Glycosylated Cell‐Penetrating Poly(disulfide)s: Multifunctional Cellular Uptake at High Solubility

The glycosylation of cell‐penetrating poly(disulfide)s (CPDs) is introduced to increase the solubility of classical CPDs and to achieve multifunctional cellular uptake. With the recently developed sidechain engineering, CPDs decorated with α‐d ‐glucose (Glu), β‐d ‐galactose (Gal), d ‐trehalose (Tre), and triethyleneglycol (TEG) were readily accessible. Confocal laser scanning microscopy images of HeLa Kyoto cells incubated with the new CPDs at 2.5 μm revealed efficient uptake into cytosol and nucleoli of all glycosylated CPDs, whereas the original CPDs and TEGylated CPDs showed much precipitation into fluorescent aggregates at these high concentrations. Flow cytometry analysis identified Glu‐CPDs as most active, closely followed by Gal‐CPDs and Tre‐CPDs, and all clearly more active than non‐glycosylated CPDs. In the MTT assay, all glyco‐CPDs were non‐toxic at concentrations as high as 2.5 μm . Consistent with thiol‐mediated uptake, glycosylated CPDs remained dependent on thiols on the cell surface for dynamic covalent exchange, their removal with Ellman's reagent DTNB efficiently inhibited uptake. Multifunctionality was demonstrated by inhibition of Glu‐CPDs with d ‐glucose (IC₅₀ ca. 20 mm ). Insensitivity toward l ‐glucose and d ‐galactose and insensitivity of conventional CPDs toward d ‐glucose supported that glucose‐mediated uptake of the multifunctional Glu‐CPDs involves selective recognition by glucose receptors at the cell surface. Weaker but significant sensitivity of Gal‐CPDs toward d ‐galactose but not d ‐glucose was noted (IC₅₀ ca. 110 mm ). Biotinylation of Glu‐CPDs resulted in the efficient delivery of streptavidin together with a fluorescent model substrate. Protein delivery with Glu‐CPDs was more efficient than with conventional CPDs and remained sensitive to DTNB and d ‐glucose, i.e., multifunctional.     

高性能多级花状Co3O4基无酶葡萄糖电化学传感器

以硝酸钴、碳酸钠、尿素为原料,泡沫镍为基体,采用水热和煅烧相结合的二步法制备了一种多级花状Co_3O_4/Ni异质结构的无酶葡萄糖传感器。通过X射线衍射与扫描电镜对Co_3O_4/Ni电极的成分及形貌进行了表征,并采用循环伏安法在1mol/L KOH溶液中测试了Co_3O_4/Ni异质结构葡萄糖传感器电极的电化学性能。结果表明,通过二步法在泡沫镍表面制备的Co_3O_4呈现多级花状纳米纤维结构。将制备的Co_3O_4/Ni异质结构作为电极构建的无酶葡萄糖传感器表现出响应时间快(低于5s)、检测灵敏度高(7.4m A·(mmol/L)~(-1)·cm~(-2))、检出限低(1.17μmol/L,S/N=3)和线性检测范围宽(0~5 mmol/L)的特点。进一步的抗干扰性检测表明所制备的传感器在+0.44V vs.SCE对葡萄糖表现出良好的选择性。本文所制备的多级花状Co_3O_4基电极在无酶葡萄糖传感器的发展中有着很大的应用潜力。     

The effect of glucose on bovine serum albumin denatured aggregation kinetics at high concentration

The effect of glucose (0–15 mass%) on the kinetics of bovine serum albumin (BSA) denatured aggregation at high concentration in aqueous solution has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The observed denatured aggregation process was irreversible and could be characterized by a denaturation temperature (T _m), apparent activation energy (E _a), the approximate order of reaction, and pre-exponential factor (A). As the glucose concentration increased from 0 to 15 mass%, T _m increased, E _a also increased from 514.59409±6.61489 to 548.48611±7.81302 kJ mol⁻¹, and A/s⁻¹ increased from 1.24239E79 to 5.59975E83. The stabilization increased with an increasing concentration of glucose, which was attributed to its ability to alter protein denatured aggregation kinetics. The kinetic analysis was carried out using a composite procedure involving the iso-conversional method and the master plots method. The iso-conversional method indicated that denatured aggregation of BSA in the presence and absence of glucose should conform to single reaction model. The master plots method suggested that the simple order reaction model best describe the process. This study shows the combination of iso-conversional method and the master plots method can be used to quantitatively model the denatured aggregation mechanism of the BSA in the presence and absence of glucose.     

Evaluation of a glucose sensing antibody using weak affinity chromatography

Continuous monitoring of drug levels and endogenous molecules in biological fluids is a developing research area with many applications. One example is the need to improve life for millions of diabetes mellitus patients by continuously monitoring the glucose level. In order to have a dynamic response, the recognition molecule in a continuous sensor should preferentially have a fast dissociation rate and a dissociation constant in the millimolar range. We have evaluated the monoclonal antibody (mAb) 3F1E8-A2 for its potential to be used in a future glucose sensor application. The mAb was generated from hybridomas by immunizing mice with 10 kDa dextran (an alpha1,6-glucose polymer) with the aim of obtaining mAbs that can recognize the glucose monomer. The mAb was immobilized to macroporous silica and the interaction with dextran-derived oligosaccharides was evaluated with weak affinity chromatography (WAC). To measure the low affinities between the mAb 3F1E8-A2 and different monosaccharides, a competitive weak affinity chromatography approach was employed. It was found that the mAb had a higher specificity for glucose compared with other monosaccharides and the dissociation constant (K(d)) towards glucose was determined as 18.8 +/- 2.6 mm.     

The effect of substrate concentration on biohydrogen production by using kinetic models

The effect of substrate concentration ranging from 0 to 300 g/L on fermentative hydrogen production by mixed cultures was investigated in batch tests using glucose as substrate. The experimental results showed that, at 35℃ and initial pH 7.0, during the fermentative hydrogen production, the hydrogen production potential and hydrogen production rate increased with increasing substrate concentration from 0 to 25 g/L. The maximal hydrogen production potential of 426.8 mL and maximal hydrogen pro-duction rate of 15.1 mL/h were obtained at the substrate concentration of 25 g/L. The maximal hydrogen yield and the maximal substrate degradation efficiency were respectively 384.3 mL/g glucose and 97.6%, at the substrate concentration of 2 g/L. The modified Logistic model could be used to describe the progress of cumulative hydrogen production in this study successfully. The Han-Levenspiel model could be used to describe the effect of substrate concentration on fermentative hydrogen production rate.     

Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐based comb‐type grafted hydrogel with rapid response to blood glucose concentration change at physiological temperature

A new type of glucose‐responsive hydrogel with rapid response to blood glucose concentration change at physiological temperature has been successfully developed. The polymeric hydrogel contains phenylboronic acid (PBA) groups as glucose sensors and thermo‐responsive poly (N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) groups as actuators. The response rate of the hydrogel to environmental glucose concentration change was significantly enhanced by introducing grafted poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐3‐acrylamidophenylboronic acid) [poly(NIPAM‐co‐AAPBA)] side chains onto crosslinked poly(NIPAM‐co‐AAPBA) networks for the first time. The synthesized comb‐type grafted poly(NIPAM‐co‐AAPBA) hydrogels showed satisfactory equilibrium glucose‐responsive properties, and exhibited much faster response rate to glucose concentration change than normal type crosslinked poly(NIPAM‐co‐AAPBA) hydrogels at physiological temperature. Such glucose‐responsive hydrogels with rapid response rate are highly attractive in the fields of developing glucose‐responsive sensors and self‐regulated drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

纤维素超临界水预处理与水解研究

利用超临界水解工艺进行生物质废弃物(秸秆)能源转化, 使其主要成分纤维素在超临界水中快速水解为低聚糖, 为其进一步葡萄糖转化和乙醇发酵解决技术瓶颈. 其中纤维素在超临界水中的溶解是预处理与水解过程的限速步骤. 研究表明, 反应温度达到380 ℃及以上时, 纤维素可迅速溶解并进行水解, 液化比例可达100%; 在374～386 ℃范围内反应温度对纤维素的转化率有明显作用, 低聚糖和六碳糖的总产率在临界点附近出现最大值. 超临界条件下, 低聚糖和六碳糖转化率在较短反应时间内出现峰值, 而后随反应时间的延长快速下降, 固液比对于纤维素的低聚糖和六碳糖转化也有显著影响. 最优水解条件研究显示, 在380 ℃, 40 mg纤维素/2.5 mL水条件下反应16 s可获得最大的低聚糖产率, 为29.3%, 在380 ℃, 80 mg纤维素/2.5 mL水条件下反应18 s可获得最大的六碳糖产率, 为39.2%.     

A new nanobiosensor for glucose with high sensitivity and selectivity in serum based on fluorescence resonance Energy transfer (FRET) between CdTe quantum dots and Au nanoparticles

A novel assembled nanobiosensor QDs-ConA-beta-CDs-AuNPs was designed for the direct determination of glucose in serum with high sensitivity and selectivity. The sensing approach is based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between CdTe quantum dots (QDs) as an energy donor and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as an energy acceptor. The specific combination of concanavalin A (ConA)-conjugated QDs and thiolated beta-cyclodextrins (beta-SH-CDs)-modified AuNPs assembles a hyperefficient FRET nanobiosensor. In the presence of glucose, the AuNPs-beta-CDs segment of the nanobiosensor is displaced by glucose which competes with beta-CDs on the binding sites of ConA, resulting in the fluorescence recovery of the quenched QDs. Experimental results show that the increase in fluorescence intensity is proportional to the concentration of glucose within the range of 0.10-50 muM under the optimized experimental conditions. In addition, the nanobiosensor has high sensitivity with a detection limit as low as 50 nM, and has excellent selectivity for glucose over other sugars and most biological species present in serum. The nanobiosensor was applied directly to determine glucose in normal adult human serum, and the recovery and precision of the method were satisfactory. The unique combination of high sensitivity and good selectivity of this biosensor indicates its potential for the clinical determination of glucose directly and simply in serum, and provides the possibility to detect low levels of glucose in single cells or bacterial cultures. Moreover, the designed nanobiosensor achieves direct detection in biological samples, suggesting the use of nanobiotechnology-based assembled sensors for direct analytical applications in vivo or in vitro.     

A new route to the considerable enhancement of glucose oxidase (GOx) activity: the simple assembly of a complex from CdTe quantum dots and GOx, and its glucose sensing

A new complex consisting of CdTe quantum dots (QDs) and glucose oxidase (GOx) has been facilely assembled to achieve considerably enhanced enzymatic activity and a wide active temperature range of GOx; these characteristics are attributed to the conformational changes of GOx during assembly. The obtained complex can be simultaneously used as a nanosensor for the detection of glucose with high sensitivity. A mechanism is put forward based on the fluorescence quenching of CdTe QDs, which is caused by the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that is produced from the GOx-catalyzed oxidation of glucose. When H2O2 gets to the surface of the CdTe QDs, the electron-transfer reaction happens immediately and H2O2 is reduced to O2, which lies in electron hole traps on CdTe QDs and can be used as a good acceptor, thus forming the nonfluorescent CdTe QDs anion. The produced O2 can further participate in the catalyzed reaction of GOx, forming a cyclic electron-transfer mechanism of glucose oxidation, which is favorable for the whole reaction system. The value of the Michaelis-Menton constant of GOx is estimated to be 0.45 mM L(-1), which shows the considerably enhanced enzymatic activity measured by far. In addition, the GOx enzyme conjugated on the CdTe QDs possesses better thermal stability at 20-80 degrees C and keeps the maximum activity in the wide range of 40-50 degrees C. Moreover, the simply assembled complex as a nanosensor can sensitively determine glucose in the wide concentration range from micro- to millimolar with the detection limit of 0.10 microM, which could be used for the direct detection of low levels of glucose in biological systems. Therefore, the established method could provide an approach for the assembly of CdTe QDs with other redox enzymes, to realize enhanced enzymatic activity, and to further the design of novel nanosensors applied in biological systems in the future.     

Printing graphene-carbon nanotube-ionic liquid gel on graphene paper: Towards flexible electrodes with efficient loading of PtAu alloy nanoparticles for electrochemical sensing of blood glucose

The increasing demands for portable, wearable, and implantable sensing devices have stimulated growing interest in innovative electrode materials. In this work, we have demonstrated that printing a conductive ink formulated by blending three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene–carbon nanotube (CNT) assembly with ionic liquid (IL) on two-dimensional (2D) graphene paper (GP), leads to a freestanding GP supported graphene–CNT–IL nanocomposite (graphene–CNT–IL/GP). The incorporation of highly conductive CNTs into graphene assembly effectively increases its surface area and improves its electrical and mechanical properties. The graphene–CNT–IL/GP, as freestanding and flexible substrates, allows for efficient loading of PtAu alloy nanoparticles by means of ultrasonic-electrochemical deposition. Owing to the synergistic effect of PtAu alloy nanoparticles, 3D porous graphene–CNT scaffold, IL binder and 2D flexible GP substrate, the resultant lightweight nanohybrid paper electrode exhibits excellent sensing performances in nonenzymatic electrochemical detection of glucose in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility and mechanical properties.