Development of Luminescent Europium(III) and Terbium(III) chelates of 2,2′:6′,2″- terpyridine derivatives for protein labelling

The synthesis and luminescence properties are reported for 20 different chelates composed of 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine as the energy-absorbing and donating group, Eu^IIIand Tb^III as the emitting ions, methylenenitrilo(acetic acids) as the stabel chelate-forming moieties, and isothiocyanato or(4,6-dichloro-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino groups as the activated moieties for coupling to biomolecules.     

Retinol-binding protein as a biomarker to assess endocrine-disrupting compounds in the environment

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDC) are predominantly investigated with respect to their ability to mimic or block estrogenic actions. However, it is well-known that EDC can act as agonists or antagonists of androgen- and estrogen-response systems. For that reason, there is an obvious need for bioassays providing the possibility of detecting (anti-)estrogenic and (anti-)androgenic effects. The retinol-binding protein (RBP) seems to be a useful molecular biomarker for assessing all modes of action of EDC, because it is regulated by sex steroid hormones. This study was conducted to establish RBP as a biomarker for determination of (anti-)estrogenic and (anti-)androgenic effects of EDC using a Xenopus laevis primary hepatocyte culture system. It could be shown that RBP mRNA expression in X. laevis hepatocytes was stimulated by estrogens in a dose-dependant manner whereas a combination of estrogen and androgen or estrogen and anti-estrogen treatment suppressed estrogenic stimulating effects. Androgens testosterone and dihydrotestosterone were able to reduce RBP mRNA expression and the anti-androgen vinclozolin could abolish the mRNA synthesis-suppressing activity of the androgen dihydrotestosterone. These results clearly demonstrated that RBP mRNA expression patterns in Xenopus laevis hepatocytes have different modes of (anti-)estrogenic and (anti-)androgenic action and can be used for examination of suspected EDC. Moreover, water samples from sewage-treatment plant effluents were applied to liver cells and expression levels of RBP and estrogen receptor mRNA (a known estrogenic biomarker) were detected. These samples had high estrogenicity but caused low to moderate induction of RBP mRNA synthesis, leading to the conclusion that RBP levels represent the sum of all possible effects (estrogenic and other effects) of EDC in environmental samples.Abbreviations EDC Endocrine-disrupting compounds - RBP Retinol-binding protein - STP Sewage-treatment plants - ER Estrogen receptor - AR Androgen receptor - E2 17-Estradiol - EE Ethynylestradiol - T Testosterone - DHT Dihydrotestosterone - MT Methyltestosterone - TAM Tamoxifen - VC Vinclozolin - CMF Calcium-magnesium free - ME Minimal essential     

DNA minor groove hydration probed with 4'-alkylated thymidines

Employing modified oligonucleotides that are 4'-alkylated site-specifically we investigated the involvement of DNA minor groove hydration on DNA duplex stability and helix conformation.     

Comparison of Two Suboptimal Sensor Placement Strategies in Thermo-Elastic Models

We are interested in thermo-elastic deformations of solid bodies, in particular of machine tools. The goal is to estimate the displacement at a certain point of interest from a few temperature measurements. We present a method to find nearly optimal sensor positions, which allow an accurate and robust estimation. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Frictional drag and electrical manipulation of recombinant proteins in polymer-supported membranes

We establish a lipid monolayer supported by a polymer interface that offers advantages over conventional solid-supported membranes for determining the frictional drag at the membrane-protein interface as well as for electric field manipulation of membrane-anchored proteins. Polymer-supported monolayers with functional lipid anchors allow for the specific docking of His-tagged green fluorescent protein variants (His-EGFP and His-DsRed tetramer) onto the membrane surface at a defined surface density. In the first part, we measure the lateral diffusion coefficients of lipids and proteins and calculate the frictional drag at the protein-membrane interface. The second part deals with the electric field-induced accumulation of recombinant proteins on a patterned surface. The mean drift velocity of proteins, which can be obtained analytically from the shape of the steady-state concentration gradient, can be controlled by tuning the interplay of electrophoresis and electroosmosis. The results demonstrate the potential of such molecular constructs for the local functionalization of solid substrates with membrane-associated proteins.