Tailoring a Dress to Single Protein Molecules: Proteins Can Do It Themselves through Localized Photo-Polymerization and Molecular Imprinting

Molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (MIP NPs) are antibody-like recognition materials prepared by a template-assisted synthesis. MIP NPs able to target biomolecules, like proteins, are under the spotlight for their great potential in medicine, but efficiently imprinting biological templates is still very challenging. Here we propose generating a molecular imprint in single NPs, by photochemically initiating the polymerization from individual protein templates. In this way, each protein molecule tailors itself its own “polymeric dress”. For this, the template protein is covalently coupled with a photoinitiator, Eosin Y. Irradiated with light at 533 nm, the Eosin moiety acts as an antenna and transfers energy to a co-initiator (an amine), which generates a radical and initiates polymerization. As a result, a polymer network is forming only around the very template molecule, producing cross-linked NPs of 50 nm, with single binding sites showing high affinity (K_D 10⁻⁹ m ) for their biological target, and selectivity over other proteins.     

Chiral Fibers Formation Upon Assembly of Tetraphenylalanine Peptide Conjugated to a PNA Dimer

Self-assembly of biomolecules such as peptides, nucleic acids or their analogues affords supramolecular objects, exhibiting structures and physical properties dependent on the amino-acid or nucleobase composition. Conjugation of the peptide diphenylalanine (FF) to peptide nucleic acids triggers formation of self-assembled structures, mainly stabilized by interactions between FF. In this work we report formation of homogeneous chiral fibers upon self-assembly of the hybrid composed of the tetraphenylalanine peptide (4F) conjugated to the PNA dimer adenine-thymine (at). In this case nucleobases seem to play a key role in determining the morphology and chirality of the fibers. When the PNA “at” is replaced by guanine-cytosine dimer “gc”, disordered structures are observed. Spectroscopic characterization of the self-assembled hybrids, along with AFM and SEM studies is reported. Finally, a structural model consistent with the experimental evidence has also been obtained, showing how the building blocks of 4Fat arrange to give helical fibers.     

Mild and efficient iodination of aromatic and heterocyclic compounds with the NaClO2/NaI/HCl system

NaClO₂/NaI in the presence of HCl is a mild, cheap, and non-toxic reagent for the iodination of phenols, including estradiol and naphthol, aromatic amines, and heterocyclic substrates, e.g., indoles, 8-hydroxyquinoline, imidazole, in fair to excellent yields by a very simple isolation protocol. The scope of the procedure is exemplified by the first iodination of 5-nitroindole to 3-iodo-5-nitroindole in 75% yield.     

Interaction of mixed-donor macrocycles containing the 1,10-phenanthroline subunit with selected transition and post-transition metal ions: metal ion recognition in competitive liquid-liquid solvent extraction of Cu(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Ag(I), and Hg(II)

Two new mixed aza-thia crowns 5-aza-2,8-dithia[9]-(2,9)-1,10-phenanthrolinophane (L(4)) and 2,8-diaza-5-thia[9]-(2,9)-1,10-phenanthrolinophane (L(7)) have been synthesized and characterized. The coordination behavior of L(4) and L(7) toward the metal ions Cu(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Hg(II), and Ag(I) was studied in aqueous solution by potentiometric methods, in CD3CN/D2O 4:1 (v/v) by (1)H NMR titrations and in the solid state. The data obtained were compared with those available for the coordination behavior toward the same metal ions of structurally analogous mixed donor macrocyclic ligands L(1)-L(3), L(5), L(6): all these contain a phenanthroline subunit but have only S/O/N(aromatic) donor groups in the remaining portion of the ring and are, therefore, less water-soluble than L(4) and L(7). The complexes [Cd(NO3)2(L(5))], [Pb(L(7))](ClO4)2 x 1/2MeCN, [Pb(L(4))](ClO4)2 x MeCN, and [Cu(L(7))](ClO4)2 x 3/2MeNO2 were characterized by X-ray crystallography. The efficacy of L(1)-L(7) in competitive liquid-liquid metal ion extraction of Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Ag(I), and Hg(II) was assessed. In the absence of Hg(II), a clear extraction selectivity for Ag(I) was observed in all systems investigated.     

Diastereoselective fragmentation of chiral alpha-aminophosphonic acids/metal ion aggregates

Diastereomeric clusters of general formula [MAB(2)](+) and [MA(2)B](+) (M = Li(I), Na(I), Ag(I), Ni(II)-H, or Cu(II)-H; A = (R)-(-)- and (S)-(+)-(1-aminopropyl)phosphonic acid; B = (1R)-(-)- and (1S)-(+)-(1-aminohexyl)phosphonic acid) have been readily generated in the electrospray ionization (ESI) source of a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer and their collision-induced dissociation (CID) investigated. CID of diastereomeric complexes, e.g. [MA(S)(B(S))(2)](+) and [MA(R)(B(S))(2)](+), leads to fragmentation patterns characterized by R(homo) = [MA(S)B(S)](+)/[M(B(S))(2)](+) and R(hetero) = [MA(R)B(S)](+)/[M(B(S))(2)](+) abundance ratios, which depend upon the relative stability of the diastereomeric [MA(S)B(S)](+) and [MA(R)B(S)](+) complexes in the gas phase. The chiral resolution factor R(chiral) = R(homo)/R(hetero) is found to depend not only on the nature of the M ion but also on that of the fragmenting species, whether [MAB(2)](+) or [MA(2)B](+). The origin of this behavior is discussed.     

Separation of oligonucleotides and DNA fragments by capillary electrophoresis in dynamically and permanently coated capillaries,using a copolymer of acrylamide and β-D-glucopyranoside as a new low viscosity matrix with high sieving capacity

New copolymers of acrylamide and β-D -glucopyranoside were synthesized and characterized. The different reactivity of the two monomers towards radical polymerization meant we could control the growth of the polymer chains whose length was inversely related to the number of glucose residues incorporated in the copolymers. The properties of these polymers were investigated in the separation of oligonucleotides and double-stranded DNA by capillary electrophoresis (CE) in coated and uncoated capillaries. The new copolymers were a suitable matrix for CE due to their high-resolving capacity and low viscosity. We also looked into the advantages of a new method of dynamic suppression of electroosmotic flow based on the addition of small amounts (0.03–0.05%) of dimethylacrylamide to the sieving and to the running buffer. A complete test was run on the reproducibility and efficiency of separations carried out in a permanently and dynamically coated capillary, and the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods were compared.     

Intrinsic and Intramolecular Lipophilicity Effects in O-Glucuronides

In this study, we compared the lipophilicity of O-glucuronides and their aglycones. Distribution coefficients (log D) and P values of neutral species (log P) were determined by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) in octanol/buffer systems. Two-phase potentiometry was also used to measure the log P value of some lipophilic solutes. The experimentally determined global influence of glucuronidation on lipophilicity, obtained as the difference (decrement) log P_{(glucuronide)} ? log P_(aglycone), was found to be ?1.30 ± 0.16 (n = 4) for glucuronides of alcohols (methyl, menthyl, neomenthyl, and chloramphenicol O-glucuronide). The mean decrement was ?2.06 ± 0.31 (n = 9) for glucuronides of phenols (phenyl, p-nitrophenyl, 1-naphthyl, 6-bromo-2-naphthyl, 4-methylumbelliferyl, 3-coumarinyl, phenolphthalein, 4′-benzophenonyl O-glucuronide, and diflunisal phenolic glucuronide). For the acylglucuronide of diflunisal and its rearrangement isomers, the mean decrement was ?1.80 ± 0.08 (n = 4; range ?1.7 to ?1.9). Differences in through-bond proximity effects as parametrized in the CLOGP algorithm seem to account for much of this difference. Conformational factors may also play a role, although it appears modest and unassessable for the glucuronides investigated here. The results imply that in vivo glucuronidation should have a stronger influence on the excretion of phenols than on that of alcohols.     

Nanoscale organization of the pathogen receptor DC-SIGN mapped by single-molecule high-resolution fluorescence microscopy.

DC-SIGN, a C-type lectin exclusively expressed on dendritic cells (DCs), plays an important role in pathogen recognition by binding with high affinity to a large variety of microorganisms. Recent experimental evidence points to a direct relation between the function of DC-SIGN as a viral receptor and its spatial arrangement on the plasma membrane. We have investigated the nanoscale organization of fluorescently labeled DC-SIGN on intact isolated DCs by means of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) combined with single-molecule detection. Fluorescence spots of different intensity and size have been directly visualized by optical means with a spatial resolution of less than 100 nm. Intensity- and size-distribution histograms of the DC-SIGN fluorescent spots confirm that approximately 80 % of the receptors are organized in nanosized domains randomly distributed on the cell membrane. Intensity-size correlation analysis revealed remarkable heterogeneity in the molecular packing density of the domains. Furthermore, we have mapped the intermolecular organization within a dense cluster by means of sequential NSOM imaging combined with discrete single-molecule photobleaching. In this way we have determined the spatial coordinates of 13 different individual dyes, with a localization accuracy of 6 nm. Our experimental observations are all consistent with an arrangement of DC-SIGN designed to maximize its chances of binding to a wide range of microorganisms. Our data also illustrate the potential of NSOM as an ultrasensitive, high-resolution technique to probe nanometer-scale organization of molecules on the cell membrane.     

Bioactivity and chemical composition of the essential oil from the leaves of Guatteria australis A.St.-Hil

Essential oil from the leaves of Guatteria australis was obtained by hydrodistillation, analyzed by Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectromery (GC–MS) and their antiproliferative, antileishmanial, antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities were also evaluated. Twenty-three compounds were identified among which germacrene B (50.66%), germacrene D (22.22%) and (E)-caryophyllene (8.99%) were the main compounds. The highest antiproliferative activity was observed against NCI-ADR/RES (TGI = 31.08 μg/ml) and HT-29 (TGI = 32.81 μg/ml) cell lines. It also showed good antileishmanial activity against Leishmania infantum (IC₅₀ = 30.71 μg/ml). On the other hand, the oil exhibited a small effect against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, S. aureus ATCC 14458 and Escherichia coli ATCC 10799 (MIC = 250 μg/ml), as well as small antioxidant activity (457 μmol TE/g) assessed through ORAC_FL assay. These results represent the first report regarding chemical composition and bioactivity of G. australis essential oil.