES	HEPES	HEPES	HEPES	HEPES
Available Specification	10 x 50 mg, 1g, 10 x 1 g	10 x 50 mg, 1g, 10 x 1 g	10 x 50 mg, 1g, 10 x 1 g	10 x 50 mg, 1g, 10 x 1 g	10 x 50 mg, 1g, 10 x 1 g	10 x 50 mg, 1g, 10 x 1 g

Shiping and Storage

Unless otherwise specified, the shipping temperature of all products is 2-8 °C, and the products can be stored at -20 °C for several years in lyophilized powder form and at 2-8 °C for several days when dissolved.

Alfa Chemistry is pleased to offer AASTY products to help our customers conduct their research and achieve more. We guarantee that all our AASTY products are of high quality that can be well used in membrane protein study. In addition to the AASTY products listed above, we can offer novel variants and derivatives with specific properties designed in on a contract or collaborative basis. If there is any need, please contact us.

Reference

Smith A. A. A., et al. Lipid nanodiscs via ordered copolymers[J]. Chem, 2020, 6(10): 2782-2795.

Our products and services are for research use only.