A Colloidal Framework for Decoding Charge Heterogeneity in Antibody Solutions

Fabrizio Camerin (Lund U)

Sep 11. 2025, 11:00 — 11:30

Electrostatics shape the structure, stability, and dynamics of charged (bio)matter, yet how heterogeneous, anisotropic charge distributions control protein–protein interactions remains unclear. I will present a versatile multiscale framework that links molecular electrostatics to collective properties by combining a colloid-inspired coarse-grained model with neural-network–assisted optimization trained against experimental SAXS data.

Using monoclonal antibodies as a representative anisotropic system, the approach identifies coarse-grained charge patterns that reproduce measured structure factors and predict rheological behavior over a wide range of concentrations. Feature-attribution analysis further reveals which physical descriptors and spatial arrangements of localized charge patches dominate the emergent solution structure.

The resulting, transferable strategy offers a predictive route to decipher charge-driven interactions in anisotropic biomolecules and, more broadly, heterogeneously charged soft-matter systems, with immediate relevance to protein formulation and functional materials design.

Further Information
Venue:
ESI Boltzmann Lecture Hall
Associated Event:
Charged Soft Matter: Bridging Theory and Experiment (Workshop)
Organizer(s):
Emanuela Bianchi (TU Vienna)
Peter Košovan (Charles U, Prague)
Christos Likos (U of Vienna)
Roman Staňo (U of Vienna)