Characterization of a Novel Intrinsic Luminescent Room‐Temperature Ionic Liquid Based on [P6,6,6,14][ANS]

Intrinsically luminescent room‐temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) can be prepared by combining a luminescent anion (more common) or cation with appropriate counter ions, rendering new luminescent soft materials. These RTILs are still new, and many of their photochemical properties are not well known. A novel intrinsic luminescent RTIL based on the 8‐anilinonaphthalene‐1‐sulfonate ([ANS]) anion combined with the trihexyltetradecylphosphonium ([P_6,6,6,14]) cation was prepared and characterized by spectroscopic techniques. Detailed photophysical studies highlight the influence of the ionic liquid environment on the ANS fluorescence, which together with rheological and ¹H NMR experiments illustrate the effects of both the viscosity and electrostatic interactions between the ions. This material is liquid at room temperature and possesses a glass transition temperature (T_g) of 230.4 K. The fluorescence is not highly sensitive to factors such as temperature, but owing to its high viscosity, dynamic Stokes shift measurements reveal very slow components for the IL relaxation.     

Unravelling the Time Scale of Conformational Plasticity and Allostery in Glycan Recognition by Human Galectin-1

The interaction of human galectin-1 with a variety of oligosaccharides, from di-(N-acetyllactosamine) to tetra-saccharides (blood B type-II antigen) has been scrutinized by using a combined approach of different NMR experiments, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and isothermal titration calorimetry. Ligand- and receptor-based NMR experiments assisted by computational methods allowed proposing three-dimensional structures for the different complexes, which explained the lack of enthalpy gain when increasing the chemical complexity of the glycan. Interestingly, and independently of the glycan ligand, the entropy term does not oppose the binding event, a rather unusual feature for protein-sugar interactions. CLEANEX-PM and relaxation dispersion experiments revealed that sugar binding affected residues far from the binding site and described significant changes in the dynamics of the protein. In particular, motions in the microsecond-millisecond timescale in residues at the protein dimer interface were identified in the presence of high affinity ligands. The dynamic process was further explored by extensive MD simulations, which provided additional support for the existence of allostery in glycan recognition by human galectin-1.     

Click and count: specific detection of acid ceramidase activity in live cells

The use of intact cells in medical research offers a number of advantages over employing cell-free systems. In diagnostics, cells isolated from liquid biopsies can be directly used, speeding up the time of analysis and diminishing the risk of protein degradation by sample manipulation. In drug discovery, studies in live cells take into account aspects neglected in cell-free systems, such as uptake, metabolization, and subcellular concentration by compartmentalization of potential drug candidates. Therefore, probes for studies in cellulo are of paramount importance. Acid ceramidase (AC) is a lysosomal enzyme that hydrolyses ceramides into sphingoid bases and fatty acids. The essential role of this enzyme in the outburst and progress of several diseases, some of them still incurable, is well sustained. Despite the great clinical relevance of AC as a biomarker and therapeutic target, the specific monitoring of AC activity in live cells has remained elusive due to the concomitant existence of neutral and alkaline ceramidases. In this work, we report that 1-deoxydihydroceramides are exclusively hydrolysed by AC. Using N-octanoyl-18-azidodeoxysphinganine as a probe and a BODIPY-substituted bicyclononyne, we show the click-reliant predominant staining of lysosomes, with extra-lysosomal labeling also occurring in some cells. Importantly, using pharmacological and genetic tools together with high resolution mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that both lysosomal and extra-lysosomal staining are AC-dependent. These findings are translated into the specific flow cytometry monitoring of AC activity in intact cells, which fills an important gap in the field of diseases linked to altered AC activity.

The use of intact cells in medical research offers a number of advantages over employing cell-free systems.     

Photodegradation actuated shape-changing hydrogels

Hydrogels are attractive materials for generating 4D shapes due to their ability to undergo pronounced volume changes in response to several stimuli, including light. We previously reported shape-changing hydrogels actuated by long-wave UV and visible light in the presence of live cells using poly(ethylene glycol) macromers incorporating different photodegradable ortho-nitrobenzyl (o-NB) groups. In this comprehensive study, we determine the effect of chemical structure of different o-NB macromers (which influences molar absorptivity and rate constant of degradation), composition (macromer weight percent), fabrication design (initial gel thickness) and environment (ionic strength of solution) on light-induced hydrogel folding. We demonstrate successful photopolymerization and subsequent photodegradation of hydrogels, multistep folding, and live-cell encapsulation. This hydrogel system may be useful as new tool in stem cell differentiation and developmental biology research, facilitating the in vitro investigation of processes that are sensitive to both physical and temporal stimuli.