Development of inositol-based antagonists for the D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor

The syntheses of four D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP(3)) derivatives, incorporating phosphate bioisosteres at the 5-position, are reported. The methyl phosphate ester and sulfate derivatives retain InsP(3) receptor (InsP(3)R) agonist activity; the compounds that possess a methylphosphonate or a carboxymethyl moiety are InsP(3)R antagonists.     

Polymer networks via cationic ring-opening polymerization

Three methods for the formation of polymer networks from bifunctionally growing polymers obtained by cationic ring-opening polymerization are described. The first method is based on the irreversible inter-molecular termination reaction of thietane polymerizations. Starting from bifunctionally living poly(THF) a new kind of polymer structure consisting of ABA block copolymers with cross-linked A-segments is obtained. The second method is the direct coupling of active species with primary amines or ammonia. The third method consists in transformation of the living end groups of poly(THF) into triethoxysilane end groups, followed by cross-linking by addition of water and a trace of acid.     

Chemical Synthesis of a Glycopeptide Derived from Skp1 for Probing Protein Specific Glycosylation

Skp1 is a cytoplasmic and nuclear protein, best known as an adaptor of the SCF family of E3‐ubiquitin ligases that label proteins for their degradation. Skp1 in Dictyostelium is posttranslationally modified on a specific hydroxyproline (Hyp) residue by a pentasaccharide, which consists of a Fucα1,2‐Galβ‐1,3‐GlcNAcα core, decorated with two α‐linked Gal residues. A glycopeptide derived form Skp1 was prepared to characterize the α‐galactosyltransferase (AgtA) that mediates the addition of the α‐Gal moieties, and to develop antibodies suitable for tracking the trisaccharide isoform of Skp1 in cells. A strategy was developed for the synthesis of the core trisaccharide‐Hyp based on the use of 2‐naphthylmethyl (Nap) ethers as permanent protecting groups to allow late stage installation of the Hyp moiety. Tuning of glycosyl donor and acceptor reactivities was critical for achieving high yields and anomeric selectivities of glycosylations. The trisaccharide‐Hyp moiety was employed for the preparation of the glycopeptide using microwave‐assisted solid phase peptide synthesis. Enzyme kinetic studies revealed that trisaccharide‐Hyp and trisaccharide‐peptide are poorly recognized by AgtA, indicating the importance of context provided by the native Skp1 protein for engagement with the active site. The trisaccharide‐peptide was a potent immunogen capable of generating a rabbit antiserum that was highly selective toward the trisaccharide isoform of full‐length Skp1.     

Controlled Multi‐functionalization Facilitates Targeted Delivery of Nanoparticles to Cancer Cells

A major objective of nanomedicine is to combine in a controlled manner multiple functional entities into a single nanoscale device to target particles with great spatial precision, thereby increasing the selectivity and potency of therapeutic drugs. A multifunctional nanoparticle is described for controlled conjugation of a cytotoxic drug, a cancer cell targeting ligand, and an imaging moiety. The approach is based on the chemical synthesis of polyethylene glycol that at one end is modified by a thioctic acid for controlled attachment to a gold core. The other end of the PEG polymers is modified by a hydrazine, amine, or dibenzocyclooctynol moiety for conjugation with functional entities having a ketone, activated ester, or azide moiety, respectively. The conjugation approach allowed the controlled attachment of doxorubicin through an acid‐labile hydrazone linkage, an Alexa Fluor dye through an amide bond, and a glycan‐based ligand for the cell surface receptor CD22 of B‐cells using strain promoted azide‐alkyne cycloaddition. The incorporation of the ligand for CD22 led to rapid entry of the nanoparticle by receptor‐mediated endocytosis. Covalent attachment of doxorubicin via hydrazone linkage caused pH‐responsive intracellular release of doxorubicin and significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. A remarkable 60‐fold enhancement in cytotoxicity of CD22 (+) lymphoma cells was observed compared to non‐ targeted nanoparticles.     

Biomolecular interaction monitoring of autoantibodies by scanning surface plasmon resonance microarray imaging

A new commercial surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging analysis system with a novel SPR dip angle scanning principle allows the measurement, without the need for labeling, of the exact SPR dip angle. With this system hundreds of biomolecular interactions can be monitored on microarrays simultaneously and with great precision. The potency of this system is demonstrated by automatically monitoring the interactions between citrullinated peptides and serum autoantibodies of 50 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 29 controls in a single step. The smallest antibody concentration that could be measured in this experimental setup was 0.5 pM.     

(Tetracycline)europium(III) Complex as Luminescent Probe for Hydrogen Peroxide Detection

Luminescence spectra of aqueous solutions containing a fixed concentration of tetracycline (TC) and increasing concentrations of Eu³⁺ were recorded both in the absence and presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). In H₂O₂‐free solutions in which the Eu/TC molar ratio was varied from 1 : 1 to 8 : 1, the ⁵D₀→⁷F₀ transition consisted of only one peak at 580 nm. In the presence of H₂O₂, an extra peak appeared in the spectrum at 578 nm when the Eu/TC molar ratios were above 2.5. A detailed analysis of this spectral region revealed that at lower Eu/TC molar ratios (up to 2 : 1), the ⁵D₀→⁷F₀ transition experienced a slight blue shift. This indicates that at low Eu/TC molar ratios, the presence of H₂O₂ leads to two different environments of the trivalent europium ions, which most likely form bridged peroxide complexes with hydrogen peroxide (μ‐H₂O₂ ligand). Luminescence spectra measured in the presence of molybdate ions, which catalytically decompose H₂O₂, led to the disappearance of the extra europium(III) site that was formed in the presence of H₂O₂. The intensity of the hypersensitive ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition did not linearly depend on the H₂O₂/TC molar ratio. For H₂O₂/TC ratios up to 10, a sharp linear increase of the peak intensity was observed, but with further increase of the H₂O₂ concentration, the intensity remained nearly constant. For H₂O₂/TC ratios above 100, the intensity of this transition even started to decrease, which limits the use of the (tetracycline)europium(III) system to quantify hydrogen peroxide in solution.     

A Chemo‐Mechanical Tweezer for Single‐Molecular Characterization of Soft Materials

A new atomic force microscopy (AFM)‐based chemo‐mechanical tweezer has been developed that can measure mechanical properties of individual macromolecules in supramolecular assembly and reveal positions of azide‐containing polymers. A key feature of the new technology is the use of an AFM tip densely modified with 4‐dibenzocyclooctynols (chemo‐mechanical tweezer) that can react with multiple azide containing macromolecules of micelles to give triazole “clicked” compounds, which during retracting phases of AFM imaging are removed from the macromolecular assembly thereby providing a surface topographical image and positions of azide‐containing polymers. The force–distance curves gave mechanical properties of removal of individual molecules from a supramolecular assembly. The new chemo‐mechanical tweezer will make it possible to characterize molecular details of macromolecular assemblies thereby offering new avenues to tailor properties of such assemblies.