鱼精蛋白-siRNA不同形貌复合体的制备、 结构及药效学分析

利用涡旋混匀及室温孵育的方法制备了不同形貌的鱼精蛋白-siRNA复合体, 并利用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳结合银染、 原子力显微镜和透射电子显微镜等手段进行了结构表征. 结果表明, 鱼精蛋白可以和不同的siRNA分子以不同的质量比形成球形和纤维状鱼精蛋白-siRNA复合物. 在此基础上, 利用Mg²⁺等金属离子探针, 确认鱼精蛋白与siRNA的磷酸-戊糖骨架之间通过静电力发生作用. 利用原子力和透射电子显微镜表征了鱼精蛋白-siRNA复合体的形貌和结构特征; 利用激光纳米粒度仪测量了该复合体的粒径; 并进一步比较了黑色素瘤细胞对不同形貌复合体的吞噬及药效学特征.     

Potentiometric flow injection sensing system for determination of heparin based on current-controlled release of protamine

A flow injection system incorporated with a polycation-sensitive polymeric membrane electrode in the flow cell is proposed for potentiometric determination of heparin. An external current in nano-ampere scale is continuously applied across the polymeric membrane for controlled release of protamine from the inner filling solution to the sample solution, which makes the electrode membrane regenerate quickly after each measurement. The protamine released at membrane–sample interface is consumed by heparin injected into the flow cell via their strong electrostatic interaction, thus decreasing the measured potential, by which heparin can be detected. Under optimized conditions, a linear relationship between the potential peak height and the concentration of heparin in the sample solution can be obtained in the range of 0.1–2.0 U mL⁻¹, and the detection limit is 0.06 U mL⁻¹. The proposed potentiometric sensing system has been successfully applied to the determination of heparin in undiluted sheep whole blood.     

Potentiometric sensor for sensitive and selective detection of heparin

A polymeric membrane ion-selective electrode for determination of heparin is described in this paper.Protamine is incorporated into the organic membrane phase and functions as sensing element for selective recognition of heparin.The proposed membrane electrode exhibits high selectivity for heparin over lipophilic anions such as thiocyanide and salicylate.The potentiometric response to the concentration of heparin is Unear in the range of 0.01-0.4 U/mL and a lower detection limit of 0.005 U/mL can be achieved.     

Triton X-100敏化鱼精蛋白共振能量转移荧光猝灭法测定尿中8-羟基脱氧鸟苷

研究了8-羟基脱氧鸟苷与鱼精蛋白之间的共振能量转移的最佳条件,建立了鱼精蛋白共振能量转移荧光猝灭法测定8-羟基脱氧鸟苷的新方法.在301 nm,pH 8.2的Tris-HCl缓冲溶液中,鱼精蛋白的荧光猝灭强度与8-羟基脱氧鸟苷的浓度成正比,工作曲线的线性范围为0.50～7.1 μg·mL-1,r=0.996 7,方法的检出限为0.18 μg·mL-1,RSD=6.2%,平均加标回收率为104%(n=6).     

Fluorometric determination of heparin based on self-quenching of fluorescein-labeled protamine

A new signaling technique for a fluorometric heparin assay has been developed using the self-quenching of fluoresceinisothiocyanate-labeled protamine (F-protamine). The binding between F-protamine and heparin led to a significant fluorescence quenching due to enhancing the proximity of the F-protamine molecules. The fluorescence of F-protamine (5.9 μg/mL) decreased to 13% in the presence of 2.0 μg/mL heparin. An advantage of this self-quenching system is that the detection can be carried out without using other indicators. With the present system, we could monitor the therapeutic level of heparin in bovine plasma, and the response was quick. These properties of the self-quenching system are suitable for practical use.     

Physical adsorption of protamine for heparin assay using a quartz crystal microbalance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

This study attempted to determine absolute heparin concentration in phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 7.4) by using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) as an affinity biosensor. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was also used to investigate immobilization of protamine and heparin assay. In addition, the effectiveness of physical adsorption in immobilizing protamine was confirmed by examining the preparation conditions, including the incubation time and protamine concentration. It induced maximum decrease (ca. −100 Hz) in oscillating frequency of QCM by applying 20 mg/ml protamine and 20 min for incubation in PBS. Heparin adsorption onto protamine-modified electrode in PBS revealed an exponential-like binding curve and long duration for reaching the steady state in frequency response of QCM. Moreover, two linear calibration curves were obtained judging from the initial slope (df/dt) and the frequency change (Δf) of QCM obtained after a binding interval (600 s) for heparin concentrations from 0 to 3.0 and 7.0 U/ml, respectively. In EIS analysis, calibration curves with linear concentration range of 0-3.0 U/ml were obtained for heparin in PBS when ferrocyanide was used as an electroactive marker.     

Change of purple membranes geometry induced by protein adsorption

Earlier it was an orthodoxy that purple membranes (PMs) in aqueous medium are shaped as flat hard disks. In a few newer articles it has been shown that PMs are bent and their curvature varies with surface charge density. The purpose of this work is to answer which is the dominant factor for PM bending—structural or electrostatic forces. Two positively charged proteins are used: phytohemagglutinin (PhHA) and protamine.

The electrophoretic mobility and electric polarizability of PMs are measured by microelectrophoresis and electric dichroism. The results show that both proteins reduce the mobility because they are adsorbed on PM surface. However, their influence on the electric polarizability is in the opposite direction—protamine reduces it (trivial effect) while PhHA increases the polarizability (non-trivial effect). The last result is explained by a straightening the initially bent PM because of specific bonding of PhHA to asymmetrically disposed glycolipids of PM in contrast to the electrostatic adsorption of protamine.

It has been concluded that PMs in water medium are bent in the same manner as in in vivo—the intracellular surface with a higher negative charge is concave. The results indicate that electrostatic forces play a significant role in PM curvature but the shape of structural elements is the main factor determining the geometry of PM.     

Protamine binding to surfactants in emulsions: modelling and computer simulation

The cationic antimicrobial peptide, protamine, has been found to destabilize oil/water (O/W) emulsions formed using soy lecithin or Tween-20. Experiments suggested that the destabilization took place via flocculation. We have modelled the interactions between protamine and an O/W interface stabilized by hypothetical amphiphilic molecule (HAM) surfactants. The intent was to suggest what properties such surfactants must possess in order that protamine will not destabilize an O/W emulsion stabilized by HAMs. We considered interfaces formed from mixtures of neutral HAMs together with (a) positively charged HAMs which possess an attractive (van der Waals, hydrogen bonding) interaction with protamine or with (b) negatively charged HAMs with no significant attractive interaction. We represented the oil and water as continuum dielectrics, with the water containing 100 mM monovalent ions and we carried out Monte Carlo computer simulations. We found that a single protamine does not bind to a single interface in case (a) but that there is a range of charged-HAM concentration, c, for which the binding of protamine becomes progressively stronger as c increases in case (b). We investigated stability by studying under what conditions protamines will cause the aggregation of two HAM-stabilized interfaces, and we have identified values of c for which the interfaces are stable. We note that the transition from bound to unbound states of two HAM interfaces with five protamines are examples of entropy-driven unbinding transitions with the entropy of the protamines overcoming the net attractive interactions. We conclude by identifying regions of the phase diagram in which stable emulsions should exist in the presence of protamine.