Sample records for affinity chromatography imac

  1. Optimized Enrichment of Phosphoproteomes by Fe-IMAC Column Chromatography.

    PubMed

    Ruprecht, Benjamin; Koch, Heiner; Domasinska, Petra; Frejno, Martin; Kuster, Bernhard; Lemeer, Simone

    2017-01-01

    Phosphorylation is among the most important post-translational modifications of proteins and has numerous regulatory functions across all domains of life. However, phosphorylation is often substoichiometric, requiring selective and sensitive methods to enrich phosphorylated peptides from complex cellular digests. Various methods have been devised for this purpose and we have recently described a Fe-IMAC HPLC column chromatography setup which is capable of comprehensive, reproducible, and selective enrichment of phosphopeptides out of complex peptide mixtures. In contrast to other formats such as StageTips or batch incubations using TiO 2 or Ti-IMAC beads, Fe-IMAC HPLC columns do not suffer from issues regarding incomplete phosphopeptide binding or elution and enrichment efficiency scales linearly with the amount of starting material. Here, we provide a step-by-step protocol for the entire phosphopeptide enrichment procedure including sample preparation (lysis, digestion, desalting), Fe-IMAC column chromatography (column setup, operation, charging), measurement by LC-MS/MS (nHPLC gradient, MS parameters) and data analysis (MaxQuant). To increase throughput, we have optimized several key steps such as the gradient time of the Fe-IMAC separation (15 min per enrichment), the number of consecutive enrichments possible between two chargings (>20) and the column recharging itself (<1 h). We show that the application of this protocol enables the selective (>90 %) identification of more than 10,000 unique phosphopeptides from 1 mg of HeLa digest within 2 h of measurement time (Q Exactive Plus).

  2. Direct capture of His₆-tagged proteins using megaporous cryogels developed for metal-ion affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Singh, Naveen Kumar; DSouza, Roy N; Bibi, Noor Shad; Fernández-Lahore, Marcelo

    2015-01-01

    Immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) has been developed for the rapid isolation and purification of recombinant proteins. In this chapter, megaporous cryogels were synthesized having metal-ion affinity functionality, and their adsorptive properties were investigated. These cryogels have large pore sizes ranging from 10 to 100 μm with corresponding porosities between 80 and 90%. The synthesized IMAC-cryogel had a total ligand density of 770 μmol/g. Twelve milligram of a His6-tagged protein (NAD(P)H-dependent 2-cyclohexen-1-one-reductase) can be purified from a crude cell extract per gram of IMAC-cryogels. The protein binding capacity is increased with higher degrees of grafting, although a slight decrease in column efficiency may result. This chapter provides methodologies for a rapid single-step purification of recombinant His6-tagged proteins from crude cell extracts using IMAC-cryogels.

  3. N-terminal processing of affinity-tagged recombinant proteins purified by IMAC procedures.

    PubMed

    Mooney, Jane T; Fredericks, Dale P; Christensen, Thorkild; Bruun Schiødt, Christine; Hearn, Milton T W

    2015-07-01

    The ability of a new class of metal binding tags to facilitate the purification of recombinant proteins, exemplified by the tagged glutathione S-transferase and human growth hormone, from Escherichia coli fermentation broths and lysates has been further investigated. These histidine-containing tags exhibit high affinity for borderline metal ions chelated to the immobilised ligand, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (tacn). The use of this tag-tacn immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) system engenders high selectivity with regard to host cell protein removal and permits facile tag removal from the E. coli-expressed recombinant protein. In particular, these tags were specifically designed to enable their efficient removal by the dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 1 (DAP-1), thus capturing the advantages of high substrate specificity and rates of cleavage. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the cleaved products from the DAP-1 digestion of the recombinant N-terminally tagged proteins confirmed the complete removal of the tag within 4-12 h under mild experimental conditions. Overall, this study demonstrates that the use of tags specifically designed to target tacn-based IMAC resins offers a comprehensive and flexible approach for the purification of E. coli-expressed recombinant proteins, where complete removal of the tag is an essential prerequisite for subsequent application of the purified native proteins in studies aimed at delineating the molecular and cellular basis of specific biological processes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Comparing Multi-Step IMAC and Multi-Step TiO2 Methods for Phosphopeptide Enrichment

    PubMed Central

    Yue, Xiaoshan; Schunter, Alissa; Hummon, Amanda B.

    2016-01-01

    Phosphopeptide enrichment from complicated peptide mixtures is an essential step for mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomic studies to reduce sample complexity and ionization suppression effects. Typical methods for enriching phosphopeptides include immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) or titanium dioxide (TiO2) beads, which have selective affinity and can interact with phosphopeptides. In this study, the IMAC enrichment method was compared with the TiO2 enrichment method, using a multi-step enrichment strategy from whole cell lysate, to evaluate their abilities to enrich for different types of phosphopeptides. The peptide-to-beads ratios were optimized for both IMAC and TiO2 beads. Both IMAC and TiO2 enrichments were performed for three rounds to enable the maximum extraction of phosphopeptides from the whole cell lysates. The phosphopeptides that are unique to IMAC enrichment, unique to TiO2 enrichment, and identified with both IMAC and TiO2 enrichment were analyzed for their characteristics. Both IMAC and TiO2 enriched similar amounts of phosphopeptides with comparable enrichment efficiency. However, phosphopeptides that are unique to IMAC enrichment showed a higher percentage of multi-phosphopeptides, as well as a higher percentage of longer, basic, and hydrophilic phosphopeptides. Also, the IMAC and TiO2 procedures clearly enriched phosphopeptides with different motifs. Finally, further enriching with two rounds of TiO2 from the supernatant after IMAC enrichment, or further enriching with two rounds of IMAC from the supernatant TiO2 enrichment does not fully recover the phosphopeptides that are not identified with the corresponding multi-step enrichment. PMID:26237447

  5. Immobilized palladium(II) ion affinity chromatography for recovery of recombinant proteins with peptide tags containing histidine and cysteine.

    PubMed

    Kikot, Pamela; Polat, Aise; Achilli, Estefania; Fernandez Lahore, Marcelo; Grasselli, Mariano

    2014-11-01

    Fusion of peptide-based tags to recombinant proteins is currently one of the most used tools for protein production. Also, immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) has a huge application in protein purification, especially in research labs. The combination of expression systems of recombinant tagged proteins with this robust chromatographic system has become an efficient and rapid tool to produce milligram-range amounts of proteins. IMAC-Ni(II) columns have become the natural partners of 6xHis-tagged proteins. The Ni(II) ion is considered as the best compromise of selectivity and affinity for purification of a recombinant His-tagged protein. The palladium(II) ion is also able to bind to side chains of amino acids and form ternary complexes with iminodiacetic acid and free amino acids and other sulfur-containing molecules. In this work, we evaluated two different cysteine- and histidine-containing six amino acid tags linked to the N-terminal group of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and studied the adsorption and elution conditions using novel eluents. Both cysteine-containing tagged GFPs were able to bind to IMAC-Pd(II) matrices and eluted successfully using a low concentration of thiourea solution. The IMAC-Ni(II) system reaches less than 20% recovery of the cysteine-containing tagged GFP from a crude homogenate of recombinant Escherichia coli, meanwhile the IMAC-Pd(II) yields a recovery of 45% with a purification factor of 13. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Two-step purification of His-tagged Nef protein in native condition using heparin and immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographies.

    PubMed

    Finzi, Andrés; Cloutier, Jonathan; Cohen, Eric A

    2003-07-01

    The Nef protein encoded by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been shown to be an important factor of progression of viral growth and pathogenesis in both in vitro and in vivo. The lack of a simple procedure to purify Nef in its native conformation has limited molecular studies on Nef function. A two-step procedure that includes heparin and immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographies (IMACs) was developed to purify His-tagged Nef (His(6)-Nef) expressed in bacteria in native condition. During the elaboration of this purification procedure, we identified two closely SDS-PAGE-migrating contaminating bacterial proteins, SlyD and GCHI, that co-eluted with His(6)-Nef in IMAC in denaturing condition and developed purification steps to eliminate these contaminants in native condition. Overall, this study describes a protocol that allows rapid purification of His(6)-Nef protein expressed in bacteria in native condition and that removes metal affinity resin-binding bacterial proteins that can contaminate recombinant His-tagged protein preparation.

  7. Comparison of Different IMAC Techniques Used for Enrichment of Phosphorylated Peptides

    PubMed Central

    Kånge, Rikard; Selditz, Ulrike; Granberg, Maria; Lindberg, Ulrika; Ekstrand, Gunnar; Ek, Bo; Gustafsson, Magnus

    2005-01-01

    Four commercially available immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) methods for phosphopeptide enrichment were compared using small volumes and concentrations of phosphopeptide mixtures with or without extra-added bovine serum albumin (BSA) nonphosphorylated peptides. Addition of abundant tryptic BSA peptides to the phosphopeptide mixture increases the demand for selective IMAC capture. While SwellGel gallium Discs, IPAC Metal Chelating Resin, and ZipTipMC Pipette Tips allow for the possibility of enriching phosphopeptides, the Gyrolab MALDI IMAC1 also presents the possibility of verifying existing phosphopeptides after a dephosphorylation step. Phosphate-containing peptides are identified through a mass shift between phosphorylated and dephosphorylated spectra of 80 Da (or multiples of 80 Da). This verification is useful if the degree of phosphorylation is low in the sample or if the ionization is unfavorable, which often is the case for phosphopeptides. A peptide mixture in which phosphorylated serine, threonine, and tyrosine were represented was diluted in steps and thereafter enriched using the four different IMAC methods prior to analyses with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. The enrichment of phosphopeptides using SwellGel Gallium Discs or Gyrolab MALDI IMAC1 was not significantly affected by the addition of abundant BSA peptides added to the sample mixture, and the achieved detection limits using these techniques were also the lowest. All four of the included phosphopeptides were detected by MALDI-MS only after enrichment using the Gyrolab MALDI IMAC1 compact disc (CD) and detection down to low femtomole levels was possible. Furthermore, selectivity, reproducibility, and detection for a number of other phosphopeptides using the IMAC CD are reported herein. For example, two phosphopeptides sent out in a worldwide survey performed by the Proteomics Research Group (PRG03) of the Association of Biomolecular Resource

  8. Purification of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides from casein hydrolysate by IMAC-Ni2.

    PubMed

    Wu, Shanguang; Feng, Xuezhen; Lu, Yuan; Lu, Yuting; Liu, Saisai; Tian, Yuhong

    2017-10-01

    Casein proteins were hydrolyzed by papain to identify inhibitory peptides of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE). The hydrolysate was fractionized by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC-Ni 2+ ). The fraction with high ACE inhibitory activity was enriched and further chromatographed on a reverse-phase column to yield four fractions. Among the fractions, the L4 fraction exhibited the highest ACE inhibitory activity and was identified by sequence analysis as Trp-Tyr-Leu-His-Tyr-Ala (WYLHYA), with IC 50 value of 16.22 ± 0.83 µM in vitro. This peptide was expected to be applied as an ingredient for preventing hypertension and IMAC-Ni 2+ may provide a simple method for purification of ACE inhibitory peptides.

  9. Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography Coupled to Multiple Reaction Monitoring Enables Reproducible Quantification of Phospho-signaling*

    PubMed Central

    Kennedy, Jacob J.; Yan, Ping; Zhao, Lei; Ivey, Richard G.; Voytovich, Uliana J.; Moore, Heather D.; Lin, Chenwei; Pogosova-Agadjanyan, Era L.; Stirewalt, Derek L.; Reding, Kerryn W.; Whiteaker, Jeffrey R.; Paulovich, Amanda G.

    2016-01-01

    A major goal in cell signaling research is the quantification of phosphorylation pharmacodynamics following perturbations. Traditional methods of studying cellular phospho-signaling measure one analyte at a time with poor standardization, rendering them inadequate for interrogating network biology and contributing to the irreproducibility of preclinical research. In this study, we test the feasibility of circumventing these issues by coupling immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC)-based enrichment of phosphopeptides with targeted, multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry to achieve precise, specific, standardized, multiplex quantification of phospho-signaling responses. A multiplex immobilized metal affinity chromatography- multiple reaction monitoring assay targeting phospho-analytes responsive to DNA damage was configured, analytically characterized, and deployed to generate phospho-pharmacodynamic curves from primary and immortalized human cells experiencing genotoxic stress. The multiplexed assays demonstrated linear ranges of ≥3 orders of magnitude, median lower limit of quantification of 0.64 fmol on column, median intra-assay variability of 9.3%, median inter-assay variability of 12.7%, and median total CV of 16.0%. The multiplex immobilized metal affinity chromatography- multiple reaction monitoring assay enabled robust quantification of 107 DNA damage-responsive phosphosites from human cells following DNA damage. The assays have been made publicly available as a resource to the community. The approach is generally applicable, enabling wide interrogation of signaling networks. PMID:26621847

  10. Evaluation of IDA-PEVA hollow fiber membrane metal ion affinity chromatography for purification of a histidine-tagged human proinsulin.

    PubMed

    de Aquino, Luciana Cristina Lins; de Sousa, Heloisa Ribeiro Tunes; Miranda, Everson Alves; Vilela, Luciano; Bueno, Sônia Maria Alves

    2006-04-13

    Inabilities to process particulate material and to allow the use of high flow rates are limitations of conventional chromatography. Membranes have been suggested as matrix for affinity separation due to advantages such as allowing high flow rates and low-pressure drops. This work evaluated the feasibility of using an iminodiacetic acid linked poly(ethylenevinyl alcohol) membrane in the immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) purification of a human proinsulin(His)(6) of an industrial insulin production process. The screening of metal ions showed Ni(2+) as metal with higher selectivity and capacity among the Cu(2+), Ni(2+), Zn(2+) and Co(2+). The membrane showed to be equivalent to conventional chelating beads in terms of selectivity and had a lower capacity (3.68 mg/g versus 12.26 mg/g). The dynamic adsorption capacity for human proinsulin(His)(6) was unaffected by the mode of operation (dead-end and cross-flow filtration).

  11. Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography Co-Purifies TGF-β1 with Histidine-Tagged Recombinant Extracellular Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Kaur, Jasvir; Reinhardt, Dieter P.

    2012-01-01

    Extracellular recombinant proteins are commonly produced using HEK293 cells as histidine-tagged proteins facilitating purification by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Based on gel analyses, this one-step purification typically produces proteins of high purity. Here, we analyzed the presence of TGF-β1 in such IMAC purifications using recombinant extracellular fibrillin-1 fragments as examples. Analysis of various purified recombinant fibrillin-1 fragments by ELISA consistently revealed the presence of picomolar concentrations of active and latent TGF-β1, but not of BMP-2. These quantities of TGF-β1 were not detectable by Western blotting and mass spectrometry. However, the amounts of TGF-β1 were sufficient to consistently trigger Smad2 phosphorylation in fibroblasts. The purification mechanism was analyzed to determine whether the presence of TGF-β1 in these protein preparations represents a specific or non-specific co-purification of TGF-β1 with fibrillin-1 fragments. Control purifications using conditioned medium from non-transfected 293 cells yielded similar amounts of TGF-β1 after IMAC. IMAC of purified TGF-β1 and the latency associated peptide showed that these proteins bound to the immobilized nickel ions. These data clearly demonstrate that TGF-β1 was co-purified by specific interactions with nickel, and not by specific interactions with fibrillin-1 fragments. Among various chromatographic methods tested for their ability to eliminate TGF-β1 from fibrillin-1 preparations, gel filtration under high salt conditions was highly effective. As various recombinant extracellular proteins purified in this fashion are frequently used for experiments that can be influenced by the presence of TGF-β1, these findings have far-reaching implications for the required chromatographic schemes and quality controls. PMID:23119075

  12. Separation and Characterization of Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitory Peptides from Saurida elongata Proteins Hydrolysate by IMAC-Ni2.

    PubMed

    Sun, Lixia; Wu, Shanguang; Zhou, Liqin; Wang, Feng; Lan, Xiongdiao; Sun, Jianhua; Tong, Zhangfa; Liao, Dankui

    2017-02-15

    Lizard fish protein hydrolysates (LFPH) were prepared from Lizard fish ( Saurida elongata ) proteins possessing powerful angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and the fraction (LFPH-I) with high ACE inhibitory activity was obtained through ultrafiltration. The active Fraction (F2) was isolated from LFPH-I using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC - Ni 2+ ). Analysis of amino acid levels revealed that F2 eluted from IMAC was enriched in Met, His, Tyr, Pro, Ile, and Leu compared to the crude peptide LFPH-I. F2 with the high ACE inhibitory activity (IC 50 of 0.116 mg·mL -1 ) was further separated by a reverse-phase column to yield a novel ACE inhibitory peptide with IC 50 value of 52 μM. The ACE inhibitory peptide was identified as Arg-Tyr-Arg-Pro, RYRP. The present study demonstrated that IMAC may be a useful tool for the separation of ACE inhibitory peptides from protein hydrolysate.

  13. Evaluation of immobilized metal membrane affinity chromatography for purification of an immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody.

    PubMed

    Serpa, Gisele; Augusto, Elisabeth Fátima Pires; Tamashiro, Wirla Maria Silva Cunha; Ribeiro, Mariana Borçoe; Miranda, Everson Alves; Bueno, Sônia Maria Alves

    2005-02-25

    The large scale production of monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) has gaining increased relevance with the development of the hybridoma cell culture in bioreactors creating a need for specific efficient bioseparation techniques. Conventional fixed bead affinity adsorption commonly applied for McAbs purification has the drawback of low flow rates and colmatage. We developed and evaluated a immobilized metal affinity chromatographies (IMAC) affinity membrane for the purification of anti-TNP IgG(1) mouse McAbs. We immobilized metal ions on a poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol) hollow fiber membrane (Me(2+)-IDA-PEVA) and applied it for the purification of this McAbs from cell culture supernatant after precipitation with 50% saturation of ammonium sulphate. The purity of IgG(1) in the eluate fractions was high when eluted from Zn(2+) complex. The anti-TNP antibody could be eluted under conditions causing no loss of antigen binding capacity. The purification procedure can be considered as an alternative to the biospecific adsorbent commonly applied for mouse IgG(1) purification, the protein G-Sepharose.

  14. Adsorption of endotoxins on Ca2+ -iminodiacetic acid by metal ion affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Lopes, André Moreni; Romeu, Jorge Sánchez; Meireles, Rolando Páez; Perera, Gabriel Marquez; Morales, Rolando Perdomo; Pessoa, Adalberto; Cárdenas, Lourdes Zumalacárregui

    2012-11-01

    Endotoxins (also known as lipopolysaccharides (LPS)) are undesirable by-products of recombinant proteins, purified from Escherichia coli. LPS can be considered stable under a wide range of temperature and pH, making their removal one of the most difficult tasks in downstream processes during protein purification. The inherent toxicity of LPS makes their removal an important step for the application of these proteins in several biological assays and for a safe parenteral administration. Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) enables the affinity interactions between the metal ions (immobilized on the support through the chelating compound) and the target molecules, thus enabling high-efficiency separation of the target molecules from other components present in a mixture. Affinity chromatography is applied with Ca2+ -iminodiacetic acid (IDA) to remove most of the LPS contaminants from the end product (more than 90%). In this study, the adsorption of LPS on an IDA-Ca2+ was investigated. The adsorption Freundlich isotherm of LPS-IDA-Ca2+ provides a theoretical basis for LPS removal. It was found that LPS is bound mainly by interactions between the phosphate group in LPS and Ca2+ ligands on the beads. The factors such as pH (4.0 or 5.5) and ionic strength (1.0 mol/L) are essential to obtain effective removal of LPS for contaminant levels between endotoxin' concentration values less than 100 EU/mL and 100 000 EU/mL. This new protocol represents a substantial advantage in time, effort, and production costs.

  15. Coordination of two high-affinity hexamer peptides to copper(II) and palladium(II) models of the peptide-metal chelation site on IMAC resins.

    PubMed

    Chen, Y; Pasquinelli, R; Ataai, M; Koepsel, R R; Kortes, R A; Shepherd, R E

    2000-03-20

    The coordination of peptides Ser-Pro-His-His-Gly-Gly (SPHHGG) and (His)6 (HHHHHH) to [PdII(mida)(D2O)] (mida2- = N-methyliminodiacetate) was studied by 1H NMR as model reactions for CuII(iminodiacetate)-immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) sites. This is the first direct physical description of peptide coordination for IMAC. A three-site coordination is observed which involves the first, third, and fourth residues along the peptide chain. The presence of proline in position 2 of SPHHGG achieves the best molecular mechanics and bonding angles in the coordinated peptide and enhances the interaction of the serine amino nitrogen. Histidine coordination of H1, H3, and H4 of (His)6 and H3 and H4 of SPHHGG was detected by 1H NMR contact shifts and H/D exchange of histidyl protons. The EPR spectra of SPHHGG and HHHHHH attached to the [CuII(mida)] unit were obtained for additional modeling of IMAC sites. EPR parameters of the parent [Cu(mida)(H2O)2] complex are representative: gzz = 2.31; gyy = 2.086; gxx = 2.053; A parallel = 161G; AN = 19G (three line, one N coupling). Increased rhombic distortion is detected relative to the starting aqua complex in the order of [Cu(mida)L] for distortion of HHHHHH > SPHHGG > (H2O)2. The lowering of symmetry is also seen in the decrease in the N-shf coupling, presumably to the imino nitrogen of mida2- in the order 19 G (H2O), 16 G (SPHHGG) and 11 G (HHHHHH). Visible spectra of the [Cu(mida)(SPHHGG)] and [Cu(mida)(HHHHHH)] as a function of pH indicate coordination of one histidyl donor at ca. 4.5, two in the range of pH 5-7, and two chelate ring attachments involving the terminal amino donor for SPHHGG or another histidyl donor of HHHHHH in the pH domain of 7-8 in agreement with the [PdII(mida)L] derivatives which form the two-chelate-ring attachment even at lower pH as shown by the 1H NMR methods.

  16. Evaluation of Quantitative Performance of Sequential Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatographic Enrichment for Phosphopeptides

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Zeyu; Hamilton, Karyn L.; Reardon, Kenneth F.

    2014-01-01

    We evaluated a sequential elution protocol from immobilized metal affinity chromatography (SIMAC) employing gallium-based immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) in conjunction with titanium-dioxide-based metal oxide affinity chromatography (MOAC). The quantitative performance of this SIMAC enrichment approach, assessed in terms of repeatability, dynamic range, and linearity, was evaluated using a mixture composed of tryptic peptides from caseins, bovine serum albumin, and phosphopeptide standards. While our data demonstrate the overall consistent performance of the SIMAC approach under various loading conditions, the results also revealed that the method had limited repeatability and linearity for most phosphopeptides tested, and different phosphopeptides were found to have different linear ranges. These data suggest that, unless additional strategies are used, SIMAC should be regarded as a semi-quantitative method when used in large-scale phosphoproteomics studies in complex backgrounds. PMID:24096195

  17. Optimization of Immobilized Gallium (III) Ion Affinity Chromatography for Selective Binding and Recovery of Phosphopeptides from Protein Digests

    PubMed Central

    Aryal, Uma K.; Olson, Douglas J.H.; Ross, Andrew R.S.

    2008-01-01

    Although widely used in proteomics research for the selective enrichment of phosphopeptides from protein digests, immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) often suffers from low specificity and differential recovery of peptides carrying different numbers of phosphate groups. By systematically evaluating and optimizing different loading, washing, and elution conditions, we have developed an efficient and highly selective procedure for the enrichment of phosphopeptides using a commercially available gallium(III)-IMAC column (PhosphoProfile, Sigma). Phosphopeptide enrichment using the reagents supplied with the column is incomplete and biased toward the recovery and/or detection of smaller, singly phosphorylated peptides. In contrast, elution with base (0.4 M ammonium hydroxide) gives efficient and balanced recovery of both singly and multiply phosphorylated peptides, while loading peptides in a strong acidic solution (1% trifluoracetic acid) further increases selectivity toward phosphopeptides, with minimal carryover of nonphosphorylated peptides. 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid, a matrix commonly used when analyzing phosphopeptides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry was also evaluated as an additive in loading and eluting solvents. Elution with 50% acetonitrile containing 20 mg/mL dihydroxybenzoic acid and 1% phosphoric acid gave results similar to those obtained using ammonium hydroxide as the eluent, although the latter showed the highest specificity for phosphorylated peptides. PMID:19183793

  18. PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS OF AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY: RECENT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS

    PubMed Central

    Hage, David S.; Anguizola, Jeanethe A.; Bi, Cong; Li, Rong; Matsuda, Ryan; Papastavros, Efthimia; Pfaunmiller, Erika; Vargas, John; Zheng, Xiwei

    2012-01-01

    Affinity chromatography is a separation technique that has become increasingly important in work with biological samples and pharmaceutical agents. This method is based on the use of a biologically-related agent as a stationary phase to selectively retain analytes or to study biological interactions. This review discusses the basic principles behind affinity chromatography and examines recent developments that have occurred in the use of this method for biomedical and pharmaceutical analysis. Techniques based on traditional affinity supports are discussed, but an emphasis is placed on methods in which affinity columns are used as part of HPLC systems or in combination with other analytical methods. General formats for affinity chromatography that are considered include step elution schemes, weak affinity chromatography, affinity extraction and affinity depletion. Specific separation techniques that are examined include lectin affinity chromatography, boronate affinity chromatography, immunoaffinity chromatography, and immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography. Approaches for the study of biological interactions by affinity chromatography are also presented, such as the measurement of equilibrium constants, rate constants, or competition and displacement effects. In addition, related developments in the use of immobilized enzyme reactors, molecularly imprinted polymers, dye ligands and aptamers are briefly considered. PMID:22305083

  19. Statistical theory of chromatography: new outlooks for affinity chromatography.

    PubMed Central

    Denizot, F C; Delaage, M A

    1975-01-01

    We have developed further the statistical approach to chromatography initiated by Giddings and Eyring, and applied it to affinity chromatography. By means of a convenient expression of moments the convergence towards the Laplace-Gauss distribution has been established. The Gaussian character is not preserved if other causes of dispersion are taken into account, but expressions of moments can be obtained in a generalized form. A simple procedure is deduced for expressing the fundamental constants of the model in terms of purely experimental quantities. Thus, affinity chromatography can be used to determine rate constants of association and dissociation in a range considered as the domain of the stopped-flow methods. PMID:1061072

  20. Selection of imprinted nanoparticles by affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Guerreiro, António R; Chianella, Iva; Piletska, Elena; Whitcombe, Michael J; Piletsky, Sergey A

    2009-04-15

    Soluble molecularly imprinted nanoparticles were synthesised via iniferter initiated polymerisation and separated by size via gel permeation chromatography. Subsequent fractionation of these particles by affinity chromatography allowed the separation of high affinity fractions from the mixture of nanoparticles. Fractions selected this way possess affinity similar to that of natural antibodies (K(d) 6.6x10(-8)) M and were also able to discriminate between related functional analogues of the template.

  1. [Progresses in screening active compounds from herbal medicine by affinity chromatography].

    PubMed

    Feng, Ying-shu; Tong, Shan-shan; Xu, Xi-ming; Yu, Jiang-nan

    2015-03-01

    Affinity chromatography is a chromatographic method for separating molecules using the binding characteristics of the stationary phase with potential drug molecules. This method can be performed as a high throughput screening method and a chromatographic separation method to screen a variety of active drugs. This paper summarizes the history of affinity chromatography, screening technology of affinity chromatography, and application of affinity chromatography in screening bio-active compounds in herbal medicines, and then discusses its application prospects, in order to broaden applications of the affinity chromatography in drug screening.

  2. Compound immobilization and drug-affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Rix, Uwe; Gridling, Manuela; Superti-Furga, Giulio

    2012-01-01

    Bioactive small molecules act through modulating a yet unpredictable number of targets. It is therefore of critical importance to define the cellular target proteins of a compound as an entry point to understanding its mechanism of action. Often, this can be achieved in a direct fashion by chemical proteomics. As with any affinity chromatography, immobilization of the bait to a solid support is one of the earliest and most crucial steps in the process. Interfering with structural features that are important for identification of a target protein will be detrimental to binding affinity. Also, many molecules are sensitive to heat or to certain chemicals, such as acid or base, and might be destroyed during the process of immobilization, which therefore needs to be not only efficient, but also mild. The subsequent affinity chromatography step needs to preserve molecular and conformational integrity of both bait compound and proteins in order to result in the desired specific enrichment while ensuring a high level of compatibility with downstream analysis by mass spectrometry. Thus, the right choice of detergent, buffer, and protease inhibitors is also essential. This chapter describes a widely applicable procedure for the immobilization of small molecule drugs and for drug-affinity chromatography with subsequent protein identification by mass spectrometry.

  3. Quantifying protein microstructure and electrostatic effects on the change in Gibbs free energy of binding in immobilized metal affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Pathange, Lakshmi P; Bevan, David R; Zhang, Chenming

    2008-03-01

    Electrostatic forces play a major role in maintaining both structural and functional properties of proteins. A major component of protein electrostatics is the interactions between the charged or titratable amino acid residues (e.g., Glu, Lys, and His), whose pK(a) (or the change of the pK(a)) value could be used to study protein electrostatics. Here, we report the study of electrostatic forces through experiments using a well-controlled model protein (T4 lysozyme) and its variants. We generated 10 T4 lysozyme variants, in which the electrostatic environment of the histidine residue was perturbed by altering charged and neutral amino acid residues at various distances from the histidine (probe) residue. The electrostatic perturbations were theoretically quantified by calculating the change in free energy (DeltaDeltaG(E)) using Coulomb's law. On the other hand, immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) was used to quantify these perturbations in terms of protein binding strength or change in free energy of binding (DeltaDeltaG(B)), which varies from -0.53 to 0.99 kcal/mol. For most of the variants, there is a good correlation (R(2) = 0.97) between the theoretical DeltaDeltaG(E) and experimental DeltaDeltaG(B) values. However, there are three deviant variants, whose histidine residue was found to be involved in site-specific interactions (e.g., ion pair and steric hindrance), which were further investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. This report demonstrates that the electrostatic (DeltaDeltaG(Elec)) and microstructural effects (DeltaDeltaG(Micro)) in a protein can be quantified by IMAC through surface histidine mediated protein-metal ion interaction and that the unique microstructure around a histidine residue can be identified by identifying the abnormal binding behaviors during IMAC.

  4. A dual protease approach for expression and affinity purification of recombinant proteins.

    PubMed

    Raran-Kurussi, Sreejith; Waugh, David S

    2016-07-01

    We describe a new method for affinity purification of recombinant proteins using a dual protease protocol. Escherichia coli maltose binding protein (MBP) is employed as an N-terminal tag to increase the yield and solubility of its fusion partners. The MBP moiety is then removed by rhinovirus 3C protease, prior to purification, to yield an N-terminally His6-tagged protein. Proteins that are only temporarily rendered soluble by fusing them to MBP are readily identified at this stage because they will precipitate after the MBP tag is removed by 3C protease. The remaining soluble His6-tagged protein, if any, is subsequently purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Finally, the N-terminal His6 tag is removed by His6-tagged tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease to yield the native recombinant protein, and the His6-tagged contaminants are removed by adsorption during a second round of IMAC, leaving only the untagged recombinant protein in the column effluent. The generic strategy described here saves time and effort by removing insoluble aggregates at an early stage in the process while also reducing the tendency of MBP to "stick" to its fusion partners during affinity purification. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. A Dual Protease Approach for Expression and Affinity Purification of Recombinant Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Raran-Kurussi, Sreejith; Waugh, David S.

    2016-01-01

    We describe a new method for affinity purification of recombinant proteins using a dual protease protocol. Escherichia coli maltose binding protein (MBP) is employed as an N-terminal tag to increase the yield and solubility of its fusion partners. The MBP moiety is then removed by rhinovirus 3C protease, prior to purification, to yield an N-terminally His6-tagged protein. Proteins that are only temporarily rendered soluble by fusing them to MBP are readily identified at this stage because they will precipitate after the MBP tag is removed by 3C protease. The remaining soluble His6-tagged protein, if any, is subsequently purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Finally, the N-terminal His6 tag is removed by His6-tagged tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease to yield the native recombinant protein, and the His6-tagged contaminants are removed by adsorption during a second round of IMAC, leaving only the untagged recombinant protein in the column effluent. The generic strategy described here saves time and effort by removing insoluble aggregates at an early stage in the process while also reducing the tendency of MBP to “stick” to its fusion partners during affinity purification. PMID:27105777

  6. Refolding and simultaneous purification of recombinant human proinsulin from inclusion bodies on protein-folding liquid-chromatography columns.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Jie; Zhou, Huifang; Yang, Yicong; Li, Weimin; Wan, Yi; Wang, Lili

    2015-05-01

    Protein-folding liquid chromatography (PFLC) is an effective and scalable method for protein renaturation with simultaneous purification. However, it has been a challenge to fully refold inclusion bodies in a PFLC column. In this work, refolding with simultaneous purification of recombinant human proinsulin (rhPI) from inclusion bodies from Escherichia coli were investigated using the surface of stationary phases in immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). The results indicated that both the ligand structure on the surface of the stationary phase and the composition of the mobile phase (elution buffer) influenced refolding of rhPI. Under optimized chromatographic conditions, the mass recoveries of IMAC column and HPSEC column were 77.8 and 56.8% with purifies of 97.6 and 93.7%, respectively. These results also indicated that the IMAC column fails to refold rhPI, and the HPSEC column enables efficient refolding of rhPI with a low-urea gradient-elution method. The refolded rhPI was characterized by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The molecular weight of the converted human insulin was further confirmed with SDS-18% PAGE, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and the biological activity assay by HP-RPLC. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Studies with an immobilized metal affinity chromatography cassette system involving binuclear triazacyclononane-derived ligands: automation of batch adsorption measurements with tagged recombinant proteins.

    PubMed

    Petzold, Martin; Coghlan, Campbell J; Hearn, Milton T W

    2014-07-18

    This study describes the determination of the adsorption isotherms and binding kinetics of tagged recombinant proteins using a recently developed IMAC cassette system and employing automated robotic liquid handling procedures for IMAC resin screening. These results confirm that these new IMAC resins, generated from a variety of different metal-charged binuclear 1,4,7-triaza-cyclononane (tacn) ligands, interact with recombinant proteins containing a novel N-terminal metal binding tag, NT1A, with static binding capacities similar to those obtained with conventional hexa-His tagged proteins, but with significantly increased association constants. In addition, higher kinetic binding rates were observed with these new IMAC systems, an attribute that can be positively exploited to increase process productivity. The results from this investigation demonstrate that enhancements in binding capacities and affinities were achieved with these new IMAC resins and chosen NT1A tagged protein. Further, differences in the binding performances of the bis(tacn) xylenyl-bridged ligands were consistent with the distance between the metal binding centres of the two tacn moieties, the flexibility of the ligand and the potential contribution from the aromatic ring of the xylenyl group to undergo π/π stacking interactions with the tagged proteins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Affinity Chromatography in Nonionic Detergent Solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robinson, Jack B.; Strottmann, James M.; Wick, Donald G.; Stellwagen, Earle

    1980-10-01

    Anionic dye affinity chromatography is commonly unproductive in the presence of nonionic detergents used to extract particulate proteins. Using lactate dehydrogenase as a model protein, Cibacron blue F3GA as a model dye, and Triton X-100 as a model detergent, we find that the dye is encapsulated in nonionic detergent micelles, rendering the dye incapable of ligation with the enzyme. However, the dye can be liberated from the micelles without altering the nonionic detergent concentration by addition of an anionic detergent, such as deoxycholate or sodium dodecyl sulfate, forming mixed anionic/nonionic micelles that displace the anionic dye. Encapsulation of the anionic detergents prevents their activity as protein denaturants. These observations have been successfully translated to the dye affinity chromatography of a detergent extract of brain particulate cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase.

  9. Mathematical analysis of frontal affinity chromatography in particle and membrane configurations.

    PubMed

    Tejeda-Mansir, A; Montesinos, R M; Guzmán, R

    2001-10-30

    The scaleup and optimization of large-scale affinity-chromatographic operations in the recovery, separation and purification of biochemical components is of major industrial importance. The development of mathematical models to describe affinity-chromatographic processes, and the use of these models in computer programs to predict column performance is an engineering approach that can help to attain these bioprocess engineering tasks successfully. Most affinity-chromatographic separations are operated in the frontal mode, using fixed-bed columns. Purely diffusive and perfusion particles and membrane-based affinity chromatography are among the main commercially available technologies for these separations. For a particular application, a basic understanding of the main similarities and differences between particle and membrane frontal affinity chromatography and how these characteristics are reflected in the transport models is of fundamental relevance. This review presents the basic theoretical considerations used in the development of particle and membrane affinity chromatography models that can be applied in the design and operation of large-scale affinity separations in fixed-bed columns. A transport model for column affinity chromatography that considers column dispersion, particle internal convection, external film resistance, finite kinetic rate, plus macropore and micropore resistances is analyzed as a framework for exploring further the mathematical analysis. Such models provide a general realistic description of almost all practical systems. Specific mathematical models that take into account geometric considerations and transport effects have been developed for both particle and membrane affinity chromatography systems. Some of the most common simplified models, based on linear driving-force (LDF) and equilibrium assumptions, are emphasized. Analytical solutions of the corresponding simplified dimensionless affinity models are presented. Particular

  10. Affinity monolith chromatography: A review of general principles and applications.

    PubMed

    Li, Zhao; Rodriguez, Elliott; Azaria, Shiden; Pekarek, Allegra; Hage, David S

    2017-11-01

    Affinity monolith chromatography, or AMC, is a liquid chromatographic method in which the support is a monolith and the stationary phase is a biological-binding agent or related mimic. AMC has become popular for the isolation of biochemicals, for the measurement of various analytes, and for studying biological interactions. This review will examine the principles and applications of AMC. The materials that have been used to prepare AMC columns will be discussed, which have included various organic polymers, silica, agarose, and cryogels. Immobilization schemes that have been used in AMC will also be considered. Various binding agents and applications that have been reported for AMC will then be described. These applications will include the use of AMC for bioaffinity chromatography, immunoaffinity chromatography, dye-ligand affinity chromatography, and immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography. The use of AMC with chiral stationary phases and as a tool to characterize biological interactions will also be examined. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Affinity chromatography: A versatile technique for antibody purification.

    PubMed

    Arora, Sushrut; Saxena, Vikas; Ayyar, B Vijayalakshmi

    2017-03-01

    Antibodies continue to be extremely utilized entities in myriad applications including basic research, imaging, targeted delivery, chromatography, diagnostics, and therapeutics. At production stage, antibodies are generally present in complex matrices and most of their intended applications necessitate purification. Antibody purification has always been a major bottleneck in downstream processing of antibodies, due to the need of high quality products and associated high costs. Over the years, extensive research has focused on finding better purification methodologies to overcome this holdup. Among a plethora of different techniques, affinity chromatography is one of the most selective, rapid and easy method for antibody purification. This review aims to provide a detailed overview on affinity chromatography and the components involved in purification. An array of support matrices along with various classes of affinity ligands detailing their underlying working principles, together with the advantages and limitations of each system in purifying different types of antibodies, accompanying recent developments and important practical methodological considerations to optimize purification procedure are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Selective retention of basic compounds by metal aquo-ion affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Asakawa, Yoshiki; Yamamoto, Eiichi; Asakawa, Naoki

    2014-10-01

    A novel metal aquo-ion affinity chromatography has been developed for the analysis of basic compounds using heat-treated silica gel containing hydrated metal cations (metal aquo-ions) as the packing material. The packing materials of the metal aquo-ion affinity chromatography were prepared by the immobilization of a single metal component such as Fe(III), Al(III), Ag(I), and Ni(II) on silica gel followed by extensive heat treatment. The immobilized metals form aquo-ions to present cation-exchange ability for basic analytes and the cation-exchange ability for basic analytes depends on pKa of the immobilized metal species. In the present study, to evaluate the retention characteristics of metal aquo-ion affinity chromatography, the on-line solid-phase extraction of drugs was investigated. Obtained data clearly evidence the selective retention capability of metal aquo-ion affinity chromatography for basic analytes with sufficient capacity. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Protein purification by aminosquarylium cyanine dye-affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Silva, M S; Graça, V C; Reis, L V; Santos, P F; Almeida, P; Queiroz, J A; Sousa, F

    2013-12-01

    The most selective purification method for proteins and other biomolecules is affinity chromatography. This method is based on the unique biological-based specificity of the biomolecule-ligand interaction and commonly uses biological ligands. However, these ligands may present some drawbacks, mainly because of their cost and lability. Dye-affinity chromatography overcomes the limitations of biological ligands and is widely used owing to the low cost of synthetic dyes and to their resistance to biological and chemical degradation. In this work, immobilized aminosquarylium cyanine dyes are used in order to exploit affinity interactions with standard proteins such as lysozyme, α-chymotrypsin and trypsin. These studies evaluate the affinity interactions occurring between the immobilized ligand and the different proteins, as a reflection of the sum of several molecular interactions, namely ionic, hydrophobic and van der Waals, spread throughout the structure, in a defined spatial manner. The results show the possibility of using an aminosquarylium cyanine dye bearing a N-hexyl pendant chain, with a ligand density of 1.8 × 10(-2) mmol of dye/g of chromatographic support, to isolate lysozyme, α-chymotrypsin and trypsin from a mixture. The application of a decreasing ammonium sulfate gradient resulted in the recovery of lysozyme in the flowthrough. On the other hand, α-chymotrypsin and trypsin were retained, involving different interactions with the ligand. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potential applicability of ligands such as aminosquarylium cyanine dyes for the separation and purification of proteins by affinity chromatography. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Affinity monolith chromatography: A review of principles and recent analytical applications

    PubMed Central

    Pfaunmiller, Erika L.; Paulemond, Marie Laura; Dupper, Courtney M.; Hage, David S.

    2012-01-01

    Affinity monolith chromatography (AMC) is a type of liquid chromatography that uses a monolithic support and a biologically-related binding agent as a stationary phase. AMC is a powerful method for the selective separation, analysis or studies of specific target compounds in a sample. This review discusses the basic principles of AMC and recent developments or applications of this method, with particular emphasis being given to work that has appeared in the last five years. Various materials that have been used to prepare columns for AMC are examined, including organic monoliths, silica monoliths, agarose monoliths and cryogels. These supports have been used in AMC for formats that have ranged from traditional columns to disks, microcolumns and capillaries. Many binding agents have also been employed in AMC, such as antibodies, enzymes, proteins, lectins, immobilized metal-ions and dyes. Some applications that have been reported with these binding agents in AMC are bioaffinity chromatography, immunoaffinity chromatography or immunoextraction, immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography, dye-ligand affinity chromatography, chiral separations and biointeraction studies. Examples are presented from fields that include analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical analysis, clinical testing and biotechnology. Current trends and possible future directions in AMC are also discussed. PMID:23187827

  15. RIS integrated IMAC system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Angelhed, Jan-Erik; Carlsson, Goeran; Gustavsson, Staffan; Karlsson, Anders; Larsson, Lars E. G.; Svensson, Sune; Tylen, Ulf

    1998-07-01

    An Image Management And Communication (IMAC) system adapted to the X-ray department at Sahlgrenska University Hospital has been developed using standard components. Two user demands have been considered primary: Rapid access to (display of) images and an efficient worklist management. To fulfil these demands a connection between the IMAC system and the existing Radiological Information System (RIS) has been implemented. The functional modules are: check of information consistency in data exported from image sources, a (logically) central storage of image data, viewing facility for high speed-, large volume-, clinical work, and an efficient interface to the RIS. Also, an image related database extension has been made to the RIS. The IMAC system has a strictly modular design with a simple structure. The image archive and short term storage are logically the same and acts as a huge disk. Through NFS all image data is available to all the connected workstations. All patient selection for viewing is through worklists, which are created by selection criteria in the RIS, by the use of barcodes, or, in singular cases, by entering the patient ID by hand.

  16. Purification of phage display-modified bacteriophage T4 by affinity chromatography

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Affinity chromatography is one of the most efficient protein purification strategies. This technique comprises a one-step procedure with a purification level in the order of several thousand-fold, adaptable for various proteins, differentiated in their size, shape, charge, and other properties. The aim of this work was to verify the possibility of applying affinity chromatography in bacteriophage purification, with the perspective of therapeutic purposes. T4 is a large, icosahedral phage that may serve as an efficient display platform for foreign peptides or proteins. Here we propose a new method of T4 phage purification by affinity chromatography after its modification with affinity tags (GST and Histag) by in vivo phage display. As any permanent introduction of extraneous DNA into a phage genome is strongly unfavourable for medical purposes, integration of foreign motifs with the phage genome was not applied. The phage was propagated in bacteria expressing fusions of the phage protein Hoc with affinity tags from bacterial plasmids, independently from the phage expression system. Results Elution profiles of phages modified with the specific affinity motifs (compared to non-specific phages) document their binding to the affinity resins and effective elution with standard competitive agents. Non-specific binding was also observed, but was 102-105 times weaker than the specific one. GST-modified bacteriophages were also effectively released from glutathione Sepharose by proteolytic cleavage. The possibility of proteolytic release was designed at the stage of expression vector construction. Decrease in LPS content in phage preparations was dependent on the washing intensity; intensive washing resulted in preparations of 11-40 EU/ml. Conclusions Affinity tags can be successfully incorporated into the T4 phage capsid by the in vivo phage display technique and they strongly elevate bacteriophage affinity to a specific resin. Affinity chromatography can be

  17. Analysis of Biological Interactions by Affinity Chromatography: Clinical and Pharmaceutical Applications

    PubMed Central

    Hage, David S.

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND The interactions between biochemical and chemical agents in the body are important in many clinical processes. Affinity chromatography and high-performance affinity chromatography (HPAC), in which a column contains an immobilized biologically-related binding agent, are two methods that can be used to study these interactions. CONTENT This review looks at various approaches that can be used in affinity chromatography and HPAC to characterize the strength or rate of a biological interaction, the number and types of sites that are involved in this process, and the interactions between multiple solutes for the same binding agent. A number of applications for these methods are examined, with an emphasis on recent developments and high-performance affinity methods. These applications include the use of these techniques for fundamental studies of biological interactions, high-throughput screening of drugs, work with modified proteins, tools for personalized medicine, and studies of drug-drug competition for a common binding agent. SUMMARY The wide range of formats and detection methods that can be used with affinity chromatography and HPAC for examining biological interactions makes these tools attractive for various clinical and pharmaceutical applications. Future directions in the development of small-scale columns and the coupling of these methods with other techniques, such as mass spectrometry or other separation methods, should continue to increase the flexibility and ease with which these approaches can be used in work involving clinical or pharmaceutical samples. PMID:28396561

  18. Weak affinity chromatography for evaluation of stereoisomers in early drug discovery.

    PubMed

    Duong-Thi, Minh-Dao; Bergström, Maria; Fex, Tomas; Svensson, Susanne; Ohlson, Sten; Isaksson, Roland

    2013-07-01

    In early drug discovery (e.g., in fragment screening), recognition of stereoisomeric structures is valuable and guides medicinal chemists to focus only on useful configurations. In this work, we concurrently screened mixtures of stereoisomers and estimated their affinities to a protein target (thrombin) using weak affinity chromatography-mass spectrometry (WAC-MS). Affinity determinations by WAC showed that minor changes in stereoisomeric configuration could have a major impact on affinity. The ability of WAC-MS to provide instant information about stereoselectivity and binding affinities directly from analyte mixtures is a great advantage in fragment library screening and drug lead development.

  19. Analysis of solute-protein interactions and solute-solute competition by zonal elution affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Tao, Pingyang; Poddar, Saumen; Sun, Zuchen; Hage, David S; Chen, Jianzhong

    2018-02-02

    Many biological processes involve solute-protein interactions and solute-solute competition for protein binding. One method that has been developed to examine these interactions is zonal elution affinity chromatography. This review discusses the theory and principles of zonal elution affinity chromatography, along with its general applications. Examples of applications that are examined include the use of this method to estimate the relative extent of solute-protein binding, to examine solute-solute competition and displacement from proteins, and to measure the strength of these interactions. It is also shown how zonal elution affinity chromatography can be used in solvent and temperature studies and to characterize the binding sites for solutes on proteins. In addition, several alternative applications of zonal elution affinity chromatography are discussed, which include the analysis of binding by a solute with a soluble binding agent and studies of allosteric effects. Other recent applications that are considered are the combined use of immunoextraction and zonal elution for drug-protein binding studies, and binding studies that are based on immobilized receptors or small targets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Frontal affinity chromatography: A unique research tool for biospecific interaction that promotes glycobiology

    PubMed Central

    KASAI, Kenichi

    2014-01-01

    Combination of bioaffinity and chromatography gave birth to affinity chromatography. A further combination with frontal analysis resulted in creation of frontal affinity chromatography (FAC). This new versatile research tool enabled detailed analysis of weak interactions that play essential roles in living systems, especially those between complex saccharides and saccharide-binding proteins. FAC now becomes the best method for the investigation of saccharide-binding proteins (lectins) from viewpoints of sensitivity, accuracy, and efficiency, and is contributing greatly to the development of glycobiology. It opened a door leading to deeper understanding of the significance of saccharide recognition in life. The theory is also concisely described. PMID:25169774

  1. PDZ affinity chromatography: a general method for affinity purification of proteins based on PDZ domains and their ligands.

    PubMed

    Walkup, Ward G; Kennedy, Mary B

    2014-06-01

    PDZ (PSD-95, DiscsLarge, ZO1) domains function in nature as protein binding domains within scaffold and membrane-associated proteins. They comprise ∼90 residues and make specific, high affinity interactions with complementary C-terminal peptide sequences, with other PDZ domains, and with phospholipids. We hypothesized that the specific, strong interactions of PDZ domains with their ligands would make them well suited for use in affinity chromatography. Here we describe a novel affinity chromatography method applicable for the purification of proteins that contain PDZ domain-binding ligands, either naturally or introduced by genetic engineering. We created a series of affinity resins comprised of PDZ domains from the scaffold protein PSD-95, or from neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), coupled to solid supports. We used them to purify heterologously expressed neuronal proteins or protein domains containing endogenous PDZ domain ligands, eluting the proteins with free PDZ domain peptide ligands. We show that Proteins of Interest (POIs) lacking endogenous PDZ domain ligands can be engineered as fusion products containing C-terminal PDZ domain ligand peptides or internal, N- or C-terminal PDZ domains and then can be purified by the same method. Using this method, we recovered recombinant GFP fused to a PDZ domain ligand in active form as verified by fluorescence yield. Similarly, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and β-Galactosidase (LacZ) fused to a C-terminal PDZ domain ligand or an N-terminal PDZ domain were purified in active form as assessed by enzymatic assay. In general, PDZ domains and ligands derived from PSD-95 were superior to those from nNOS for this method. PDZ Domain Affinity Chromatography promises to be a versatile and effective method for purification of a wide variety of natural and recombinant proteins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Purification of swine haptoglobin by affinity chromatography.

    PubMed Central

    Eurell, T E; Hall, W F; Bane, D P

    1990-01-01

    A globin-agarose affinity chromatography technique was used to purify swine haptoglobin. This technique provides a highly specific, single-step purification method without the contamination of extraneous serum proteins reported by previous studies. Complex formation between the haptoglobin isolate and swine hemoglobin confirmed that biological activity was maintained during the purification process. Immunoelectrophoretic and Ouchterlony immunodiffusion methods revealed that the swine haptoglobin isolate cross-reacted with polyvalent antisera against human haptoglobin. Images Fig. 2. Fig. 3. PMID:2123414

  3. Analytical FcRn affinity chromatography for functional characterization of monoclonal antibodies

    PubMed Central

    Schlothauer, Tilman; Rueger, Petra; Stracke, Jan Olaf; Hertenberger, Hubert; Fingas, Felix; Kling, Lothar; Emrich, Thomas; Drabner, Georg; Seeber, Stefan; Auer, Johannes; Koch, Stefan; Papadimitriou, Apollon

    2013-01-01

    The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) is important for the metabolic fate of IgG antibodies in vivo. Analysis of the interaction between FcRn and IgG in vitro might provide insight into the structural and functional integrity of therapeutic IgG that may affect pharmacokinetics (PK) in vivo. We developed a standardized pH gradient FcRn affinity liquid chromatography method with conditions closely resembling the physiological mechanism of interaction between IgG and FcRn. This method allows the separation of molecular IgG isoforms, degradation products and engineered molecules based on their affinity to FcRn. Human FcRn was immobilized on the column and a linear pH gradient from pH 5.5 to 8.8 was applied. FcRn chromatography was used in comparison to surface plasmon resonance to characterize different monoclonal IgG preparations, e.g., oxidized or aggregated species. Wild-type and engineered IgGs were compared in vitro by FcRn chromatography and in vivo by PK studies in huFcRn transgenic mice. Analytical FcRn chromatography allows differentiation of IgG samples and variants by peak pattern and retention time profile. The method can distinguish: 1) IgGs with different Fabs, 2) oxidized from native IgG, 3) aggregates from monomer and 4) antibodies with mutations in the Fc part from wild-type IgGs. Changes in the FcRn chromatographic behavior of mutant IgGs relative to the wild-type IgG correlate to changes in the PK profile in the FcRn transgenic mice. These results demonstrate that FcRn affinity chromatography is a useful new method for the assessment of IgG integrity. PMID:23765230

  4. Designing an IMAC system using TeraNet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mun, In K.; Hilal, S. K.; Andrews, M. C.; Gidron, Rafael

    1992-07-01

    Even though considerable progresses have been made with communication technology, one of the more difficult problems facing in installing a comprehensive clinically effective Image Management and Communication (IMAC) system for a hospital is the communication problem. Most existing systems are based on Ethernet or Token-ring net. Some of the newer systems are being installed using FDDL. All these systems have inherent problems like communication speed, control of bandwidth usage, or/and poor performance under heavy traffic. In order to overcome these difficulties, we are designing a complete IMAC system based on a novel network known as TeraNet, being developed at Center for Telecommunication Research, Columbia University.

  5. Complementary IMAC enrichment methods for HLA-associated phosphopeptide identification by mass spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Abelin, Jennifer G; Trantham, Paisley D; Penny, Sarah A; Patterson, Andrea M; Ward, Stephen T; Hildebrand, William H; Cobbold, Mark; Bai, Dina L; Shabanowitz, Jeffrey; Hunt, Donald F

    2015-01-01

    Phosphorylation events within cancer cells often become dysregulated, leading to oncogenic signaling and abnormal cell growth. Phosphopeptides derived from aberrantly phosphorylated proteins that are presented on tumors and not on normal tissues by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules are promising candidates for future cancer immunotherapies, because they are tumor specific and have been shown to elicit cytotoxic T cell responses. Robust phosphopeptide enrichments that are suitable for low input amounts must be developed to characterize HLA-associated phosphopeptides from clinical samples that are limited by material availability. We present two complementary mass spectrometry–compatible, iron(III)-immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) methods that use either nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) or iminodiacetic acid (IDA) in-house-fabricated columns. We developed these protocols to enrich for subfemtomole-level phosphopeptides from cell line and human tissue samples containing picograms of starting material, which is an order of magnitude less material than what is commonly used. In addition, we added a peptide esterification step to increase phosphopeptide specificity from these low-input samples. To date, hundreds of phosphopeptides displayed on melanoma, ovarian cancer, leukemia and colorectal cancer have been identified using these highly selective phosphopeptide enrichment protocols in combination with a program called ‘CAD Neutral Loss Finder’ that identifies all spectra containing the characteristic neutral loss of phosphoric acid from phosphorylated serine and threonine residues. This methodology enables the identification of HLA-associated phosphopeptides presented by human tissue samples containing as little as nanograms of peptide material in 2 d. PMID:26247297

  6. Evaluation of immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) as a technique for IgG(1) monoclonal antibodies purification: the effect of chelating ligand and support.

    PubMed

    Bresolin, I T L; Borsoi-Ribeiro, M; Tamashiro, W M S C; Augusto, E F P; Vijayalakshmi, M A; Bueno, S M A

    2010-04-01

    Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been used for therapies and some analytical procedures as highly purified molecules. Many techniques have been applied and studied, focusing on monoclonal antibodies purification. In this study, an immobilized metal affinity chromatography membrane was developed and evaluated for the purification of anti-TNP IgG(1) mouse MAbs from cell culture supernatant after precipitation with a 50% saturated ammonium sulfate solution. The chelating ligands iminodiacetic acid, carboxymethylated aspartic acid (CM-Asp), nitrilotriacetic acid, and tris (carboxymethyl) ethylenediamine in agarose gels with immobilized Ni(II) and Zn(II) ions were compared for the adsorption and desorption of MAbs. The most promising chelating ligand--CM-Asp--was then coupled to poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol) (PEVA) hollow fiber membranes. According to SDS-PAGE and ELISA analyses, a higher selectivity and a purification factor of 85.9 (fraction eluted at 500 mM Tris) were obtained for IgG(1) using PEVA-CM-Asp-Zn(II). The anti-TNP MAb could be eluted under mild pH conditions causing no loss of antigen binding capacity.

  7. Cholera Toxin Inhibitors Studied with High-Performance Liquid Affinity Chromatography: A Robust Method to Evaluate Receptor–Ligand Interactions

    PubMed Central

    Bergström, Maria; Liu, Shuang; Kiick, Kristi L.; Ohlson, Sten

    2009-01-01

    Anti-adhesion drugs may be an alternative to antibiotics to control infection of micro-organisms. The well-characterized interaction between cholera toxin and the cellular glycolipid GM1 makes it an attractive model for inhibition studies in general. In this report, we demonstrate a high-performance liquid affinity chromatography approach called weak affinity chromatography to evaluate cholera toxin inhibitors. The cholera toxin B-subunit was covalently coupled to porous silica and a (weak) affinity column was produced. The KD values of galactose and meta-nitrophenyl α-D-galactoside were determined with weak affinity chromatography to be 52 and 1 mM, respectively, which agree well with IC50 values previously reported. To increase inhibition potency multivalent inhibitors have been developed and the interaction with multivalent glycopolypeptides was also evaluated. The affinity of these compounds was found to correlate with the galactoside content but KD values were not obtained because of the inhomogeneous response and slow off-rate from multivalent interactions. Despite the limitations in obtaining direct KD values of the multivalent galactopolypeptides, weak affinity chromatography represents an additional and valuable tool in the evaluation of monovalent as well as multivalent cholera toxin inhibitors. It offers multiple advantages, such as a low sample consumption, high reproducibility and short analysis time, which are often not observed in other methods of analysis. PMID:19152642

  8. I-MAC: an incorporation MAC for wireless sensor networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Jumin; Li, Yikun; Li, Dengao; Lin, Xiaojie

    2017-11-01

    This paper proposes an innovative MAC protocol called I-MAC. Protocol for wireless sensor networks, which combines the advantages of collision tolerance and collision cancellation. The protocol increases the number of antenna in wireless sensor nodes. The purpose is to monitor the occurrence of packet collisions by increasing the number of antenna in real time. The built-in identity structure is used in the frame structure in order to help the sending node to identify the location of the receiving node after a data packet collision is detected. Packets can be recovered from where the conflict occurred. In this way, we can monitor the conflict for a fixed period of time. It can improve the channel utilisation through changing the transmission probability of collision nodes and solve the problem of hidden terminal through collision feedback mechanism. We have evaluated our protocol. Our results show that the throughput of I-MAC is 5 percentage points higher than that of carrier sense multiple access/collision notification. The network utilisation of I-MAC is more than 92%.

  9. Evaluation of galectin binding by frontal affinity chromatography (FAC).

    PubMed

    Iwaki, Jun; Hirabayashi, Jun

    2015-01-01

    Frontal affinity chromatography (FAC) is a simple and versatile procedure enabling quantitative determination of diverse biological interactions in terms of dissociation constants (K d), even though these interactions are relatively weak. The method is best applied to glycans and their binding proteins, with the analytical system operating on the basis of highly reproducible isocratic elution by liquid chromatography. Its application to galectins has been successfully developed to characterize their binding specificities in detail. As a result, their minimal requirements for recognition of disaccharides, i.e., β-galactosides, as well as characteristic features of individual galectins, have been elucidated. In this chapter, we describe standard procedures to determine the K d's for interactions between a series of standard glycans and various galectins.

  10. An affinity chromatography-gel filtration device for preparing thyroid microsomal antigen.

    PubMed

    Wang, L; Zheng, W F

    1987-09-24

    On the basis of conventional differential centrifugation for preparing crude thyroid microsomal antigen (TMAg), we have employed Sepharose 4B gel filtration and affinity chromatography separately to study the elution pattern in terms of absorbance and antigenic activity. The result indicates that thyroglobulin (TG) exists in two forms in crude TMAg, i.e., 'free TG' and 'membrane-bound TG'. TMAg is present in two forms in the eluate: (1) the TM fragment or TMAg polymer, which is produced at a higher rate and has greater antigenic activity, but which is less pure; (2) soluble TMAg, which is produced at a lower rate and has less antigenic activity, but which is more pure. We have developed an affinity chromatography-gel filtration (AC-GF) device which is a combination of affinity chromatography and a Sepharose 4B column. Sephadex G-50 is placed between the rubber stopper and Sepharose 4B in the GF column to ensure intactness of the entire system. With such a device, the AC removes the contaminated TG from TM homogenate, and allows the latter to pass directly from AC to GF for rechromatography. This device extracts the full advantages of both methods and each compensates for any deficiency of the other. Using this one-step procedure, one has the greatest chance of removing TG and obtaining TM fragments of TMAg polymers of higher antigenic activity, as well as separating small amounts of more purified soluble TMAg. Thus, the newly developed method meets the need of large quantities of TMAg for practical application, and at the same time the more purified preparations can be used for analytical purposes.

  11. Some parameters relevant to affinity chromatography on immobilized nucleotides

    PubMed Central

    Lowe, C. R.; Harvey, M. J.; Craven, D. B.; Dean, P. D. G.

    1973-01-01

    1. The suitability of cellulose and Sepharose as supports for affinity chromatography of two groups of cofactor-linked enzymes, dehydrogenases and kinases, was examined. Sepharose was found to be superior. 2. The selective capacities of the columns were measured by frontal analysis and are discussed in relation to the nucleotide contents. 3. The effect of various concentrations of enzyme and of non-specific protein on the performance of the affinity columns, and the effects of equilibration time, flow rate, sample volume and dilution of the nucleotide were examined. 4. The effect of interposing polymethylene and polyglycine extension arms between the matrix backbone and the nucleotide was investigated for several cofactor-dependent enzymes. Maximum binding was observed with an extension arm 0.8–1nm long. PMID:4354739

  12. Affinity purification of bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) utilizing a His-tag mutant.

    PubMed

    Alves, Nathan J; Turner, Kendrick B; DiVito, Kyle A; Daniele, Michael A; Walper, Scott A

    To facilitate the rapid purification of bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), we developed two plasmid constructs that utilize a truncated, transmembrane protein to present an exterior histidine repeat sequence. We chose OmpA, a highly abundant porin protein, as the protein scaffold and utilized the lac promoter to allow for inducible control of the epitope-presenting construct. OMVs containing mutant OmpA-His6 were purified directly from Escherichia coli culture media on an immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) Ni-NTA resin. This enabling technology can be combined with other molecular tools directed at OMV packaging to facilitate the separation of modified/cargo-loaded OMV from their wt counterparts. In addition to numerous applications in the pharmaceutical and environmental remediation industries, this technology can be utilized to enhance basic research capabilities in the area of elucidating endogenous OMV function. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

  13. Development of an enrichment method for endogenous phosphopeptide characterization in human serum.

    PubMed

    La Barbera, Giorgia; Capriotti, Anna Laura; Cavaliere, Chiara; Ferraris, Francesca; Laus, Michele; Piovesana, Susy; Sparnacci, Katia; Laganà, Aldo

    2018-01-01

    The work describes the development of an enrichment method for the analysis of endogenous phosphopeptides in serum. Endogenous peptides can play significant biological roles, and some of them could be exploited as future biomarkers. In this context, blood is one of the most useful biofluids for screening, but a systematic investigation of the endogenous peptides, especially phosphorylated ones, is still lacking, mainly due to the lack of suitable analytical methods. Thus, in this paper, different phosphopeptide enrichment strategies were pursued, based either on metal oxide affinity chromatography (MOAC, in the form of commercial TiO 2 spin columns or magnetic graphitized carbon black-TiO 2 composite), or on immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC, in the form of Ti 4+ -IMAC magnetic material or commercial Fe 3+ -IMAC spin columns). While MOAC strategies proved completely unsuccessful, probably due to interfering phospholipids displacing phosphopeptides, the IMAC materials performed very well. Different sample preparation strategies were tested, comprising direct dilution with the loading buffer, organic solvent precipitation, and lipid removal from the matrix, as well as the addition of phosphatase inhibitors during sample handling for maximized endogenous phosphopeptide enrichment. All data were acquired by a shotgun peptidomics approach, in which peptide samples were separated by reversed-phase nanoHPLC hyphenated with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. The devised method allowed the identification of 176 endogenous phosphopeptides in fresh serum added with inhibitors by the direct dilution protocol and the Ti 4+ -IMAC magnetic material enrichment, but good results could also be obtained from the commercial Fe 3+ -IMAC spin column adapted to the batch enrichment protocol.

  14. The Binding of Biotin to Sepharose-Avidin Column: Demonstration of the Affinity Chromatography Technique

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Landman, A. D.; Landman, N. N.

    1976-01-01

    Describes a biochemistry experiment that illustrates the methodology of affinity chromatography by attaching avidin, a glycoprotein in egg white, to a Sepharose matrix in order to bind biotin-containing proteins. (MLH)

  15. Application of coupled affinity-sizing chromatography for the detection of proteolyzed HSA-tagged proteins.

    PubMed

    London, Anne Serdakowski; Patel, Kunal; Quinn, Lisa; Lemmerer, Martin

    2015-04-01

    Coupled affinity liquid chromatography and size exclusion chromatography (ALC-SEC) is a technique that has been shown to successfully report product quality of proteins during cell expression and prior to the commencement of downstream processing chromatography steps. This method was applied to monitoring the degradation and subsequent partial remediation of a HSA-tagged protein which showed proteolysis, allowing for rapid cell line development to address this product quality dilemma. This paper outlines the novel application of this method for measuring and addressing protease-induced proteolysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Barley as a green factory for the production of functional Flt3 ligand.

    PubMed

    Erlendsson, Lýdur S; Muench, Marcus O; Hellman, Ulf; Hrafnkelsdóttir, Soffía M; Jonsson, Anders; Balmer, Yves; Mäntylä, Einar; Orvar, Björn L

    2010-02-01

    Biologically active recombinant human Flt3 ligand was expressed and isolated from transgenic barley seeds. Its expression is controlled by a tissue specific promoter that confines accumulation of the recombinant protein to the endosperm tissue of the seed. The recombinant Flt3 ligand variant expressed in the seeds contains an HQ-tag for affinity purification on immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) resin. The tagged protein was purified from seed extracts to near homogeneity using sequential chromatography on IMAC affinity resin and cation exchange resin. We also show that the recombinant Flt3 ligand protein undergoes posttranslational modifications: it is a glycoprotein containing alpha-1,3-fucose and alpha-1,2-xylose. The HQ-tagged Flt3 ligand variant exhibits comparable biological activity to commercial Flt3 ligand. This is the first report showing expression and accumulation of recombinant human growth factor in barley seeds with a yield of active protein similar to a bacterial expression system. The present results demonstrate that plant molecular farming is a viable approach for the bioproduction of human-derived growth factors.

  17. Fragment screening of cyclin G-associated kinase by weak affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Meiby, Elinor; Knapp, Stefan; Elkins, Jonathan M; Ohlson, Sten

    2012-11-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has become a new strategy for drug discovery where lead compounds are evolved from small molecules. These fragments form low affinity interactions (dissociation constant (K(D)) = mM - μM) with protein targets, which require fragment screening methods of sufficient sensitivity. Weak affinity chromatography (WAC) is a promising new technology for fragment screening based on selective retention of fragments by a drug target. Kinases are a major pharmaceutical target, and FBDD has been successfully applied to several of these targets. In this work, we have demonstrated the potential to use WAC in combination with mass spectrometry (MS) detection for fragment screening of a kinase target-cyclin G-associated kinase (GAK). One hundred seventy fragments were selected for WAC screening by virtual screening of a commercial fragment library against the ATP-binding site of five different proteins. GAK protein was immobilized on a capillary HPLC column, and compound binding was characterized by frontal affinity chromatography. Compounds were screened in sets of 13 or 14, in combination with MS detection for enhanced throughput. Seventy-eight fragments (46 %) with K(D) < 200 μM were detected, including a few highly efficient GAK binders (K(D) of 2 μM; ligand efficiency = 0.51). Of special interest is that chiral screening by WAC may be possible, as two stereoisomeric fragments, which both contained one chiral center, demonstrated twin peaks. This ability, in combination with the robustness, sensitivity, and simplicity of WAC makes it a new method for fragment screening of considerable potential.

  18. Fragment screening for drug leads by weak affinity chromatography (WAC-MS).

    PubMed

    Ohlson, Sten; Duong-Thi, Minh-Dao

    2018-02-23

    Fragment-based drug discovery is an important tool for design of small molecule hit-to-lead compounds against various biological targets. Several approved drugs have been derived from an initial fragment screen and many such candidates are in various stages of clinical trials. Finding fragment hits, that are suitable for optimisation by medicinal chemists, is still a challenge as the binding between the small fragment and its target is weak in the range of mM to µM of K d and irrelevant non-specific interactions are abundant in this area of transient interactions. Fortunately, there are methods that can study weak interactions quite efficiently of which NMR, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and X-ray crystallography are the most prominent. Now, a new technology based on zonal affinity chromatography, weak affinity chromatography (WAC), has been introduced which has remedied many of the problems with other technologies. By combining WAC with mass spectrometry (WAC-MS), it is a powerful tool to identify binders quantitatively in terms of affinity and kinetics either from fragment libraries or from complex mixtures of biological extracts. As WAC-MS can be multiplexed by analysing mixtures of fragments (20-100 fragments) in one sample, this approach yields high throughput, where a whole library of e.g. >2000 fragments can be analysed quantitatively within a day. WAC-MS is easy to perform, where the robustness and quality of HPLC is fully utilized. This review will highlight the rationale behind the application of WAC-MS for fragment screening in drug discovery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Nanoengineered analytical immobilized metal affinity chromatography stationary phase by atom transfer radical polymerization: Separation of synthetic prion peptides

    PubMed Central

    McCarthy, P.; Chattopadhyay, M.; Millhauser, G.L.; Tsarevsky, N.V.; Bombalski, L.; Matyjaszewski, K.; Shimmin, D.; Avdalovic, N.; Pohl, C.

    2010-01-01

    Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was employed to create isolated, metal-containing nanoparticles on the surface of non-porous polymeric beads with the goal of developing a new immobilized metal affnity chromatography (IMAC) stationary phase for separating prion peptides and proteins. Transmission electron microscopy was used to visualize nanoparticles on the substrate surface. Individual ferritin molecules were also visualized as ferritin–nanoparticle complexes. The column's resolving power was tested by synthesizing peptide analogs to the copper binding region of prion protein and injecting mixtures of these analogs onto the column. As expected, the column was capable of separating prion-related peptides differing in number of octapeptide repeat units (PHGGGWGQ), (PHGGGWGQ)2, and (PHGGGWGQ)4. Unexpectedly, the column could also resolve peptides containing the same number of repeats but differing only in the presence of a hydrophilic tail, Q → A substitution, or amide nitrogen methylation. PMID:17481564

  20. Sound source localization method in an environment with flow based on Amiet-IMACS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Long; Li, Min; Qin, Sheng; Fu, Qiang; Yang, Debin

    2017-05-01

    A sound source localization method is proposed to localize and analyze the sound source in an environment with airflow. It combines the improved mapping of acoustic correlated sources (IMACS) method and Amiet's method, and is called Amiet-IMACS. It can localize uncorrelated and correlated sound sources with airflow. To implement this approach, Amiet's method is used to correct the sound propagation path in 3D, which improves the accuracy of the array manifold matrix and decreases the position error of the localized source. Then, the mapping of acoustic correlated sources (MACS) method, which is as a high-resolution sound source localization algorithm, is improved by self-adjusting the constraint parameter at each irritation process to increase convergence speed. A sound source localization experiment using a pair of loud speakers in an anechoic wind tunnel under different flow speeds is conducted. The experiment exhibits the advantage of Amiet-IMACS in localizing a more accurate sound source position compared with implementing IMACS alone in an environment with flow. Moreover, the aerodynamic noise produced by a NASA EPPLER 862 STRUT airfoil model in airflow with a velocity of 80 m/s is localized using the proposed method, which further proves its effectiveness in a flow environment. Finally, the relationship between the source position of this airfoil model and its frequency, along with its generation mechanism, is determined and interpreted.

  1. Purification and Analysis of Colorful Hypothetical Open Reading Frames: An Inexpensive Gateway Laboratory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeSantis, Kara A.; Reinking, Jeffrey L.

    2011-01-01

    This laboratory exercise is an inquiry-based investigation developed around the core experiment where students, working alone or in groups, each purify and analyze their own prescreened colored proteins using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Here, we present reagents and protocols that allow 12 different proteins to be purified in…

  2. A novel approach for separating bacteriophages from other bacteriophages using affinity chromatography and phage display.

    PubMed

    Ceglarek, Izabela; Piotrowicz, Agnieszka; Lecion, Dorota; Miernikiewicz, Paulina; Owczarek, Barbara; Hodyra, Katarzyna; Harhala, Marek; Górski, Andrzej; Dąbrowska, Krystyna

    2013-11-14

    Practical applications of bacteriophages in medicine and biotechnology induce a great need for technologies of phage purification. None of the popular methods offer solutions for separation of a phage from another similar phage. We used affinity chromatography combined with competitive phage display (i) to purify T4 bacteriophage from bacterial debris and (ii) to separate T4 from other contaminating bacteriophages. In 'competitive phage display' bacterial cells produced both wild types of the proteins (expression from the phage genome) and the protein fusions with affinity tags (expression from the expression vectors). Fusion proteins were competitively incorporated into the phage capsid. It allowed effective separation of T4 from a contaminating phage on standard affinity resins.

  3. A novel approach for separating bacteriophages from other bacteriophages using affinity chromatography and phage display

    PubMed Central

    Ceglarek, Izabela; Piotrowicz, Agnieszka; Lecion, Dorota; Miernikiewicz, Paulina; Owczarek, Barbara; Hodyra, Katarzyna; Harhala, Marek; Górski, Andrzej; Dąbrowska, Krystyna

    2013-01-01

    Practical applications of bacteriophages in medicine and biotechnology induce a great need for technologies of phage purification. None of the popular methods offer solutions for separation of a phage from another similar phage. We used affinity chromatography combined with competitive phage display (i) to purify T4 bacteriophage from bacterial debris and (ii) to separate T4 from other contaminating bacteriophages. In ‘competitive phage display’ bacterial cells produced both wild types of the proteins (expression from the phage genome) and the protein fusions with affinity tags (expression from the expression vectors). Fusion proteins were competitively incorporated into the phage capsid. It allowed effective separation of T4 from a contaminating phage on standard affinity resins. PMID:24225840

  4. Optimising the design and operation of semi-continuous affinity chromatography for clinical and commercial manufacture.

    PubMed

    Pollock, James; Bolton, Glen; Coffman, Jon; Ho, Sa V; Bracewell, Daniel G; Farid, Suzanne S

    2013-04-05

    This paper presents an integrated experimental and modelling approach to evaluate the potential of semi-continuous chromatography for the capture of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) in clinical and commercial manufacture. Small-scale single-column experimental breakthrough studies were used to derive design equations for the semi-continuous affinity chromatography system. Verification runs with the semi-continuous 3-column and 4-column periodic counter current (PCC) chromatography system indicated the robustness of the design approach. The product quality profiles and step yields (after wash step optimisation) achieved were comparable to the standard batch process. The experimentally-derived design equations were incorporated into a decisional tool comprising dynamic simulation, process economics and sizing optimisation. The decisional tool was used to evaluate the economic and operational feasibility of whole mAb bioprocesses employing PCC affinity capture chromatography versus standard batch chromatography across a product's lifecycle from clinical to commercial manufacture. The tool predicted that PCC capture chromatography would offer more significant savings in direct costs for early-stage clinical manufacture (proof-of-concept) (∼30%) than for late-stage clinical (∼10-15%) or commercial (∼5%) manufacture. The evaluation also highlighted the potential facility fit issues that could arise with a capture resin (MabSelect) that experiences losses in binding capacity when operated in continuous mode over lengthy commercial campaigns. Consequently, the analysis explored the scenario of adopting the PCC system for clinical manufacture and switching to the standard batch process following product launch. The tool determined the PCC system design required to operate at commercial scale without facility fit issues and with similar costs to the standard batch process whilst pursuing a process change application. A retrofitting analysis established that the direct cost

  5. Facile synthesis of Fe3O4@PDA core-shell microspheres functionalized with various metal ions: A systematic comparison of commonly-used metal ions for IMAC enrichment.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Jiebing; Sun, Xueni; Li, Yan; Deng, Chunhui; Duan, Gengli

    2018-02-01

    Metal ions differed greatly in affinity towards phosphopeptides, and thus it is essential to systematically compare the phosphopeptides enrichment ability of different metal ions usually used in the IMAC techniques. In this work, for the first time, eight metal ions, including Nb 5+ , Ti 4+ , Zr 4+ , Ga 3+ , Y 3+ , In 3+ , Ce 4+ , Fe 3+ , were immobilized on the polydopamine (PDA)-coated Fe 3 O 4 (denoted as Fe 3 O 4 @PDA-M n+ ), and systematically compared by the real biosamples, in addition to standard phosphopeptides. Fe 3 O 4 microspheres were synthesized via the solvothermal reaction, followed by self-polymerization of dopamine on the surface. Then through taking advantage of the hydroxyl and amino group of PDA, the eight metal ions were easily adhered to the surface of Fe 3 O 4 @PDA. After characterization, the resultant Fe 3 O 4 @PDA-M n+ microspheres were applied to phosphopeptides enrichment based on the binding affinity between metal ions and phosphopeptides. According to the results, different metal ions presented diverse phosphopeptides enrichment efficiency in terms of selectivity, sensitivity and the enrichment ability from real complex samples, and Fe 3 O 4 @PDA-Nb 5+ and Fe 3 O 4 @PDA-Ti 4+ showed obvious advantages of the phosphopeptides enrichment effect after the comparison. This systematic comparison may provide certain reference for the use and development of IMAC materials in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. [Separation of osteoclasts by lectin affinity chromatography].

    PubMed

    Itokazu, M; Tan, A; Tanaka, S

    1991-09-01

    Newborn rat calvaria bone cells obtained by digestion were fractionated on columns of wheat-germ agglutinin (WGA) sepharose 6MB for osteoclast isolation. The initial nonspecific binding cells which were passed through the WGA sepharose column by a buffer acquired a high enzyme activity of alkaline phosphatase, but not that of acid phosphatase. However, elution of cells using a buffer with the addition of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine resulted in a high acid phosphatase activity but no alkaline phosphatase activity. The former WGA binding negative fraction enriched osteoblasts averaging 30 microns in size. The latter WGA binding positive fraction enriched osteoclasts ranging from 20 microns to 60 microns in size. The electron-microscope clearly demonstrated the cellular details of osteoclasts. Isolated cell counts showed a ratio of six to four. These results indicate that our method of osteoclast isolation is simple and useful in lectin affinity chromatography because all cells have sugar moieties on their surface and the binding of osteoclasts can be reversed by the addition of specific lectin-binding sugars to the eluting buffer.

  7. Chitin-coated Celite as an affinity adsorbent for high-performance liquid chromatography of lysozyme.

    PubMed

    Yamada, H; Fukumura, T; Ito, Y; Imoto, T

    1985-04-01

    Preparation of chitin-coated Celite as an affinity adsorbent for high-performance liquid chromatography of lysozymes and its application to separation of N-bromosuccinimide-oxidized lysozymes are described. By pH gradient elution, two diastereomers of oxindolealanine-62-lysozyme, delta 1-acetoxytryptophan-62-lysozyme (intermediate product in the reaction in acetate buffer), and native lysozyme were all separated within 40 min.

  8. Aflatoxin metabolism in humans: detection of metabolites and nucleic acid adducts in urine by affinity chromatography

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Groopman, J.D.; Donahue, P.R.; Zhu, J.Q.

    A high-affinity IgM monoclonal antibody specific for aflatoxins was covalently bound to Sepharose 4B and used as a preparative column to isolate aflatoxin derivatives from the urine of people and experimental animals who had been exposed to the carcinogen environmentally or under laboratory conditions. Aflatoxin levels were quantified by radioimmunoassay and high-performance liquid chromatography after elution from the affinity column. In studies on rats injected with ( UC)aflatoxin B1, the authors identified the major aflatoxin-DNA adduct, 2,3-dihydro-2-(N7-guanyl)-3-hydroxy-aflatoxin B1 (AFB1-N7-Gua), and the oxidative metabolites M1 and P1 as the major aflatoxin species present in the urine. When this methodology was appliedmore » to human urine samples obtained from people from the Guangxi Province of China exposed to aflatoxin B1 through dietary contamination, the aflatoxin metabolites detected were also AFB1-N7-Gua and aflatoxins M1 and P1. Therefore, affinity chromatography using a monoclonal antibody represents a useful and rapid technique with which to isolate this carcinogen and its metabolites in biochemical epidemiology and for subsequent quantitative measurements, providing exposure information that can be used for risk assessment.« less

  9. In-column ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to monitor affinity chromatography purification of monoclonal antibodies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boulet-Audet, Maxime; Kazarian, Sergei G.; Byrne, Bernadette

    2016-07-01

    In recent years many monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have entered the biotherapeutics market, offering new treatments for chronic and life-threatening diseases. Protein A resin captures monoclonal antibody (mAb) effectively, but the binding capacity decays over repeated purification cycles. On an industrial scale, replacing fouled Protein A affinity chromatography resin accounts for a large proportion of the raw material cost. Cleaning-in-place (CIP) procedures were developed to extend Protein A resin lifespan, but chromatograms cannot reliably quantify any remaining contaminants over repeated cycles. To study resin fouling in situ, we coupled affinity chromatography and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the first time, by embedding an attenuated total reflection (ATR) sensor inside a micro-scale column while measuring the UV 280 nm and conductivity. Our approach quantified the in-column protein concentration in the resin bed and determined protein conformation. Our results show that Protein A ligand leached during CIP. We also found that host cell proteins bound to the Protein A resin even more strongly than mAbs and that typical CIP conditions do not remove all fouling contaminants. The insights derived from in-column ATR-FTIR spectroscopic monitoring could contribute to mAb purification quality assurance as well as guide the development of more effective CIP conditions to optimise resin lifespan.

  10. In-column ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to monitor affinity chromatography purification of monoclonal antibodies

    PubMed Central

    Boulet-Audet, Maxime; Kazarian, Sergei G.; Byrne, Bernadette

    2016-01-01

    In recent years many monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have entered the biotherapeutics market, offering new treatments for chronic and life-threatening diseases. Protein A resin captures monoclonal antibody (mAb) effectively, but the binding capacity decays over repeated purification cycles. On an industrial scale, replacing fouled Protein A affinity chromatography resin accounts for a large proportion of the raw material cost. Cleaning-in-place (CIP) procedures were developed to extend Protein A resin lifespan, but chromatograms cannot reliably quantify any remaining contaminants over repeated cycles. To study resin fouling in situ, we coupled affinity chromatography and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the first time, by embedding an attenuated total reflection (ATR) sensor inside a micro-scale column while measuring the UV 280 nm and conductivity. Our approach quantified the in-column protein concentration in the resin bed and determined protein conformation. Our results show that Protein A ligand leached during CIP. We also found that host cell proteins bound to the Protein A resin even more strongly than mAbs and that typical CIP conditions do not remove all fouling contaminants. The insights derived from in-column ATR-FTIR spectroscopic monitoring could contribute to mAb purification quality assurance as well as guide the development of more effective CIP conditions to optimise resin lifespan. PMID:27470880

  11. Optimized expression in Pichia pastoris eliminates common protein contaminants from subsequent His-tag purification.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yong; Li, Yang; Liu, Peng; Sun, Qun; Liu, Zhu

    2014-04-01

    A weakness of using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) to purify recombinant proteins expressed in Pichia pastoris is the co-purification of native proteins that exhibit high affinities for Ni-IMAC. We have determined the elution profiles of P. pastoris proteins and have examined the native proteins that co-purify when eluting with 100 mM imidazole. Four major contaminants were identified: mitochondrial alcohol dehydrogenase isozyme III (mADH), nucleotide excision repair endonuclease, and the hypothetical proteins TPHA_0L01390 and TDEL_0B02190 which are homologous proteins derived from Tetrapisispora phaffii and Torulaspora delbrueckii, respectively. A new P. pastoris expression strain was engineered that eliminated the predominant contaminant, mADH, by gene disruption. The total amount of protein contaminants was reduced by 55 % without effecting cell growth. The present study demonstrates the feasibility of using a proteomic approach to facilitate bioprocess optimization.

  12. Characterization of Extracellular Proteins in Tomato Fruit using Lectin Affinity Chromatography and LC-MALDI-MS/MS analysis

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The large-scale isolation and analysis of glycoproteins by lectin affinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry has become a powerful tool to monitor changes in the “glycoproteome” of mammalian cells. Thus far, however, this approach has not been used extensively for the analysis of plant g...

  13. Detection and Identification of Heme c-Modified Peptides by Histidine Affinity Chromatography, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, and Database Searching

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Merkley, Eric D.; Anderson, Brian J.; Park, Jea H.

    2012-12-07

    Multiheme c-type cytochromes (proteins with covalently attached heme c moieties) play important roles in extracellular metal respiration in dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-(LC-MS/MS) characterization of c-type cytochromes is hindered by the presence of multiple heme groups, since the heme c modified peptides are typically not observed, or if observed, not identified. Using a recently reported histidine affinity chromatography (HAC) procedure, we enriched heme c tryptic peptides from purified bovine heart cytochrome c, a bacterial decaheme cytochrome, and subjected these samples to LC-MS/MS analysis. Enriched bovine cytochrome c samples yielded three- to six-fold more confident peptide-spectrum matches to heme-cmore » containing peptides than unenriched digests. In unenriched digests of the decaheme cytochrome MtoA from Sideroxydans lithotrophicus ES-1, heme c peptides for four of the ten expected sites were observed by LC-MS/MS; following HAC fractionation, peptides covering nine out of ten sites were obtained. Heme c peptide spiked into E. coli lysates at mass ratios as low as 10-4 was detected with good signal-to-noise after HAC and LC-MS/MS analysis. In addition to HAC, we have developed a proteomics database search strategy that takes into account the unique physicochemical properties of heme c peptides. The results suggest that accounting for the double thioether link between heme c and peptide, and the use of the labile heme fragment as a reporter ion, can improve database searching results. The combination of affinity chromatography and heme-specific informatics yielded increases in the number of peptide-spectrum matches of 20-100-fold for bovine cytochrome c.« less

  14. Determine equilibrium dissociation constant of drug-membrane receptor affinity using the cell membrane chromatography relative standard method.

    PubMed

    Ma, Weina; Yang, Liu; Lv, Yanni; Fu, Jia; Zhang, Yanmin; He, Langchong

    2017-06-23

    The equilibrium dissociation constant (K D ) of drug-membrane receptor affinity is the basic parameter that reflects the strength of interaction. The cell membrane chromatography (CMC) method is an effective technique to study the characteristics of drug-membrane receptor affinity. In this study, the K D value of CMC relative standard method for the determination of drug-membrane receptor affinity was established to analyze the relative K D values of drugs binding to the membrane receptors (Epidermal growth factor receptor and angiotensin II receptor). The K D values obtained by the CMC relative standard method had a strong correlation with those obtained by the frontal analysis method. Additionally, the K D values obtained by CMC relative standard method correlated with pharmacological activity of the drug being evaluated. The CMC relative standard method is a convenient and effective method to evaluate drug-membrane receptor affinity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Copper(II)-based metal affinity chromatography for the isolation of the anticancer agent bleomycin from Streptomyces verticillus culture.

    PubMed

    Gu, Jiesi; Codd, Rachel

    2012-10-01

    The glycopeptide-based bleomycins are structurally complex natural products produced by Streptomyces verticillus used in combination therapy against testicular and other cancers. Bleomycin has a high affinity towards a range of transition metal ions with the 1:1 Fe(II) complex relevant to its mechanism of action in vivo and the 1:1 Cu(II) complex relevant to its production from culture. The affinity between Cu(II) and bleomycin was the underlying principle for using Cu(II)-based metal affinity chromatography in this work to selectively capture bleomycin from crude S. verticillus culture. A solution of standard bleomycin was retained at a binding capacity of 300 nmol mL(-1) on a 1-mL bed volume of Cu(II)-loaded iminodiacetate (IDA) resin at pH 9 via the formation of the heteroleptic immobilized complex [Cu(IDA)(bleomycin)]. Bleomycin was eluted from the resin at pH 5 as the metal-free ligand under conditions where pK(a) (IDA)affinity chromatography as a green chemistry platform for streamlined access to this high-value therapeutic agent. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Preparation of on-plate immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography platform via dopamine chemistry for highly selective isolation of phosphopeptides with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry analysis.

    PubMed

    Shi, Chenyi; Lin, Qinrui; Deng, Chunhui

    2015-04-01

    In this study, a novel on-plate IMAC technique was developed for highly selective enrichment and isolation of phosphopeptides with high-throughput MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. At first, a MALDI plate was coated with polydopamine (PDA), and then Ti(4+) was immobilized on the PDA-coated plate. The obtained IMAC plate was successfully applied to the highly selective enrichment and isolation of phosphopeptides in protein digests and human serum. Because of no loss of samples, the on-plate IMAC platform exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity in the selective enrichment and isolation of phosphopeptides, which provides a potential technique for high selectivity in the detection of low-abundance phosphopeptides in biological samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. First results from the BOXING (Birmingham-OCIW XMM and IMACS Nearby Groups) project.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miles, T. A.; Raychaudhury, S.; Mulchaey, J. S.

    2004-12-01

    We present the first results from the BOXING (Birmingham-OCIW XMM and IMACS Nearby Groups) project, a collaboration between the Observatories of the Carnegie Institute of Washington (OCIW) and the University of Birmingham U.K. to study a sample of 25 galaxy groups (z ˜ 0.06) by means of optical photometry and spectroscopy (du Pont 2.5m; IMACS/Magellan) combined with x-ray observations (XMM). The combination of x-ray with optical data allows us to study the nature of the relationship between the properties of the groups and the galaxies that they contain. In this preliminary study, we present optical luminosity functions, which shows bimodal behavior in the poorer systems, interpreted as result of rapid merging. We also examine the dependence of galaxy morphology on local environment. Once spectroscopic observations are completed, we will be able to study velocity dispersions, star formation and nuclear activity in individual galaxies.

  18. Enrichment and Analysis of Non-enzymatically Glycated Peptides: Boronate Affinity Chromatography Coupled with Electron Transfer Dissociation Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Qibin; Tang, Ning; Brock, Jonathan W. C.; Mottaz, Heather M.; Ames, Jennifer M.; Baynes, John W.; Smith, Richard D.; Metz, Thomas O.

    2008-01-01

    Non-enzymatic glycation of peptides and proteins by D-glucose has important implications in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, particularly in the development of diabetic complications. However, no effective high-throughput methods exist for identifying proteins containing this low abundance post-translational modification in bottom-up proteomic studies. In this report, phenylboronate affinity chromatography was used in a two-step enrichment scheme to selectively isolate first glycated proteins and then glycated, tryptic peptides from human serum glycated in vitro. Enriched peptides were subsequently analyzed by alternating electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and collision induced dissociation (CID) tandem mass spectrometry. ETD fragmentation mode permitted identification of a significantly higher number of glycated peptides (87.6% of all identified peptides) versus CID mode (17.0% of all identified peptides), when utilizing enrichment on first the protein and then the peptide level. This study illustrates that phenylboronate affinity chromatography coupled with LC-MS/MS and using ETD as the fragmentation mode is an efficient approach for analysis of glycated proteins and may have broad application in studies of diabetes mellitus. PMID:17488106

  19. The IMACS Cluster Building Survey. I. Description of the Survey and Analysis Methods

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oemler Jr., Augustus; Dressler, Alan; Gladders, Michael G.; Rigby, Jane R.; Bai, Lei; Kelson, Daniel; Villanueva, Edward; Fritz, Jacopo; Rieke, George; Poggianti, Bianca M.; hide

    2013-01-01

    The IMACS Cluster Building Survey uses the wide field spectroscopic capabilities of the IMACS spectrograph on the 6.5 m Baade Telescope to survey the large-scale environment surrounding rich intermediate-redshift clusters of galaxies. The goal is to understand the processes which may be transforming star-forming field galaxies into quiescent cluster members as groups and individual galaxies fall into the cluster from the surrounding supercluster. This first paper describes the survey: the data taking and reduction methods. We provide new calibrations of star formation rates (SFRs) derived from optical and infrared spectroscopy and photometry. We demonstrate that there is a tight relation between the observed SFR per unit B luminosity, and the ratio of the extinctions of the stellar continuum and the optical emission lines.With this, we can obtain accurate extinction-corrected colors of galaxies. Using these colors as well as other spectral measures, we determine new criteria for the existence of ongoing and recent starbursts in galaxies.

  20. Heterologous expression and purification of active L-asparaginase I of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Escherichia coli host.

    PubMed

    Santos, João H P M; Costa, Iris M; Molino, João V D; Leite, Mariana S M; Pimenta, Marcela V; Coutinho, João A P; Pessoa, Adalberto; Ventura, Sónia P M; Lopes, André M; Monteiro, Gisele

    2017-03-01

    l-asparaginase (ASNase) is a biopharmaceutical widely used to treat child leukemia. However, it presents some side effects, and in order to provide an alternative biopharmaceutical, in this work, the genes encoding ASNase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc_ASNaseI and Sc_ASNaseII) were cloned in the prokaryotic expression system Escherichia coli. In the 93 different expression conditions tested, the Sc_ASNaseII protein was always obtained as an insoluble and inactive form. However, the Sc_ASNaseI (His) 6 -tagged recombinant protein was produced in large amounts in the soluble fraction of the protein extract. Affinity chromatography was performed on a Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC) system using Ni 2+ -charged, HiTrap Immobilized Metal ion Affinity Chromatography (IMAC) FF in order to purify active Sc_ASNaseI recombinant protein. The results suggest that the strategy for the expression and purification of this potential new biopharmaceutical protein with lower side effects was efficient since high amounts of soluble Sc_ASNaseI with high specific activity (110.1 ± 0.3 IU mg -1 ) were obtained. In addition, the use of FPLC-IMAC proved to be an efficient tool in the purification of this enzyme, since a good recovery (40.50 ± 0.01%) was achieved with a purification factor of 17-fold. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:416-424, 2017. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  1. Isolation of a new ssDNA aptamer against staphylococcal enterotoxin B based on CNBr-activated sepharose-4B affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Hedayati Ch, Mojtaba; Amani, Jafar; Sedighian, Hamid; Amin, Mohsen; Salimian, Jafar; Halabian, Raheleh; Imani Fooladi, Abbas Ali

    2016-09-01

    Staphylococcus aureus are potent human pathogens possessing arsenal of virulence factors. Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) and respiratory infections mediated by staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) are common clinical manifestations. Many diagnostic techniques are based on serological detection and quantification of SEB in different food and clinical samples. Aptamers are known as new therapeutic and detection tools which are available in different ssDNA, dsDNA and protein structures. In this study, we used a new set of ssDNA aptamers against SEB. The methods used included preparation of a dsDNA library using standard SEB protein as the target analyte, affinity chromatography matrix in microfuge tubes, SELEX procedures to isolate specific ssDNA-aptamer as an affinity ligand, aptamer purification using ethanol precipitation method, affinity binding assay using ELISA, aptamer cloning and specificity test. Among 12 readable sequences, three of them were selected as the most appropriate aptamer because of their affinity and specificity to SEB. This study presents a new set of ssDNA aptamer with favorable selectivity to SEB through 12 rounds of SELEX. Selected aptamers were used to detect SEB in infected serum samples. Results showed that SEB c1 aptamer (2 µg SEB/100 nM aptamer) had favorable specificity to SEB (kd  = 2.3 × 10(-11) ). In conclusion, aptamers can be considered as useful tools for detecting and evaluating SEB. The results showed that affinity chromatography was an affordable assay with acceptable accuracy to isolate sensitive and selective novel aptamers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Separation Options for Phosphorylated Osteopontin from Transgenic Microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

    PubMed Central

    Ravi, Ayswarya; Guo, Shengchun; Rasala, Beth; Tran, Miller; Mayfield, Stephen; Nikolov, Zivko L.

    2018-01-01

    Correct folding and post-translational modifications are vital for therapeutic proteins to elicit their biological functions. Osteopontin (OPN), a bone regenerative protein present in a range of mammalian cells, is an acidic phosphoprotein with multiple potential phosphorylation sites. In this study, the ability of unicellular microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, to produce phosphorylated recombinant OPN in its chloroplast is investigated. This study further explores the impact of phosphorylation and expression from a “plant-like” algae on separation of OPN. Chromatography resins ceramic hydroxyapatite (CHT) and Gallium-immobilized metal affinity chromatography (Ga-IMAC) were assessed for their binding specificity to phosphoproteins. Non-phosphorylated recombinant OPN expressed in E. coli was used to compare the specificity of interaction of the resins to phosphorylated OPN. We observed that CHT binds OPN by multimodal interactions and was better able to distinguish phosphorylated proteins in the presence of 250 mM NaCl. Ga-IMAC interaction with OPN was not selective to phosphorylation, irrespective of salt, as the resin bound OPN from both algal and bacterial sources. Anion exchange chromatography proved an efficient capture method to partially separate major phosphorylated host cell protein impurities such as Rubisco from OPN. PMID:29462927

  3. Lanthanide-IMAC enrichment of carbohydrates and polyols.

    PubMed

    Schemeth, Dieter; Rainer, Matthias; Messner, Christoph B; Rode, Bernd M; Bonn, Günther K

    2014-03-01

    In this study a new type of immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography resin for the enrichment of carbohydrates and polyols was synthesized by radical polymerization reaction of vinyl phosphonic acid and 1,4-butandiole dimethacrylate using azo-bis-isobutyronitrile as radical initiator. Interaction between the chelated trivalent lanthanide ions and negatively charged hydroxyl groups of carbohydrates and polyols was observed by applying high pH values. The new method was evaluated by single standard solutions, mixtures of standards, honey and a more complex extract of Cynara scolymus. The washing step was accomplished by acetonitrile in excess volumes. Elution of enriched carbohydrates was successfully performed with deionized water. The subsequent analysis was carried out with matrix-free laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry involving a TiO2 -coated steel target, especially suitable for the measurement of low-molecular-weight substances. Quantitative analysis of the sugar alcohol xylitol as well as the determination of the maximal loading capacity was performed by gas chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometric detection after chemical derivatization. In a parallel approach quantum mechanical geometry optimizations were performed in order to compare the coordination behavior of various trivalent lanthanide ions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Synthesis of a Polyhistidine-bearing Amphipol and its Use for Immobilizing Membrane Proteins.

    PubMed

    Giusti, Fabrice; Kessler, Pascal; Hansen, Randi Westh; Della Pia, Eduardo A; Le Bon, Christel; Mourier, Gilles; Popot, Jean-Luc; Martinez, Karen L; Zoonens, Manuela

    2015-12-14

    Amphipols (APols) are short amphipathic polymers that stabilize membrane proteins (MPs) in aqueous solutions. In the present study, A8-35, a polyacrylate-based APol, was grafted with hexahistidine tags (His6-tags). The synthesis and characterization of this novel functionalized APol, named HistAPol, are described. Its ability to immobilize MPs on nickel ion-bearing surfaces was tested using two complementary methods, immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Compared to a single His6-tag fused at one extremity of a MP, the presence of several His6-tags carried by the APol belt surrounding the transmembrane domain of a MP increases remarkably the affinity of the protein/APol complex for nickel ion-bearing SPR chips, whereas it does not show such a strong effect on an IMAC resin. HistAPol-mediated immobilization, which allows reversibility of the interaction and easy regeneration of the supports and dispenses with any genetic modification of the target protein, provides a novel, promising tool for attaching MPs onto solid supports while stabilizing them.

  5. Alternative Affinity Ligands for Immunoglobulins.

    PubMed

    Kruljec, Nika; Bratkovič, Tomaž

    2017-08-16

    The demand for recombinant therapeutic antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins is expected to increase in the years to come. Hence, extensive efforts are concentrated on improving the downstream processing. In particular, the development of better-affinity chromatography matrices, supporting robust time- and cost-effective antibody purification, is warranted. With the advances in molecular design and high-throughput screening approaches from chemical and biological combinatorial libraries, novel affinity ligands representing alternatives to bacterial immunoglobulin (Ig)-binding proteins have entered the scene. Here, we review the design, development, and properties of diverse classes of alternative antibody-binding ligands, ranging from engineered versions of Ig-binding proteins, to artificial binding proteins, peptides, aptamers, and synthetic small-molecular-weight compounds. We also provide examples of applications for the novel affinity matrices in chromatography and beyond.

  6. Phospholipid bilayer affinities and solvation characteristics by electrokinetic chromatography with a nanodisc pseudostationary phase.

    PubMed

    Penny, William M; Steele, Harmen B; Ross, J B Alexander; Palmer, Christopher P

    2017-03-01

    Phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs composed of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and synthetic maleic acid-styrene copolymer belts have been introduced as a pseudostationary phase (PSP) in electrokinetic chromatography and demonstrated good performance. The nanodiscs provide a suitable migration range and high theoretical plate counts. Using this nanodisc pseudostationary phase, the affinity of the bilayer structure for probe solutes was determined and characterized. Good correlation is observed between retention factors and octanol water partition coefficients for particular categories of solutes, but the general correlation is weak primarily because the nanodiscs show stronger affinity than octanol for hydrogen bond donors. This suggests that a more appropriate application of this technology is to measure and characterize interactions between solutes and lipid bilayers directly. Linear solvation energy relationship analysis of the nanodisc-solute interactions in this study demonstrates that the nanodiscs provide a solvation environment with low cohesivity and weak hydrogen bond donating ability, and provide relatively strong hydrogen bond acceptor strength. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Gel compression considerations for chromatography scale-up for protein C purification.

    PubMed

    He, W; Bruley, D F; Drohan, W N

    1998-01-01

    This work is to establish theoretical and experimental relationships for the scale-up of Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC) and Immuno Affinity Chromatography for the low cost production of large quantities of Protein C. The external customer requirements for this project have been established for Protein C deficient people with the goal of providing prophylactic patient treatment. Deep vein thrombosis is the major symptom for protein C deficiency creating the potential problem of embolism transport to important organs, such as, lung and brain. Gel matrices for protein C separation are being analyzed to determine the relationship between the material properties of the gel and the column collapse characteristics. The fluid flow rate and pressure drop is being examined to see how they influence column stability. Gel packing analysis includes two considerations; one is bulk compression due to flow rate, and the second is gel particle deformation due to fluid flow and pressure drop. Based on the assumption of creeping flow, Darcy's law is being applied to characterize the flow through the gel particles. Biot's mathematical description of three-dimensional consolidation in porous media is being used to develop a set of system equations. Finite difference methods are being utilized to obtain the equation solutions. In addition, special programs such as finite element approaches, ABAQUS, will be studied to determine their application to this particular problem. Experimental studies are being performed to determine flow rate and pressure drop correlation for the chromatographic columns with appropriate gels. Void fraction is being measured using pulse testing to allow Reynolds number calculations. Experimental yield stress is being measured to compare with the theoretical calculations. Total Quality Management (TQM) tools have been utilized to optimize this work. For instance, the "Scatter Diagram" has been used to evaluate and select the appropriate gels and

  8. Development and validation of an affinity chromatography step using a peptide ligand for cGMP production of factor VIII.

    PubMed

    Kelley, Brian D; Tannatt, Molly; Magnusson, Robert; Hagelberg, Sigrid; Booth, James

    2004-08-05

    An affinity chromatography step was developed for purification of recombinant B-Domain Deleted Factor VIII (BDDrFVIII) using a peptide ligand selected from a phage display library. The peptide library had variegated residues, contained both within a disulfide bond-constrained ring and flanking the ring. The peptide ligand binds to BDDrFVIII with a dissociation constant of approximately 1 microM both in free solution and when immobilized on a chromatographic resin. The peptide is chemically synthesized and the affinity resin is produced by coupling the peptide to an agarose matrix preactivated with N-hydroxysuccinimide. Coupling conditions were optimized to give consistent and complete ligand incorporation and validated with a robustness study that tested various combinations of processing limits. The peptide affinity chromatographic operation employs conditions very similar to an immunoaffinity chromatography step currently in use for BDDrFVIII manufacture. The process step provides excellent recovery of BDDrFVIII from a complex feed stream and reduces host cell protein and DNA by 3-4 logs. Process validation studies established resin reuse over 26 cycles without changes in product recovery or purity. A robustness study using a factorial design was performed and showed that the step was insensitive to small changes in process conditions that represent normal variation in commercial manufacturing. A scaled-down model of the process step was qualified and used for virus removal studies. A validation package addressing the safety of the leached peptide included leaching rate measurements under process conditions, testing of peptide levels in product pools, demonstration of robust removal downstream by spiking studies, end product testing, and toxicological profiling of the ligand. The peptide ligand affinity step was scaled up for cGMP production of BDDrFVIII for clinical trials.

  9. Supramolecular Affinity Chromatography for Methylation-Targeted Proteomics.

    PubMed

    Garnett, Graham A E; Starke, Melissa J; Shaurya, Alok; Li, Janessa; Hof, Fraser

    2016-04-05

    Proteome-wide studies of post-translationally methylated species using mass spectrometry are complicated by high sample diversity, competition for ionization among peptides, and mass redundancies. Antibody-based enrichment has powered methylation proteomics until now, but the reliability, pan-specificity, polyclonal nature, and stability of the available pan-specific antibodies are problematic and do not provide a standard, reliable platform for investigators. We have invented an anionic supramolecular host that can form host-guest complexes selectively with methyllysine-containing peptides and used it to create a methylysine-affinity column. The column resolves peptides on the basis of methylation-a feat impossible with a comparable commercial cation-exchange column. A proteolyzed nuclear extract was separated on the methyl-affinity column prior to standard proteomics analysis. This experiment demonstrates that such chemical methyl-affinity columns are capable of enriching and improving the analysis of methyllysine residues from complex protein mixtures. We discuss the importance of this advance in the context of biomolecule-driven enrichment methods.

  10. Camelid VHH affinity ligands enable separation of closely related biopharmaceuticals

    PubMed Central

    Pabst, Timothy M.; Wendeler, Michaela; Wang, Xiangyang; Bezemer, Sandra; Hermans, Pim

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Interest in new and diverse classes of molecules such as recombinant toxins, enzymes, and blood factors continues to grow for use a biotherapeutics. Compared to monoclonal antibodies, these novel drugs typically lack a commercially available affinity chromatography option, which leads to greater process complexity, longer development timelines, and poor platformability. To date, for both monoclonal antibodies and novel molecules, affinity chromatography has been mostly reserved for separation of process‐related impurities such as host cell proteins and DNA. Reports of affinity purification of closely related product variants and modified forms are much rarer. In this work we describe custom affinity chromatography development using camelid VHH antibody fragments as "tunable" immunoaffinity ligands for separation of product‐related impurities. One example demonstrates high selectivity for a recombinant immunotoxin where no binding was observed for an undesired deamidated species. Also discussed is affinity purification of a coagulation factor through specific recognition of the gamma‐carboxylglutamic acid domain. PMID:27677057

  11. Affinity chromatography on monolithic supports for simultaneous and high-throughput isolation of immunoglobulins from human serum.

    PubMed

    Martinović, Tamara; Andjelković, Uroš; Klobučar, Marko; Černigoj, Urh; Vidič, Jana; Lučić, Marina; Pavelić, Krešimir; Josić, Djuro

    2017-11-01

    Posttranslational modifications of immunoglobulins have been a topic of great interest and have been repeatedly reported as a major factor in disease pathology. Cost-effective, reproducible, and high-throughput (HTP) isolation of immunoglobulins from human serum is vital for studying the changes in protein structure and the following understanding of disease development. Although there are many methods for the isolation of specific immunoglobulin classes, only a few of them are applicable for isolation of all subtypes and variants. Here, we present the development of a scheme for fast and simultaneous affinity purification of α (A), γ (G), and μ (M) immunoglobulins from human serum through affinity monolith chromatography. Affinity-based monolithic columns with immobilized protein A, G, or L were used for antibody isolation. Monolithic stationary phases have a high surface accessibility of binding sites, large flow-through channels, and can be operated at high flow rates, making them the ideal supports for HTP isolation of biopolymers. The presented method can be used for HTP screening of human serum in order to simultaneously isolate all three above-mentioned immunoglobulins and determine their concentration and changes in their glycosylation pattern as potential prognostic and diagnostic disease biomarkers. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Supermacroporous cryogel matrix for integrated protein isolation. Immobilized metal affinity chromatographic purification of urokinase from cell culture broth of a human kidney cell line.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Ashok; Bansal, Vibha; Andersson, Jonatan; Roychoudhury, Pradip K; Mattiasson, Bo

    2006-01-20

    A new type of supermacroporous, monolithic, cryogel affinity adsorbent was developed, allowing the specific capture of urokinase from conditioned media of human fibrosarcoma cell line HT1080. The affinity adsorbent was designed with the objective of using it as a capture column in an integrated perfusion/protein separation bioreactor setup. A comparative study between the utility of this novel cryogel based matrix and the conventional Sepharose based affinity matrix for the continuous capture of urokinase in an integrated bioreactor system was performed. Cu(II)-ion was coupled to epoxy activated polyacrylamide cryogel and Sepharose using iminodiacetic acid (IDA) as the chelating ligand. About 27-fold purification of urokinase from the conditioned culture media was achieved with Cu(II)-IDA-polyacrylamide cryogel column giving specific activity of about 814 Plough units (PU)/mg protein and enzyme yields of about 80%. High yields (95%) were obtained with Cu(II)-IDA-Sepharose column by virtue of its high binding capacity. However, the adsorbent showed lower selectivity as compared to cryogel matrix giving specific activity of 161 PU/mg protein and purification factor of 5.3. The high porosity, selectivity and reasonably good binding capacity of Cu(II)-IDA-polyacrylamide cryogel column make it a promising option for use as a protein capture column in integrated perfusion/separation processes. The urokinase peak pool from Cu(II)-IDA-polyacrylamide cryogel column could be further resolved into separate fractions for high and low molecular weight forms of urokinase by gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-200. The selectivity of the cryogel based IMAC matrix for urokinase was found to be higher as compared to that of Cu(II)-IDA-Sepharose column.

  13. Selective affinity chromatography of DNA polymerases with associated 3' to 5' exonuclease activities.

    PubMed

    Lee, M Y; Whyte, W A

    1984-05-01

    The use of 5'-AMP as a ligand for the affinity chromatography of DNA polymerases with intrinsic 3' to 5' exonuclease activities was investigated. The basis for this is that 5'-AMP would be expected to act as a ligand for the associated 3' to 5' exonuclease. The requirements for binding of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I, T4 DNA polymerase, and calf thymus DNA polymerase delta, all of which have associated 3' to 5' exonuclease activities, to several commercially available 5'-AMP supports with different linkages of 5'-AMP to either agarose or cellulose were examined. The DNA polymerases which possessed 3' to 5' exonuclease activities were bound to agarose types in which the 5'-phosphoryl group and the 3'-hydroxyl group of the AMP were unsubstituted. Bound enzyme could be eluted by either an increase in ionic strength or competitive binding of nucleoside 5'-monophosphates. Magnesium was found to reinforce the binding of the enzyme to these affinity supports. DNA polymerase alpha, which does not have an associated 3' to 5' exonuclease activity, did not bind to any of these columns. These differences can be used to advantage for the purification of DNA polymerases that have associated 3' to 5' exonuclease activities, as well as a means for establishing the association of 3' to 5' exonuclease activities with DNA polymerases.

  14. Derivatized graphitic nanofibres (GNF) as a new support material for mass spectrometric analysis of peptides and proteins.

    PubMed

    Greiderer, Andreas; Rainer, Matthias; Najam-ul-Haq, Muhammad; Vallant, Rainer M; Huck, Christian W; Bonn, Günther K

    2009-07-01

    Graphitic nanofibres (GNFs), 100-200 nm in diameter and 5-20 microm in length have been modified in order to yield different affinities (Cu2+ and Fe3+ loaded immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) as well as cation and anion exchange materials) for the extraction of a range of biomolecules by their inherited hydrophobicity and the hydrophilic chemical functionalities, obtained by derivatization. Modified GNFs have for the first time been employed as carrier materials for protein profiling in material-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (MELDI) for the enrichment and screening of biofluids. For that purpose, the derivatized GNF materials have comprehensively been characterized regarding surface area, structural changes during derivatization, IMAC, as well as ion exchange and protein-loading capacity and recovery. GNF derivatives revealed high protein-binding capacity (2,000 microg ml(-1) for insulin) and ideal sensitivities, resulting in a detection limit of 50 fmol microl(-1) (for insulin), which is crucial for the detection of low abundant species in biological samples. Compared to other MELDI carrier materials, sensitivity was enhanced on GNF derivatives, which might be ascribed to the fact that GNFs support desorption and ionization mechanisms and by absorbing laser energy in addition to matrix.

  15. Fibulin-1 purification from human plasma using affinity chromatography on Factor H-Sepharose

    PubMed Central

    DiScipio, Richard G.; Liddington, Robert C.; Schraufstatter, Ingrid U.

    2016-01-01

    A method is reported to purify Fibulin-1 from human plasma resulting in a 36% recovery. The steps involve removal of the cryoglobulin and the vitamin K dependent proteins followed by polyethylene glycol and ammonium sulfate precipitations, DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography and finally Factor H-Sepharose affinity purification. The procedure is designed to be integrated into an overall scheme for the isolation of over 30 plasma proteins from a single batch of human plasma. Results from mass spectroscopy, SDS-PAGE, and Western blotting indicate that human plasma Fibulin-1 is a single chain of the largest isotype. Functional binding assays demonstrated calcium ion dependent interaction of Fibulin-1 for fibrinogen, fibronectin, and Factor H. The procedure described is the first to our knowledge that enables a large scale purification of Fibulin-1 from human plasma. PMID:26826315

  16. Method development of enantiomer separations by affinity capillary electrophoresis, cyclodextrin electrokinetic chromatography and capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Tanaka, Yoshihide

    2002-07-01

    Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has become a powerful tool for enantiomer separations during the last decade. Since 1993, the author has investigated enantiomer separations by affinity capillary electrophoresis (affinity CE) with some proteins and by cyclodextrin electrokinetic chromatography (CDEKC) with some charged cyclodextrins (CDs). Many successful enantiomer separations are demonstrated from our study in this review article. In the enantiomer separations by affinity CE, the deterioration of detection sensitivity was observed under high concentration of the protein in running solutions. The partial filling technique was practically useful to solve the serious problem. It allowed operation at high protein concentrations, such as 500 mumol/L, without the detection problem. Charged CDs had several advantages for the enantiomer separations over neutral ones. Strong electrostatic interactions between a charged CD and oppositely charged analytes should be effective for the formation of the complex. A large difference in electrophoretic mobility between the free analyte and the inclusion complex should also enhance the enantiomeric resolution. In CE-mass spectrometry (CE-MS), the partial filling technique was applied to avoid the introduction of nonvolatile chiral selectors into the CE-MS interface. By replacing the nonvolatile electrolytes in the running buffer by volatile ones, the separation conditions employed in CE with the UV detection method could be transferred to CE-MS.

  17. SwellGel: an affinity chromatography technology for high-capacity and high-throughput purification of recombinant-tagged proteins.

    PubMed

    Draveling, C; Ren, L; Haney, P; Zeisse, D; Qoronfleh, M W

    2001-07-01

    The revolution in genomics and proteomics is having a profound impact on drug discovery. Today's protein scientist demands a faster, easier, more reliable way to purify proteins. A high capacity, high-throughput new technology has been developed in Perbio Sciences for affinity protein purification. This technology utilizes selected chromatography media that are dehydrated to form uniform aggregates. The SwellGel aggregates will instantly rehydrate upon addition of the protein sample, allowing purification and direct performance of multiple assays in a variety of formats. SwellGel technology has greater stability and is easier to handle than standard wet chromatography resins. The microplate format of this technology provides high-capacity, high-throughput features, recovering milligram quantities of protein suitable for high-throughput screening or biophysical/structural studies. Data will be presented applying SwellGel technology to recombinant 6x His-tagged protein and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein purification. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

  18. Temperature effect on affinity chromatography of two lectins from the seeds of Ricinus communis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hsu, H.W.; Davis, D.S.; Wei, C.H.

    1976-06-01

    Specific adsorption capacity of Sepharose 4B in affinity chromatography for two purified galactose-binding lectins, designated as III/sub L/ and III/sub H/, from the seed of Ricinus communis (castor bean) was measured from 7 to 24/sup 0/C. The adsorption coefficients for these two protein fractions as a function of temperature were also obtained. It was found that there is a characteristic transition of adsorption coefficient at 18/sup 0/C for both lectins. Adsorption coefficients between Sepharose 4B and these two lectins were also expressed in terms of ..delta..G, ..delta..H, and ..delta..S. It is suggested that the difference in the temperature dependence ofmore » the binding energy of these two lectins may be used for their separation at selected temperature.« less

  19. High productivity chromatography refolding process for Hepatitis B Virus X (HBx) protein guided by statistical design of experiment studies.

    PubMed

    Basu, Anindya; Leong, Susanna Su Jan

    2012-02-03

    The Hepatitis B Virus X (HBx) protein is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, consistent expression of the protein as insoluble inclusion bodies in bacteria host systems has largely hindered HBx manufacturing via economical biosynthesis routes, thereby impeding the development of anti-HBx therapeutic strategies. To eliminate this roadblock, this work reports the development of the first 'chromatography refolding'-based bioprocess for HBx using immobilised metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). This process enabled production of HBx at quantities and purity that facilitate their direct use in structural and molecular characterization studies. In line with the principles of quality by design (QbD), we used a statistical design of experiments (DoE) methodology to design the optimum process which delivered bioactive HBx at a productivity of 0.21 mg/ml/h at a refolding yield of 54% (at 10 mg/ml refolding concentration), which was 4.4-fold higher than that achieved in dilution refolding. The systematic DoE methodology adopted for this study enabled us to obtain important insights into the effect of different bioprocess parameters like the effect of buffer exchange gradients on HBx productivity and quality. Such a bioprocess design approach can play a pivotal role in developing intensified processes for other novel proteins, and hence helping to resolve validation and speed-to-market challenges faced by the biopharmaceutical industry today. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Characterization of the human submandibular/sublingual saliva glycoproteome using lectin affinity chromatography coupled to Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology

    PubMed Central

    Gonzalez-Begne, Mireya; Lu, Bingwen; Liao, Lujian; Xu, Tao; Bedi, Gurrinder; Melvin, James E.; Yates, John R.

    2011-01-01

    In-depth analysis of the salivary proteome is fundamental to understanding the functions of salivary proteins in the oral cavity and to reveal disease biomarkers involved in different pathophysiological conditions, with the ultimate goal of improving patient diagnosis and prognosis. Submandibular and sublingual glands contribute saliva rich in glycoproteins to the total saliva output, making them valuable sources for glycoproteomic analysis. Lectin-affinity chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry-based shotgun proteomics was used to explore the submandibular/sublingual (SM/SL) saliva glycoproteome. A total of 262 N- and O-linked glycoproteins were identified by multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT). Only 38 were previously described in SM and SL salivas from the human salivary N-linked glycoproteome, while 224 were unique. Further comparison analysis with SM/SL saliva of the human saliva proteome, revealed 125 glycoproteins not formerly reported in this secretion. KEGG pathway analyses demonstrated that many of these glycoproteins are involved in processes such as complement and coagulation cascades, cell communication, glycosphingolipid biosynthesis neo-lactoseries, O-glycan biosynthesis, glycan structures-biosynthesis 2, starch and sucrose metabolism, peptidoglycan biosynthesis or others pathways. In summary, lectin-affinity chromatography coupled to MudPIT mass spectrometry identified many novel glycoproteins in SM/SL saliva. These new additions to the salivary proteome may prove to be a critical step for providing reliable biomarkers in the diagnosis of a myriad of oral and systemic diseases. PMID:21936497

  1. Affinity-reversed-phase liquid chromatography assay to quantitate recombinant antibodies and antibody fragments in fermentation broth.

    PubMed

    Battersby, J E; Snedecor, B; Chen, C; Champion, K M; Riddle, L; Vanderlaan, M

    2001-08-24

    An automated dual-column liquid chromatography assay comprised of affinity and reversed-phase separations that quantifies the majority of antibody-related protein species found in crude cell extracts of recombinant origin is described. Although potentially applicable to any antibody preparation, we here use samples of anti-CD18 (Fab'2LZ) and a full-length antibody, anti-tissue factor (anti-TF), from various stages throughout a biopharmaceutical production process to describe the assay details. The targeted proteins were captured on an affinity column containing an anti-light-chain (kappa) Fab antibody (AME5) immobilized on controlled pore glass. The affinity column was placed in-line with a reversed-phase column and the captured components were transferred by elution with dilute acid and subsequently resolved by eluting the reversed-phase column with a shallow acetonitrile gradient. Characterization of the resolved components showed that most antibody fragment preparations contained a light-chain fragment, free light chain, light-chain dimer and multiple forms of Fab'. Analysis of full-length antibody preparations also resolved these fragments as well as a completely assembled form. Co-eluting with the full-length antibody were high-molecular-mass variants that were missing one or both light chains. Resolved components were quantified by comparison with peak areas of similarly treated standards. By comparing the two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of an Escherichia coli blank run, a production run and the material affinity captured (AME5) from a production run, it was determined that the AME5 antibody captured isoforms of light chain, light chain covalently attached to heavy chain, and truncated light chain isoforms. These forms comprise the bulk of the soluble product-related fragments found in E. coli cell extracts of recombinantly produced antibody fragments.

  2. Retrospective analyses of the bottleneck in purification of eukaryotic proteins from Escherichia coli as affected by molecular weight, cysteine content and isoelectric point

    PubMed Central

    Jeon, Won Bae

    2015-01-01

    Experimental bioinformatics data obtained from an E. coli cell-based eukaryotic protein purification experiment were analyzed in order to identify any bottleneck as well as the factors affecting the target purification. All targets were expressed as His-tagged maltose-binding protein (MBP) fusion constructs and were initially purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The targets were subsequently separated from the His-tagged MBP through TEV protease cleavage followed by a second IMAC isolation. Of the 743 total purification trials, 342 yielded more than 3 mg of target proteins for structural studies. The major reason for failure of target purification was poor TEV proteolysis. The overall success rate for target purification decreased linearly as cysteine content or isoelectric point (pI) of the target increased. This pattern of pI versus overall success rate strongly suggests that pI should be incorporated into target scoring criteria with a threshold value. PMID:20510014

  3. Recombinant Passenger Proteins Can Be Conveniently Purified by One-Step Affinity Chromatography.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hua-zhen; Chu, Zhi-zhan; Chen, Chang-chao; Cao, Ao-cheng; Tong, Xin; Ouyang, Can-bin; Yuan, Qi-hang; Wang, Mi-nan; Wu, Zhong-kun; Wang, Hai-hong; Wang, Sheng-bin

    2015-01-01

    Fusion tag is one of the best available tools to date for enhancement of the solubility or improvement of the expression level of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Typically, two consecutive affinity purification steps are often necessitated for the purification of passenger proteins. As a fusion tag, acyl carrier protein (ACP) could greatly increase the soluble expression level of Glucokinase (GlcK), α-Amylase (Amy) and GFP. When fusion protein ACP-G2-GlcK-Histag and ACP-G2-Amy-Histag, in which a protease TEV recognition site was inserted between the fusion tag and passenger protein, were coexpressed with protease TEV respectively in E. coli, the efficient intracellular processing of fusion proteins was achieved. The resulting passenger protein GlcK-Histag and Amy-Histag accumulated predominantly in a soluble form, and could be conveniently purified by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. However, the fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag was processed incompletely by the protease TEV coexpressed in vivo, and a large portion of the resulting target protein GFP-Histag aggregated in insoluble form, indicating that the intracellular processing may affect the solubility of cleaved passenger protein. In this context, the soluble fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag, contained in the supernatant of E. coli cell lysate, was directly subjected to cleavage in vitro by mixing it with the clarified cell lysate of E. coli overexpressing protease TEV. Consequently, the resulting target protein GFP-Histag could accumulate predominantly in a soluble form, and be purified conveniently by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. The approaches presented here greatly simplify the purification process of passenger proteins, and eliminate the use of large amounts of pure site-specific proteases.

  4. Recombinant Passenger Proteins Can Be Conveniently Purified by One-Step Affinity Chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Hua-zhen; Chu, Zhi-zhan; Chen, Chang-chao; Cao, Ao-cheng; Tong, Xin; Ouyang, Can-bin; Yuan, Qi-hang; Wang, Mi-nan; Wu, Zhong-kun; Wang, Hai-hong; Wang, Sheng-bin

    2015-01-01

    Fusion tag is one of the best available tools to date for enhancement of the solubility or improvement of the expression level of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Typically, two consecutive affinity purification steps are often necessitated for the purification of passenger proteins. As a fusion tag, acyl carrier protein (ACP) could greatly increase the soluble expression level of Glucokinase (GlcK), α-Amylase (Amy) and GFP. When fusion protein ACP-G2-GlcK-Histag and ACP-G2-Amy-Histag, in which a protease TEV recognition site was inserted between the fusion tag and passenger protein, were coexpressed with protease TEV respectively in E. coli, the efficient intracellular processing of fusion proteins was achieved. The resulting passenger protein GlcK-Histag and Amy-Histag accumulated predominantly in a soluble form, and could be conveniently purified by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. However, the fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag was processed incompletely by the protease TEV coexpressed in vivo, and a large portion of the resulting target protein GFP-Histag aggregated in insoluble form, indicating that the intracellular processing may affect the solubility of cleaved passenger protein. In this context, the soluble fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag, contained in the supernatant of E. coli cell lysate, was directly subjected to cleavage in vitro by mixing it with the clarified cell lysate of E. coli overexpressing protease TEV. Consequently, the resulting target protein GFP-Histag could accumulate predominantly in a soluble form, and be purified conveniently by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. The approaches presented here greatly simplify the purification process of passenger proteins, and eliminate the use of large amounts of pure site-specific proteases. PMID:26641240

  5. Purification of CD47-streptavidin fusion protein from bacterial lysate using biotin-agarose affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Salehi, Nasrin; Peng, Ching-An

    2016-07-08

    CD47 is a widely expressed transmembrane glycoprotein that modulates the activity of a plethora of immune cells via its extracellular domain. Therefore, CD47 plays important roles in the regulation of immune responses and may serve as targets for the development of immunotherapeutic agents. To make sure CD47 functionality is intact under the process of protein conjugation, CD47-streptavidin fusion protein was expressed and purified because it can easily bind to biotin-tagged materials via the unique biotin-streptavidin affinity. In this study, gene sequences of CD47 extracellular domain (CD47ECD) and core streptavidin (coreSA) with a total 834 bp were inserted into pET20b plasmid to construct recombinant plasmid encoding CD47-SA fusion gene. After bacteria transformation, the CD47-SA fusion protein was expressed by isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) induction. The collected bacteria lysate was loaded on biotinylated agarose to proceed the purification of CD47-SA fusion protein. Due to the unexpected high affinity between biotin and coreSA, standard washing and elution approaches (e.g., varying pH, using biotin, and applying guanidine hydrochloride) reported for biotin-streptavidin affinity chromatography were not able to separate the target fusion protein. Instead, using low concentration of the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 followed with alkaline buffer could efficiently weaken the binding between biotin and coreSA, thereby eluting out CD47-SA fusion protein from the biotin agarose column. The purified CD47-SA fusion protein was further characterized by molecular biology methods and its antiphagocytic functionality was confirmed by the phagocytosis assay. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:949-958, 2016. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  6. Improved method for the on-line metal chelate affinity chromatography-high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of tetracycline antibiotics in animal products.

    PubMed

    Cooper, A D; Stubbings, G W; Kelly, M; Tarbin, J A; Farrington, W H; Shearer, G

    1998-07-03

    An improved on-line metal chelate affinity chromatography-high-performance liquid chromatography (MCAC-HPLC) method for the determination of tetracycline antibiotics in animal tissues and egg has been developed. Extraction was carried out with ethyl acetate. The extract was then evaporated to dryness and reconstituted in methanol prior to on-line MCAC clean-up and HPLC-UV determination. Recoveries of tetracycline, oxytetracycline, demeclocycline and chlortetracycline in the range 42% to 101% were obtained from egg, poultry, fish and venison tissues spiked at 25 micrograms kg-1. Limits of detection less than 10 microgram kg-1 were estimated for all four analytes. This method has higher throughput, higher recovery and lower limits of detection than a previously reported on-line MCAC-HPLC method which involved aqueous extraction and solid-phase extraction clean-up.

  7. The antigenicity in guinea pigs and monkeys of three mycobacterial polysaccharides purified by affinity chromatography with concanavalin A.

    PubMed

    Daniel, T M

    1975-06-01

    The antigenicity of 3 polysaccharides purified from culture filtrates of Mycobacterim tuberculosis by affinity chromatography using a concanavalin A-agarose absorbent was studied. All 3 purified polysaccharides were found to be potent elicitors of delayed skin test reactions in sensitized guinea pigs and in a tuberculos monkey. This antigenicity could not be attributed to contaminating protein. Small dermal reactions were also observed in control guinea pigs. All 3 polysaccharides reacted with precipitating antibody in guinea pig sera, the antigenic specificity observed with the guinea pig sera differing from that demonstrated with reference goat antiserum. The 3 polysaccharides were also demonstrated to contain hemagglutination antigenic sites.

  8. Targeting Anti-Cancer Active Compounds: Affinity-Based Chromatographic Assays

    PubMed Central

    de Moraes, Marcela Cristina; Cardoso, Carmen Lucia; Seidl, Claudia; Moaddel, Ruin; Cass, Quezia Bezerra

    2016-01-01

    Affinity-based chromatography assays encompass the use of solid supports containing immobilized biological targets to monitor binding events in the isolation , identification and/or characterization of bioactive compounds. This powerful bioanalytical technique allows the screening of potential binders through fast analyses that can be directly performed using isolated substances or complex matrices. An overview of the recent researches in frontal and zonal affinity-based chromatography screening assays, which has been used as a tool in the identification and characterization of new anti-cancer agents, is discussed. In addition, a critical evaluation of the recently emerged ligands fishing assays in complex mixtures is also discussed. PMID:27306095

  9. Hollow fiber based affinity selection combined with high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy for rapid screening lipase inhibitors from lotus leaf.

    PubMed

    Tao, Yi; Zhang, Yufeng; Wang, Yi; Cheng, Yiyu

    2013-06-27

    A novel kind of immobilized enzyme affinity selection strategy based on hollow fibers has been developed for screening inhibitors from extracts of medicinal plants. Lipases from porcine pancreas were adsorbed onto the surface of polypropylene hollow fibers to form a stable matrix for ligand fishing, which was called hollow fibers based affinity selection (HF-AS). A variety of factors related to binding capability, including enzyme concentration, incubation time, temperature, buffer pH and ion strength, were optimized using a known lipase inhibitor hesperidin. The proposed approach was applied in screening potential lipase bound ligands from extracts of lotus leaf, followed by rapid characterization of active compounds using high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Three flavonoids including quercetin-3-O-β-D-arabinopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-galactopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide and kaempferol-3-O-β-d-glucuronide were identified as lipase inhibitors by the proposed HF-AS approach. Our findings suggested that the hollow fiber-based affinity selection could be a rapid and convenient approach for drug discovery from natural products resources. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Purification and characterization of a new type lactose-binding Ulex europaeus lectin by affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Konami, Y; Yamamoto, K; Osawa, T

    1991-02-01

    A new type lactose-binding lectin was purified from extracts of Ulex europaeus seeds by affinity chromatography on a column of galactose-Sepharose 4B, followed by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. This lectin, designated as Ulex europaeus lectin III (UEA-III), was found to be inhibited by lactose. The dimeric lectin is a glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 70,000 Da; it consists of two apparently identical subunits of a molecular mass of 34,000 Da. Compositional analysis showed that this lectin contains 30% carbohydrate and a large amount of aspartic acid, serine and valine, but no sulfur-containing amino acids. The N-terminal amino-acid sequences of L-fucose-binding Ulex europaeus lectin I (UEA-I) and di-N-acetylchitobiose-binding Ulex europaeus lectin II (UEA-II), both of which we have already purified and characterized, and that of UEA-III were determined and compared.

  11. The Carnegie-Spitzer-IMACS Redshift Survey of Galaxy Evolution since z = 1.5. I. Description and Methodology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelson, Daniel D.; Williams, Rik J.; Dressler, Alan; McCarthy, Patrick J.; Shectman, Stephen A.; Mulchaey, John S.; Villanueva, Edward V.; Crane, Jeffrey D.; Quadri, Ryan F.

    2014-03-01

    We describe the Carnegie-Spitzer-IMACS (CSI) Survey, a wide-field, near-IR selected spectrophotometric redshift survey with the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) on Magellan-Baade. By defining a flux-limited sample of galaxies in Spitzer Infrared Array Camera 3.6 μm imaging of SWIRE fields, the CSI Survey efficiently traces the stellar mass of average galaxies to z ~ 1.5. This first paper provides an overview of the survey selection, observations, processing of the photometry and spectrophotometry. We also describe the processing of the data: new methods of fitting synthetic templates of spectral energy distributions are used to derive redshifts, stellar masses, emission line luminosities, and coarse information on recent star formation. Our unique methodology for analyzing low-dispersion spectra taken with multilayer prisms in IMACS, combined with panchromatic photometry from the ultraviolet to the IR, has yielded high-quality redshifts for 43,347 galaxies in our first 5.3 deg2 of the SWIRE XMM-LSS field. We use three different approaches to estimate our redshift errors and find robust agreement. Over the full range of 3.6 μm fluxes of our selection, we find typical redshift uncertainties of σ z /(1 + z) <~ 0.015. In comparisons with previously published spectroscopic redshifts we find scatters of σ z /(1 + z) = 0.011 for galaxies at 0.7 <= z <= 0.9, and σ z /(1 + z) = 0.014 for galaxies at 0.9 <= z <= 1.2. For galaxies brighter and fainter than i = 23 mag, we find σ z /(1 + z) = 0.008 and σ z /(1 + z) = 0.022, respectively. Notably, our low-dispersion spectroscopy and analysis yields comparable redshift uncertainties and success rates for both red and blue galaxies, largely eliminating color-based systematics that can seriously bias observed dependencies of galaxy evolution on environment. This paper includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.

  12. Monocarboxylate and alpha-ketoglutarate carriers from bovine heart mitochondria. Purification by affinity chromatography on immobilized 2-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate.

    PubMed

    Bolli, R; Nałecz, K A; Azzi, A

    1989-10-25

    2-Cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate was covalently linked, through a diazo bond, to Sepharose 4B, which had been elongated with a hydrophobic spacer. A Triton X-100 extract from bovine heart mitochondria was pre-purified by hydroxylapatite chromatography and passed through the 2-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate affinity resin in the presence of 0.7% deoxycholate. At pH 6 and in the presence of 0.2 M sodium chloride, a single polypeptide with an Mr of 34,000 was eluted. Subsequently, at pH 8 and in the presence of 2-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate, another single protein with an Mr of 31,500 was released. Both proteins were reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles and their transport activities were measured. High, delta pH-dependent, 2-cyanocinnamate-sensitive pyruvate uptake was measured in vesicles containing only the 34-kDa protein. alpha-Ketobutyrate and other alpha-ketomonocarboxylic acids were competitive inhibitors of the pyruvate uptake, whereas di- and tricarboxylates had only small effects. alpha-Ketoglutarate-alpha-ketoglutarate exchange could only be measured in vesicles containing the 31.5-kDa protein. The molecular weight of this protein and its functional properties were similar to those of the alpha-ketoglutarate carrier isolated by a different method (Bisaccia, Indiveri, C., and Palmieri, F. (1985) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 810, 362-369). 2-Cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate inhibited the alpha-ketoglutarate exchange in a noncompetitive manner with an apparent Ki of 0.7 mM. It is concluded that by the described affinity chromatography procedure, two mitochondrial carriers transporting alpha-ketoacids, i.e. the monocarboxylate and the alpha-ketoglutarate carrier, could be purified in a functionally active state.

  13. Affinity approaches in RNAi-based therapeutics purification.

    PubMed

    Pereira, Patrícia; Queiroz, João A; Figueiras, Ana; Sousa, Fani

    2016-05-15

    The recent investigation on RNA interference (RNAi) related mechanisms and applications led to an increased awareness of the importance of RNA in biology. Nowadays, RNAi-based technology has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for silencing gene expression, being exploited to develop new therapeutics for treating a vast number of human disease conditions, as it is expected that this technology can be translated onto clinical applications in a near future. This approach makes use of a large number of small (namely short interfering RNAs, microRNAs and PIWI-interacting RNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which are likely to have a crucial role as the next generation therapeutics. The commercial and biomedical interest in these RNAi-based therapy applications have fostered the need to develop innovative procedures to easily and efficiently purify RNA, aiming to obtain the final product with high purity degree, good quality and biological activity. Recently, affinity chromatography has been applied to ncRNAs purification, in view of the high specificity. Therefore, this article intends to review the biogenesis pathways of regulatory ncRNAs and also to discuss the most significant and recent developments as well as applications of affinity chromatography in the challenging task of purifying ncRNAs. In addition, the importance of affinity chromatography in ncRNAs purification is addressed and prospects for what is forthcoming are presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Thiacarbocyanine as ligand in dye-affinity chromatography for protein purification. II. Dynamic binding capacity using lysozyme as a model.

    PubMed

    Boto, R E F; Anyanwu, U; Sousa, F; Almeida, P; Queiroz, J A

    2009-09-01

    A constant development of dye-affinity chromatography to replace more traditional techniques is verified, with the aim of increasing specificity in the purification of biomolecules. The establishment of a new dye-affinity chromatographic support imposes their complete characterization, namely with relation to the binding capacity for proteins, in order to evaluate its applicability on global purification processes. Following previous studies, the adsorption of lysozyme onto a thiacarbocyanine dye immobilized on beaded cellulose was investigated. The effect of different parameters, such as temperature, ionic strength, pH, protein concentration and flow rate, on the dynamic binding capacity of the support to retain lysozyme was also studied. Increasing the temperature and the lysozyme concentration had a positive effect on the dynamic binding capacity (DBC), whereas increasing the ionic strength and the flow rate resulted in the opposite. It was also discovered that the pH used had an important impact on the lysozyme binding onto the immobilized dye. The maximum DBC value obtained for lysozyme was 8.6 mg/mL, which was achieved at 30 degrees C and pH 9 with a protein concentration of 0.5 mg/mL and a flow rate of 0.05 mL/min. The dissociation constant (K(d)) obtained was 2.61 +/- 0.36 x 10(-5 )m, proving the affinity interaction between the thiacarbocyanine dye ligand and the lysozyme. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Purification of native M. vogae and H. contortus tubulin by TOG affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Munguía, Beatriz; Teixeira, Ramiro; Veroli, Victoria; Melian, Elisa; Saldaña, Jenny; Minteguiaga, Mahia; Señorale, Mario; Marín, Mónica; Domínguez, Laura

    2017-11-01

    Microtubules are non-covalent cylindrical polymers formed by alpha- and beta-tubulin heterodimer units, crucial for cell division, intracellular transport, motility and differentiation. This makes them very attractive pharmacological targets exploited to develop different drugs such as anthelmintics, antifungals, and antineoplastics. In this work, in order to establish an in vitro target-based screen to integrate to the search for new anthelmintics, we explored the extraction of native assembly-competent tubulin from two helminth parasites: Mesocestoides vogae tetrathyridia (syn. corti, Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea), a useful cestode biological model, and Haemonchus contortus, a sheep gastrointestinal nematode of interest in livestock production. For this purpose, a novel tubulin affinity chromatography procedure was employed, based on the binding capacity of TOG (Tumor Overexpressed Gene) domain from MAPs (microtubule-associated proteins). The TOG domain of the protein Stu2 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae fused to GST (glutathione S- transferase) were produced in E. coli, and the immobilized recombinant proteins allowed for native tubulin extraction from parasites. The binding capacity of TOG1 affinity column (3.6%) was estimated using commercial porcine brain tubulin. A total amount of up to 126 μg of M. vogae tubulin was purified, whereas H. contortus tubulin co-eluted with glutamate dehydrogenase enzyme. The identity of tubulins was confirmed by western blotting and mass spectrometry. The abundance of tubulin estimated in M. vogae was 10% soluble extract, which probably could explain differences observed between tubulin purification results of both helminth parasites. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Cockpit Interfaces, Displays, and Alerting Messages for the Interval Management Alternative Clearances (IMAC) Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baxley, Brian T.; Palmer, Michael T.; Swieringa, Kurt A.

    2015-01-01

    This document describes the IM cockpit interfaces, displays, and alerting capabilities that were developed for and used in the IMAC experiment, which was conducted at NASA Langley in the summer of 2015. Specifically, this document includes: (1) screen layouts for each page of the interface; (2) step-by-step instructions for data entry, data verification and input error correction; (3) algorithm state messages and error condition alerting messages; (4) aircraft speed guidance and deviation indications; and (5) graphical display of the spatial relationships between the Ownship aircraft and the Target aircraft. The controller displays for IM will be described in a separate document.

  17. Determination of soluble immunoglobulin G in bovine colostrum products by Protein G affinity chromatography-turbidity correction and method validation.

    PubMed

    Holland, Patrick T; Cargill, Anne; Selwood, Andrew I; Arnold, Kate; Krammer, Jacqueline L; Pearce, Kevin N

    2011-05-25

    Immunoglobulin-containing food products and nutraceuticals such as bovine colostrum are of interest to consumers as they may provide health benefits. Commercial scale colostrum products are valued for their immunoglobulin G (IgG) content and therefore require accurate analysis. One of the most commonly used methods for determining total soluble IgG in colostrum products is based on affinity chromatography using a Protein G column and UV detection. This paper documents improvements to the accuracy of the Protein G analysis of IgG in colostrum products, especially those containing aggregated forms of IgG. Capillary electrophoresis-sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE-SDS) analysis confirmed that aggregated IgG measured by Protein G does not contain significant amounts of casein or other milk proteins. Size exclusion chromatography identified the content of soluble IgG as mainly monomeric IgG and aggregated material MW > 450 kDa with small amounts of dimer and trimer. The turbidity of the eluting IgG, mainly associated with aggregated IgG, had a significant effect on the quantitative results. Practical techniques were developed to correct affinity LC data for turbidity on an accurate, consistent, and efficient basis. The method was validated in two laboratories using a variety of colostrum powders. Precision for IgG was 2-3% (RSD(r)) and 3-12% (RSD(R)). Recovery was 100.2 ± 2.4% (mean ± RSD, n = 10). Greater amounts of aggregated IgG were solubilized by a higher solution:sample ratio and extended times of mixing or sonication, especially for freeze-dried material. It is concluded that the method without acid precipitation and with turbidity correction provides accurate, precise, and robust data for total soluble IgG and is suitable for product specification and quality control of colostrum products.

  18. Dye-ligand affinity systems.

    PubMed

    Denizli, A; Pişkin, E

    2001-10-30

    Dye-ligands have been considered as one of the important alternatives to natural counterparts for specific affinity chromatography. Dye-ligands are able to bind most types of proteins, in some cases in a remarkably specific manner. They are commercially available, inexpensive, and can easily be immobilized, especially on matrices bearing hydroxyl groups. Although dyes are all synthetic in nature, they are still classified as affinity ligands because they interact with the active sites of many proteins mimicking the structure of the substrates, cofactors, or binding agents for those proteins. A number of textile dyes, known as reactive dyes, have been used for protein purification. Most of these reactive dyes consist of a chromophore (either azo dyes, anthraquinone, or phathalocyanine), linked to a reactive group (often a mono- or dichlorotriazine ring). The interaction between the dye ligand and proteins can be by complex combination of electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen bonding. Selection of the supporting matrix is the first important consideration in dye-affinity systems. There are several methods for immobilization of dye molecules onto the support matrix, in which usually several intermediate steps are followed. Both the adsorption and elution steps should carefully be optimized/designed for a successful separation. Dye-affinity systems in the form of spherical sorbents or as affinity membranes have been used in protein separation.

  19. Functionalized diamond nanopowder for phosphopeptides enrichment from complex biological fluids.

    PubMed

    Hussain, Dilshad; Najam-ul-Haq, Muhammad; Jabeen, Fahmida; Ashiq, Muhammad N; Athar, Muhammad; Rainer, Matthias; Huck, Christian W; Bonn, Guenther K

    2013-05-02

    Diamond is known for its high affinity and biocompatibility towards biomolecules and is used exclusively in separation sciences and life science research. In present study, diamond nanopowder is derivatized as Immobilized Metal Ion Affinity Chromatographic (IMAC) material for the phosphopeptides enrichment and as Reversed Phase (C-18) media for the desalting of complex mixtures and human serum profiling through MALDI-TOF-MS. Functionalized diamond nanopowder is characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Diamond-IMAC is applied to the standard protein (β-casein), spiked human serum, egg yolk and non-fat milk for the phosphopeptides enrichment. Results show the selectivity of synthesized IMAC-diamond immobilized with Fe(3+) and La(3+) ions. To comprehend the elaborated use, diamond-IMAC is also applied to the serum samples from gall bladder carcinoma for the potential biomarkers. Database search is carried out by the Mascot program (www.matrixscience.com) for the assignment of phosphorylation sites. Diamond nanopowder is thus a separation media with multifunctional use and can be applied to cancer protein profiling for the diagnosis and biomarker identification. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Protein Affinity Chromatography with Purified Yeast DNA Polymerase α Detects Proteins that Bind to DNA Polymerase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miles, Jeff; Formosa, Tim

    1992-02-01

    We have overexpressed the POL1 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and purified the resulting DNA polymerase α polypeptide in an apparently intact form. We attached the purified DNA polymerase covalently to an agarose matrix and used this matrix to chromatograph extracts prepared from yeast cells. At least six proteins bound to the yeast DNA polymerase α matrix that did not bind to a control matrix. We speculate that these proteins might be DNA polymerase α accessory proteins. Consistent with this interpretation, one of the binding proteins, which we have named POB1 (polymerase one binding), is required for normal chromosome transmission. Mutations in this gene cause increased chromosome loss and an abnormal cell morphology, phenotypes that also occur in the presence of mutations in the yeast α or δ polymerase genes. These results suggest that the interactions detected by polymerase affinity chromatography are biologically relevant and may help to illuminate the architecture of the eukaryotic DNA replication machinery.

  1. The Cutting Edge of Affinity Electrophoresis Technology

    PubMed Central

    Kinoshita, Eiji; Kinoshita-Kikuta, Emiko; Koike, Tohru

    2015-01-01

    Affinity electrophoresis is an important technique that is widely used to separate and analyze biomolecules in the fields of biology and medicine. Both quantitative and qualitative information can be gained through affinity electrophoresis. Affinity electrophoresis can be applied through a variety of strategies, such as mobility shift electrophoresis, charge shift electrophoresis or capillary affinity electrophoresis. These strategies are based on changes in the electrophoretic patterns of biological macromolecules that result from interactions or complex-formation processes that induce changes in the size or total charge of the molecules. Nucleic acid fragments can be characterized through their affinity to other molecules, for example transcriptional factor proteins. Hydrophobic membrane proteins can be identified by means of a shift in the mobility induced by a charged detergent. The various strategies have also been used in the estimation of association/disassociation constants. Some of these strategies have similarities to affinity chromatography, in that they use a probe or ligand immobilized on a supported matrix for electrophoresis. Such methods have recently contributed to profiling of major posttranslational modifications of proteins, such as glycosylation or phosphorylation. Here, we describe advances in analytical techniques involving affinity electrophoresis that have appeared during the last five years. PMID:28248262

  2. A Lectin Purified from Blood Red Bracket Mushroom, Pycnoporus sanguineus (Agaricomycetidae), Mycelium Displayed Affinity Toward Bovine Transferrin.

    PubMed

    Albores, Silvana; Moros, Maria; Cerdeiras, Maria Pia; de la Fuente, Jesus Martinez; Grazu, Valeria; Fraguas, Laura Franco

    2016-01-01

    Fungal lectins constitute excellent ligands for development of affinity adsorbents useful in affinity chromatography. In this work, a lectin was purified from Pycnoporus sanguineus (PSL) mycelium using 3 procedures: by affinity chromatography, using magnetic galactosyl-nanoparticles or galactose coupled to Sepharose, and by ionic exchange chromatography (IEC). The highest lectin yield was achieved by IEC (55%); SDS-PAGE of PSL showed 2 bands with molecular mass of 68.7 and 55.2 kDa and IEC displayed 2 bands at pi 5.5 and 5.2. The lectin agglutinates rat erythrocytes, exhibiting broad specificity toward several monosaccharides, including galactose. The agglutination was also inhibited by the glycoproteins fetal calf fetuin, bovine lactoferrin, bovine transferrin, and horseradish peroxidase. The lectin was then used to synthesize an affinity adsorbent (PSL-Sepharose) and the interaction with glycoproteins was evaluated by analyzing their chromatographic behaviors. The strongest interaction with the PSL-derivative was observed with transferrin, although lower interactions were also displayed toward fetuin and lactoferrin. These results indicate that the purified PSL constitutes an interesting ligand for the design of affinity adsorbents to be used (i.e., in glycoprotein purification).

  3. DEVELOPMENT OF SULFHYDRYL-REACTIVE SILICA FOR PROTEIN IMMOBILIZATION IN HIGH-PERFORMANCE AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY

    PubMed Central

    Mallik, Rangan; Wa, Chunling; Hage, David S.

    2008-01-01

    Two techniques were developed for the immobilization of proteins and other ligands to silica through sulfhydryl groups. These methods made use of maleimide-activated silica (the SMCC method) or iodoacetyl-activated silica (the SIA method). The resulting supports were tested for use in high-performance affinity chromatography by employing human serum albumin (HSA) as a model protein. Studies with normal and iodoacetamide-modified HSA indicated that these methods had a high selectivity for sulfhydryl groups on this protein, which accounted for the coupling of 77–81% of this protein to maleimide- or iodacetyl-activated silica. These supports were also evaluated in terms of their total protein content, binding capacity, specific activity, non-specific binding, stability and chiral selectivity for several test solutes. HSA columns prepared using maleimide-activated silica gave the best overall results for these properties when compared to HSA that had been immobilized to silica through the Schiff base method (i.e., an amine-based coupling technique). A key advantage of the supports developed in this work is that they offer the potential of giving greater site-selective immobilization and ligand activity than amine-based coupling methods. These features make these supports attractive in the development of protein columns for such applications as the study of biological interactions and chiral separations. PMID:17297940

  4. Flight Crew Responses to the Interval Management Alternative Clearances (IMAC) Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baxley, Brian T.; Wilson, Sara R.; Swieringa, Kurt A.; Roper, Roy D.

    2016-01-01

    Interval Management Alternative Clearances (IMAC) was a human-in-the-loop simulation experiment conducted to explore the efficacy and acceptability of three IM operations: CAPTURE, CROSS, and MAINTAIN. Two weeks of data collection were conducted, with each week using twelve subject pilots and four subject controllers flying ten high-density arrival scenarios into the Denver International Airport. Overall, both the IM operations and procedures were rated very favorably by the flight crew in terms of acceptability, workload, and pilot head down time. However, several critical issues were identified requiring resolution prior to real-world implementation, including the high frequency of IM speed commands, IM speed commands requiring changes to aircraft configuration, and ambiguous IM cockpit displays that did not trigger the intended pilot reaction. The results from this experiment will be used to prepare for a flight test in 2017, and to support the development of an advanced IM concept of operations by the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) and aviation industry.

  5. Affinity purification and mass spectrometry: an attractive choice to investigate protein-protein interactions in plant immunity

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Affinity purification of protein complexes from biological tissues, followed by liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry (AP-MS/MS), has ballooned in recent years due to sizeable increases in nucleic acid sequence data essential for interpreting mass spectra, improvements in affinity purifica...

  6. Lactosylamidine-based affinity purification for cellulolytic enzymes EG I and CBH I from Hypocrea jecorina and their properties.

    PubMed

    Ogata, Makoto; Kameshima, Yumiko; Hattori, Takeshi; Michishita, Kousuke; Suzuki, Tomohiro; Kawagishi, Hirokazu; Totani, Kazuhide; Hiratake, Jun; Usui, Taichi

    2010-12-10

    Selective adsorption and separation of β-glucosidase, endo-acting endo-β-(1→4)-glucanase I (EG I), and exo-acting cellobiohydrolase I (CBH I) were achieved by affinity chromatography with β-lactosylamidine as ligand. A crude cellulase preparation from Hypocrea jecorina served as the source of enzyme. When crude cellulase was applied to the lactosylamidine-based affinity column, β-glucosidase appeared in the unbound fraction. By contrast, EG I and CBH I were retained on the column and then separated from each other by appropriately adjusting the elution conditions. The relative affinities of the enzymes, based on their column elution conditions, were strongly dependent on the ligand. The highly purified EG I and CBH I, obtained by affinity chromatography, were further purified by Mono P and DEAE chromatography, respectively. EG I and CBH I cleave only at the phenolic bond in p-nitrophenyl glycosides with lactose and N-acetyllactosamine (LacNAc). By contrast, both scissile bonds in p-nitrophenyl glycosides with cellobiose were subject to hydrolysis although with important differences in their kinetic parameters. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Purification of a thermostable alkaline laccase from papaya (Carica papaya) using affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Jaiswal, Nivedita; Pandey, Veda P; Dwivedi, Upendra N

    2015-01-01

    A laccase from papaya leaves was purified to homogeneity by a two step procedure namely, heat treatment (at 70 °C) and Con-A affinity chromatography. The procedure resulted in 1386.7-fold purification of laccase with a specific activity of 41.3 units mg(-1) and an overall yield of 61.5%. The native purified laccase was found to be a hexameric protein of ∼ 260 kDa. The purified enzyme exhibited acidic and alkaline pH optima of 6.0 and 8.0 with the non-phenolic substrate (ABTS) and phenolic substrate (catechol), respectively. The purified laccase was found to be thermostable up to 70 °C such that it retained ∼ 80% activity upon 30 min incubation at 70 °C. The Arrhenius energy of activation for purified laccase was found to be 7.7 kJ mol(-1). The enzyme oxidized various phenolic and non-phenolic substrates having catalytic efficiency (K(cat)/K(m)) in the order of 7.25>0.67>0.27 mM(-1) min(-1) for ABTS, catechol and hydroquinone, respectively. The purified laccase was found to be activated by Mn(2+), Cd(2+), Ca(2+), Na(+), Fe(2+), Co(2+) and Cu(2+) while weakly inhibited by Hg(2+). The properties such as thermostability, alkaline pH optima and metal tolerance exhibited by the papaya laccase make it a promising candidate enzyme for industrial exploitation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with a small metal-binding protein from Nitrosomonas europaea.

    PubMed

    Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Zarate, Xristo

    2016-02-01

    Escherichia coli is still the preferred organism for large-scale production of recombinant proteins. The use of fusion proteins has helped considerably in enhancing the solubility of heterologous proteins and their purification with affinity chromatography. Here, the use of a small metal-binding protein (SmbP) from Nitrosomonas europaea is described as a new fusion protein for protein expression and purification in E. coli. Fluorescent proteins tagged at the N-terminal with SmbP showed high levels of solubility, compared with those of maltose-binding protein and glutathione S-transferase, and low formation of inclusion bodies. Using commercially available IMAC resins charged with Ni(II), highly pure recombinant proteins were obtained after just one chromatography step. Proteins may be purified from the periplasm of E. coli if SmbP contains the signal sequence at the N-terminal. After removal of the SmbP tag from the protein of interest, high-yields are obtained since SmbP is a protein of just 9.9 kDa. The results here obtained suggest that SmbP is a good alternative as a fusion protein/affinity tag for the production of soluble recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Biomonitoring of selenoprotein P in human serum by fast affinity chromatography coupled to ICP-MS.

    PubMed

    Heitland, Peter; Köster, Helmut D

    2018-04-01

    Most of the Se in human serum is bound to selenoprotein P (SEPP1) in which Se is present in form of selenocysteine. The SEPP1 is a new possible biomarker for the Se status and for this reason we developed a fast, simple and reliable method for the quantitative determination of SEPP1 in serum by affinity chromatography coupled to ICP-MS. It is possible to separate SEPP1 from other selenoproteins in serum in only 5 min, which allows high sample throughput in clinical laboratories. Measured and certified concentrations of total Se and Se(SEPP1) are in good agreement for the reference material SRM 1950. The SEPP1 concentration was stable in serum samples of 3 persons for a minimum of 2 weeks. Further results of method validation were described including internal and external quality assurance. The analytical method was applied for a biomonitoring study of the SEPP1 and total Se concentration in human serum of 50 occupationally non-exposed persons living in northern Germany. Concentration ranges and mean concentrations for Se(SEPP1) are 31.1-59.7 and 46.2 μg/L, respectively. The corresponding values for total Se are 62-120 and 83.5 μg/L. The mean percentage of total Se in serum present as SEPP1 is 58%. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Use of entrapment and high-performance affinity chromatography to compare the binding of drugs and site-specific probes with normal and glycated human serum albumin

    PubMed Central

    Jackson, Abby J.; Anguizola, Jeanethe; Pfaunmiller, Erika L.; Hage, David S.

    2013-01-01

    Protein entrapment and high-performance affinity chromatography were used with zonal elution to examine the changes in binding that occurred for site-specific probes and various sulfonylurea drugs with normal and glycated forms of human serum albumin (HSA). Samples of this protein in a soluble form were physically entrapped within porous silica particles by using glycogen-capped hydrazide-activated silica; these supports were then placed into 1.0 cm × 2.1 mm inner diameter columns. Initial zonal elution studies were performed using (R)-warfarin and L-tryptophan as probes for Sudlow sites I and II (i.e., the major drug binding sites of HSA), giving quantitative measures of binding affinities in good agreement with literature values. It was also found for solutes with multisite binding to the same proteins, such as many sulfonylurea drugs, that this method could be used to estimate the global affinity of the solute for the entrapped protein. This entrapment and zonal approach provided retention information with precisions of ±0.1–3.3% (± one standard deviation) and elution within 0.50–3.00 min for solutes with binding affinities of 1 × 104–3 × 105 M−1. Each entrapped-protein column was used for many binding studies, which decreased the cost and amount of protein needed per injection (e.g., the equivalent of only 125–145 pmol of immobilized HSA or glycated HSA per injection over 60 sample application cycles). This method can be adapted for use with other proteins and solutes and should be valuable in high-throughput screening or quantitative studies of drug–protein binding or related biointeractions. PMID:23657448

  11. Purification of HBsAg produced by the human hepatoma cell line PLC/PRE/5 by affinity chromatography using monoclonal antibodies and application for ELISA diagnostic.

    PubMed

    Merten, O W; Reiter, S; Scheirer, W; Katinger, H

    1983-01-01

    The human cell line PLC/PRF/5 (5) was used for the production of hepatitis B surface antigen subtype ad (HBsAg ad) and purified by affinity chromatography (AC) with monoclonal antibodies (mAb). mAb to HBsAg from mouse ascites have been purified by Protein A - AC prior coupling to AH-Sepharose 4B (Pharmacia). The combined procedure of ammonium-sulphate-precipitation of HBsAg from culture supernatants and immunosorbent-AC leads to approx. 700-fold purification. ELISA results using the mAb and the HBsAg for diagnostics of human serum, positive for anti-HBsAg-antibodies correlate with the RIA (AUSAB, Abbott).

  12. Targeted Quantification of Phosphorylation Dynamics in the Context of EGFR-MAPK Pathway.

    PubMed

    Yi, Lian; Shi, Tujin; Gritsenko, Marina A; X'avia Chan, Chi-Yuet; Fillmore, Thomas L; Hess, Becky M; Swensen, Adam C; Liu, Tao; Smith, Richard D; Wiley, H Steven; Qian, Wei-Jun

    2018-04-17

    Large-scale phosphoproteomics with coverage of over 10,000 sites of phosphorylation have now been routinely achieved with advanced mass spectrometry (MS)-based workflows. However, accurate targeted MS-based quantification of phosphorylation dynamics, an important direction for gaining quantitative understanding of signaling pathways or networks, has been much less investigated. Herein, we report an assessment of the targeted workflow in the context of signal transduction pathways, using the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway as our model. A total of 43 phosphopeptides from the EGFR-MAPK pathway were selected for the study. The recovery and sensitivity of two commonly used enrichment methods, immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and titanium oxide (TiO 2 ), combined with selected reaction monitoring (SRM)-MS were evaluated. The recovery of phosphopeptides by IMAC and TiO 2 enrichment was quantified to be 38 ± 5% and 58 ± 20%, respectively, based on internal standards. Moreover, both enrichment methods provided comparable sensitivity from 1 to 100 μg starting peptides. Robust quantification was consistently achieved for most targeted phosphopeptides when starting with 25-100 μg peptides. However, the numbers of quantified targets significantly dropped when peptide samples were in the 1-25 μg range. Finally, IMAC-SRM was applied to quantify signaling dynamics of EGFR-MAPK pathway in Hs578T cells following 10 ng/mL EGF treatment. The kinetics of phosphorylation clearly revealed early and late phases of phosphorylation, even for very low abundance proteins. These results demonstrate the feasibility of robust targeted quantification of phosphorylation dynamics for specific pathways, even starting with relatively small amounts of protein.

  13. Targeted Quantification of Phosphorylation Dynamics in the Context of EGFR-MAPK Pathway

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yi, Lian; Shi, Tujin; Gritsenko, Marina A.

    2018-03-27

    Large-scale phosphoproteomics with coverage of over 10,000 sites of phosphorylation have now been routinely achieved with advanced mass spectrometry (MS)-based workflows. However, accurate targeted MS-based quantification of phosphorylation dynamics, an important direction for gaining quantitative understanding of signaling pathways or networks, has been much less investigated. Herein, we report an assessment of the targeted workflow in the context of signal transduction pathways, using the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway as our model. 43 phosphopeptides from the EGFR–MAPK pathway were selected for the study. The recovery and sensitivity of a workflow consisted of two commonly used enrichmentmore » methods, immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and titanium oxide (TiO2), combined with selected reaction monitoring (SRM)-MS, were evaluated. The recovery of phosphopeptides by IMAC and TiO2 enrichment was quantified to be 38 ± 5% and 58 ± 20%, respectively, based on internal standards. Moreover, both enrichment methods provided comparable sensitivity from 1-100 g starting peptides. Robust quantification was consistently achieved for most targeted phosphopeptides when starting with 25-100 g peptides. However, the numbers of quantified targets significantly dropped when peptide samples were in the 1-25g range. Finally, IMAC-SRM was applied to quantify signaling dynamics of EGFR-MAPK pathway in Hs578T cells following 3 ng/mL EGF treatment. The kinetics of phosphorylation clearly revealed early and late phases of phosphorylation, even for very low abundance proteins. These results demonstrate the feasibility of robust targeted quantification of phosphorylation dynamics for specific pathways, even starting with relatively small amounts of protein.« less

  14. Binding of TEM-1 beta-lactamase to beta-lactam antibiotics by frontal affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xiu; Li, Yuhua; Zhang, Yan; Yang, Jianting; Bian, Liujiao

    2017-04-15

    TEM-1 beta-lactamases can accurately catalyze the hydrolysis of the beta-lactam rings in beta-lactam antibiotics, which make beta-lactam antibiotics lose its activity, and the prerequisite for the hydrolysis procedure in the binding interaction of TEM-1 beta-lactamases with beta-lactam antibiotics is the beta-lactam rings in beta-lactam antibiotics. Therefore, the binding of TEM-1 beta-lactamase to three beta-lactam antibiotics including penicillin G, cefalexin as well as cefoxitin was explored here by frontal affinity chromatography in combination with fluorescence spectra, adsorption and thermodynamic data in the temperature range of 278-288K under simulated physiological conditions. The results showed that all the binding of TEM-1 beta-lactamase to the three antibiotics were spontaneously exothermic processes with the binding constants of 8.718×10 3 , 6.624×10 3 and 2.244×10 3 (mol/L), respectively at 288K. All the TEM-1 beta-lactamases were immobilized on the surface of the stationary phase in the mode of monolayer and there existed only one type of binding sites on them. Each TEM-1 beta-lactamase bound with only one beta-lactam antibiotic and hydrogen bond interaction and Van der Waals force were the main forces between them. This work provided an insight into the binding interactions between TEM-1 beta-lactamases and beta-lactam antibiotics, which may be beneficial for the designing and developing of new substrates resistant to TEM-1 beta-lactamases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. DNA aptamer affinity ligands for highly selective purification of human plasma-related proteins from multiple sources.

    PubMed

    Forier, Cynthia; Boschetti, Egisto; Ouhammouch, Mohamed; Cibiel, Agnès; Ducongé, Frédéric; Nogré, Michel; Tellier, Michel; Bataille, Damien; Bihoreau, Nicolas; Santambien, Patrick; Chtourou, Sami; Perret, Gérald

    2017-03-17

    Nucleic acid aptamers are promising ligands for analytical and preparative-scale affinity chromatography applications. However, a full industrial exploitation requires that aptamer-grafted chromatography media provide a number of high technical standards that remained largely untested. Ideally, they should exhibit relatively high binding capacity associated to a very high degree of specificity. In addition, they must be highly resistant to harsh cleaning/sanitization conditions, as well as to prolonged and repeated exposure to biological environment. Here, we present practical examples of aptamer affinity chromatography for the purification of three human therapeutic proteins from various sources: Factor VII, Factor H and Factor IX. In a single chromatographic step, three DNA aptamer ligands enabled the efficient purification of their target protein, with an unprecedented degree of selectivity (from 0.5% to 98% of purity in one step). Furthermore, these aptamers demonstrated a high stability under harsh sanitization conditions (100h soaking in 1M NaOH). These results pave the way toward a wider adoption of aptamer-based affinity ligands in the industrial-scale purification of not only plasma-derived proteins but also of any other protein in general. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Two-dimensional turbulent flow chromatography coupled on-line to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for solution-based ligand screening against multiple proteins.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Jian-Liang; An, Jing-Jing; Li, Ping; Li, Hui-Jun; Jiang, Yan; Cheng, Jie-Fei

    2009-03-20

    We present herein a novel bioseparation/chemical analysis strategy for protein-ligand screening and affinity ranking in compound mixtures, designed to increase screening rates and improve sensitivity and ruggedness in performance. The strategy is carried out by combining on-line two-dimensional turbulent flow chromatography (2D-TFC) with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and accomplished through the following steps: (1) a reversed-phase TFC stage to separate the protein/ligand complex from the unbound free molecules, (2) an on-line dissociation process to release the bound ligands from the complexes, and (3) a second mixed-mode cation-exchange/reversed-phase TFC stage to trap the bound ligands and to remove the proteins and salts, followed by LC-MS analysis for identification and determination of the binding affinities. The technique can implement an ultra-fast isolation of protein/ligand complex with the retention time of a complex peak in about 5s, and on-line prepare the "clean" sample to be directly compatible with the LC-MS analysis. The improvement in performance of this 2D-TFC/LC-MS approach over the conventional approach has been demonstrated by determining affinity-selected ligands of the target proteins acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase from a small library with known binding affinities and a steroidal alkaloid library composed of structurally similar compounds. Our results show that 2D-TFC/LC-MS is a generic and efficient tool for high-throughput screening of ligands with low-to-high binding affinities, and structure-activity relationship evaluation.

  17. Comparative study of glycated hemoglobin by ion exchange chromatography and affinity binding nycocard reader in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

    PubMed

    Gautam, N; Dubey, R K; Jayan, A; Nepaune, Y; Padmavathi, P; Chaudhary, S; Jha, S K; Sinha, A K

    2014-12-01

    The aim of this study was to compare the level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients by two different methods namely Ion Exchange Chromatography and Affinity Binding Nycocard Reader. This is a cross-sectional study conducted on confirmed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (n = 100) who visited Out Patients Department of the Universal College of Medical Sciences Teaching hospital, Bhairahawa, Nepal from November 2012 to March 2013. The diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was done on the basis of their fasting (164.46 ± 45.33 mg/dl) and random (187.93 ± 78.02 mg/dl) serum glucose level along with clinical history highly suggestive of type 2 DM. The HbA1c values of (7.8 ± 1.9%) and (8.0 ± 2.2%) were found in DM patients as estimated by those two different methods respectively. The highest frequency was observed in HbA1c > 8.0% indicating maximum cases were under very poor glycemic control. However, there were no significant differences observed in HbA1c value showing both methods are comparable in nature and can be used in lab for ease of estimation. The significant raised in HbA1c indicates complications associated with DM and monitoring of therapy become hard for those patients. Despite having standard reference method for HbA1c determination, the availability of report at the time of the patient visit can be made easy by using Nycocard Reader and Ion Exchange Chromatography techniques without any delay in communicating glycemic control, clinical decision-making and changes in treatment regimen.

  18. Bioengineering of Bacteria To Assemble Custom-Made Polyester Affinity Resins

    PubMed Central

    Hay, Iain D.; Du, Jinping; Burr, Natalie

    2014-01-01

    Proof of concept for the in vivo bacterial production of a polyester resin displaying various customizable affinity protein binding domains is provided. This was achieved by engineering various protein binding domains into a bacterial polyester-synthesizing enzyme. Affinity binding domains based on various structural folds and derived from molecular libraries were used to demonstrate the potential of this technique. Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins), engineered OB-fold domains (OBodies), and VHH domains from camelid antibodies (nanobodies) were employed. The respective resins were produced in a single bacterial fermentation step, and a simple purification protocol was developed. Purified resins were suitable for most lab-scale affinity chromatography purposes. All of the affinity domains tested produced polyester beads with specific affinity for the target protein. The binding capacity of these affinity resins ranged from 90 to 600 nmol of protein per wet gram of polyester affinity resin, enabling purification of a recombinant protein target from a complex bacterial cell lysate up to a purity level of 96% in one step. The polyester resin was efficiently produced by conventional lab-scale shake flask fermentation, resulting in bacteria accumulating up to 55% of their cellular dry weight as polyester. A further proof of concept demonstrating the practicality of this technique was obtained through the intracellular coproduction of a specific affinity resin and its target. This enables in vivo binding and purification of the coproduced “target protein.” Overall, this study provides evidence for the use of molecular engineering of polyester synthases toward the microbial production of specific bioseparation resins implementing previously selected binding domains. PMID:25344238

  19. Human thyrotropin receptor subunits characterized by thyrotropin affinity purification and western blotting.

    PubMed

    Leedman, P J; Newman, J D; Harrison, L C

    1989-07-01

    We studied the subunit structure of the human TSH receptor in thyroid tissue from patients with Graves' disease and multinodular goiter by TSH affinity chromatography, immunoprecipitation with Graves' immunoglobulins (Igs), and a modified technique of Western blotting. Human TSH receptor-binding activity was purified about 1,270-fold by sequential affinity chromatography on wheat germ lectin-agarose and TSH-agarose. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of nonreduced affinity-purified receptors eluted in sodium dodecyl sulfate sample buffer revealed three noncovalently linked subunits of 70,000, 50,000, and 35,000 mol wt. When reduced, a major subunit of 25,000 mol wt was identified. When 3 mol/L NaCl was used to elute affinity-purified receptors only the 50,000 mol wt nonreduced subunit was detected. This subunit bound [125I]bovine TSH and was precipitated by Graves' Igs. Modifications to the conventional Western blotting technique enabled thyroglobulin components (approximately 220,000 mol wt), thyroid microsomal antigen (a doublet of approximately 110,000 mol wt), and putative TSH receptor subunits of 70,000 and 50,000 mol wt to be identified in thyroid particulate membranes by Graves' Igs. Blotting of affinity-purified receptors eluted in sodium dodecyl sulfate sample buffer revealed subunits of either 70,000 or 50,000 mol wt, with a minority of Graves' serum samples. We conclude that the nonreduced human TSH receptor is an oligomeric complex comprising three different subunits of 70,000, 50,000, and 35,000 mol wt. The reduced receptor exists as a single subunit of 25,000 mol wt, which may be disulfide linked to form the higher mol wt forms. The 70,000 and 50,000 mol wt subunits contain epitopes that bind Graves' Igs in modified Western blots, thus directly confirming that the human TSH receptor is a target for Graves' Igs.

  20. Characterization of plasma membrane domains of mouse EL4 lymphoma cells obtained by affinity chromatography on concanavalin A-Sepharose.

    PubMed

    Szamel, M; Goppelt, M; Resch, K

    1985-12-19

    Purified plasma membranes of mouse EL4 lymphoma cells were fractionated by means of affinity chromatography on concanavalin A-Sepharose into two subfractions; one (MF1) eluted freely from the affinity column, the second (MF2) adhered specifically to Con A-Sepharose. Both membrane subfractions proved to be of plasma membrane origin, as evidenced by the following criteria. (i) The ratio of cholesterol to phospholipid was nearly identical in plasma membrane and both subfractions. (ii) When isolated plasma membranes were labelled with tritiated NaBH4, both subfractions exhibited identical specific radioactivities. (iii) After enzymatic radioiodination of the cells, the total content of labelled proteins was very similar in isolated plasma membranes and in both subfractions. (iv) Some plasma membrane marker enzymes exhibited nearly identical specific activities in plasma membranes, MF1 or MF2 including gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, 5'-nucleotidase and Mg2+-ATPase. Both subfractions exhibited characteristic differences. Thus the specific activities of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase and lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase were several-fold enriched in MF2 compared to MF1. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed a different polypeptide composition of the two subfractions. Polypeptides of apparent molecular mass of 116, 95, 42, 39, 30 and 28 kDa were highly enriched in MF2, whereas MF1 contained another set of proteins, of apparent molecular mass of 70, 55 and 24 kDa. The phospholipid fatty acid composition of the subfractions proved to be different, as well, MF2 contained more saturated fatty acids than MF1. The data suggest the existence of plasma membrane domains in the plasma membranes of the mouse EL4 lymphoma cells, containing a set of polypeptides, among others membrane bound enzymes, embedded in a different phospholipid milieu.

  1. Studies on lectins. XXXII. Application of affinity electrophoresis to the study of the interaction of lectins and their derivatives with sugars.

    PubMed

    Horejsí, V; Tichá, M; Kocourek, J

    1977-09-29

    Affinity electrophoresis was used to study the sugar binding heterogeneity of lectins or their derivatives. Commercial and demetallized preparations of concanavalin A could be resolved by affinity electrophoresis into three components with different affinity to immobilized sugar. Similarly the Vicia cracca lectin obtained by affinity chromatography behaved on affinity gels as a mixture of active and inactive molecular species. Affinity electrophoresis has shown that the nonhemagglutinating acetylated lentil lectin and photo-oxidized or sulfenylated pea lectin retain their sugar binding properties; dissociation constants of saccharide complexes of these derivatives are similar to those of native lectins. The presence of specific immobilized sugar in the affinity gel improved the resolution of isolectins from Dolichos biflorus and Ricinus communis seeds.

  2. Synthesis of Thermally Switchable Chromatographic Materials with Immobilized Ti4+ for Enrichment of Phosphopeptides by Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Di; Cao, Zhihan; Pang, Xinzhu; Deng, Yulin; Li, Bo; Dai, Rongji

    2018-01-01

    Reversible phosphorylation of proteins is one of the most crucial types of post-translational modifications (PTMs). And it shows significant work in diversified biological processes. However, the separation technology of phosphorylated peptides is still an analytical challenge in phosphoproteomics, because phosphopeptides are alway in low stoichiometry. Thus, enrichment of phosphopeptides before detection is indispensable. In this study, a novel temperature regulated separation protocol was developed. Silica@p (NIPAAm-co-IPPA)-Ti4+, a new Ti(IV)-IMAC (Immobilized Metal Affinity chromatography) materials was synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT). By the unique thermally responsive properties of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), the captured phosphorylated peptides could be released by changing temperature only without applying any other eluant which could damage the phosphopeptides. We employed isopropanol phosphonic acid (IPPA) as an IMAC ligand for the immobilization of Ti(IV) which could increase the specific adsorption of phosphopeptides. The enrichment and release properties were examined by treatment with pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP) and casein phosphopeptides (CPP). Two phosphorylated compounds above have temperature-stimulated binding to Ti4+. Finally, silica@p (NIPAAm-co-IPPA)-Ti4+ was successfully employed in pretreatment of phosphopeptides in a tryptic digest of a-casein and human serum albumin (HSA). The results indicated a great potential of this new temperature-responsive material in phosphoproteomics study.

  3. An inorganic boronate affinity in-needle monolithic device for specific capture of cis-diol containing compounds.

    PubMed

    Jin, Shanxia; Zhang, Wei; Yang, Qin; Dai, Lili; Zhou, Ping

    2018-02-01

    In this work, inorganic boronate affinity monolith was prepared by in situ synthesis in 0.33mm i.d. stainless steel needle through sol-gel process using tetraethoxysilane and tetrabutyl orthotitanate as the co-precursors. The morphology, structure and composition of the monolith were characterized. In contrast to conventional boronate affinity materials, inorganic boric acid was used as affinity ligand. Different compounds were used for the evaluation of the boronate affinity of this inorganic monolithic material. The monolith exhibited good selectivity towards cis-diol containing compounds. Recovery of greater than 90% was achieved for in-needle extraction of catechol under neutral conditions. Owing to the hydrophilic property of the monolith, the procedure of affinity chromatography could be performed in aqueous solution. This monolithic in-needle device will be useful for boronate affinity extraction of small-volume samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Multiparameter cell affinity chromatography: separation and analysis in a single microfluidic channel.

    PubMed

    Li, Peng; Gao, Yan; Pappas, Dimitri

    2012-10-02

    The ability to sort and capture more than one cell type from a complex sample will enable a wide variety of studies of cell proliferation and death and the analysis of disease states. In this work, we integrated a pneumatic actuated control layer to an affinity separation layer to create different antibody-coating regions on the same fluidic channel. The comparison of different antibody capture capabilities to the same cell line was demonstrated by flowing Ramos cells through anti-CD19- and anti-CD71-coated regions in the same channel. It was determined that the cell capture density on the anti-CD19 region was 2.44 ± 0.13 times higher than that on the anti-CD71-coated region. This approach can be used to test different affinity molecules for selectivity and capture efficiency using a single cell line in one separation. Selective capture of Ramos and HuT 78 cells from a mixture was also demonstrated using two antibody regions in the same channel. Greater than 90% purity was obtained on both capture areas in both continuous flow and stop flow separation modes. A four-region antibody-coated device was then fabricated to study the simultaneous, serial capture of three different cell lines. In this case the device showed effective capture of cells in a single separation channel, opening up the possibility of multiple cell sorting. Multiparameter sequential blood sample analysis was also demonstrated with high capture specificity (>97% for both CD19+ and CD4+ leukocytes). The chip can also be used to selectively treat cells after affinity separation.

  5. [Immuno-affinity chromatographic purification: the study of methods to test citrinin in monascus products by high performance liquid chromatography].

    PubMed

    Qiu, Wen-qian; Liu, Xiao-xia; Zheng, Kui-cheng; Fu, Wu-sheng

    2012-08-01

    To establish a method to test citrinin (CIT) in monascus products by immuno-affinity chromatography (IAC)-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and to detect the content of CIT in monascus products in Fujian province. IAC-HPLC was applied to detect the CIT content in monascus products. The conditions to use HPLC were as follows: C(18) reversed-phase chromatographic column, 150.0 mm×4.6mm×3 µm; mobile phase: the volume ratio of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid solution at 65:35; isocratic elution; column temperature: 28°C; flow velocity: 0.8 ml/min; fluorescence detector, excitation wavelength (λ(ex)) was 331 nm and emission wavelength (λ(em)) was 500 nm. The standard curved was established by the linear regression of peak area (Y) to CIT content (X, ng/ml). The accuracy and precision of the method would then be verified. And 32 kinds of monascus products were determined and their color values were compared by this method. The standard curve established in this study was Y = 4634.8X-136.42, r = 1.000; whose limits of detection was 20 µg/kg and the limits of qualification was 64 µg/kg. In the range between 200 and 800 µg/kg, the standard recovery rate was 98.9% - 110.0% (n = 3), and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 0.51% - 1.76%. Out of the 32 samples, CIT was detected from 11 samples of monascus rice, 9 samples of monascus powder and 5 samples of monascus pigments, the content was around 0.212 - 14.500 mg/kg. 4 out of 7 functional monascus samples were detected out CIT, whose content at 0.142 - 0.275 mg/kg. The method to detect CIT in monascus products by IAC-HPLC has been established.

  6. Physicochemical and Biological Characterization of Fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus Purified by Dye Affinity Chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Zayed, Ahmed; Muffler, Kai; Hahn, Thomas; Rupp, Steffen; Finkelmeier, Doris; Burger-Kentischer, Anke; Ulber, Roland

    2016-01-01

    A comparative study concerning the physicochemical, monomeric composition and biological characters among different fucoidan fractions is presented. Common purification techniques for fucoidan usually involve many steps. During these steps, the important structural features might be affected and consequently alter its biological activities. Three purified fractions were derived from Fucus vesiculosus water extract which, afterwards, were purified by a recently-developed dye affinity chromatography protocol. This protocol is based on dye-sulfated polysaccharide interactions. The first two fractions were obtained from crude precipitated fucoidan at different pH values of the adsorption phase: pH 1 and 6. This procedure resulted in fucoidan_1 and 6 fractions. The other, third, fraction: fucoidan_M, however, was obtained from a buffered crude extract at pH 1, eliminating the ethanol precipitation step. All of the three fractions were then further evaluated. Results revealed that fucoidan_M showed the highest sulfur content (S%), 12.11%, with the lowest average molecular weight, 48 kDa. Fucose, galactose, and uronic acid/glucose dimers were detected in all fractions, although, xylose was only detected in fucoidan_1 and 6. In a concentration of 10 µg·mL−1, Fucoidan_6 showed the highest heparin-like anticoagulant activity and could prolong the APTT and TT significantly to 66.03 ± 2.93 and 75.36 ± 1.37 s, respectively. In addition, fucoidan_M demonstrated the highest potency against HSV-1 with an IC50 of 2.41 µg·mL−1. The technique proved to be a candidate for fucoidan purifaction from its crude extract removing the precipitation step from common purification protocols and produced different fucoidan qualities resulted from the different incubation conditions with the immobilized thiazine toluidine blue O dye. PMID:27092514

  7. Optimization of pore structure and particle morphology of mesoporous silica for antibody adsorption for use in affinity chromatography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hikosaka, Ryouichi; Nagata, Fukue; Tomita, Masahiro; Kato, Katsuya

    2016-10-01

    Antibodies have received significant attention for use as antibody drugs, because they bind the objective protein (antigen) via antigen-antibody reactions. Recently, many reports have appeared on various monoclonal antibodies that recognize a single antigen. In this study, monoclonal antibodies are used as adsorbates on mesoporous silica (MPS) for affinity chromatography. MPS has high surface area and large pore volume; moreover, pore diameter, pore structure, and particle morphology are relatively easy to tune by adjusting the conditions of synthesis. The pore structure (two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal and three-dimensional cubic) and particle morphology (spherical and polyhedral) of MPS are optimized for use in a monoclonal antibody/MPS composite. When anti-IgG (one of the monoclonal antibodies) adsorbs on the MPS material and IgG (antigen) binds to anti-IgG/MPS composites, MCM-41p with a 2D-hexagonal pore structure and polyhedral particle morphology has the highest IgG binding efficiency. In addition, the antibody/MPS composites remain stable in chaotropic and low-pH solutions and can be cycled at least five times without decreasing IgG elution. In purification and removal tests, the use of the antibody/MPS composites allows only the objective protein from protein mixtures to be bound and eluted.

  8. Nonlinear model updating applied to the IMAC XXXII Round Robin benchmark system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kurt, Mehmet; Moore, Keegan J.; Eriten, Melih; McFarland, D. Michael; Bergman, Lawrence A.; Vakakis, Alexander F.

    2017-05-01

    We consider the application of a new nonlinear model updating strategy to a computational benchmark system. The approach relies on analyzing system response time series in the frequency-energy domain by constructing both Hamiltonian and forced and damped frequency-energy plots (FEPs). The system parameters are then characterized and updated by matching the backbone branches of the FEPs with the frequency-energy wavelet transforms of experimental and/or computational time series. The main advantage of this method is that no nonlinearity model is assumed a priori, and the system model is updated solely based on simulation and/or experimental measured time series. By matching the frequency-energy plots of the benchmark system and its reduced-order model, we show that we are able to retrieve the global strongly nonlinear dynamics in the frequency and energy ranges of interest, identify bifurcations, characterize local nonlinearities, and accurately reconstruct time series. We apply the proposed methodology to a benchmark problem, which was posed to the system identification community prior to the IMAC XXXII (2014) and XXXIII (2015) Conferences as a "Round Robin Exercise on Nonlinear System Identification". We show that we are able to identify the parameters of the non-linear element in the problem with a priori knowledge about its position.

  9. Prostate cell membrane chromatography-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for screening of active constituents from Uncaria rhynchophylla.

    PubMed

    He, Jianyu; Han, Shengli; Yang, Fangfang; Zhou, Nan; Wang, Sicen

    2013-01-01

    Uncaria rhynchophylla is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb used to treat hypertension and convulsive disorders such as epilepsy. Rat prostate cell membrane chromatography combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to identify active constituents from U. rhynchophylla extracts. Four compounds (corynoxeine, isorhynchophylline, isocorynoxeine and rhynchophylline) were discovered. Competitive binding assay results indicated that the four compounds were in direct competition at a single common binding site and interacted with α1A adrenergic receptors (α1A-AR) in a manner similar to tamsulosin. Affinity constant values of the four compounds binding with α1A-AR were also measured using rat prostate cell membrane chromatography (CMC). Finally, their pharmacodynamic effects were tested on rat caudal arteries. This CMC combined LC-MS system offers a means of drug discovery by screening natural medicinal herbs for new pharmacologically active molecules targeting specific receptors.

  10. Heparin-binding peptide as a novel affinity tag for purification of recombinant proteins.

    PubMed

    Morris, Jacqueline; Jayanthi, Srinivas; Langston, Rebekah; Daily, Anna; Kight, Alicia; McNabb, David S; Henry, Ralph; Kumar, Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh

    2016-10-01

    Purification of recombinant proteins constitutes a significant part of the downstream processing in biopharmaceutical industries. Major costs involved in the production of bio-therapeutics mainly depend on the number of purification steps used during the downstream process. Affinity chromatography is a widely used method for the purification of recombinant proteins expressed in different expression host platforms. Recombinant protein purification is achieved by fusing appropriate affinity tags to either N- or C- terminus of the target recombinant proteins. Currently available protein/peptide affinity tags have proved quite useful in the purification of recombinant proteins. However, these affinity tags suffer from specific limitations in their use under different conditions of purification. In this study, we have designed a novel 34-amino acid heparin-binding affinity tag (HB-tag) for the purification of recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. HB-tag fused recombinant proteins were overexpressed in E. coli in high yields. A one-step heparin-Sepharose-based affinity chromatography protocol was developed to purify HB-fused recombinant proteins to homogeneity using a simple sodium chloride step gradient elution. The HB-tag has also been shown to facilitate the purification of target recombinant proteins from their 8 M urea denatured state(s). The HB-tag has been demonstrated to be successfully released from the fusion protein by an appropriate protease treatment to obtain the recombinant target protein(s) in high yields. Results of the two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy experiments indicate that the purified recombinant target protein(s) exist in the native conformation. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the HB-peptide sequence, exhibited high binding specificity and sensitivity to the HB-fused recombinant proteins (∼10 ng) in different crude cell extracts obtained from diverse expression hosts. In our opinion, the HB-tag provides a

  11. STUDIES OF VERAPAMIL BINDING TO HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY

    PubMed Central

    Mallik, Rangan; Yoo, Michelle J.; Chen, Sike; Hage, David S.

    2008-01-01

    The binding of verapamil to the protein human serum albumin (HSA) was examined by using high-performance affinity chromatography. Many previous reports have investigated the binding of verapamil with HSA, but the exact strength and nature of this interaction (e.g., the number and location of binding sites) is still unclear. In this study, frontal analysis indicated that at least one major binding site was present for R- and S-verapamil on HSA, with estimated association equilibrium constants on the order of 104 M−1 and a 1.4-fold difference in these values for the verapamil enantiomers at pH 7.4 and 37°C. The presence of a second, weaker group of binding sites on HSA was also suggested by these results. Competitive binding studies using zonal elution were carried out between verapamil and various probe compounds that have known interactions with several major and minor sites on HSA. R/S-Verapamil was found to have direct competition with S-warfarin, indicating that verapamil was binding to Sudlow site I (i.e., the warfarin-azapropazone site of HSA). The average association equilibrium constant for R- and S-verapamil at this site was 1.4 (±0.1) × 104 M−1. Verapamil did not have any notable binding to Sudlow site II of HSA but did appear to have some weak allosteric interactions with L-tryptophan, a probe for this site. An allosteric interaction between verapamil and tamoxifen (a probe for the tamoxifen site) was also noted, which was consistent with the binding of verapamil at Sudlow site I. No interaction was seen between verapamil and digitoxin, a probe for the digitoxin site of HSA. These results gave good agreement with previous observations made in the literature and help provide a more detailed description of how verapamil is transported in blood and of how it may interact with other drugs in the body. PMID:18980867

  12. Purification of camel liver catalase by zinc chelate affinity chromatography and pH gradient elution: An enzyme with interesting properties.

    PubMed

    Chafik, Abdelbasset; Essamadi, Abdelkhalid; Çelik, Safinur Yildirim; Mavi, Ahmet

    2017-12-01

    Climate change and increasing temperatures are global concerns. Camel (Camelus dromedarius) lives most of its life under high environmental stress in the desert and represent ideal model for studying desert adaptation among mammals. Catalase plays a key role in protecting cells against oxidative stress. For the first time, catalase from camel liver was purified to homogeneity by zinc chelate affinity chromatography using pH gradient elution, a better separation was obtained. A purification fold of 201.81 with 1.17% yield and a high specific activity of 1132539.37U/mg were obtained. The native enzyme had a molecular weight of 268kDa and was composed of four subunits of equal size (65kDa). The enzyme showed optimal activity at a temperature of 45°C and pH 7.2. Thiol reagents, β-Mercaptoethanol and D,L-Dithiothreitol, inhibited the enzyme activity. The enzyme was inhibited by Al 3+ , Cd 2+ and Mg 2+ , whereas Ca 2+ , Co 2+ and Ni 2+ stimulated the catalase activity. Reduced glutathione has no effect on catalase activity. The K m and V max of the enzyme for hydrogen peroxide were 37.31mM and 6185157U/mg, respectively. Sodium azide inhibited the enzyme noncompetitively with K i value of 14.43μM, the IC 50 was found to be 16.71μM. The properties of camel catalase were different comparing to those of mammalian species. Relatively higher molecular weight, higher optimum temperature, protection of reduced glutathione from hydrogen peroxide oxidation and higher affinity for hydrogen peroxide and sodium azide, these could be explained by the fact that camel is able to live in the intense environmental stress in the desert. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Characterization of Gly-D-Phe, Gly-L-Leu, and D-Phe as affinity ligands to thermolysin.

    PubMed

    Yasukawa, Kiyoshi; Kusano, Masayuki; Nakamura, Koji; Inouye, Kuniyo

    2006-04-01

    In this study, glycyl-D-phenylalanine (Gly-D-Phe), glycyl-L-leucine (Gly-L-Leu), and D-phenylalanine (D-Phe) were characterized for their abilities as affinity ligands to thermolysin. Each of the ligands was immobilized to the resin. The optimum pH for adsorption of thermolysin is 5.0-6.0 for each of the ligands. By the affinity column chromatography in which 2mg thermolysin was applied onto 4 ml volume of the resins at pH 5.5, the adsorption ratios based on casein hydrolysis activity were 100% for each of the ligands. However, the adsorption ratios of the resins containing Gly-L-Leu and D-Phe, unlike that of Gly-D-Phe, were progressively decreased with increasing the amounts of thermolysin applied to the column. Measurement of adsorption isotherms showed that the association constant to thermolysin at pH 5.5 of the resins containing Gly-D-Phe was (3.3+/-0.8)x10(5)M(-1), while those of Gly-L-Leu and D-Phe were approximately ten times less. This result is coincident with the observations of performances in affinity column chromatography. On the other hand, maximum thermolysin binding capacities were almost the same among the resins examined. These results indicate that Gly-D-Phe is more suitable than Gly-L-Leu and D-Phe as an affinity ligand for purification of thermolysin.

  14. Determination of residual fluoroquinolones in honey by liquid chromatography using metal chelate affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Yatsukawa, Yoh-Ichi; Ito, Hironobu; Matsuda, Takahiro; Nakamura, Munetomo; Watai, Masatoshi; Fujita, Kazuhiro

    2011-01-01

    A new analytical method for the simultaneous determination of seven fluoroquinolones, namely, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, enrofloxacin, orbifloxacin, sarafloxacin, and difloxacin, especially in dark-colored honey, has been developed. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics were extracted from samples with MacIlvaine buffer solution (pH 4.0) containing EDTA disodium salt dihydrate. The extracts were treated with both a polymeric cartridge and a metal chelate affinity column preloaded with ferric ion (Fe3+). LC separation with fluorescence detection was performed at 40 degrees C using an Inertsil ODS-4 analytical column (150 x 4.6 mm, 3 microm). The mobile phase was composed of 20 mM/L citrate buffer solution (pH 3.1)-acetonitrile mixture (70 + 30, v/v) containing 1 mM/L sodium dodecyl sulfate. Lomefloxacin was used as an internal standard. The developed method was validated according to the criteria of European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Decision limits and detection capabilities were below 2.9 and 4.4 microg/kg, respectively.

  15. Electrochemical affinity biosensors for detection of mycotoxins: A review.

    PubMed

    Vidal, Juan C; Bonel, Laura; Ezquerra, Alba; Hernández, Susana; Bertolín, Juan R; Cubel, Carlota; Castillo, Juan R

    2013-11-15

    This review discusses the current state of electrochemical biosensors in the determination of mycotoxins in foods. Mycotoxins are highly toxic secondary metabolites produced by molds. The acute toxicity of these results in serious human and animal health problems, although it has been only since early 1960s when the first studied aflatoxins were found to be carcinogenic. Mycotoxins affect a broad range of agricultural products, most important cereals and cereal-based foods. A majority of countries, mentioning especially the European Union, have established preventive programs to control contamination and strict laws of the permitted levels in foods. Official methods of analysis of mycotoxins normally requires sophisticated instrumentation, e.g. liquid chromatography with fluorescence or mass detectors, combined with extraction procedures for sample preparation. For about sixteen years, the use of simpler and faster analytical procedures based on affinity biosensors has emerged in scientific literature as a very promising alternative, particularly electrochemical (i.e., amperometric, impedance, potentiometric or conductimetric) affinity biosensors due to their simplicity and sensitivity. Typically, electrochemical biosensors for mycotoxins use specific antibodies or aptamers as affinity ligands, although recombinant antibodies, artificial receptors and molecular imprinted polymers show potential utility. This article deals with recent advances in electrochemical affinity biosensors for mycotoxins and covers complete literature from the first reports about sixteen years ago. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Monolith-based immobilized metal affinity chromatography increases production efficiency for plasmid DNA purification.

    PubMed

    Shin, Min Jae; Tan, Lihan; Jeong, Min Ho; Kim, Ji-Heung; Choe, Woo-Seok

    2011-08-05

    Immobilized metal affinity monolith column as a new class of chromatographic support is shown to be superior to conventional particle-based column as plasmid DNA (pDNA) purification platform. By harnessing the affinity of endotoxin to copper ions in the solution, a majority of endotoxin (90%) was removed from the alkaline cell lysate using CuCl(2)-induced precipitation. RNA and remaining endotoxin were subsequently removed to below detection limit with minimal loss of pDNA using either monolith or particle-based column. Monolith column has the additional advantage of feed concentration and flowrate-independent dynamic binding capacity for RNA molecules, enabling purification process to be conducted at high feed RNA concentration and flowrate. The use of monolith column gives three fold increased productivity of pDNA as compared to particle-based column, providing a more rapid and economical platform for pDNA purification. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Affinity Purification of Proteins in Tag-Free Form: Split Intein-Mediated Ultrarapid Purification (SIRP).

    PubMed

    Guan, Dongli; Chen, Zhilei

    2017-01-01

    Proteins purified using affinity-based chromatography often exploit a recombinant affinity tag. Existing methods for the removal of the extraneous tag, needed for many applications, suffer from poor efficiency and/or high cost. Here we describe a simple, efficient, and potentially low-cost approach-split intein-mediated ultrarapid purification (SIRP)-for both the purification of the desired tagged protein from Escherichia coli lysate and removal of the tag in less than 1 h. The N- and C-fragment of a self-cleaving variant of a naturally split DnaE intein from Nostoc punctiforme are genetically fused to the N-terminus of an affinity tag and a protein of interest (POI), respectively. The N-intein/affinity tag is used to functionalize an affinity resin. The high affinity between the N- and C-fragment of DnaE intein enables the POI to be purified from the lysate via affinity to the resin, and the intein-mediated C-terminal cleavage reaction causes tagless POI to be released into the flow-through. The intein cleavage reaction is strongly inhibited by divalent ions (e.g., Zn 2+ ) under non-reducing conditions and is significantly enhanced by reducing conditions. The POI is cleaved efficiently regardless of the identity of the N-terminal amino acid except in the cases of threonine and proline, and the N-intein-functionalized affinity resin can be regenerated for multiple cycles of use.

  18. Lipid vesicle-mediated affinity chromatography using magnetic activated cell sorting (LIMACS): a novel method to analyze protein-lipid interaction.

    PubMed

    Bieberich, Erhard

    2011-04-26

    The analysis of lipid protein interaction is difficult because lipids are embedded in cell membranes and therefore, inaccessible to most purification procedures. As an alternative, lipids can be coated on flat surfaces as used for lipid ELISA and Plasmon resonance spectroscopy. However, surface coating lipids do not form microdomain structures, which may be important for the lipid binding properties. Further, these methods do not allow for the purification of larger amounts of proteins binding to their target lipids. To overcome these limitations of testing lipid protein interaction and to purify lipid binding proteins we developed a novel method termed lipid vesicle-mediated affinity chromatography using magnetic-activated cell sorting (LIMACS). In this method, lipid vesicles are prepared with the target lipid and phosphatidylserine as the anchor lipid for Annexin V MACS. Phosphatidylserine is a ubiquitous cell membrane phospholipid that shows high affinity to the protein Annexin V. Using magnetic beads conjugated to Annexin V the phosphatidylserine-containing lipid vesicles will bind to the magnetic beads. When the lipid vesicles are incubated with a cell lysate the protein binding to the target lipid will also be bound to the beads and can be co-purified using MACS. This method can also be used to test if recombinant proteins reconstitute a protein complex binding to the target lipid. We have used this method to show the interaction of atypical PKC (aPKC) with the sphingolipid ceramide and to co-purify prostate apoptosis response 4 (PAR-4), a protein binding to ceramide-associated aPKC. We have also used this method for the reconstitution of a ceramide-associated complex of recombinant aPKC with the cell polarity-related proteins Par6 and Cdc42. Since lipid vesicles can be prepared with a variety of sphingo- or phospholipids, LIMACS offers a versatile test for lipid-protein interaction in a lipid environment that resembles closely that of the cell membrane

  19. Expression and purification of moricin CM4 and human β-defensins 4 in Escherichia coli using a new technology.

    PubMed

    Shen, Yang; Ai, Hong-Xin; Song, Ren; Liang, Zhen-Ning; Li, Jian-Feng; Zhang, Shuang-Quan

    2010-10-20

    Different strategies have been developed to produce small antimicrobial peptides using recombinant techniques. Here we report a new technology of biosynthesis of moricin CM4 and human β-defensins 4 (HβD4) in the Escherichia coli. The CM4 and HβD4 gene were cloned into a vector containing the tags elastin-like peptide (ELP) and intein to construct the expression vector pET-EI-CM4 and pET-EI-HβD4. All the peptides, expressed as soluble fusions, were isolated from the protein debris by the method called inverse transition cycling (ITC) rather than traditional immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and separated from the fusion leader by self-cleavage. Fully reduced peptides that were purified exhibited expected antimicrobial activity. The approach described here is a low-cost, convenient and potential way for generating small antimicrobial peptide. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  20. Development of anti-bovine IgA single chain variable fragment and its application in diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease

    PubMed Central

    Sridevi, N. V.; Shukra, A. M.; Neelakantam, B.; Anilkumar, J.; Madhanmohan, M.; Rajan, S.; Dev Chandran

    2014-01-01

    Recombinant antibody fragments like single chain variable fragments (scFvs) represent an attractive yet powerful alternative to immunoglobulins and hold great potential in the development of clinical diagnostic/therapeutic reagents. Structurally, scFvs are the smallest antibody fragments capable of retaining the antigen-binding capacity of whole antibodies and are composed of an immunoglobulin (Ig) variable light (VL) and variable heavy (VH) chain joined by a flexible polypeptide linker. In the present study, we constructed a scFv against bovine IgA from a hybridoma cell line IL-A71 that secretes a monoclonal antibody against bovine IgA using recombinant DNA technology. The scFv was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The binding activity and specificity of the scFv was established by its non-reactivity toward other classes of immunoglobulins as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot analysis. Kinetic measurement of the scFv indicated that the recombinant antibody fragment had an affinity in picomolar range toward purified IgA. Furthermore, the scFv was used to develop a sensitive ELISA for the detection of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) carrier animals. PMID:24678404

  1. High-throughput screening of dye-ligands for chromatography.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Sunil; Punekar, Narayan S

    2014-01-01

    Dye-ligand-based chromatography has become popular after Cibacron Blue, the first reactive textile dye, found application for protein purification. Many other textile dyes have since been successfully used to purify a number of proteins and enzymes. While the exact nature of their interaction with target proteins is often unclear, dye-ligands are thought to mimic the structural features of their corresponding substrates, cofactors, etc. The dye-ligand affinity matrices are therefore considered pseudo-affinity matrices. In addition, dye-ligands may simply bind with proteins due to electrostatic, hydrophobic, and hydrogen-bonding interactions. Because of their low cost, ready availability, and structural stability, dye-ligand affinity matrices have gained much popularity. Choice of a large number of dye structures offers a range of matrices to be prepared and tested. When presented in the high-throughput screening mode, these dye-ligand matrices provide a formidable tool for protein purification. One could pick from the list of dye-ligands already available or build a systematic library of such structures for use. A high-throughput screen may be set up to choose best dye-ligand matrix as well as ideal conditions for binding and elution, for a given protein. The mode of operation could be either manual or automated. The technology is available to test the performance of dye-ligand matrices in small volumes in an automated liquid-handling workstation. Screening a systematic library of dye-ligand structures can help establish a structure-activity relationship. While the origins of dye-ligand chromatography lay in exploiting pseudo-affinity, it is now possible to design very specific biomimetic dye structures. High-throughput screening will be of value in this endeavor as well.

  2. LC–MS/MS Quantitation of Esophagus Disease Blood Serum Glycoproteins by Enrichment with Hydrazide Chemistry and Lectin Affinity Chromatography

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Changes in glycosylation have been shown to have a profound correlation with development/malignancy in many cancer types. Currently, two major enrichment techniques have been widely applied in glycoproteomics, namely, lectin affinity chromatography (LAC)-based and hydrazide chemistry (HC)-based enrichments. Here we report the LC–MS/MS quantitative analyses of human blood serum glycoproteins and glycopeptides associated with esophageal diseases by LAC- and HC-based enrichment. The separate and complementary qualitative and quantitative data analyses of protein glycosylation were performed using both enrichment techniques. Chemometric and statistical evaluations, PCA plots, or ANOVA test, respectively, were employed to determine and confirm candidate cancer-associated glycoprotein/glycopeptide biomarkers. Out of 139, 59 common glycoproteins (42% overlap) were observed in both enrichment techniques. This overlap is very similar to previously published studies. The quantitation and evaluation of significantly changed glycoproteins/glycopeptides are complementary between LAC and HC enrichments. LC–ESI–MS/MS analyses indicated that 7 glycoproteins enriched by LAC and 11 glycoproteins enriched by HC showed significantly different abundances between disease-free and disease cohorts. Multiple reaction monitoring quantitation resulted in 13 glycopeptides by LAC enrichment and 10 glycosylation sites by HC enrichment to be statistically different among disease cohorts. PMID:25134008

  3. Effects of salts on protein-surface interactions: applications for column chromatography.

    PubMed

    Tsumoto, Kouhei; Ejima, Daisuke; Senczuk, Anna M; Kita, Yoshiko; Arakawa, Tsutomu

    2007-07-01

    Development of protein pharmaceuticals depends on the availability of high quality proteins. Various column chromatographies are used to purify proteins and characterize the purity and properties of the proteins. Most column chromatographies require salts, whether inorganic or organic, for binding, elution or simply better recovery and resolution. The salts modulate affinity of the proteins for particular columns and nonspecific protein-protein or protein-surface interactions, depending on the type and concentration of the salts, in both specific and nonspecific manners. Salts also affect the binding capacity of the column, which determines the size of the column to be used. Binding capacity, whether equilibrium or dynamic (under an approximation of a slow flow rate), depends on the binding constant, protein concentration and the number of the binding site on the column as well as nonspecific binding. This review attempts to summarize the mechanism of the salt effects on binding affinity and capacity for various column chromatographies and on nonspecific protein-protein or protein-surface interactions. Understanding such salt effects should also be useful in preventing nonspecific protein binding to various containers. Copyright 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  4. Improved Thermal Modulator for Gas Chromatography

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hasselbrink, Ernest Frederick, Jr.; Hunt, Patrick J.; Sacks, Richard D.

    2008-01-01

    An improved thermal modulator has been invented for use in a variant of gas chromatography (GC). The variant in question denoted as two-dimensional gas chromatography (2DGC) or GC-GC involves the use of three series-connected chromatographic columns, in the form of capillary tubes coated interiorly with suitable stationary phases (compounds for which different analytes exhibit different degrees of affinity). The two end columns are relatively long and are used as standard GC columns. The thermal modulator includes the middle column, which is relatively short and is not used as a standard GC column: instead, its temperature is modulated to affect timed adsorption and desorption of analyte gases between the two end columns in accordance with a 2DGC protocol.

  5. High level expression, purification and physico- and immunochemical characterisation of recombinant Pen a 1: a major allergen of shrimp.

    PubMed

    Albrecht, Melanie; Alessandri, Stefano; Conti, Amedeo; Reuter, Andreas; Lauer, Iris; Vieths, Stefan; Reese, Gerald

    2008-11-01

    Well-characterised and immunologically active recombinant allergens are of eminent importance for improvement of diagnostic tools and immunotherapy of allergic diseases. The use of recombinant allergens has several advantages such as the more precise quantification of the active substance compared to allergen extracts and the reduced risk of contamination with other allergenic proteins compared to purified natural allergens. Optimised standard protocols for expression and purification and a detailed physico-chemical characterisation of such recombinant allergens are necessary to ensure consistent quality and comparability of results obtained with recombinant material. In this study the major allergen Pen a 1 of brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) was expressed in E. coli and purified in two steps by immobilised metal chelate-affinity chromatography (IMAC) and size-exclusion chromatography. Identity and purity were verified with N-terminal sequencing and peptide mass fingerprinting. Circular dichroism and NMR-spectroscopy indicated an alpha-helical flexible structure of rPen a 1 which is in accordance with the known structure of tropomyosins. Finally, the recombinant allergen proved to be immunologically reactive in IgE Western blot analysis and ELISA. This study provides a protocol for the preparation of recombinant shrimp tropomyosin in standardised quality.

  6. Analysis of free drug fractions in serum by ultrafast affinity extraction and two-dimensional affinity chromatography using α1-acid glycoprotein microcolumns.

    PubMed

    Bi, Cong; Zheng, Xiwei; Hage, David S

    2016-02-05

    In the circulatory system, many drugs are reversibly bound to serum proteins such as human serum albumin (HSA) and alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), resulting in both free and protein-bound fractions for these drugs. This report examined the use of microcolumns containing immobilized AGP for the measurement of free drug fractions by ultrafast affinity extraction and a two-dimensional affinity system. Several drugs known to bind AGP were used as models to develop and evaluate this approach. Factors considered during the creation of this method included the retention of the drugs on the microcolumns, the injection flow rate, the microcolumn size, and the times at which a second AGP column was placed on-line with the microcolumn. The final system had residence times of only 110-830ms during sample passage through the AGP microcolumns and allowed free drug fractions to be determined within 10-20min when using only 3-10μL of sample per injection. This method was used to measure the free fractions of the model drugs at typical therapeutic levels in serum, giving good agreement with the results obtained by ultrafiltration. This approach was also used to estimate the binding constants for each drug with AGP in serum, even for drugs that had significant interactions with both AGP and HSA in such samples. These results indicated that AGP microcolumns could be used with ultrafast affinity extraction to measure free drug fractions in a label-free manner and to study the binding of drugs with AGP in complex samples such as serum. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. A comparative study of lectin affinity based plant n-glycoproteome profiling using tomato fruit as a model

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Lectin affinity chromatography (LAC) can provide a valuable front-end enrichment strategy for the study of N-glycoproteins and has been used to characterize a broad range eukaryotic N-glycoproteomes. Moreover, studies with mammalian systems have suggested that the use of multiple lectins with differ...

  8. Rational design of peptide affinity ligands for the purification of therapeutic enzymes.

    PubMed

    Trasatti, John P; Woo, James; Ladiwala, Asif; Cramer, Steven; Karande, Pankaj

    2018-04-25

    Non-mAb biologics represent a growing class of therapeutics under clinical development. Although affinity chromatography is a potentially attractive approach for purification, the development of platform technologies, such as Protein A for mAbs, has been challenging due to the inherent chemical and structural diversity of these molecules. Here, we present our studies on the rapid development of peptide affinity ligands for the purification of biologics using a prototypical enzyme therapeutic in clinical use. Employing a suite of de novo rational and combinatorial design strategies we designed and screened a library of peptides on microarray platforms for their ability to bind to the target with high affinity and selectivity in cell culture fluid. Lead peptides were evaluated on resin in batch conditions and compared with a commercially available resin to evaluate their efficacy. Two lead candidates identified from microarray studies provided high binding capacity to the target while demonstrating high selectivity against culture contaminants and product variants compared to a commercial resin system. These findings provide a proof-of-concept for developing affinity peptide-based bioseparations processes for a target biologic. Peptide affinity ligand design and screening approaches presented in this work can also be easily translated to other biologics of interest. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2018. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  9. Cloning, expression, and purification of the virulence-associated protein D from Xylella fastidiosa.

    PubMed

    Catani, Cleide Ferreira; Azzoni, Adriano Rodrigues; Paula, Débora Pires; Tada, Susely Ferraz Siqueira; Rosselli, Luciana Kauer; de Souza, Anete Pereira; Yano, Tomomasa

    2004-10-01

    In this study, an efficient expression system, based on the pET32Xa/LIC vector, for producing a Xylella fastidiosa virulence-associated protein D, found to have a strong similarity to Riemerella anatipestifer and Actinobacillus actinomycetencomitans VapD protein, is presented. The protein has a molecular mass of 17.637 Da and a calculated pI of 5.49. The selected XFa0052 gene was cloned in the pET32Xa/LIC vector and the plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) strain at 37 degrees C, with an induction time of 2 h and 1 mM IPTG concentration. The protein present in the soluble fraction was purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), and had its identity determined by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and N-terminal sequencing. The purified protein was found as a single band on SDS-PAGE and its correct folding was verified by circular dichroism spectroscopy.

  10. Evaluation of protein adsorption and preferred binding regions in multimodal chromatography using NMR

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Wai Keen; Freed, Alexander S.; Holstein, Melissa A.; McCallum, Scott A.; Cramer, Steven M.

    2010-01-01

    NMR titration experiments with labeled human ubiquitin were employed in concert with chromatographic data obtained with a library of ubiquitin mutants to study the nature of protein adsorption in multimodal (MM) chromatography. The elution order of the mutants on the MM resin was significantly different from that obtained by ion-exchange chromatography. Further, the chromatographic results with the protein library indicated that mutations in a defined region induced greater changes in protein affinity to the solid support. Chemical shift mapping and determination of dissociation constants from NMR titration experiments with the MM ligand and isotopically enriched ubiquitin were used to determine and rank the relative binding affinities of interaction sites on the protein surface. The results with NMR confirmed that the protein possessed a distinct preferred binding region for the MM ligand in agreement with the chromatographic results. Finally, coarse-grained ligand docking simulations were employed to study the modes of interaction between the MM ligand and ubiquitin. The use of NMR titration experiments in concert with chromatographic data obtained with protein libraries represents a previously undescribed approach for elucidating the structural basis of protein binding affinity in MM chromatographic systems. PMID:20837551

  11. High oxygen affinity hemoglobins.

    PubMed

    Mangin, O

    2017-02-01

    High oxygen affinity hemoglobins are responsible for rare and heterogeneous autosomic dominant genetic diseases. They cause pure erythrocytosis, sometimes accountable for hyperviscosity and thrombosis, or hemolysis. Differential diagnoses must be first ruled out. The diagnosis is based on the identification of a decreased P50, and their possible characterization by cation exchange-high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Finally, genetic studies of the responsible globin chain gene will confirm the mutation. The prognosis mainly relies on the P50 decrease rate and on the hemoglobin cooperativity impairment. Disease management should be personalized, and it should primarily depend on smoking cessation and physical activity. Phlebotomy and platelet aggregation inhibitors' prescriptions can be discussed. There is no contraindication to flights, high-altitude conditions, or pregnancy. Nevertheless, blood donation must be prohibited. Copyright © 2016 Société Nationale Française de Médecine Interne (SNFMI). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  12. Efficient, ultra-high-affinity chromatography in a one-step purification of complex proteins

    PubMed Central

    Vassylyeva, Marina N.; Klyuyev, Sergiy; Vassylyev, Alexey D.; Wesson, Hunter; Zhang, Zhuo; Renfrow, Matthew B.; Wang, Hengbin; Higgins, N. Patrick; Chow, Louise T.; Vassylyev, Dmitry G.

    2017-01-01

    Protein purification is an essential primary step in numerous biological studies. It is particularly significant for the rapidly emerging high-throughput fields, such as proteomics, interactomics, and drug discovery. Moreover, purifications for structural and industrial applications should meet the requirement of high yield, high purity, and high activity (HHH). It is, therefore, highly desirable to have an efficient purification system with a potential to meet the HHH benchmark in a single step. Here, we report a chromatographic technology based on the ultra-high-affinity (Kd ∼ 10−14–10−17 M) complex between the Colicin E7 DNase (CE7) and its inhibitor, Immunity protein 7 (Im7). For this application, we mutated CE7 to create a CL7 tag, which retained the full binding affinity to Im7 but was inactivated as a DNase. To achieve high capacity, we developed a protocol for a large-scale production and highly specific immobilization of Im7 to a solid support. We demonstrated its utility with one-step HHH purification of a wide range of traditionally challenging biological molecules, including eukaryotic, membrane, toxic, and multisubunit DNA/RNA-binding proteins. The system is simple, reusable, and also applicable to pulldown and kinetic activity/binding assays. PMID:28607052

  13. Induced binding of proteins by ammonium sulfate in affinity and ion-exchange column chromatography.

    PubMed

    Arakawa, Tsutomu; Tsumoto, Kouhei; Ejima, Daisuke; Kita, Yoshiko; Yonezawa, Yasushi; Tokunaga, Masao

    2007-04-10

    In general, proteins bind to affinity or ion-exchange columns at low salt concentrations, and the bound proteins are eluted by raising the salt concentration, changing the solvent pH, or adding competing ligands. Blue-Sepharose is often used to remove bovine serum albumin (BSA) from samples, but when we applied BSA to Blue-Sepharose in 20 mM phosphate, pH 7.0, 50%-60% of the protein flowed through the column; however, complete binding of BSA was achieved by the addition of 2 M ammonium sulfate (AS) to the column equilibration buffer and the sample. The bound protein was eluted by decreasing the AS concentration or by adding 1 M NaCl or arginine. AS at high concentrations resulted in binding of BSA even to an ion-exchange column, Q-Sepharose, at pH 7.0. Thus, although moderate salt concentrations elute proteins from Blue-Sepharose or ion-exchange columns, proteins can be bound to these columns under extreme salting-out conditions. Similar enhanced binding of proteins by AS was observed with an ATP-affinity column.

  14. Biotinylated probes of artemisinin with labeling affinity toward Trypanosoma brucei brucei target proteins.

    PubMed

    Konziase, Benetode

    2015-08-01

    We studied the target proteins of artemisinin in Trypanosoma brucei brucei using the affinity-labeling method. We designed and synthesized four biotinylated probes of artemisinin for use as molecular tools. Their in vitro trypanocidal activities (data not shown) proved that they mimicked the biological action of artemisinin. We assessed the chemical stability for all of the probes in the parasite culture medium and lysate using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After 3-h incubations, the probes remained undecomposed in a range of 40 to 65% in the parasite culture medium, whereas approximately 80% of the probes remained stable in the parasite lysate. Using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), we demonstrated that, with respect to all of the probes, uptakes into the parasite ranging from 81 to 96% occurred after 30-min incubations. In a competitive binding assay between artemisinin and the four biotinylated probes, we searched for the trypanosomal target protein of artemisinin. Consequently, we observed that only the diazirine-free probe 5 could provide the desired result with high affinity-labeling efficiency. Using the horseradish peroxidase-tagged streptavidin-biotin method, we showed that artemisinin could specifically bind to candidate target proteins of approximately 60, 40, and 39 kDa. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the fusion protein CusF3H.

    PubMed

    Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Zarate, Xristo

    2017-04-01

    Recombinant protein expression in the bacterium Escherichia coli still is the number one choice for large-scale protein production. Nevertheless, many complications can arise using this microorganism, such as low yields, the formation of inclusion bodies, and the requirement for difficult purification steps. Most of these problems can be solved with the use of fusion proteins. Here, the use of the metal-binding protein CusF3H+ is described as a new fusion protein for recombinant protein expression and purification in E. coli. We have previously shown that CusF produces large amounts of soluble protein, with low levels of formation of inclusion bodies, and that proteins can be purified using IMAC resins charged with Cu(II) ions. CusF3H+ is an enhanced variant of CusF, formed by the addition of three histidine residues at the N-terminus. These residues then can bind Ni(II) ions allowing improved purity after affinity chromatography. Expression and purification of Green Fluorescent Protein tagged with CusF3H+ showed that the mutation did not alter the capacity of the fusion protein to increase protein expression, and purity improved considerably after affinity chromatography with immobilized nickel ions; high yields are obtained after tag-removal since CusF3H+ is a small protein of just 10 kDa. Furthermore, the results of experiments involving expression of tagged proteins having medium to large molecular weights indicate that the presence of the CusF3H+ tag improves protein solubility, as compared to a His-tag. We therefore endorse CusF3H+ as a useful alternative fusion protein/affinity tag for production of recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Isolation of Metarhizium anisopliae carboxypeptidase A with native disulfide bonds from the cytosol of Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)

    PubMed Central

    Austin, Brian P.; Waugh, David S.

    2011-01-01

    The carboxypeptidase A enzyme from Metarhizium anisopliae (MeCPA) has broader specificity than the mammalian A-type carboxypeptidases, making it a more useful reagent for the removal of short affinity tags and disordered residues from the C-termini of recombinant proteins. When secreted from baculovirus-infected insect cells, the yield of pure MeCPA was 0.25 mg per liter of conditioned medium. Here, we describe a procedure for the production of MeCPA in the cytosol of Escherichia coli that yields approximately 0.5 mg of pure enzyme per liter of cell culture. The bacterial system is much easier to scale up and far less expensive than the insect cell system. The expression strategy entails maintaining the proMeCPA zymogen in a soluble state by fusing it to the C-terminus of maltose-binding protein (MBP) while simultaneously overproducing the protein disulfide isomerase DsbC in the cytosol from a separate plasmid. Unexpectedly, we found that the yield of active and properly oxidized MeCPA was highest when coexpressed with DsbC in BL21(DE3) cells that do not also contain mutations in the trxB and gor genes. Moreover, the formation of active MeCPA was only partially dependent on the disulfide-isomerase activity of DsbC. Intriguingly, we observed that most of the active MeCPA was generated after cell lysis and amylose affinity purification of the MBP-proMeCPA fusion protein, during the time that the partially purified protein was held overnight at 4 °C prior to activation with thermolysin. Following removal of the MBP-propeptide by thermolysin digestion, active MeCPA (with a C-terminal polyhistidine tag) was purified to homogeneity by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. PMID:22197595

  17. Evaluation of affinity and pseudo-affinity adsorption processes for penicillin acylase purification.

    PubMed

    Fonseca, L P; Cabral, J M

    1996-01-01

    Affinity ligand (6-Aminopenicillanic acid, Amoxycillin, Ampicillin, Benzylpenicillin and 4-Phenylbutylanzine) of penicillin acylase (EC 3.5.1.11) were attached to hydrophilic gels like Sepharose 4B-CNBr and Minileak 'medium'. Ampicillin and 4-Phenylbutylamine were the affinity ligands that presented the higher concentrations attached to both gels. Penicillin acylase adsorption on these affinity gels was mainly dependent on the activated group of the gel, the affinity ligand attached and the experimental conditions of enzyme adsorption. Under affinity conditions only the ligands Amoxycillin, Ampicillin and 4-Phenylbutylamine, immobilized on Minileak, adsorbed the enzyme from osmotic shock extracts at different pH values. These affinity ligand systems were characterized by low adsorption capacities of penicillin acylase activity (1.2-2.1 IU mL-1 gel) and specific activity (1.5-2.9 IU mg-1 prot). Under pseudo-affinity conditions all the ligands attached both activated to gels (Sepharose 4B-CNBr and Minileak) adsorbed the enzyme. The affinity gels were characterized by higher values of adsorption capacity (3.7 and 55.6 IU mL-1 gel) and adsorbed specific activity (2.0 and 6.1 IU mg-1 prot) than those observed under affinity conditions. The space arm of Minileak gel, shown to be fundamental to enzyme adsorption under affinity conditions, preferentially adsorbed proteins in relation to the enzyme under pseudo-affinity conditions. However, this effect was partially minimized when the gel was derivatized by the affinity ligands at concentrations higher than 6 mumol mL-1 gel. Ampicillin was the affinity ligand that presented the best results for specific adsorption of penicillin acylase under affinity and pseudo-affinity adsorption processes. The Sepharose 4B-CNBr derivatized gel also presented a good adsorption capacity of enzyme activity (26.8 IU mL-1 gel) under pseudo-affinity adsorption processes.

  18. Nano-structured support materials, their characterisation and serum protein profiling through MALDI/TOF-MS.

    PubMed

    Najam-Ul-Haq, M; Rainer, M; Heigl, N; Szabo, Z; Vallant, R; Huck, C W; Engelhardt, H; Bischoff, K-D; Bonn, G K

    2008-02-01

    In the bioanalytical era, novel nano-materials for the selective extraction, pre-concentration and purification of biomolecules prior to analysis are vital. Their application as affinity binding in this regard is needed to be authentic. We report here the comparative application of derivatised materials and surfaces on the basis of nano-crystalline diamond, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes for the analysis of marker peptides and proteins by material enhanced laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry MELDI-MS. In this particular work, the emphasis is placed on the derivatization, termed as immobilised metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), with three different support materials, to show the effectiveness of MELDI technique. For the physicochemical characterisation of the phases, near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is used, which is a well-established method within the analytical chemistry, covering a wide range of applications. NIRS enables differentiation between silica materials and different fullerenes derivatives, in a 3-dimensional factor-plot, depending on their derivatizations and physical characteristics. The method offers a physicochemical quantitative description in the nano-scale level of particle size, specific surface area, pore diameter, pore porosity, pore volume and total porosity with high linearity and improved precision. The measurement takes only a few seconds while high sample throughput is guaranteed.

  19. Simple and Efficient Purification of Recombinant Proteins Using the Heparin-Binding Affinity Tag.

    PubMed

    Jayanthi, Srinivas; Gundampati, Ravi Kumar; Kumar, Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh

    2017-11-01

    Heparin, a member of the glycosaminoglycan family, is known to interact with more than 400 different types of proteins. For the past few decades, significant progress has been made to understand the molecular details involved in heparin-protein interactions. Based on the structural knowledge available from the FGF1-heparin interaction studies, we have designed a novel heparin-binding peptide (HBP) affinity tag that can be used for the simple, efficient, and cost-effective purification of recombinant proteins of interest. HBP-tagged fusion proteins can be purified by heparin Sepharose affinity chromatography using a simple sodium chloride gradient to elute the bound fusion protein. In addition, owing to the high density of positive charges on the HBP tag, recombinant target proteins are preferably expressed in their soluble forms. The purification of HBP-fusion proteins can also be achieved in the presence of chemical denaturants, including urea. Additionally, polyclonal antibodies raised against the affinity tag can be used to detect HBP-fused target proteins with high sensitivity. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  20. The Monitoring and Affinity Purification of Proteins Using Dual Tags with Tetracysteine Motifs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giannone, Richard J.; Liu, Yie; Wang, Yisong

    Identification and characterization of protein-protein interaction networks is essential for the elucidation of biochemical mechanisms and cellular function. Affinity purification in combination with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has emerged as a very powerful tactic for the identification of specific protein-protein interactions. In this chapter, we describe a comprehensive methodology that uses our recently developed dual-tag affinity purification system for the enrichment and identification of mammalian protein complexes. The protocol covers a series of separate but sequentially related techniques focused on the facile monitoring and purification of a dual-tagged protein of interest and its interacting partners via a system built with tetracysteine motifs and various combinations of affinity tags. Using human telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) as an example, we demonstrate the power of the system in terms of bait protein recovery after dual-tag affinity purification, detection of bait protein subcellular localization and expression, and successful identification of known and potentially novel TRF2 interacting proteins. Although the protocol described here has been optimized for the identification and characterization of TRF2-associated proteins, it is, in principle, applicable to the study of any other mammalian protein complexes that may be of interest to the research community.

  1. Utilizing a library of synthetic affinity ligands for the enrichment, depletion and one-step purification of leech proteins.

    PubMed

    Dong, Dexian; Gui, Yanli; Chen, Dezhao; Li, Rongxiu

    2008-01-01

    Although the concept of affinity purification using synthetic ligands had been utilized for many years, there are few articles related to this research area, and they focus only on the affinity purification of specific protein by a defined library of synthetic ligands. This study presents the design and construction of a 700-member library of synthetic ligands in detail. We selected 297 ligand columns from a 700-member library of synthetic ligands to screen leech protein extract. Of the 297, 154 columns had an enrichment effect, 83 columns had a depletion effect, 36 columns had a one-step purification effect, and 58 columns had a one-step purification via flowthrough effect. The experimental results achieved by this large library of affinity ligands provide solid convincing data for the theory that affinity chromatography could be used for the enrichment of proteins that are present in low abundance, the depletion of high abundance proteins, and one-step purification of special proteins. 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

  2. Hb Potomac (101 Glu replaced by Asp): speculations on placental oxygen transport in carriers of high-affinity hemoglobins.

    PubMed

    Charache, S; Jacobson, R; Brimhall, B; Murphy, E A; Hathaway, P; Winslow, R; Jones, R; Rath, C; Simkovich, J

    1978-02-01

    Blood from a woman with unexplained erythrocytosis had increased oxygen affinity, but no abnormality could be detected by electrophoresis or chromatography of her hemolysate. Separation of the tryptic peptides of her beta chains disclosed two half-sized peaks in the regions of beta T-11. The faster of these was abnormal, with the structure beta 101 Glu replaced by Asp. The new hemoglobin was called "Potomac." Three of the proband's four surviving siblings and both of her children were carriers. Differences in the ratio of carrier: normal children born to male of female carriers of 23 other high-affinity hemoglobins were not significant. The high proportion of carriers in this kindred was probably due to chance alone, and not because high maternal oxygen affinity interfered with oxygen transport to fetuses with normal hemoglobin.

  3. Stability of the neurotensin receptor NTS1 free in detergent solution and immobilized to affinity resin.

    PubMed

    White, Jim F; Grisshammer, Reinhard

    2010-09-07

    Purification of recombinant membrane receptors is commonly achieved by use of an affinity tag followed by an additional chromatography step if required. This second step may exploit specific receptor properties such as ligand binding. However, the effects of multiple purification steps on protein yield and integrity are often poorly documented. We have previously reported a robust two-step purification procedure for the recombinant rat neurotensin receptor NTS1 to give milligram quantities of functional receptor protein. First, histidine-tagged receptors are enriched by immobilized metal affinity chromatography using Ni-NTA resin. Second, remaining contaminants in the Ni-NTA column eluate are removed by use of a subsequent neurotensin column yielding pure NTS1. Whilst the neurotensin column eluate contained functional receptor protein, we observed in the neurotensin column flow-through misfolded NTS1. To investigate the origin of the misfolded receptors, we estimated the amount of functional and misfolded NTS1 at each purification step by radio-ligand binding, densitometry of Coomassie stained SDS-gels, and protein content determination. First, we observed that correctly folded NTS1 suffers damage by exposure to detergent and various buffer compositions as seen by the loss of [(3)H]neurotensin binding over time. Second, exposure to the neurotensin affinity resin generated additional misfolded receptor protein. Our data point towards two ways by which misfolded NTS1 may be generated: Damage by exposure to buffer components and by close contact of the receptor to the neurotensin affinity resin. Because NTS1 in detergent solution is stabilized by neurotensin, we speculate that the occurrence of aggregated receptor after contact with the neurotensin resin is the consequence of perturbations in the detergent belt surrounding the NTS1 transmembrane core. Both effects reduce the yield of functional receptor protein.

  4. Enrichment of high affinity subclasses and glycoforms from serum-derived IgG using FcγRs as affinity ligands.

    PubMed

    Boesch, Austin W; Kappel, James H; Mahan, Alison E; Chu, Thach H; Crowley, Andrew R; Osei-Owusu, Nana Y; Alter, Galit; Ackerman, Margaret E

    2018-05-01

    As antibodies continue to gain predominance in drug discovery and development pipelines, efforts to control and optimize their activity in vivo have matured to incorporate sophisticated abilities to manipulate engagement of specific Fc binding partners. Such efforts to promote diverse functional outcomes include modulating IgG-Fc affinity for FcγRs to alternatively potentiate or reduce effector functions, such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and phagocytosis. While a number of natural and engineered Fc features capable of eliciting variable effector functions have been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo, elucidation of these important functional relationships has taken significant effort through use of diverse genetic, cellular and enzymatic techniques. As an orthogonal approach, we demonstrate use of FcγR as chromatographic affinity ligands to enrich and therefore simultaneously identify favored binding species from a complex mixture of serum-derived pooled polycloncal human IgG, a load material that contains the natural repertoire of Fc variants and post-translational modifications. The FcγR-enriched IgG was characterized for subclass and glycoform composition and the impact of this bioseparation step on antibody activity was measured in cell-based effector function assays including Natural Killer cell activation and monocyte phagocytosis. This work demonstrates a tractable means to rapidly distinguish complex functional relationships between two or more interacting biological agents by leveraging affinity chromatography followed by secondary analysis with high-resolution biophysical and functional assays and emphasizes a platform capable of surveying diverse natural post-translational modifications that may not be easily produced with high purity or easily accessible with recombinant expression techniques. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Using Affinity Chromatography to Investigate Novel Protein–Protein Interactions in an Undergraduate Cell and Molecular Biology Lab Course

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Inquiry-driven lab exercises require students to think carefully about a question, carry out an investigation of that question, and critically analyze the results of their investigation. Here, we describe the implementation and assessment of an inquiry-based laboratory exercise in which students obtain and analyze novel data that contribute to our understanding of macromolecular trafficking between the nucleus and cytoplasm in eukaryotic cells. Although many of the proteins involved in nucleocytoplasmic transport are known, the physical interactions between some of these polypeptides remain uncharacterized. In this cell and molecular biology lab exercise, students investigate novel protein–protein interactions between factors involved in nuclear RNA export. Using recombinant protein expression, protein extraction, affinity chromatography, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and Western blotting, undergraduates in a sophomore-level lab course identified a previously unreported association between the soluble mRNA transport factor Mex67 and the C-terminal region of the yeast nuclear pore complex protein Nup1. This exercise immersed students in the process of investigative science, from proposing and performing experiments through analyzing data and reporting outcomes. On completion of this investigative lab sequence, students reported enhanced understanding of the scientific process, increased proficiency with cellular and molecular methods and content, greater understanding of data analysis and the importance of appropriate controls, an enhanced ability to communicate science effectively, and an increased enthusiasm for scientific research and for the lab component of the course. The modular nature of this exercise and its focus on asking novel questions about protein–protein interactions make it easily transferable to undergraduate lab courses performed in a wide variety of contexts. PMID:19723816

  6. Affinity chromatographic purification of tetrodotoxin by use of tetrodotoxin-binding high molecular weight substances in the body fluid of shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) as ligands.

    PubMed

    Shiomi, K; Yamaguchi, S; Shimakura, K; Nagashima, Y; Yamamori, K; Matsui, T

    1993-12-01

    A purification method for tetrodotoxin (TTX), based on affinity chromatography using the TTX-binding high mol. wt substances in the body fluid of shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) as ligands, was developed. This method was particularly useful for analysis of TTX in biological samples with low concentrations of TTX. The affinity gel prepared was highly specific for TTX, having no ability to bind 4-epi-TTX and anhydro-TTX as well as saxitoxin.

  7. Technical advance: identification of plant actin-binding proteins by F-actin affinity chromatography

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hu, S.; Brady, S. R.; Kovar, D. R.; Staiger, C. J.; Clark, G. B.; Roux, S. J.; Muday, G. K.

    2000-01-01

    Proteins that interact with the actin cytoskeleton often modulate the dynamics or organization of the cytoskeleton or use the cytoskeleton to control their localization. In plants, very few actin-binding proteins have been identified and most are thought to modulate cytoskeleton function. To identify actin-binding proteins that are unique to plants, the development of new biochemical procedures will be critical. Affinity columns using actin monomers (globular actin, G-actin) or actin filaments (filamentous actin, F-actin) have been used to identify actin-binding proteins from a wide variety of organisms. Monomeric actin from zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) hypocotyl tissue was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and shown to be native and competent for polymerization to actin filaments. G-actin, F-actin and bovine serum albumin affinity columns were prepared and used to separate samples enriched in either soluble or membrane-associated actin-binding proteins. Extracts of soluble actin-binding proteins yield distinct patterns when eluted from the G-actin and F-actin columns, respectively, leading to the identification of a putative F-actin-binding protein of approximately 40 kDa. When plasma membrane-associated proteins were applied to these columns, two abundant polypeptides eluted selectively from the F-actin column and cross-reacted with antiserum against pea annexins. Additionally, a protein that binds auxin transport inhibitors, the naphthylphthalamic acid binding protein, which has been previously suggested to associate with the actin cytoskeleton, was eluted in a single peak from the F-actin column. These experiments provide a new approach that may help to identify novel actin-binding proteins from plants.

  8. Technical advance: identification of plant actin-binding proteins by F-actin affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Hu, S; Brady, S R; Kovar, D R; Staiger, C J; Clark, G B; Roux, S J; Muday, G K

    2000-10-01

    Proteins that interact with the actin cytoskeleton often modulate the dynamics or organization of the cytoskeleton or use the cytoskeleton to control their localization. In plants, very few actin-binding proteins have been identified and most are thought to modulate cytoskeleton function. To identify actin-binding proteins that are unique to plants, the development of new biochemical procedures will be critical. Affinity columns using actin monomers (globular actin, G-actin) or actin filaments (filamentous actin, F-actin) have been used to identify actin-binding proteins from a wide variety of organisms. Monomeric actin from zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) hypocotyl tissue was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and shown to be native and competent for polymerization to actin filaments. G-actin, F-actin and bovine serum albumin affinity columns were prepared and used to separate samples enriched in either soluble or membrane-associated actin-binding proteins. Extracts of soluble actin-binding proteins yield distinct patterns when eluted from the G-actin and F-actin columns, respectively, leading to the identification of a putative F-actin-binding protein of approximately 40 kDa. When plasma membrane-associated proteins were applied to these columns, two abundant polypeptides eluted selectively from the F-actin column and cross-reacted with antiserum against pea annexins. Additionally, a protein that binds auxin transport inhibitors, the naphthylphthalamic acid binding protein, which has been previously suggested to associate with the actin cytoskeleton, was eluted in a single peak from the F-actin column. These experiments provide a new approach that may help to identify novel actin-binding proteins from plants.

  9. Production of capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 14 and its purification by affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Suárez, N; Fraguas, L F; Texeira, E; Massaldi, H; Batista-Viera, F; Ferreira, F

    2001-02-01

    We describe a rapid and efficient method for producing the capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae by fermentation on tryptic soy broth and purification of this compound by using immobilized soybean lectin as an affinity adsorbent. In principle, the same strategy can be used to produce purified capsular polysaccharides from other streptococcal serotypes by selecting the appropriate lectin adsorbents.

  10. Evidence of land plant affinity for the Devonian fossil Protosalvinia (Foerstia)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Romankiw, L.A.; Hatcher, P.G.; Roen, J.B.

    1988-01-01

    The Devonian plant fossil Protosalvinia (Foerstia) has been examined by solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PY-GC-MS). Results of these studies reveal that the chemical structure of Protosalvinia is remarkably similar to that of coalified wood. A well-defined phenolic carbon peak in the NMR spectra and the appearance of phenol and alkylated phenols in pyrolysis products are clearly indicative of lignin-like compounds. These data represent significant new information on the chemical nature of Protosalvinia and provide the first substantial organic geochemical evidence for land plant affinity. -Authors

  11. Production of Capsular Polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae Type 14 and Its Purification by Affinity Chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Suárez, Norma; Fraguas, Laura Franco; Texeira, Esther; Massaldi, Hugo; Batista-Viera, Francisco; Ferreira, Fernando

    2001-01-01

    We describe a rapid and efficient method for producing the capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae by fermentation on tryptic soy broth and purification of this compound by using immobilized soybean lectin as an affinity adsorbent. In principle, the same strategy can be used to produce purified capsular polysaccharides from other streptococcal serotypes by selecting the appropriate lectin adsorbents. PMID:11157270

  12. Sample displacement chromatography as a method for purification of proteins and peptides from complex mixtures

    PubMed Central

    Gajdosik, Martina Srajer; Clifton, James; Josic, Djuro

    2012-01-01

    Sample displacement chromatography (SDC) in reversed-phase and ion-exchange modes was introduced approximately twenty years ago. This method takes advantage of relative binding affinities of components in a sample mixture. During loading, there is a competition among different sample components for the sorption on the surface of the stationary phase. SDC was first used for the preparative purification of proteins. Later, it was demonstrated that this kind of chromatography can also be performed in ion-exchange, affinity and hydrophobic-interaction mode. It has also been shown that SDC can be performed on monoliths and membrane-based supports in both analytical and preparative scale. Recently, SDC in ion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction mode was also employed successfully for the removal of trace proteins from monoclonal antibody preparations and for the enrichment of low abundance proteins from human plasma. In this review, the principals of SDC are introduced, and the potential for separation of proteins and peptides in micro-analytical, analytical and preparative scale is discussed. PMID:22520159

  13. High-throughput SISCAPA quantitation of peptides from human plasma digests by ultrafast, liquid chromatography-free mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Razavi, Morteza; Frick, Lauren E; LaMarr, William A; Pope, Matthew E; Miller, Christine A; Anderson, N Leigh; Pearson, Terry W

    2012-12-07

    We investigated the utility of an SPE-MS/MS platform in combination with a modified SISCAPA workflow for chromatography-free MRM analysis of proteotypic peptides in digested human plasma. This combination of SISCAPA and SPE-MS/MS technology allows sensitive, MRM-based quantification of peptides from plasma digests with a sample cycle time of ∼7 s, a 300-fold improvement over typical MRM analyses with analysis times of 30-40 min that use liquid chromatography upstream of MS. The optimized system includes capture and enrichment to near purity of target proteotypic peptides using rigorously selected, high affinity, antipeptide monoclonal antibodies and reduction of background peptides using a novel treatment of magnetic bead immunoadsorbents. Using this method, we have successfully quantitated LPS-binding protein and mesothelin (concentrations of ∼5000 ng/mL and ∼10 ng/mL, respectively) in human plasma. The method eliminates the need for upstream liquid-chromatography and can be multiplexed, thus facilitating quantitative analysis of proteins, including biomarkers, in large sample sets. The method is ideal for high-throughput biomarker validation after affinity enrichment and has the potential for applications in clinical laboratories.

  14. Sequence-Specific Affinity Chromatography of Bacterial Small Regulatory RNA-Binding Proteins from Bacterial Cells.

    PubMed

    Gans, Jonathan; Osborne, Jonathan; Cheng, Juliet; Djapgne, Louise; Oglesby-Sherrouse, Amanda G

    2018-01-01

    Bacterial small RNA molecules (sRNAs) are increasingly recognized as central regulators of bacterial stress responses and pathogenesis. In many cases, RNA-binding proteins are critical for the stability and function of sRNAs. Previous studies have adopted strategies to genetically tag an sRNA of interest, allowing isolation of RNA-protein complexes from cells. Here we present a sequence-specific affinity purification protocol that requires no prior genetic manipulation of bacterial cells, allowing isolation of RNA-binding proteins bound to native RNA molecules.

  15. Identification and Comparison of the Polar Phospholipids in Normal and Dry Eye Rabbit Tears by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Ham, Bryan M.; Cole, Richard B.; Jacob, Jean T.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose To identify and compare the phosphorylated lipids in normal and dry eye rabbit tears using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Methods MALDI-TOF MS studies were performed on tear samples from normal and dry eyes of female New Zealand White rabbits. Experimental dry eye was induced by complete removal of the main and accessory lacrimal glands and nictitating membranes. A solid ionic crystal MALDI matrix of paranitroaniline and butyric acid was used to enhance the mass spectral responses of the phospholipids. In addition, a novel lipid isolation, preconcentration, and clean-up method using pipettes containing immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) medium was used. Results The polar phospholipids present in the normal and dry eye rabbit tears showed both similarities and differences. Species related to platelet-activating factor (PAF) and/or lysophosphatidylcholine (lyso-PC), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and sphingomyelin (SM) were found in both the normal and dry eye rabbit tears. However, the number of types and the concentrations of SM molecules were markedly greater in the dry eye tears than in the normal tears. In addition, phosphatidylserine (PS) species that were readily detectable in dry eye tears were not found in normal tears. Conclusions The combination of immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography and the solid ionic crystal matrix for MALDI enabled the detection and study of phosphorylated lipids in the tears. Specific differences between phospholipid levels in normal and dry eye tears were observable with this methodology. The appearance of various SM species only in the dry eye tears may provide markers for this disease state in the future. PMID:16877399

  16. Improving Properties of a Novel β-Galactosidase from Lactobacillus plantarum by Covalent Immobilization.

    PubMed

    Benavente, Rocio; Pessela, Benevides C; Curiel, Jose Antonio; de las Rivas, Blanca; Muñoz, Rosario; Guisán, Jose Manuel; Mancheño, Jose M; Cardelle-Cobas, Alejandra; Ruiz-Matute, Ana I; Corzo, Nieves

    2015-04-30

    A novel β-galactosidase from Lactobacillus plantarum (LPG) was over-expressed in E. coli and purified via a single chromatographic step by using lowly activated IMAC (immobilized metal for affinity chromatography) supports. The pure enzyme exhibited a high hydrolytic activity of 491 IU/mL towards o-nitrophenyl β-D-galactopyranoside. This value was conserved in the presence of different divalent cations and was quite resistant to the inhibition effects of different carbohydrates. The pure multimeric enzyme was stabilized by multipoint and multisubunit covalent attachment on glyoxyl-agarose. The glyoxyl-LPG immobilized preparation was over 20-fold more stable than the soluble enzyme or the one-point CNBr-LPG immobilized preparation at 50 °C. This β-galactosidase was successfully used in the hydrolysis of lactose and lactulose and formation of different oligosaccharides was detected. High production of galacto-oligosaccharides (35%) and oligosaccharides derived from lactulose (30%) was found and, for the first time, a new oligosaccharide derived from lactulose, tentatively identified as 3'-galactosyl lactulose, has been described.

  17. Age-Dependent Effects of Acute Alcohol Administration in the Hippocampal Phosphoproteome.

    PubMed

    Contreras, Ana; Morales, Lidia; Tebourbi, Ali; Miguéns, Miguel; Olmo, Nuria Del; Pérez-García, Carmen

    2017-12-18

    Alcohol consumption during adolescence is deleterious to the developing brain and leads to persistent deficits in adulthood. Several results provide strong evidence for ethanol-associated alterations in glutamatergic signaling and impaired synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. Protein phosphorylation is a well-known and well-documented mechanism in memory processes, but information on phosphoprotein alterations in hippocampus after ethanol exposure is limited. This study focuses on age-related changes in the hippocampal phosphoproteome after acute alcohol administration. We have compared the phosphoprotein expression in the hippocampus of adult and adolescent Wistar rats treated with a single dose of ethanol (5 g/kg i.p.), using a proteomic approach including phosphoprotein enrichment by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Our proteomic analysis revealed that 13 proteins were differentially affected by age, ethanol administration, or both. Most of these proteins are involved in neuroprotection and are expressed less in young rats treated with ethanol. We conclude that acute alcohol induces important changes in the expression of phosphoproteins in the hippocampus that could increase the risk of neurodegenerative disorders, especially when the alcohol exposure begins in adolescence.

  18. Cu2+ triggers reversible aggregation of a disordered His-rich dehydrin MpDhn12 from Musa paradisiaca.

    PubMed

    Mu, Peiqiang; Feng, Dongru; Su, Jianbin; Zhang, Yang; Dai, Jinran; Jin, Honglei; Liu, Bing; He, Yanming; Qi, Kangbiao; Wang, Hongbin; Wang, Jinfa

    2011-11-01

    Copper is an essential nutrient, but it is toxic in excess. Here, we cloned and characterized a His-rich low molecular weight dehydrin from Musa paradisiaca, MpDhn12. Analysis by circular dichroism (CD) spectra and a thermal stability assay showed that MpDhn12 is an intrinsically disordered protein, and immobilized-metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) analysis revealed that MpDhn12 can bind Cu(2+) both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, MpDhn12 aggregated under excess Cu(2+) conditions, and the aggregation was reversible and impaired by histidine modification with diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC), while the disordered structure of another dehydrin ERD14 (as a control) was not changed. Furthermore, MpDhn12 could complement the copper-sensitive phenotype of yeast mutant Δsod1. These results together suggested that MpDhn12 may take part in buffering copper levels through chelation and formation of aggregates in excess Cu(2+) conditions. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report that a dehydrin interchanged between disordered and aggregated state triggered by copper.

  19. A comparative evaluation of software for the analysis of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry data from isotope coded affinity tag experiments.

    PubMed

    Moulder, Robert; Filén, Jan-Jonas; Salmi, Jussi; Katajamaa, Mikko; Nevalainen, Olli S; Oresic, Matej; Aittokallio, Tero; Lahesmaa, Riitta; Nyman, Tuula A

    2005-07-01

    The options available for processing quantitative data from isotope coded affinity tag (ICAT) experiments have mostly been confined to software specific to the instrument of acquisition. However, recent developments with data format conversion have subsequently increased such processing opportunities. In the present study, data sets from ICAT experiments, analysed with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), using an Applied Biosystems QSTAR Pulsar quadrupole-TOF mass spectrometer, were processed in triplicate using separate mass spectrometry software packages. The programs Pro ICAT, Spectrum Mill and SEQUEST with XPRESS were employed. Attention was paid towards the extent of common identification and agreement of quantitative results, with additional interest in the flexibility and productivity of these programs. The comparisons were made with data from the analysis of a specifically prepared test mixture, nine proteins at a range of relative concentration ratios from 0.1 to 10 (light to heavy labelled forms), as a known control, and data selected from an ICAT study involving the measurement of cytokine induced protein expression in human lymphoblasts, as an applied example. Dissimilarities were detected in peptide identification that reflected how the associated scoring parameters favoured information from the MS/MS data sets. Accordingly, there were differences in the numbers of peptides and protein identifications, although from these it was apparent that both confirmatory and complementary information was present. In the quantitative results from the three programs, no statistically significant differences were observed.

  20. ANALYSIS OF DRUG-PROTEIN BINDING BY ULTRAFAST AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY USING IMMOBILIZED HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN

    PubMed Central

    Mallik, Rangan; Yoo, Michelle J.; Briscoe, Chad J.; Hage, David S.

    2010-01-01

    Human serum albumin (HSA) was explored for use as a stationary phase and ligand in affinity microcolumns for the ultrafast extraction of free drug fractions and the use of this information for the analysis of drug-protein binding. Warfarin, imipramine, and ibuprofen were used as model analytes in this study. It was found that greater than 95% extraction of all these drugs could be achieved in as little as 250 ms on HSA microcolumns. The retained drug fraction was then eluted from the same column under isocratic conditions, giving elution in less than 40 s when working at 4.5 mL/min. The chromatographic behavior of this system gave a good fit with that predicted by computer simulations based on a reversible, saturable model for the binding of an injected drug with immobilized HSA. The free fractions measured by this method were found to be comparable to those determined by ultrafiltration, and equilibrium constants estimated by this approach gave good agreement with literature values. Advantages of this method include its speed and the relatively low cost of microcolumns that contain HSA. The ability of HSA to bind many types of drugs also creates the possibility of using the same affinity microcolumn to study and measure the free fractions for a variety of pharmaceutical agents. These properties make this technique appealing for use in drug binding studies and in the high-throughput screening of new drug candidates. PMID:20227701

  1. Can we beat the biotin-avidin pair?: cucurbit[7]uril-based ultrahigh affinity host-guest complexes and their applications.

    PubMed

    Shetty, Dinesh; Khedkar, Jayshree K; Park, Kyeng Min; Kim, Kimoon

    2015-12-07

    The design of synthetic, monovalent host-guest molecular recognition pairs is still challenging and of particular interest to inquire into the limits of the affinity that can be achieved with designed systems. In this regard, cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), an important member of the host family cucurbit[n]uril (CB[n], n = 5-8, 10, 14), has attracted much attention because of its ability to form ultra-stable complexes with multiple guests. The strong hydrophobic effect between the host cavity and guests, ion-dipole and dipole-dipole interactions of guests with CB portals helps in cooperative and multiple noncovalent interactions that are essential for realizing such strong complexations. These highly selective, strong yet dynamic interactions can be exploited in many applications including affinity chromatography, biomolecule immobilization, protein isolation, biological catalysis, and sensor technologies. In this review, we summarize the progress in the development of high affinity guests for CB[7], factors affecting the stability of complexes, theoretical insights, and the utility of these high affinity pairs in different challenging applications.

  2. Lp-dual affine surface area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Wang; Binwu, He

    2008-12-01

    According to the notion of Lp-affine surface area by Lutwak, in this paper, we introduce the concept of Lp-dual affine surface area. Further, we establish the affine isoperimetric inequality and the Blaschke-Santaló inequality for Lp-dual affine surface area. Besides, the dual Brunn-Minkowski inequality for Lp-dual affine surface area is presented.

  3. Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the metal-binding protein CusF.

    PubMed

    Cantu-Bustos, J Enrique; Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Galbraith, David W; McEvoy, Megan M; Zarate, Xristo

    2016-05-01

    Production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli has been improved considerably through the use of fusion proteins, because they increase protein solubility and facilitate purification via affinity chromatography. In this article, we propose the use of CusF as a new fusion partner for expression and purification of recombinant proteins in E. coli. Using a cell-free protein expression system, based on the E. coli S30 extract, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) was expressed with a series of different N-terminal tags, immobilized on self-assembled protein microarrays, and its fluorescence quantified. GFP tagged with CusF showed the highest fluorescence intensity, and this was greater than the intensities from corresponding GFP constructs that contained MBP or GST tags. Analysis of protein production in vivo showed that CusF produces large amounts of soluble protein with low levels of inclusion bodies. Furthermore, fusion proteins can be exported to the cellular periplasm, if CusF contains the signal sequence. Taking advantage of its ability to bind copper ions, recombinant proteins can be purified with readily available IMAC resins charged with this metal ion, producing pure proteins after purification and tag removal. We therefore recommend the use of CusF as a viable alternative to MBP or GST as a fusion protein/affinity tag for the production of soluble recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Introduction of structural affinity handles as a tool in selective nucleic acid separations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Willson, III, Richard Coale (Inventor); Cano, Luis Antonio (Inventor)

    2011-01-01

    The method is used for separating nucleic acids and other similar constructs. It involves selective introduction, enhancement, or stabilization of affinity handles such as single-strandedness in the undesired (or desired) nucleic acids as compared to the usual structure (e.g., double-strandedness) of the desired (or undesired) nucleic acids. The undesired (or desired) nucleic acids are separated from the desired (or undesired) nucleic acids due to capture by methods including but not limited to immobilized metal affinity chromatography, immobilized single-stranded DNA binding (SSB) protein, and immobilized oligonucleotides. The invention is useful to: remove contaminating genomic DNA from plasmid DNA; remove genomic DNA from plasmids, BACs, and similar constructs; selectively separate oligonucleotides and similar DNA fragments from their partner strands; purification of aptamers, (deoxy)-ribozymes and other highly structured nucleic acids; Separation of restriction fragments without using agarose gels; manufacture recombinant Taq polymerase or similar products that are sensitive to host genomic DNA contamination; and other applications.

  5. What reaches the antenna? How to calibrate odor flux and ligand-receptor affinities.

    PubMed

    Andersson, Martin N; Schlyter, Fredrik; Hill, Sharon Rose; Dekker, Teun

    2012-06-01

    Physiological studies on olfaction frequently ignore the airborne quantities of stimuli reaching the sensory organ. We used a gas chromatography-calibrated photoionization detector to estimate quantities released from standard Pasteur pipette stimulus cartridges during repeated puffing of 27 compounds and verified how lack of quantification could obscure olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) affinities. Chemical structure of the stimulus, solvent, dose, storage condition, puff interval, and puff number all influenced airborne quantities. A model including boiling point and lipophilicity, but excluding vapor pressure, predicted airborne quantities from stimuli in paraffin oil on filter paper. We recorded OSN responses of Drosophila melanogaster, Ips typographus, and Culex quinquefasciatus, to known quantities of airborne stimuli. These demonstrate that inferred OSN tuning width, ligand affinity, and classification can be confounded and require stimulus quantification. Additionally, proper dose-response analysis shows that Drosophila AB3A OSNs are not promiscuous, but highly specific for ethyl hexanoate, with other earlier proposed ligands 10- to 10 000-fold less potent. Finally, we reanalyzed published Drosophila OSN data (DoOR) and demonstrate substantial shifts in affinities after compensation for quantity and puff number. We conclude that consistent experimental protocols are necessary for correct OSN classification and present some simple rules that make calibration, even retroactively, readily possible.

  6. Approaches to High-Performance Preparative Chromatography of Proteins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Yan; Liu, Fu-Feng; Shi, Qing-Hong

    Preparative liquid chromatography is widely used for the purification of chemical and biological substances. Different from high-performance liquid chromatography for the analysis of many different components at minimized sample loading, high-performance preparative chromatography is of much larger scale and should be of high resolution and high capacity at high operation speed and low to moderate pressure drop. There are various approaches to this end. For biochemical engineers, the traditional way is to model and optimize a purification process to make it exert its maximum capability. For high-performance separations, however, we need to improve chromatographic technology itself. We herein discuss four approaches in this review, mainly based on the recent studies in our group. The first is the development of high-performance matrices, because packing material is the central component of chromatography. Progress in the fabrication of superporous materials in both beaded and monolithic forms are reviewed. The second topic is the discovery and design of affinity ligands for proteins. In most chromatographic methods, proteins are separated based on their interactions with the ligands attached to the surface of porous media. A target-specific ligand can offer selective purification of desired proteins. Third, electrochromatography is discussed. An electric field applied to a chromatographic column can induce additional separation mechanisms besides chromatography, and result in electrokinetic transport of protein molecules and/or the fluid inside pores, thus leading to high-performance separations. Finally, expanded-bed adsorption is described for process integration to reduce separation steps and process time.

  7. Use of T-2 toxin-immobilized amine-activated beads as an efficient affinity purification matrix for the isolation of specific IgY.

    PubMed

    Edupuganti, Soujanya Ratna; Edupuganti, Om Prakash; O'Kennedy, Richard; Defrancq, Eric; Boullanger, Stéphanie

    2013-04-01

    An affinity purification method that isolates T-2 toxin-specific IgY utilizing a T-2-toxin-immobilized column was developed. The T-2 toxin was covalently coupled via a carbonyldiimidazole-activated hydroxyl functional group to amine-activated sepharose beads. The affinity-purified IgY was characterized by gel electrophoresis, fast protein liquid chromatography, enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay, surface plasmon resonance and mass spectrometry. A competitive inhibition ELISA (CI-ELISA) was performed using affinity-purified IgY with a T-2 toxin detection sensitivity of 30 ng/mL, which falls within the maximum permissible limit of 100 ng/mL. The cross reactivity of IgY towards deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisin B1 and HT-2 was significantly reduced after affinity purification. A surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based inhibition assay was also applied for quantitative determination of T-2 toxin in spiked wheat samples. The results obtained indicate the feasibility of utilizing this IgY-based assay for the detection of T-2 toxin in food samples.

  8. Automated Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography Column Selection for Use in Protein Purification

    PubMed Central

    Murphy, Patrick J. M.; Stone, Orrin J.; Anderson, Michelle E.

    2011-01-01

    In contrast to other chromatographic methods for purifying proteins (e.g. gel filtration, affinity, and ion exchange), hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) commonly requires experimental determination (referred to as screening or "scouting") in order to select the most suitable chromatographic medium for purifying a given protein 1. The method presented here describes an automated approach to scouting for an optimal HIC media to be used in protein purification. HIC separates proteins and other biomolecules from a crude lysate based on differences in hydrophobicity. Similar to affinity chromatography (AC) and ion exchange chromatography (IEX), HIC is capable of concentrating the protein of interest as it progresses through the chromatographic process. Proteins best suited for purification by HIC include those with hydrophobic surface regions and able to withstand exposure to salt concentrations in excess of 2 M ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4). HIC is often chosen as a purification method for proteins lacking an affinity tag, and thus unsuitable for AC, and when IEX fails to provide adequate purification. Hydrophobic moieties on the protein surface temporarily bind to a nonpolar ligand coupled to an inert, immobile matrix. The interaction between protein and ligand are highly dependent on the salt concentration of the buffer flowing through the chromatography column, with high ionic concentrations strengthening the protein-ligand interaction and making the protein immobile (i.e. bound inside the column) 2. As salt concentrations decrease, the protein-ligand interaction dissipates, the protein again becomes mobile and elutes from the column. Several HIC media are commercially available in pre-packed columns, each containing one of several hydrophobic ligands (e.g. S-butyl, butyl, octyl, and phenyl) cross-linked at varying densities to agarose beads of a specific diameter 3. Automated column scouting allows for an efficient approach for determining which HIC media

  9. Recognition and binding of β-lactam antibiotics to bovine serum albumin by frontal affinity chromatography in combination with spectroscopy and molecular docking.

    PubMed

    Li, Qian; Zhang, Tianlong; Bian, Liujiao

    2016-03-01

    Serum albumins are the most abundant carrier proteins in blood plasma and participate in the binding and transportation of various exogenous and endogenous compounds in the body. This work was designed to investigate the recognition and binding of three typical β-lactam antibiotics including penicillin G (Pen G), penicillin V (Pen V) and cefalexin (Cef) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) by frontal affinity chromatography in combination with UV-vis absorption spectra, fluorescence emission spectra, binding site marker competitive experiment and molecular docking under simulated physiological conditions. The results showed that a BSA only bound with one antibiotic molecule in the binding process, and the binding constants for Pen G-BSA, Pen V-BSA and Cef-BSA complexes were 4.22×10(1), 4.86×10(2) and 3.32×10(3) (L/mol), respectively. All the three β-lactam antibiotics were mainly inserted into the subdomain IIA (binding site 1) of BSA by hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals forces. The binding capacity between the antibiotics and BSA was closely related to the functional groups and flexibility of side chains in antibiotics. This study provided an important insight into the molecular recognition and binding interaction of BSA with β-lactam antibiotics, which may be a useful guideline for the innovative clinical medications and new antibiotic designs with effective pharmacological properties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Modulating Uranium Binding Affinity in Engineered Calmodulin EF-Hand Peptides: Effect of Phosphorylation

    PubMed Central

    Pardoux, Romain; Sauge-Merle, Sandrine; Lemaire, David; Delangle, Pascale; Guilloreau, Luc; Adriano, Jean-Marc; Berthomieu, Catherine

    2012-01-01

    To improve our understanding of uranium toxicity, the determinants of uranyl affinity in proteins must be better characterized. In this work, we analyzed the contribution of a phosphoryl group on uranium binding affinity in a protein binding site, using the site 1 EF-hand motif of calmodulin. The recombinant domain 1 of calmodulin from A. thaliana was engineered to impair metal binding at site 2 and was used as a structured template. Threonine at position 9 of the loop was phosphorylated in vitro, using the recombinant catalytic subunit of protein kinase CK2. Hence, the T9TKE12 sequence was substituted by the CK2 recognition sequence TAAE. A tyrosine was introduced at position 7, so that uranyl and calcium binding affinities could be determined by following tyrosine fluorescence. Phosphorylation was characterized by ESI-MS spectrometry, and the phosphorylated peptide was purified to homogeneity using ion-exchange chromatography. The binding constants for uranyl were determined by competition experiments with iminodiacetate. At pH 6, phosphorylation increased the affinity for uranyl by a factor of ∼5, from Kd = 25±6 nM to Kd = 5±1 nM. The phosphorylated peptide exhibited a much larger affinity at pH 7, with a dissociation constant in the subnanomolar range (Kd = 0.25±0.06 nM). FTIR analyses showed that the phosphothreonine side chain is partly protonated at pH 6, while it is fully deprotonated at pH 7. Moreover, formation of the uranyl-peptide complex at pH 7 resulted in significant frequency shifts of the νas(P-O) and νs(P-O) IR modes of phosphothreonine, supporting its direct interaction with uranyl. Accordingly, a bathochromic shift in νas(UO2)2+ vibration (from 923 cm−1 to 908 cm−1) was observed upon uranyl coordination to the phosphorylated peptide. Together, our data demonstrate that the phosphoryl group plays a determining role in uranyl binding affinity to proteins at physiological pH. PMID:22870263

  11. A highly selective dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction approach based on the unique fluorous affinity for the extraction and detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances coupled with high performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wang, Juan; Shi, Yali; Cai, Yaqi

    2018-04-06

    In the present study, a highly selective fluorous affinity-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique was developed for the extraction and analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) followed by high performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. Perfluoro-tert-butanol with multiple C-F bonds was chosen as the extraction solvent, which was injected into the aqueous samples with a dispersive solvent (acetonitrile) in a 120:800 (μL, v/v) mixture for PFASs enrichment. The fluorous affinity-based extraction mechanism was confirmed by the significantly higher extraction recoveries for PFASs containing multiple fluorine atoms than those for compounds with fewer or no fluorine atoms. The extraction recoveries of medium and long-chain PFASs (CF 2  > 5) exceeded 70%, except perfluoroheptanoic acid, while those of short-chain PFASs were lower than 50%, implying that the proposed DLLME may not be suitable for their extraction due to weak fluorous affinity. This highly fluoroselective DLLME technique can greatly decrease the matrix effect that occurs in mass spectrometry detection when applied to the analysis of urine samples. Under the optimum conditions, the relative recoveries of PFASs with CF 2  > 5 ranged from 80.6-121.4% for tap water, river water and urine samples spiked with concentrations of 10, 50 and 100 ng/L. The method limits of quantification for PFASs in water and urine samples were in the range of 0.6-8.7 ng/L. Furthermore, comparable concentrations of PFASs were obtained via DLLME and solid-phase extraction, confirming that the developed DLLME technique is a promising method for the extraction of PFASs in real samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Affinity and Efficacy Studies of Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid A at Cannabinoid Receptor Types One and Two.

    PubMed

    McPartland, John M; MacDonald, Christa; Young, Michelle; Grant, Phillip S; Furkert, Daniel P; Glass, Michelle

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Cannabis biosynthesizes Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA-A), which decarboxylates into Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). There is growing interest in the therapeutic use of THCA-A, but its clinical application may be hampered by instability. THCA-A lacks cannabimimetic effects; we hypothesize that it has little binding affinity at cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB 1 ). Materials and Methods: Purity of certified reference standards were tested with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Binding affinity of THCA-A and THC at human (h) CB 1 and hCB 2 was measured in competition binding assays, using transfected HEK cells and [ 3 H]CP55,940. Efficacy at hCB 1 and hCB 2 was measured in a cyclic adenosine monophosphase (cAMP) assay, using a Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET) biosensor. Results: The THCA-A reagent contained 2% THC. THCA-A displayed small but measurable binding at both hCB 1 and hCB 2 , equating to approximate K i values of 3.1μM and 12.5μM, respectively. THC showed 62-fold greater affinity at hCB 1 and 125-fold greater affinity at hCB 2 . In efficacy tests, THCA-A (10μM) slightly inhibited forskolin-stimulated cAMP at hCB 1 , suggestive of weak agonist activity, and no measurable efficacy at hCB 2 . Discussion: The presence of THC in our THCA-A certified standard agrees with decarboxylation kinetics (literature reviewed herein), which indicate contamination with THC is nearly unavoidable. THCA-A binding at 10μM approximated THC binding at 200nM. We therefore suspect some of our THCA-A binding curve was artifact-from its inevitable decarboxylation into THC-and the binding affinity of THCA-A is even weaker than our estimated values. We conclude that THCA-A has little affinity or efficacy at CB 1 or CB 2 .

  13. Affinity in electrophoresis.

    PubMed

    Heegaard, Niels H H

    2009-06-01

    The journal Electrophoresis has greatly influenced my approaches to biomolecular affinity studies. The methods that I have chosen as my main tools to study interacting biomolecules--native gel and later capillary zone electrophoresis--have been the topic of numerous articles in Electrophoresis. Below, the role of the journal in the development and dissemination of these techniques and applications reviewed. Many exhaustive reviews on affinity electrophoresis and affinity CE have been published in the last few years and are not in any way replaced by the present deliberations that are focused on papers published by the journal.

  14. Affinity-based precipitation via a bivalent peptidic hapten for the purification of monoclonal antibodies.

    PubMed

    Handlogten, Michael W; Stefanick, Jared F; Deak, Peter E; Bilgicer, Basar

    2014-09-07

    In a previous study, we demonstrated a non-chromatographic affinity-based precipitation method, using trivalent haptens, for the purification of mAbs. In this study, we significantly improved this process by using a simplified bivalent peptidic hapten (BPH) design, which enables facile and rapid purification of mAbs while overcoming the limitations of the previous trivalent design. The improved affinity-based precipitation method (ABP(BPH)) combines the simplicity of salt-induced precipitation with the selectivity of affinity chromatography for the purification of mAbs. The ABP(BPH) method involves 3 steps: (i) precipitation and separation of protein contaminants larger than immunoglobulins with ammonium sulfate; (ii) selective precipitation of the target-antibody via BPH by inducing antibody-complex formation; (iii) solubilization of the antibody pellet and removal of BPH with membrane filtration resulting in the pure antibody. The ABP(BPH) method was evaluated by purifying the pharmaceutical antibody trastuzumab from common contaminants including CHO cell conditioned media, DNA, ascites fluid, other antibodies, and denatured antibody with >85% yield and >97% purity. Importantly, the purified antibody demonstrated native binding activity to cell lines expressing the target protein, HER2. Combined, the ABP(BPH) method is a rapid and scalable process for the purification of antibodies with the potential to improve product quality while decreasing purification costs.

  15. Identification and measurement of chlorinated organic pesticides in water by electron-capture gas chromatography

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lamar, William L.; Goerlitz, Donald F.; Law, LeRoy M.

    1965-01-01

    Pesticides, in minute quantities, may affect the regimen of streams, and because they may concentrate in sediments, aquatic organisms, and edible aquatic foods, their detection and their measurement in the parts-per-trillion range are considered essential. In 1964 the U.S. Geological Survey at Menlo Park, Calif., began research on methods for monitoring pesticides in water. Two systems were selected--electron-capture gas chromatography and microcoulometric-titration gas chromatography. Studies on these systems are now in progress. This report provides current information on the development and application of an electron-capture gas chromatographic procedure. This method is a convenient and extremely sensitive procedure for the detection and measurement of organic pesticides having high electron affinities, notably the chlorinated organic pesticides. The electron-affinity detector is extremely sensitive to these substances but it is not as sensitive to many other compounds. By this method, the chlorinated organic pesticide may be determined on a sample of convenient size in concentrations as low as the parts-per-trillion range. To insure greater accuracy in the identifications, the pesticides reported were separated and identified by their retention times on two different types of gas chromatographic columns.

  16. Adjoint affine fusion and tadpoles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Urichuk, Andrew, E-mail: andrew.urichuk@uleth.ca; Walton, Mark A., E-mail: walton@uleth.ca; International School for Advanced Studies

    2016-06-15

    We study affine fusion with the adjoint representation. For simple Lie algebras, elementary and universal formulas determine the decomposition of a tensor product of an integrable highest-weight representation with the adjoint representation. Using the (refined) affine depth rule, we prove that equally striking results apply to adjoint affine fusion. For diagonal fusion, a coefficient equals the number of nonzero Dynkin labels of the relevant affine highest weight, minus 1. A nice lattice-polytope interpretation follows and allows the straightforward calculation of the genus-1 1-point adjoint Verlinde dimension, the adjoint affine fusion tadpole. Explicit formulas, (piecewise) polynomial in the level, are writtenmore » for the adjoint tadpoles of all classical Lie algebras. We show that off-diagonal adjoint affine fusion is obtained from the corresponding tensor product by simply dropping non-dominant representations.« less

  17. Current advances in screening for bioactive components from medicinal plants by affinity ultrafiltration mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Chen, Guilin; Huang, Bill X; Guo, Mingquan

    2018-05-21

    Medicinal plants have played an important role in maintaining human health for thousands of years. However, the interactions between the active components in medicinal plants and some certain biological targets during a disease are still unclear in most cases. To conduct the high-throughput screening for small active molecules that can interact with biological targets, which is of great theoretical significance and practical value. The ultrafiltration mass spectrometry (UF-LC/MS) is a powerful bio-analytical method by combining affinity ultrafiltration and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS), which could rapidly screen and identify small active molecules that bind to biological targets of interest at the same time. Compared with other analytical methods, affinity UF-LC/MS has the characteristics of fast, sensitive and high throughput, and is especially suitable for the complicated extracts of medicinal plants. In this review, the basic principle, characteristics and some most recent challenges in UF-LC/MS have been demonstrated. Meanwhile, the progress and applications of affinity UF-LC/MS in the discovery of the active components from natural medicinal plants and the interactions between small molecules and biological target proteins are also briefly summarised. In addition, the future directions for UF-LC/MS are also prospected. Affinity UF-LC/MS is a powerful tool in studies on the interactions between small active molecules and biological protein targets, especially in the high-throughput screening of active components from the natural medicinal plants. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. Purification of bone morphogenetic protein-2 from refolding mixtures using mixed-mode membrane chromatography.

    PubMed

    Gieseler, Gesa; Pepelanova, Iliyana; Stuckenberg, Lena; Villain, Louis; Nölle, Volker; Odenthal, Uwe; Beutel, Sascha; Rinas, Ursula; Scheper, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we present the development of a process for the purification of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) using mixed-mode membrane chromatography. RhBMP-2 was produced as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. In vitro refolding using rapid dilution was carried out according to a previously established protocol. Different membrane chromatography phases were analyzed for their ability to purify BMP-2. A membrane phase with salt-tolerant properties resulting from mixed-mode ligand chemistry was able to selectively purify BMP-2 dimer from refolding mixtures. No further purification or polishing steps were necessary and high product purity was obtained. The produced BMP-2 exhibited a biological activity of 7.4 × 10 5  U/mg, comparable to commercial preparations. Mixed-mode membrane chromatography can be a valuable tool for the direct purification of proteins from solutions with high-conductivity, for example refolding buffers. In addition, in this particular case, it allowed us to circumvent the use of heparin-affinity chromatography, thus allowing the design of an animal-component-free process.

  19. Non-affine deformations in polymer hydrogels

    PubMed Central

    Wen, Qi; Basu, Anindita; Janmey, Paul A.; Yodh, A. G.

    2012-01-01

    Most theories of soft matter elasticity assume that the local strain in a sample after deformation is identical everywhere and equal to the macroscopic strain, or equivalently that the deformation is affine. We discuss the elasticity of hydrogels of crosslinked polymers with special attention to affine and non-affine theories of elasticity. Experimental procedures to measure non-affine deformations are also described. Entropic theories, which account for gel elasticity based on stretching out individual polymer chains, predict affine deformations. In contrast, simulations of network deformation that result in bending of the stiff constituent filaments generally predict non-affine behavior. Results from experiments show significant non-affine deformation in hydrogels even when they are formed by flexible polymers for which bending would appear to be negligible compared to stretching. However, this finding is not necessarily an experimental proof of the non-affine model for elasticity. We emphasize the insights gained from experiments using confocal rheoscope and show that, in addition to filament bending, sample micro-inhomogeneity can be a significant alternative source of non-affine deformation. PMID:23002395

  20. Selection of a high-affinity and in vivo bioactive ssDNA aptamer against angiotensin II peptide.

    PubMed

    Heiat, Mohammad; Ranjbar, Reza; Latifi, Ali Mohammad; Rasaee, Mohammad Javad

    2016-08-01

    Unique features of aptamers have attracted interests for a broad range of applications. Aptamers are able to specifically bind to targets and inhibit their functions. This study, aimed to isolate the high affinity ssDNA aptamers against bio-regulator peptide angiotensin II (Ang II) and investigate their bioactivity in cellular and animal models. To isolate ssDNA aptamers, 12 rounds of affinity chromatography SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment) procedure were carried out. The SPR (surface plasmon resonance) and ELONA (enzyme linked oligonucleotide assay) analysis were used to determine the affinity and specificity of aptamers. The ability of selected aptamers to inhibit the proliferative effect of Ang II on human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (HA-VSMCs) and their performance on Wistar rat urinary system and serum electrolyte levels were investigated. Two full-length aptamers (FLC112 and FLC125) with high affinity of respectively 7.52±2.44E-10 and 5.87±1.3E-9M were isolated against Ang II. The core regions of these aptamers (CRC112 and CRC125) also showed affinity of 5.33±1.15E-9 and 4.11±1.09E-9M. In vitro analysis revealed that FLC112 and FLC125 can inhibit the proliferative effect of Ang II on HA-VSMCs (P<0.05). They also significantly reduced the serum sodium level and increased the urine volume (P<0.05). The core regions of aptamers did not show high inhibitory potential against Ang II. It can be a spotlight that ssDNA aptamers have high potential for blocking Ang II. In conclusion, it appears that the researches focusing on high affinity and bioactive aptamers may lead to excellent results in blocking Ang II activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Functional efficacy of human recombinant FGF-2s tagged with (His)6 and (His-Asn)6 at the N- and C-termini in human gingival fibroblast and periodontal ligament-derived cells.

    PubMed

    Lee, Ji-Hye; Lee, Ji-Eun; Kang, Kyung-Jung; Jang, Young-Joo

    2017-07-01

    Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is a multifunctional growth factor that induces cell proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation in various cell types and tissues. With these biological functions, FGF-2 has been evaluated for clinical use in the regeneration of damaged tissues. The expression of hFGF-2 in Escherichia coli and a purification system using the immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is well established to generate a continuous supply of FGF-2. Although hexa-histidine tag (H 6 ) is commonly used for IMAC purification, hexa-histidine-asparagine tag (HN 6 ) is also efficient for purification as it is easily exposed on the surface of the protein. In this study, four different tagging constructs of hFGF-2 based on tag positions and types (H 6 -FGF2, FGF2-H 6 , HN 6 -FGF2, and FGF2-HN 6 ) were designed and expressed under the inducible T7 expression system in E. coli. The experimental conditions of expression and purification of each recombinant protein were optimized. The effective dosages of the recombinant proteins were determined based on the increase of cell proliferation in human gingival fibroblast. ED50s of H 6 -FGF2, FGF2-H 6 , HN 6 -FGF2, and FGF2-HN 6 were determined (4.42 ng/ml, 3.55 ng/ml, 3.54 ng/ml, and 4.14 ng/ml, respectively) and found to be comparable to commercial FGF-2 (3.67 ng/ml). All the recombinant hFGF-2s inhibit the osteogenic induction and mineralization in human periodontal ligament-derived cells. Our data suggested that biological activities of the recombinant hFGF-2 are irrelevant to types and positions of tags, but may have an influence on the expression efficiency and solubility. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Histidine content of low-molecular-weight beef proteins influences nonheme iron bioavailability in Caco-2 cells.

    PubMed

    Swain, James H; Tabatabai, Louisa B; Reddy, Manju B

    2002-02-01

    The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize beef muscle proteins that enhance nonheme iron bioavailability. Beef sirloin was cooked, lyophilized and reconstituted with water before in vitro digestion. After centrifugation, the digest supernatant was sequentially ultrafiltered using 10- and 1-kDa molecular weight cut-off membranes. Nonheme iron bioavailability was assessed by Caco-2 cell monolayer (59)Fe uptake using an extrinsic labeling method. All ultrafiltration fractions significantly (P < 0.001) increased iron solubility at pH 6.0, compared with the blank. However, iron uptake was significantly (P < 0.001) greater than the blank only in the presence of the 1-kDa retentate (1KR). Therefore, the 1KR was chosen for further analysis. Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) of the 1KR yielded four fractions, i.e., three distinct fractions (F1, F3, F4) and one fraction (F2) comprised of a few closely associated peaks. All four IMAC fractions resulted in significantly (P < 0.001) greater (two- to fivefold) iron solubility at pH 6.0, compared with the blank. Iron uptake with F2 and F4 was significantly greater than the blank (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively). Gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization analysis illustrated that F1-F4 contained many peptides ranging from 1- to 7-kDa. Amino acid composition analysis revealed that histidine concentration increased progressively from F1 to F4, corresponding to a general, but not parallel increase in iron solubility and uptake. Our results suggest that the enhancement of nonheme iron absorption by beef may be due to peptides produced during gastrointestinal digestion and that histidine content may be important.

  3. Lp-mixed affine surface area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Weidong; Leng, Gangsong

    2007-11-01

    According to the three notions of mixed affine surface area, Lp-affine surface area and Lp-mixed affine surface area proposed by Lutwak, in this article, we give the concept of ith Lp-mixed affine surface area such that the first and second notions of Lutwak are its special cases. Further, some Lutwak's results are extended associated with this concept. Besides, applying this concept, we establish an inequality for the volumes and dual quermassintegrals of a class of star bodies.

  4. Cytotoxicity of seven bisphenol analogues compared to bisphenol A and relationships with membrane affinity data.

    PubMed

    Russo, Giacomo; Capuozzo, Antonella; Barbato, Francesco; Irace, Carlo; Santamaria, Rita; Grumetto, Lucia

    2018-06-01

    Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in numerous industrial applications. Due to its well ascertained toxicity as endocrine disruptor, industries have started to replace it with other bisphenols whose alleged greater safety is scarcely supported by literature studies. In this study, the toxicity of seven BPA analogues was evaluated using both in silico and in vitro techniques, as compared to BPA toxicity. Furthermore, their affinity indexes for phospholipids (i.e. phospholipophilicity) were determined by immobilized artificial membrane liquid chromatography (IAM-LC) and possible relationships with in vitro toxic activity were also investigated. The results on four different cell cultures yielded similar ranking of toxicity for the bisphenols considered, with IC 50 values confirming their poor acute toxicity. As compared to BPA, bisphenol AF, bisphenol B, bisphenol M, and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether resulted more toxic, while bisphenol S, bisphenol F and bisphenol E were found as the less toxic congeners. These results are partly consistent with the scale of phospholipid affinity showing that toxicity increases at increasing membrane affinity. Therefore, phospholipophilicity determination can be assumed as a useful preliminary tool to select less toxic congeners to surrogate BPA in industrial applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Preliminary Crystallographic Study of Hemoglobin from Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): A Low Oxygen Affinity Species.

    PubMed

    Balasubramanian, Moovarkumudalvan; Moorthy, Ponnuraj Sathya; Neelagandan, Kamariah; Ponnuswamy, Mondikalipudur Nanjappa Gounder

    2009-01-01

    Hemoglobin is a tetrameric, iron-containing metalloprotein, which plays a vital role in the transportation of oxygen from lungs to tissues and carbon dioxide back to lungs. Though good amount of work has already been done on hemoglobins, the scarcity of data on three dimensional structures pertaining to low oxygen affinity hemoglobins from mammalian species, motivated our group to work on this problem specifically. Herein, we report the preliminary crystallographic analysis of buffalo hemoglobin, which belongs to low oxygen affinity species. The buffalo blood was collected, purified by anion exchange chromatography and crystallized with PEG 3350 using 50mM phosphate buffer at pH 6.7 as a precipitant by hanging drop vapor diffusion method. Data collection was carried out using mar345dtb image plate detector system. Buffalo hemoglobin crystallizes in orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with one whole biological molecule (alpha2beta2) in the asymmetric unit with cell dimensions a=63.064A, b=74.677A, c=110.224A.

  6. A novel expression system for intracellular production and purification of recombinant affinity-tagged proteins in Aspergillus niger.

    PubMed

    Roth, Andreas H F J; Dersch, Petra

    2010-03-01

    A set of different integrative expression vectors for the intracellular production of recombinant proteins with or without affinity tag in Aspergillus niger was developed. Target genes can be expressed under the control of the highly efficient, constitutive pkiA promoter or the novel sucrose-inducible promoter of the beta-fructofuranosidase (sucA) gene of A. niger in the presence or absence of alternative carbon sources. All expression plasmids contain an identical multiple cloning sequence that allows parallel construction of N- or C-terminally His6- and StrepII-tagged versions of the target proteins. Production of two heterologous model proteins, the green fluorescence protein and the Thermobifida fusca hydrolase, proved the functionality of the vector system. Efficient production and easy detection of the target proteins as well as their fast purification by a one-step affinity chromatography, using the His6- or StrepII-tag sequence, was demonstrated.

  7. Fundamentals of affinity cell separations.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Ye; Lyons, Veronica; Pappas, Dimitri

    2018-03-01

    Cell separations using affinity methods continue to be an enabling science for a wide variety of applications. In this review, we discuss the fundamental aspects of affinity separation, including the competing forces for cell capture and elution, cell-surface interactions, and models for cell adhesion. Factors affecting separation performance such as bond affinity, contact area, and temperature are presented. We also discuss and demonstrate the effects of nonspecific binding on separation performance. Metrics for evaluating cell separations are presented, along with methods of comparing separation techniques for cell isolation using affinity capture. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Intelligent Computation for Optimal Fabrication Condition of a Protein Chip with Ni-Co Alloy-Coated Surface.

    PubMed

    Chang, Yaw-Jen; Chang, Cheng-Hao

    2016-06-01

    Based on the principle of immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), it has been found that a Ni-Co alloy-coated protein chip is able to immobilize functional proteins with a His-tag attached. In this study, an intelligent computational approach was developed to promote the performance and repeatability of a Ni-Co alloy-coated protein chip. This approach was launched out of L18 experiments. Based on the experimental data, the fabrication process model of a Ni-Co protein chip was established by using an artificial neural network, and then an optimal fabrication condition was obtained using the Taguchi genetic algorithm. The result was validated experimentally and compared with a nitrocellulose chip. Consequentially, experimental outcomes revealed that the Ni-Co alloy-coated chip, fabricated using the proposed approach, had the best performance and repeatability compared with the Ni-Co chips of an L18 orthogonal array design and the nitrocellulose chip. Moreover, the low fluorescent background of the chip surface gives a more precise fluorescent detection. Based on a small quantity of experiments, this proposed intelligent computation approach can significantly reduce the experimental cost and improve the product's quality. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

  9. Immobilized metal ion affinity electrophoresis. A study with several model proteins containing histidine.

    PubMed

    Goubran-Botros, H; Nanak, E; Abdul Nour, J; Birkenmeir, G; Vijayalakshmi, M A

    1992-04-24

    Immobilized metal ion affinity electrophoresis (IMA-Elec) is one among the many methods derived from the immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography. Two approaches for incorporating the metal ligand, were studied. One was in the form of insoluble particulate material based on Sepharose 6B and the other in the form of soluble polymer based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) 5000. Both the polymers coupled with iminodiacetate and metallized with copper or zinc were used as ligands, incorporated into soluble agarose as the electrophoretic gel. Several histidine-containing model proteins were studied with both the systems and their metal binding strengths were determined as the dissociation constants, Kd. The results clearly demonstrated that the mechanism of protein recognition by immobilized copper or zinc via the accessible histidyl residues was maintained in the IMA-Elec system. Proteins with increasing numbers of histidine residues showed increasing binding strength (lower Kd values). While this basic mechanism was conserved, the supporting polymers (Sepharose 6B and the PEG 5000) showed significant differences in the metal binding to the protein. The polysaccharide Sepharose 6B enhanced the binding strength compared with PEG 5000. The optimum electrophoretic parameters were determined to be current intensities up to 20 mA and pH ca. 7.0. At pH greater than 8.0, a significant decrease in the affinity was observed, this decrease being greater with PEG 5000 than Sepharose 6B as supporting material.

  10. Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brantley, L. Reed, Sr.; Demanche, Edna L.; Klemm, E. Barbara; Kyselka, Will; Phillips, Edwin A.; Pottenger, Francis M.; Yamamoto, Karen N.; Young, Donald B.

    This booklet presents some activities on chromatography. Directions for preparing leaf pigment extracts using alcohol are given, and paper chromatography and thin-layer chromatography are described as modifications of the basic principles of chromatography. (KHR)

  11. Using cell membrane chromatography and HPLC-TOF/MS method for in vivo study of active components from roots of Aconitum carmichaeli

    PubMed Central

    Cao, Yan; Chen, Xiao-Fei; Lü, Di-Ya; Dong, Xin; Zhang, Guo-Qing; Chai, Yi-Feng

    2012-01-01

    An offline two-dimensional system combining a rat cardiac muscle cell membrane chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CMC-TOF/MS) with a high Performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-TOF/MS) was established for investigating the parent components and metabolites in rat urine samples after administration of the roots of Aconitum carmichaeli. On the basis ofthe analysis of the first dimension, retention components of the urine sample were collected into 30 fractions (one fraction per minute). Then offline analysis of the second dimension was carried out. 34 compounds including 24 parent alkaloids and 10 potential metabolites were identified from the dosed rat urine, and then binding affinities of different compounds on cell membranes were compared and influences of some functional groups on activity were estimated with the semi-quantification and curve fitting method. As a result, binding affinities decreased along with the process of deacylation, debenzoylation and demethylation, which may be related to the alleviation of toxicity in the procedure of herb processing or metabolism. Moreover, some minor components in rat urine (Songorine, 14-benzoylneoline, Deoxyaconitine, etc.) exerted relatively strong affinity on cell membranes are worth exploring. The results delivered by the System suggest that the CMC can be applied to in vivo study. PMID:29403691

  12. Purification of nitrate reductase from Nicotiana plumbaginifolia by affinity chromatography using 5'AMP-sepharose and monoclonal antibodies.

    PubMed

    Moureaux, T; Leydecker, M T; Meyer, C

    1989-02-15

    Nitrate reductase was purified from leaves of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia using either 5'AMP-Sepharose chromatography or two steps of immunoaffinity chromatography involving monoclonal antibodies directed against nitrate reductase from maize and against ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase from N. plumbaginifolia. Nitrate reductase obtained by the first method was purified 1000-fold to a specific activity of 9 units/mg protein. The second method produced an homogenous enzyme, purified 21,000-fold to a specific activity of 80 units/mg protein. SDS/PAGE of nitrate reductase always resulted in two bands of 107 and 99.5 kDa. The 107-kDa band was the nitrate reductase subunit of N. plumbaginifolia; the smaller one of 99.5 kDa is thought, as commonly reported, to result from proteolysis of the larger protein. The molecular mass of 107 kDa is close to the values calculated from the coding sequences of the two nitrate reductase genes recently cloned from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Xanthi).

  13. Identity, Affinity, Reality: Making the Case for Affinity Groups in Elementary School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parsons, Julie; Ridley, Kimberly

    2012-01-01

    Affinity groups are places where students build connections and process "ouch" moments from their classes. Children talk about the isolation they sometimes feel. The relationships students gain through race-based affinity groups enable them to feel less alone with their emotions and help them build a stronger sense of self. At the same…

  14. Activation requirements and responses to TLR ligands in human CD4+ T cells: comparison of two T cell isolation techniques.

    PubMed

    Lancioni, Christina L; Thomas, Jeremy J; Rojas, Roxana E

    2009-05-15

    Direct regulation of T cell function by microbial ligands through Toll-like receptors (TLR) is an emerging area of T cell biology. Currently either immunomagnetic cell sorting (IMACS) or fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), are utilized to isolate T-cell subsets for such studies. However, it is unknown to what extent differences in T cell purity between these isolation techniques influence T cell functional assays. We compared the purity, response to mitogen, activation requirements, and response to TLR ligands between human CD4(+) T cells isolated either by IMACS (IMACS-CD4(+)) or by IMACS followed by FACS (IMACS/FACS-CD4(+)). As expected, IMACS-CD4(+) were less pure than IMACS/FACS-CD4(+) (92.5%+/-1.4% versus 99.7%+/-0.2%, respectively). Consequently, IMACS-CD4(+) proliferated and produced cytokines in response to mitogen alone and had lower activation requirements compared to IMACS/FACS-CD4(+). In addition IMACS-CD4(+) but not IMACS/FACS-CD4(+) responses were upregulated by the TLR-4 ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS). On the other hand, TLR-2 and TLR-5 engagement induced costimulation in both IMACS-CD4(+) and highly purified IMACS-/FACS-CD4(+). Altogether these results indicate that small differences in cell purity can significantly alter T cell responses to TLR ligands. This study stresses the importance of a stringent purification method when investigating the role of microbial ligands in T cell function.

  15. Penetrable silica microspheres for immobilization of bovine serum albumin and their application to the study of the interaction between imatinib mesylate and protein by frontal affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Ma, Liyun; Li, Jing; Zhao, Juan; Liao, Han; Xu, Li; Shi, Zhi-guo

    2016-01-01

    In the current study, novel featured silica, named penetrable silica, simultaneously containing macropores and mesopores, was immobilized with bovine serum albumin (BSA) via Schiff base method. The obtained BSA-SiO2 was employed as the high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) stationary phase. Firstly, D- and L-tryptophan were used as probes to investigate the chiral separation ability of the BSA-SiO2 stationary phase. An excellent enantioseparation factor was obtained up to 4.3 with acceptable stability within at least 1 month. Next, the BSA-SiO2 stationary phase was applied to study the interaction between imatinib mesylate (IM) and BSA by frontal affinity chromatography. A single type of binding site was found for IM with the immobilized BSA, and the hydrogen-bonding and van der Waals interactions were expected to be contributing interactions based on the thermodynamic studies, and this was a spontaneous process. Compared to the traditional silica for HPLC stationary phase, the proposed penetrable silica microsphere possessed a larger capacity to bond more BSA, minimizing column overloading effects and enhancing enantioseparation ability. In addition, the lower running column back pressure and fast mass transfer were meaningful for the column stability and lifetime. It was a good substrate to immobilize biomolecules for fast chiral resolution and screening drug-protein interactions.

  16. Production of the virus-like particles of nipah virus matrix protein in Pichia pastoris as diagnostic reagents.

    PubMed

    Joseph, Narcisse Ms; Ho, Kok Lian; Tey, Beng Ti; Tan, Chon Seng; Shafee, Norazizah; Tan, Wen Siang

    2016-07-08

    The matrix (M) protein of Nipah virus (NiV) is a peripheral protein that plays a vital role in the envelopment of nucleocapsid protein and acts as a bridge between the viral surface and the nucleocapsid proteins. The M protein is also proven to play an important role in production of virus-like particles (VLPs) and is essential for assembly and budding of NiV particles. The recombinant M protein produced in Escherichia coli assembled into VLPs in the absence of the viral surface proteins. However, the E. coli produced VLPs are smaller than the native virus particles. Therefore, the aims of this study were to produce NiV M protein in Pichia pastoris, to examine the structure of the VLPs formed, and to assess the potential of the VLPs as a diagnostic reagent. The M protein was successfully expressed in P. pastoris and was detected with anti-myc antibody using Western blotting. The VLPs formed by the recombinant M protein were purified with sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC). Immunogold staining and transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the M protein assembled into VLPs as large as 200 nm. ELISA revealed that the NiV M protein produced in P. pastoris reacted strongly with positive NiV sera demonstrating its potential as a diagnostic reagent. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1038-1045, 2016. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  17. IMAC fractionation in combination with LC-MS reveals H2B and NIF-1 peptides as potential bladder cancer biomarkers.

    PubMed

    Frantzi, Maria; Zoidakis, Jerome; Papadopoulos, Theofilos; Zürbig, Petra; Katafigiotis, Ioannis; Stravodimos, Konstantinos; Lazaris, Andreas; Giannopoulou, Ioanna; Ploumidis, Achilles; Mischak, Harald; Mullen, William; Vlahou, Antonia

    2013-09-06

    Improvement in bladder cancer (BC) management requires more effective diagnosis and prognosis of disease recurrence and progression. Urinary biomarkers attract special interest because of the noninvasive means of urine collection. Proteomic analysis of urine entails the adoption of a fractionation methodology to reduce sample complexity. In this study, we applied immobilized metal affinity chromatography in combination with high-resolution LC-MS/MS for the discovery of native urinary peptides potentially associated with BC aggressiveness. This approach was employed toward urine samples from patients with invasive BC, noninvasive BC, and benign urogenital diseases. A total of 1845 peptides were identified, corresponding to a total of 638 precursor proteins. Specific enrichment for proteins involved in nucleosome assembly and for zinc-finger transcription factors was observed. The differential expression of two candidate biomarkers, histone H2B and NIF-1 (zinc finger 335) in BC, was verified in independent sets of urine samples by ELISA and by immunohistochemical analysis of BC tissue. The results collectively support changes in the expression of both of these proteins with tumor progression, suggesting their potential role as markers for discriminating BC stages. In addition, the data indicate a possible involvement of NIF-1 in BC progression, likely as a suppressor and through interactions with Sox9 and HoxA1.

  18. Nanomaterials as stationary phases and supports in liquid chromatography.

    PubMed

    Beeram, Sandya R; Rodriguez, Elliott; Doddavenkatanna, Suresh; Li, Zhao; Pekarek, Allegra; Peev, Darin; Goerl, Kathryn; Trovato, Gianfranco; Hofmann, Tino; Hage, David S

    2017-10-01

    The development of various nanomaterials over the last few decades has led to many applications for these materials in liquid chromatography (LC). This review will look at the types of nanomaterials that have been incorporated into LC systems and the applications that have been explored for such systems. A number of carbon-based nanomaterials and inorganic nanomaterials have been considered for use in LC, ranging from carbon nanotubes, fullerenes and nanodiamonds to metal nanoparticles and nanostructures based on silica, alumina, zirconia and titanium dioxide. Many ways have been described for incorporating these nanomaterials into LC systems. These methods have included covalent immobilization, adsorption, entrapment, and the synthesis or direct development of nanomaterials as part of a chromatographic support. Nanomaterials have been used in many types of LC. These applications have included the reversed-phase, normal-phase, ion-exchange, and affinity modes of LC, as well as related methods such as chiral separations, ion-pair chromatography and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography. Both small and large analytes (e.g., dyes, drugs, amino acids, peptides and proteins) have been used to evaluate possible applications for these nanomaterial-based methods. The use of nanomaterials in columns, capillaries and planar chromatography has been considered as part of these efforts. Potential advantages of nanomaterials in these applications have included their good chemical and physical stabilities, the variety of interactions many nanomaterials can have with analytes, and their unique retention properties in some separation formats. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Serial lectin affinity chromatography with concavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin demonstrates altered asparagine-linked sugar-chain structures of prostatic acid phosphatase in human prostate carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Yoshida, K I; Honda, M; Arai, K; Hosoya, Y; Moriguchi, H; Sumi, S; Ueda, Y; Kitahara, S

    1997-08-01

    Differences between human prostate carcinoma (PCA, five cases) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, five cases) in asparagine-linked (Asn) sugar-chain structure of prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) were investigated using lectin affinity chromatography with concanavalin A (Con A) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). PAP activities were significantly decreased in PCA-derived PAP, while no significant differences between the two PAP preparations were observed in the enzymatic properties (Michaelis-Menten value, optimal pH, thermal stability, and inhibition study). In these PAP preparations, all activities were found only in the fractions which bound strongly to the Con A column and were undetectable in the Con A unbound fractions and in the fractions which bound weakly to the Con A column. The relative amounts of PAP which bound strongly to the Con A column but passed through the WGA column, were significantly greater in BPH-derived PAP than in PCA-derived PAP. In contrast, the relative amounts of PAP which bound strongly to the Con A column and bound to the WGA column, were significantly greater in PCA-derived PAP than in BPH-derived PAP. The findings suggest that Asn-linked sugar-chain structures are altered during oncogenesis in human prostate and also suggest that studies of qualitative differences of sugar-chain structures of PAP might lead to a useful diagnostic tool for PCA.

  20. Affinity-aware checkpoint restart

    DOE PAGES

    Saini, Ajay; Rezaei, Arash; Mueller, Frank; ...

    2014-12-08

    Current checkpointing techniques employed to overcome faults for HPC applications result in inferior application performance after restart from a checkpoint for a number of applications. This is due to a lack of page and core affinity awareness of the checkpoint/restart (C/R) mechanism, i.e., application tasks originally pinned to cores may be restarted on different cores, and in case of non-uniform memory architectures (NUMA), quite common today, memory pages associated with tasks on a NUMA node may be associated with a different NUMA node after restart. Here, this work contributes a novel design technique for C/R mechanisms to preserve task-to-core mapsmore » and NUMA node specific page affinities across restarts. Experimental results with BLCR, a C/R mechanism, enhanced with affinity awareness demonstrate significant performance benefits of 37%-73% for the NAS Parallel Benchmark codes and 6-12% for NAMD with negligible overheads instead of up to nearly four times longer an execution times without affinity-aware restarts on 16 cores.« less

  1. Affinity-aware checkpoint restart

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saini, Ajay; Rezaei, Arash; Mueller, Frank

    Current checkpointing techniques employed to overcome faults for HPC applications result in inferior application performance after restart from a checkpoint for a number of applications. This is due to a lack of page and core affinity awareness of the checkpoint/restart (C/R) mechanism, i.e., application tasks originally pinned to cores may be restarted on different cores, and in case of non-uniform memory architectures (NUMA), quite common today, memory pages associated with tasks on a NUMA node may be associated with a different NUMA node after restart. Here, this work contributes a novel design technique for C/R mechanisms to preserve task-to-core mapsmore » and NUMA node specific page affinities across restarts. Experimental results with BLCR, a C/R mechanism, enhanced with affinity awareness demonstrate significant performance benefits of 37%-73% for the NAS Parallel Benchmark codes and 6-12% for NAMD with negligible overheads instead of up to nearly four times longer an execution times without affinity-aware restarts on 16 cores.« less

  2. 2017 Guralp Affinity Digitizer Evaluation.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Merchant, Bion J.

    Sandia National Laboratories has tested and evaluated two Guralp Affinity digitizers. The Affinity digitizers are intended to record sensor output for seismic and infrasound monitoring applications. The purpose of this digitizer evaluation is to measure the performance characteristics in such areas as power consumption, input impedance, sensitivity, full scale, self- noise, dynamic range, system noise, response, passband, and timing. The Affinity digitizers are being evaluated for potential use in the International Monitoring System (IMS) of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

  3. Purification of human erythropoietin by affinity chromatography using cyclic peptide ligands.

    PubMed

    Kish, William S; Roach, Matthew K; Sachi, Hiroyuki; Naik, Amith D; Menegatti, Stefano; Carbonell, Ruben G

    2018-05-15

    Prior work described the identification and characterization of erythropoietin-binding cyclic peptides SLFFLH, VVFFVH, FSLLHH and FSLLSH (all of the form cyclo[(N α -Ac)Dap(A)-X 1 -X 6 -AE], wherein X 1 -X 6 is the listed sequences). In this work, the peptide ligands were synthesized on Toyopearl chromatographic resins and utilized for purifying recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) from complex sources. Elution buffer pH and composition were optimized to maximize the recovery of standard rHuEPO from the peptide resins. The peptide-based adsorbents were employed for separating rHuEPO from a mixture of albumin, myoglobin, and IgG to examine their selectivity. When using FSLLHH, the inclusion of low amounts of surfactants in the wash and elution buffers facilitated the recovery of rHuEPO with high yield and purity. Specifically, FSLLSH and VVFFVH afforded the most efficient separation of rHuEPO, with yield and purity of 85% and 95-97%, respectively. The affinity resins were also utilized to purify rHuEPO from spiked CHO cell culture fluid. In particular, FSLLSH provided the most successful separation from CHO, with yield and purity above 90%, and 1.0 log 10 reduction of host cell proteins. The influence of conductivity and pH in the CHO-rHuEPO load was investigated. Finally, FSLLSH-based resins were used to purify rHuEPO spiked into a Pichia pastoris cell culture fluid, resulting in product yield and purity of 96% and 84%, respectively, and 1.3 log 10 reduction of host DNA. These results compare well with values obtained using wheat germ agglutinin agarose and clearly indicate the potential of the cyclic peptide resins as a viable tool for rHuEPO purification. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Antisymmetric tensor generalizations of affine vector fields.

    PubMed

    Houri, Tsuyoshi; Morisawa, Yoshiyuki; Tomoda, Kentaro

    2016-02-01

    Tensor generalizations of affine vector fields called symmetric and antisymmetric affine tensor fields are discussed as symmetry of spacetimes. We review the properties of the symmetric ones, which have been studied in earlier works, and investigate the properties of the antisymmetric ones, which are the main theme in this paper. It is shown that antisymmetric affine tensor fields are closely related to one-lower-rank antisymmetric tensor fields which are parallelly transported along geodesics. It is also shown that the number of linear independent rank- p antisymmetric affine tensor fields in n -dimensions is bounded by ( n + 1)!/ p !( n - p )!. We also derive the integrability conditions for antisymmetric affine tensor fields. Using the integrability conditions, we discuss the existence of antisymmetric affine tensor fields on various spacetimes.

  5. A rapid solution-based method for determining the affinity of heroin hapten-induced antibodies to heroin, its metabolites, and other opioids.

    PubMed

    Torres, Oscar B; Duval, Alexander J; Sulima, Agnieszka; Antoline, Joshua F G; Jacobson, Arthur E; Rice, Kenner C; Alving, Carl R; Matyas, Gary R

    2018-06-01

    We describe for the first time a method that utilizes microscale thermophoresis (MST) technology to determine polyclonal antibody affinities to small molecules. Using a novel type of heterologous MST, we have accurately measured a solution-based binding affinity of serum antibodies to heroin which was previously impossible with other currently available methods. Moreover, this mismatch approach (i.e., using a cross-reactive hapten tracer) has never been reported in the literature. When compared with equilibrium dialysis combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (ED-UPLC/MS/MS), this novel MST method yields similar binding affinity values for polyclonal antibodies to the major heroin metabolites 6-AM and morphine. Additionally, we herein report the method of synthesis of this novel cross-reactive hapten, MorHap-acetamide-a useful analog for the study of heroin hapten-antibody interactions. Using heterologous MST, we were able to determine the affinities, down to nanomolar accuracies, of polyclonal antibodies to various abused opioids. While optimizing this method, we further discovered that heroin is protected from serum esterase degradation by the presence of these antibodies in a concentration-dependent manner. Lastly, using affinity data for a number of structurally different opioids, we were able to dissect the moieties that are crucial to antibody binding. The novel MST method that is presented herein can be extended to the analysis of any ligand that is prone to degradation and can be applied not only to the development of vaccines to substances of abuse but also to the analysis of small molecule/protein interactions in the presence of serum. Graphical abstract Strategy for the determination of hapten-induced antibody affinities using Microscale thermophoresis.

  6. Personality Types and Affinity for Computers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-03-01

    differences on personality dimensions between the respondents, and to explore the relationship between these differences and computer affinity. The results...between the respondents, and to explore the relationship between these differences and computer affinity. The results revealed no significant differences...type to this measure of computer affinity. 2 II. LITERATURZ REVIEW The interest of this study was the relationship between a person’s psychological

  7. Smooth affine shear tight frames: digitization and applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhuang, Xiaosheng

    2015-08-01

    In this paper, we mainly discuss one of the recent developed directional multiscale representation systems: smooth affine shear tight frames. A directional wavelet tight frame is generated by isotropic dilations and translations of directional wavelet generators, while an affine shear tight frame is generated by anisotropic dilations, shears, and translations of shearlet generators. These two tight frames are actually connected in the sense that the affine shear tight frame can be obtained from a directional wavelet tight frame through subsampling. Consequently, an affine shear tight frame indeed has an underlying filter bank from the MRA structure of its associated directional wavelet tight frame. We call such filter banks affine shear filter banks, which can be designed completely in the frequency domain. We discuss the digitization of affine shear filter banks and their implementations: the forward and backward digital affine shear transforms. Redundancy rate and computational complexity of digital affine shear transforms are also investigated in this paper. Numerical experiments and comparisons in image/video processing show the advantages of digital affine shear transforms over many other state-of-art directional multiscale representation systems.

  8. Characterization of recombinant monoclonal antibody variants detected by hydrophobic interaction chromatography and imaged capillary isoelectric focusing electrophoresis.

    PubMed

    King, Cory; Patel, Rekha; Ponniah, Gomathinayagam; Nowak, Christine; Neill, Alyssa; Gu, Zhenyu; Liu, Hongcheng

    2018-05-15

    In-depth characterization of the commonly observed variants is critical to the successful development of recombinant monoclonal antibody therapeutics. Multiple peaks of a recombinant monoclonal antibody were observed when analyzed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography and imaged capillary isoelectric focusing. The potential modification causing the heterogeneity was localized to F(ab')2 region by analyzing the antibody after IdeS digestion using hydrophobic interaction chromatography. LC-MS analysis identified asparagine deamidation as the root cause of the observed multiple variants. While the isoelectric focusing method is expected to separate deamidated species, the similar profile observed in hydrophobic interaction chromatography indicates that the single site deamidation caused differences in hydrophobicity. Forced degradation demonstrated that the susceptible asparagine residue is highly exposed, which is expected as it is located in the light chain complementarity determining region. Deamidation of this single site decreased the mAb binding affinity to its specific antigen. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Segregation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes according to their affinity for insolubilized histamine. Principal differences between males and females.

    PubMed Central

    Tartakovsky, B; Segal, S; Shani, A; Hellerstein, S; Weinstein, Y; Bentwich, Z

    1979-01-01

    An attempt was made to investigate the possible existence of differences in the composition of peripheral blood lymphocytes between males and females. Using affinity chromatography of human peripheral mononuclear cells on insolubilized histamine together with staining by fluoresceinated histamine-rabbit serum albumin (HRSA) we revealed that males possess a significantly higher proportion of mononuclear cells which bind to HRSA. These results are also reflected in sex-related differences in proliferative responses of the HRSA-non-adherent mononuclear cell population to T cell-dependent mitogens antigens and allogeneic mononuclear cells. PMID:160849

  10. Protein A affinity chromatography of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture broths containing biopharmaceutical monoclonal antibody (mAb): Experiments and mechanistic transport, binding and equilibrium modeling.

    PubMed

    Grom, Matic; Kozorog, Mirijam; Caserman, Simon; Pohar, Andrej; Likozar, Blaž

    2018-04-15

    Protein A-based affinity chromatography is a highly-efficient separation method to capture, purify and isolate biosimilar monoclonal antibodies (mAb) - an important medical product of biopharmaceutical industrial manufacturing. It is considered the most expensive step in purification downstream operations; therefore, its performance optimization offers a great cost saving in the overall production expenditure. The biochemical mixture-separating specific interaction experiments with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture harvest, containing glycosylated extracellular immunoglobulins (Ig), were made using five different state-of-the-art commercial resins. Packing breakthrough curves were recorded at an array of prolonged residence times. A mathematical simulation model was developed, applied and validated in combination with non-linear regression algorithms on bed effluent concentrations to determine the previously-unknown binding properties of stationary phase materials. Apart from the columns' differential partitioning, the whole external system was also integrated. It was confirmed that internal pore diffusion is the global rate-limiting resistance of the compound retention process. Immobilizing substrate characteristics, obtained in this engineering study, are indispensable for the scale-up of the periodic counter-current control with mechanistic load, elution and wash reduction. Furthermore, unit's volumetric flow screening measurements revealed dynamic effect correlation to eluate quality parameters, like the presence of aggregates, the host cell-related impurities at supernatant's extended feeding, and titre. Numerical sensitivity outputs demonstrated the impacts of fluidics (e.g. axial dispersion coefficient), thermodynamics (Langmuir adsorption) and mass transfer fluxes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Engineering of Bispecific Affinity Proteins with High Affinity for ERBB2 and Adaptable Binding to Albumin

    PubMed Central

    Nilvebrant, Johan; Åstrand, Mikael; Georgieva-Kotseva, Maria; Björnmalm, Mattias; Löfblom, John; Hober, Sophia

    2014-01-01

    The epidermal growth factor receptor 2, ERBB2, is a well-validated target for cancer diagnostics and therapy. Recent studies suggest that the over-expression of this receptor in various cancers might also be exploited for antibody-based payload delivery, e.g. antibody drug conjugates. In such strategies, the full-length antibody format is probably not required for therapeutic effect and smaller tumor-specific affinity proteins might be an alternative. However, small proteins and peptides generally suffer from fast excretion through the kidneys, and thereby require frequent administration in order to maintain a therapeutic concentration. In an attempt aimed at combining ERBB2-targeting with antibody-like pharmacokinetic properties in a small protein format, we have engineered bispecific ERBB2-binding proteins that are based on a small albumin-binding domain. Phage display selection against ERBB2 was used for identification of a lead candidate, followed by affinity maturation using second-generation libraries. Cell surface display and flow-cytometric sorting allowed stringent selection of top candidates from pools pre-enriched by phage display. Several affinity-matured molecules were shown to bind human ERBB2 with sub-nanomolar affinity while retaining the interaction with human serum albumin. Moreover, parallel selections against ERBB2 in the presence of human serum albumin identified several amino acid substitutions that dramatically modulate the albumin affinity, which could provide a convenient means to control the pharmacokinetics. The new affinity proteins competed for ERBB2-binding with the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab and recognized the native receptor on a human cancer cell line. Hence, high affinity tumor targeting and tunable albumin binding were combined in one small adaptable protein. PMID:25089830

  12. Generation of tumour-necrosis-factor-alpha-specific affibody molecules capable of blocking receptor binding in vitro.

    PubMed

    Jonsson, Andreas; Wållberg, Helena; Herne, Nina; Ståhl, Stefan; Frejd, Fredrik Y

    2009-08-17

    Affibody molecules specific for human TNF-alpha (tumour necrosis factor-alpha) were selected by phage-display technology from a library based on the 58-residue Protein A-derived Z domain. TNF-alpha is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in several inflammatory diseases and, to this day, four TNF-alpha-blocking protein pharmaceuticals have been approved for clinical use. The phage selection generated 18 unique cysteine-free affibody sequences of which 12 were chosen, after sequence cluster analysis, for characterization as proteins. Biosensor binding studies of the 12 Escherichia coli-produced and IMAC (immobilized-metal-ion affinity chromatography)-purified affibody molecules revealed three variants that demonstrated the strongest binding to human TNF-alpha. These three affibody molecules were subjected to kinetic binding analysis and also tested for their binding to mouse, rat and pig TNF-alpha. For ZTNF-alpha:185, subnanomolar affinity (KD=0.1-0.5 nM) for human TNF-alpha was demonstrated, as well as significant binding to TNF-alpha from the other species. Furthermore, the binding site was found to overlap with the binding site for the TNF-alpha receptor, since this interaction could be efficiently blocked by the ZTNF-alpha:185 affibody. When investigating six dimeric affibody constructs with different linker lengths, and one trimeric construct, it was found that the inhibition of the TNF-alpha binding to its receptor could be further improved by using dimers with extended linkers and/or a trimeric affibody construct. The potential implication of the results for the future design of affibody-based reagents for the diagnosis of inflammation is discussed.

  13. Affinity Interaction between Hexamer Peptide Ligand HWRGWV and Immunoglobulin G Studied by Quartz Crystal Microbalance and Surface Plasmon Resonance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Fei

    Immunoglobulins (Ig), also referred to as antibodies, act as protective agents against pathogens trying to invade an organism. Human immunoglobulin G (hIgG), as the most prominent immunoglobulin presented in serum and other human fluids, has broad applications in fields like immunotherapy and clinical diagnostics. Staphylococcus aureus Protein A and Streptococcus Protein G are the most common affinity ligands for IgG purifaction and detection. However, drawbacks associated with these two protein ligands have motivated searches for alternative affinity ligands. The hexamer peptide ligand HWRGWV identified from a one-bead-one-peptide combinatorial library synthesized on chromatography resins has demonstrated high affinity and specificity to the Fc fragment of hIgG. A chromatography resin with HWRGWV can purify human IgG (hIgG) from complete minimum essential medium (cMEM) with purities and yields as high as 95%, which are comparable to using Protein A as affinity ligand (4). As a short peptide ligand, HWRGWV can be produced at relatively low costs under good manufacturing practices (GMP) conditions, it is highly robust, less immunogenic and allows for milder elution conditions for the bound antibody (3, 5). Although this short peptide ligand has exhibited promising properties for IgG capture and purification, limited information is available on the intrinsic mechanisms of affinity interaction between the peptide ligand and target protein. In this study, the affinity interaction between hIgG and peptide ligand immobilized on solid surfaces was studied by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Compared with previous methods employed for the peptide characterization, QCM and SPR can provide direct measurements of equilibrium adsorption isotherms and rates of adsorption, allowing a complete kinetic and thermodynamics analyses of the ligand-target interactions. New methods were developed to modify gold and silica surfaces of QCM and SPR

  14. Affinity extraction of emerging contaminants from water based on bovine serum albumin as a binding agent.

    PubMed

    Papastavros, Efthimia; Remmers, Rachael A; Snow, Daniel D; Cassada, David A; Hage, David S

    2018-03-01

    Affinity sorbents using bovine serum albumin as a binding agent were developed and tested for the extraction of environmental contaminants from water. Computer simulations based on a countercurrent distribution model were also used to study the behavior of these sorbents. Several model drugs, pesticides, and hormones of interest as emerging contaminants were considered in this work, with carbamazepine being used as a representative analyte when coupling the albumin column on-line with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The albumin column was found to be capable of extracting carbamazepine from aqueous solutions that contained trace levels of this analyte. Further studies of the bovine serum albumin sorbent indicated that it had higher retention under aqueous conditions than a traditional C 18 support for most of the tested emerging contaminants. Potential advantages of using these protein-based sorbents included the low cost of bovine serum albumin and its ability to bind to a relatively wide range of drugs and related compounds. It was also shown how simulations could be used to describe the elution behavior of the model compounds on the bovine serum albumin sorbents as an aid in optimizing the retention and selectivity of these supports for use with liquid chromatography or methods such as liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Identification of Litopenaeus vannamei BiP as a novel cellular attachment protein for white spot syndrome virus by using a biotinylation based affinity chromatography method.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Zengzhi; Chen, Meng; Wang, Jingting; Li, Zhuoyu; Geng, Xuyun; Sun, Jinsheng

    2018-05-05

    White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a dangerous threat to shrimp farming that also attacks a wide range of crustaceans. Knowledge of the surface protein-protein interactions between the pathogen and host is very crucial to unraveling the molecular pathogenesis mechanisms of WSSV. In this study, LvBiP (Litopenaeus vannamei immunoglobulin heavy-chain-binding protein) was identified as a novel WSSV binding protein of L. vannamei by a biotinylation based affinity chromatography method. By using pull-down and ELISA assays, the binding of recombinant LvBiP to WSSV was proved to be specific and ATP- dependent. The interaction was also confirmed by the result of co-immunoprecipitation assay. Immunofluorescence studies revealed the co-localization of LvBiP with WSSV on the cell surface of shrimp haemocytes. Additionally, LvBiP is likely to play an important role in WSSV infection. Treatment of gill cellular membrane proteins (CMPs) with purified rLvBiP and antibody that specifically recognizes LvBiP, led to a significant reduction in the binding of WSSV to gill CMPs. In the in vivo neutralization assay, rLvBiP and anti-LvBiP polyclonal antibody partially blocked the infection of WSSV. Taken together, the results indicate that LvBiP, a molecular chaperon of the HSP70 family, is a novel host factor involved at the step of attachment of the WSSV to the host cells and a potential candidate of therapeutic target. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Single-step affinity purification for fungal proteomics.

    PubMed

    Liu, Hui-Lin; Osmani, Aysha H; Ukil, Leena; Son, Sunghun; Markossian, Sarine; Shen, Kuo-Fang; Govindaraghavan, Meera; Varadaraj, Archana; Hashmi, Shahr B; De Souza, Colin P; Osmani, Stephen A

    2010-05-01

    A single-step protein affinity purification protocol using Aspergillus nidulans is described. Detailed protocols for cell breakage, affinity purification, and depending on the application, methods for protein release from affinity beads are provided. Examples defining the utility of the approaches, which should be widely applicable, are included.

  17. Applying Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klein, Jessie W.; Patev, Paul

    1998-01-01

    Presents three experiments to introduce students to different kinds of chromatography: (1) paper chromatography; (2) gel filtration chromatography; and (3) reverse-phase liquid chromatography. Written in the form of a laboratory manual, explanations of each of the techniques, materials needed, procedures, and a glossary are included. (PVD)

  18. Mobile Technology Affinity in Renal Transplant Recipients.

    PubMed

    Reber, S; Scheel, J; Stoessel, L; Schieber, K; Jank, S; Lüker, C; Vitinius, F; Grundmann, F; Eckardt, K-U; Prokosch, H-U; Erim, Y

    Medication nonadherence is a common problem in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Mobile health approaches to improve medication adherence are a current trend, and several medication adherence apps are available. However, it is unknown whether RTRs use these technologies and to what extent. In the present study, the mobile technology affinity of RTRs was analyzed. We hypothesized significant age differences in mobile technology affinity and that mobile technology affinity is associated with better cognitive functioning as well as higher educational level. A total of 109 RTRs (63% male) participated in the cross-sectional study, with an overall mean age of 51.8 ± 14.2 years. The study included the Technology Experience Questionnaire (TEQ) for the assessment of mobile technology affinity, a cognitive test battery, and sociodemographic data. Overall, 57.4% of the patients used a smartphone or tablet and almost 45% used apps. The TEQ sum score was 20.9 in a possible range from 6 (no affinity to technology) to 30 (very high affinity). Younger patients had significantly higher scores in mobile technology affinity. The only significant gender difference was found in having fun with using electronic devices: Men enjoyed technology more than women did. Mobile technology affinity was positively associated with cognitive functioning and educational level. Young adult patients might profit most from mobile health approaches. Furthermore, high educational level and normal cognitive functioning promote mobile technology affinity. This should be kept in mind when designing mobile technology health (mHealth) interventions for RTRs. For beneficial mHealth interventions, further research on potential barriers and desired technologic features is necessary to adapt apps to patients' needs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. A safe, effective, and facility compatible cleaning in place procedure for affinity resin in large-scale monoclonal antibody purification.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lu; Dembecki, Jill; Jaffe, Neil E; O'Mara, Brian W; Cai, Hui; Sparks, Colleen N; Zhang, Jian; Laino, Sarah G; Russell, Reb J; Wang, Michelle

    2013-09-20

    Cleaning-in-place (CIP) for column chromatography plays an important role in therapeutic protein production. A robust and efficient CIP procedure ensures product quality, improves column life time and reduces the cost of the purification processes, particularly for those using expensive affinity resins, such as MabSelect protein A resin. Cleaning efficiency, resin compatibility, and facility compatibility are the three major aspects to consider in CIP process design. Cleaning MabSelect resin with 50mM sodium hydroxide (NaOH) along with 1M sodium chloride is one of the most popular cleaning procedures used in biopharmaceutical industries. However, high concentration sodium chloride is a leading cause of corrosion in the stainless steel containers used in large scale manufacture. Corroded containers may potentially introduce metal contaminants into purified drug products. Therefore, it is challenging to apply this cleaning procedure into commercial manufacturing due to facility compatibility and drug safety concerns. This paper reports a safe, effective and environmental and facility-friendly cleaning procedure that is suitable for large scale affinity chromatography. An alternative salt (sodium sulfate) is used to prevent the stainless steel corrosion caused by sodium chloride. Sodium hydroxide and salt concentrations were optimized using a high throughput screening approach to achieve the best combination of facility compatibility, cleaning efficiency and resin stability. Additionally, benzyl alcohol is applied to achieve more effective microbial control. Based on the findings, the recommended optimum cleaning strategy is cleaning MabSelect resin with 25 mM NaOH, 0.25 M Na2SO4 and 1% benzyl alcohol solution every cycle, followed by a more stringent cleaning using 50 mM NaOH with 0.25 M Na2SO4 and 1% benzyl alcohol at the end of each manufacturing campaign. A resin life cycle study using the MabSelect affinity resin demonstrates that the new cleaning strategy

  20. Determination of alkylphenols by gas chromatography, elution liquid chromatography, and gel permeation chromatography

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wittmann, S.; Decsy, Z.; Regensperger, S.

    1984-01-01

    The separation and determination of groups of alkylphenols with C/sub 15/-C/sub 33/ isoalkane chains by gas chromatography, elution liquid chromatography, and gel permeation chromatography are described. Paraffinic hydrocarbons, monoalkylphenols, dialkylphenols, and bis(hydroxyphenyl)alkanes were identified in industrial alkylphenols by mass spectrometry. 7 references, 3 figures, 2 tables.

  1. Application of enhanced electronegative multimodal chromatography as the primary capture step for immunoglobulin G purification.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yanli; Chen, Quan; Xian, Mo; Nian, Rui; Xu, Fei

    2018-06-01

    In recent studies, electronegative multimodal chromatography with Eshmuno HCX was demonstrated to be a highly promising recovery step for direct immunoglobulin G (IgG) capture from undiluted cell culture fluid. In this study, the binding properties of HCX to IgG at different pH/salt combinations were systematically studied, and its purification performance was significantly enhanced by lowering the washing pH and conductivity after high capacity binding of IgG under its optimal conditions. A single polishing step gave an end-product with non-histone host cell protein (nh-HCP) below 1 ppm, DNA less than 1 ppb, which aggregates less than 0.5% and an overall IgG recovery of 86.2%. The whole non-affinity chromatography based two-column-step process supports direct feed loading without buffer adjustment, thus extraordinarily boosting the overall productivity and cost-savings.

  2. Affinity Crystallography: A New Approach to Extracting High-Affinity Enzyme Inhibitors from Natural Extracts.

    PubMed

    Aguda, Adeleke H; Lavallee, Vincent; Cheng, Ping; Bott, Tina M; Meimetis, Labros G; Law, Simon; Nguyen, Nham T; Williams, David E; Kaleta, Jadwiga; Villanueva, Ivan; Davies, Julian; Andersen, Raymond J; Brayer, Gary D; Brömme, Dieter

    2016-08-26

    Natural products are an important source of novel drug scaffolds. The highly variable and unpredictable timelines associated with isolating novel compounds and elucidating their structures have led to the demise of exploring natural product extract libraries in drug discovery programs. Here we introduce affinity crystallography as a new methodology that significantly shortens the time of the hit to active structure cycle in bioactive natural product discovery research. This affinity crystallography approach is illustrated by using semipure fractions of an actinomycetes culture extract to isolate and identify a cathepsin K inhibitor and to compare the outcome with the traditional assay-guided purification/structural analysis approach. The traditional approach resulted in the identification of the known inhibitor antipain (1) and its new but lower potency dehydration product 2, while the affinity crystallography approach led to the identification of a new high-affinity inhibitor named lichostatinal (3). The structure and potency of lichostatinal (3) was verified by total synthesis and kinetic characterization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of isolating and characterizing a potent enzyme inhibitor from a partially purified crude natural product extract using a protein crystallographic approach.

  3. The versatility of heart-cutting and comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography in monoclonal antibody clone selection.

    PubMed

    Sandra, Koen; Steenbeke, Mieke; Vandenheede, Isabel; Vanhoenacker, Gerd; Sandra, Pat

    2017-11-10

    In recent years, two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) has seen an enormous evolution and one of the fields where it is being widely adopted is in the analysis of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We here further add to the many flavours of this powerful technology. Workflows based on heart-cutting (LC-LC) and comprehensive (LC×LC) 2D-LC are described that allow to guide the clone selection process in mAb and biosimilar development. Combining Protein A affinity chromatography in the first dimension with size exclusion (SEC), cation exchange (CEX) or reversed-phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (RPLC-MS) in the second dimension simultaneously allows to assess mAb titer and critical structural aspects such as aggregation, fragmentation, charge heterogeneity, molecular weight (MW), amino acid sequence and glycosylation. Complementing the LC-LC measurements at intact protein level with LC×LC based peptide mapping provides the necessary information to make clear decisions on which clones to take further into development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Affinity Spaces and 21st Century Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gee, James Paul

    2017-01-01

    This article discusses video games as "attractors" to "affinity spaces." It argues that affinity spaces are key sites today where people teach and learn 21st Century skills. While affinity spaces are proliferating on the Internet as interest-and-passion-driven sites devoted to a common set of endeavors, they are not new, just…

  5. Multimodal charge-induction chromatography for antibody purification.

    PubMed

    Tong, Hong-Fei; Lin, Dong-Qiang; Chu, Wen-Ning; Zhang, Qi-Lei; Gao, Dong; Wang, Rong-Zhu; Yao, Shan-Jing

    2016-01-15

    Hydrophobic charge-induction chromatography (HCIC) has advantages of high capacity, salt-tolerance and convenient pH-controlled elution. However, the binding specificity might be improved with multimodal molecular interactions. New ligand W-ABI that combining tryptophan and 5-amino-benzimidazole was designed with the concept of mutimodal charge-induction chromatography (MCIC). The indole and benzimidazole groups of the ligand could provide orientated mutimodal binding to target IgG under neutral pH, while the imidazole groups could induce the electrostatic repulsion forces for efficient elution under acidic pH. W-ABI ligand was coupled successfully onto agarose gel, and IgG adsorption behaviors were investigated. High affinity to IgG was found with the saturated adsorption capacity of 70.4 mg/ml at pH 7, and the flow rate of mobile phase showed little impact on the dynamic binding capacity. In addition, efficient elution could be achieved at mild acidic pH with high recovery. Two separation cases (IgG separation from albumin containing feedstock and monoclonal antibody purification from cell culture supernatant) were verified with high purity and recovery. In general, MCIC with the specially-designed ligand is an expanding of HCIC with improved adsorption selectivity, which would be a potential alternative to Protein A-based capture for the cost-effective purification of antibodies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. On the structure of self-affine convex bodies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Voynov, A S

    2013-08-31

    We study the structure of convex bodies in R{sup d} that can be represented as a union of their affine images with no common interior points. Such bodies are called self-affine. Vallet's conjecture on the structure of self-affine bodies was proved for d = 2 by Richter in 2011. In the present paper we disprove the conjecture for all d≥3 and derive a detailed description of self-affine bodies in R{sup 3}. Also we consider the relation between properties of self-affine bodies and functional equations with a contraction of an argument. Bibliography: 10 titles.

  7. Molecular Structure-Affinity Relationship of Flavonoids in Lotus Leaf (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) on Binding to Human Serum Albumin and Bovine Serum Albumin by Spectroscopic Method.

    PubMed

    Tang, Xiaosheng; Tang, Ping; Liu, Liangliang

    2017-06-23

    Lotus leaf has gained growing popularity as an ingredient in herbal formulations due to its various activities. As main functional components of lotus leaf, the difference in structure of flavonoids affected their binding properties and activities. In this paper, the existence of 11 flavonoids in lotus leaf extract was confirmed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis and 11 flavonoids showed various contents in lotus leaf. The interactions between lotus leaf extract and two kinds of serum albumins (human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA)) were investigated by spectroscopic methods. Based on the fluorescence quenching, the interactions between these flavonoids and serum albumins were further checked in detail. The relationship between the molecular properties of flavonoids and their affinities for serum albumins were analyzed and compared. The hydroxylation on 3 and 3' position increased the affinities for serum albumins. Moreover, both of the methylation on 3' position of quercetin and the C₂=C₃ double bond of apigenin and quercetin decreased the affinities for HSA and BSA. The glycosylation lowered the affinities for HSA and BSA depending on the type of sugar moiety. It revealed that the hydrogen bond force played an important role in binding flavonoids to HSA and BSA.

  8. Bifunctional fusion proteins of calmodulin and protein A as affinity ligands in protein purification and in the study of protein-protein interactions.

    PubMed

    Hentz, N G; Daunert, S

    1996-11-15

    An affinity chromatography system is described that incorporates a genetically designed bifunctional affinity ligand. The utility of the system in protein purification and in the study of protein-protein interactions is demonstrated by using the interaction between protein A and the heat shock protein DnaK as a model system. The bifunctional affinity ligand was developed by genetically fusing calmodulin (CaM) to protein A (ProtA). The dual functionality of protein A-calmodulin (ProtA-CaM) stems from the molecular recognition properties of the two components of the fusion protein. In particular, CaM serves as the anchoring component by virtue of its binding properties toward phenothiazine. Thus, the ProtA-CaM can be immobilized on a solid support containing phenothiazine from the C-terminal domain of the fusion protein. Protein A is at the N-terminal domain of the fusion protein and serves as the affinity site for DnaK. While DnaK binds specifically to the protein A domain of the bifunctional ligand, it is released upon addition of ATP and under very mild conditions (pH 7.0). In addition to obtaining highly purified DnaK, this system is very rugged in terms of its performance. The proteinaceous bifunctional affinity ligand can be easily removed by addition of EGTA, and fresh ProtA-CaM can be easily reloaded onto the column. This allows for a facile regeneration of the affinity column because the phenothiazine-silica support matrix is stable for long periods of time under a variety of conditions. This study also demonstrates that calmodulin fusions can provide a new approach to study protein-protein interactions. Indeed, the ProtA-CaM fusion protein identified DnaK as a cellular component that interacts with protein A from among the thousands of proteins present in Escherichia coli.

  9. Classical affine W-algebras associated to Lie superalgebras

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suh, Uhi Rinn

    2016-02-01

    In this paper, we prove classical affine W-algebras associated to Lie superalgebras (W-superalgebras), which can be constructed in two different ways: via affine classical Hamiltonian reductions and via taking quasi-classical limits of quantum affine W-superalgebras. Also, we show that a classical finite W-superalgebra can be obtained by a Zhu algebra of a classical affine W-superalgebra. Using the definition by Hamiltonian reductions, we find free generators of a classical W-superalgebra associated to a minimal nilpotent. Moreover, we compute generators of the classical W-algebra associated to spo(2|3) and its principal nilpotent. In the last part of this paper, we introduce a generalization of classical affine W-superalgebras called classical affine fractional W-superalgebras. We show these have Poisson vertex algebra structures and find generators of a fractional W-superalgebra associated to a minimal nilpotent.

  10. Affinity chromatography matrices for depletion and purification of casein glycomacropeptide from bovine whey.

    PubMed

    Baieli, María F; Urtasun, Nicolás; Martinez, María J; Hirsch, Daniela B; Pilosof, Ana M R; Miranda, María V; Cascone, Osvaldo; Wolman, Federico J

    2017-01-01

    Casein glycomacropeptide (CMP) is a 64- amino acid peptide found in cheese whey, which is released after κ-casein specific cleavage by chymosin. CMP lacks aromatic amino acids, a characteristic that makes it usable as a nutritional supplement for people with phenylketonuria. CMP consists of two nonglycosylated isoforms (aCMP A and aCMP B) and its different glycosylated forms (gCMP A and gCMP B). The most predominant carbohydrate of gCMP is N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid). Here, we developed a CMP purification process based on the affinity of sialic acid for wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). After formation of chitosan beads and adsorption of WGA, the agglutinin was covalently attached with glutaraldehyde. Two matrices with different WGA density were assayed for CMP adsorption. Maximum adsorption capacities were calculated according to the Langmuir model from adsorption isotherms developed at pH 7.0, being 137.0 mg/g for the matrix with the best performance. In CMP reduction from whey, maximum removal percentage was 79% (specifically 33.7% of gCMP A and B, 75.8% of aCMP A, and 93.9% of aCMP B). The CMP was recovered as an aggregate with an overall yield of 64%. Therefore, the matrices developed are promising for CMP purification from cheese whey. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:171-180, 2017. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  11. Determination of lipid bilayer affinities and solvation characteristics by electrokinetic chromatography using polymer-bound lipid bilayer nanodiscs.

    PubMed

    Penny, William M; Palmer, Christopher P

    2018-03-01

    Styrene-maleic acid polymer-bound lipid bilayer nanodiscs have been investigated and characterized by electrokinetic chromatography. Linear solvation energy relationship analysis was employed to characterize the changes in solvation environment of nanodiscs of varied belt to lipid ratio, belt polymer chemistry and molecular weight, and lipid composition. Increases in the lipid to belt polymer ratio resulted in smaller, more cohesive nanodiscs with greater electrophoretic mobility. Nanodisc structures with belt polymers of different chemistry and molecular weight were compared and showed only minor changes in solvent characteristics and selectivity consistent with changes in structure of the lipid bilayer. Seven phospholipid and sphingomyelin nanodiscs of different lipid composition were characterized. Changes in lipid head group structure had a significant effect on bilayer-solute interactions. In most cases, changes in alkyl tail structure had no discernible effect on solvation environment aside from those explained by changes in the gel-liquid transition temperature. Comparison to vesicles of similar lipid composition show only minor differences in solvation environment, likely due to differences in lipid composition and bilayer curvature. Together these results provide evidence that the dominant solute-nanodisc interactions are with the lipid bilayer and that head group chemistry has a greater impact on bilayer-solute interactions than alkyl tail or belt polymer structure. Nanodisc electrokinetic chromatography is demonstrated to allow characterization of solute interactions with lipid bilayers of varied composition. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Classical affine W-algebras associated to Lie superalgebras

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Suh, Uhi Rinn, E-mail: uhrisu1@math.snu.ac.kr

    2016-02-15

    In this paper, we prove classical affine W-algebras associated to Lie superalgebras (W-superalgebras), which can be constructed in two different ways: via affine classical Hamiltonian reductions and via taking quasi-classical limits of quantum affine W-superalgebras. Also, we show that a classical finite W-superalgebra can be obtained by a Zhu algebra of a classical affine W-superalgebra. Using the definition by Hamiltonian reductions, we find free generators of a classical W-superalgebra associated to a minimal nilpotent. Moreover, we compute generators of the classical W-algebra associated to spo(2|3) and its principal nilpotent. In the last part of this paper, we introduce a generalizationmore » of classical affine W-superalgebras called classical affine fractional W-superalgebras. We show these have Poisson vertex algebra structures and find generators of a fractional W-superalgebra associated to a minimal nilpotent.« less

  13. Enrichment of Glycoproteins using Nano-scale Chelating Con A Monolithic Capillary Chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Feng, Shun; Yang, Na; Pennathur, Subramaniam; Goodison, Steve; Lubman, David M.

    2009-01-01

    Immobilized lectin chromatography can be employed for glycoprotein enrichment, but commonly used columns have limitations of yield and resolution. In order to improve efficiency and to make the technique applicable to minimal sample material, we have developed a nano-scale chelating Concanavalin A (Con A) monolithic capillary prepared using GMA-EDMA (glycidyl methacrylate–co-ethylene dimethacrylate) as polymeric support. Con A was immobilized on Cu(II)-charged iminodiacetic acid (IDA) regenerable sorbents by forming a IDA:Cu(II):Con A sandwich affinity structure that has high column capacity as well as stability. When compared with conventional Con A lectin chromatography, the monolithic capillary enabled the better reproducible detection of over double the number of unique N-glycoproteins in human urine samples. Utility for analysis of minimal biological samples was confirmed by the successful elucidation of glycoprotein profiles in mouse urine samples at the microliter scale. The improved efficiency of the nano-scale monolithic capillary will impact the analysis of glycoproteins in complex biological samples, especially where only limited material may be available. PMID:19366252

  14. Isolation and purification of wheat germ agglutinin and analysis of its properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Han

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, the wheat germ agglutinin was isolated and purified by affinity chromatography of chicken ovomucoid as ligand. The physicochemical properties were analyzed. The chicken ovomucoid was isolated from egg white and conjugated to affinity chromatography column agarose gel to prepare affinity adsorbent. The crude extract of wheat germ was freezedried by affinity chromatography. The physicochemical properties were analyzed by SDSpolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing electrophoresis. And the relative molecular mass and isoelectric point of wheat germ agglutinin were obtained, and the high efficiency of purification of wheat germ agglutinin was proved by affinity chromatography.

  15. Expression and Functional Properties of an Anti-Triazophos High-Affinity Single-Chain Variable Fragment Antibody with Specific Lambda Light Chain

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Rui; Liang, Xiao; Xiang, Dandan; Guo, Yirong; Liu, Yihua; Zhu, Guonian

    2016-01-01

    Triazophos is a widely used organophosphorous insecticide that has potentially adverse effects to organisms. In the present study, a high-affinity single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody with specific lambda light chain was developed for residue monitoring. First, the specific variable regions were correctly amplified from a hybridoma cell line 8C10 that secreted monoclonal antibody (mAb) against triazophos. The regions were then assembled as scFv via splicing by overlap extension polymerase chain reaction. Subsequently, the recombinant anti-triazophos scFv-8C10 was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli strain HB2151 in soluble form, purified through immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography, and verified via Western blot and peptide mass fingerprinting analyses. Afterward, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was established based on the purified anti-triazophos scFv-8C10 antibody. The assay exhibited properties similar to those based on the parent mAb, with a high sensitivity (IC50 of 1.73 ng/mL) to triazophos and no cross reaction for other organophosphorus pesticides; it was reliable in detecting triazophos residues in spiked water samples. Moreover, kinetic measurement using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor indicated that the purified scFv-8C10 antibody had a high affinity of 1.8 × 10−10 M and exhibited good binding stability. Results indicated that the recombinant high-affinity scFv-8C10 antibody was an effective detection material that would be promising for monitoring triazophos residues in environment samples. PMID:27338340

  16. Vaccine Efficacy and Affinity Maturation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Hayoun; Deem, Michael W.

    2002-03-01

    We propose macroscopic equations to describe variable vaccine efficacy between repeated vaccinee and first time vaccinee. The main ingredients are antigenic distance between epidemic strain and vaccne strain, and affinity maturation dynamics which differs in primary and second response. Increase of affinity by repeated vaccine leads to localization in immune space. This localization decreases the ability of the immune system to response to distant, but related epidemic strains.

  17. Affinity entrapment of oligosaccharides and glycopeptides using free lectin solution.

    PubMed

    Yodoshi, Masahiro; Oyama, Takehiro; Masaki, Ken; Kakehi, Kazuaki; Hayakawa, Takao; Suzuki, Shigeo

    2011-01-01

    Two procedures were proposed for the specific recovery of fluorescent derivatives of glycoprotein-derived oligosaccharides and tryptic glycopeptides using certain plant lectins. The first was based on the salting out of oligosaccharide-lectin conjugates with ammonium sulfate. Oligosaccharides specifically bound to lectins were recovered free from lectins using ethanol precipitation after dissolution in water. This method enabled group separation of 2-aminopyridine-labeled oligosaccharides derived from ovalbumin to galacto-oligosaccharides and agalacto-oligosaccharides by Ricinus communis agglutinin, and to high mannose- and hybrid-type oligosaccharides by wheat-germ agglutinin. Fractional precipitation based on differences in affinity for concanavalin A was accomplished by adding an appropriate concentration of methyl α-mannoside as an inhibitor. In the second method, tryptic digests of glycoproteins were mixed with a lectin solution, and the glycopeptide-lectin conjugates were specifically trapped on a centrifugal ultrafiltration membrane with cut-off of 10 kD. Trapped glycopeptides, as retentates, were passed through membranes by resuspension in diluted acid. This method is particularly useful for the enrichment of glycopeptides in protease digestion mixtures for glycosylation analyses by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

  18. Acetylcholinesterase affinity-based screening assay on Lippia gracilis Schauer extracts.

    PubMed

    Vanzolini, K L; da F Sprenger, R; Leme, G M; de S Moraes, V R; Vilela, A F L; Cardoso, C L; Cass, Q B

    2018-05-10

    The use of affinity-based protein assay produced by covalently linking acetylcholinesterase to magnetic beads, followed by chemical characterization of the selective binders using Liquid Chromatography with tandem High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is herein described for profiling crude aqueous natural product extracts. The fishing assay was first modulated using galanthamine as a reference ligand and then, the assay condition was adjusted for the aqueous leaves extracts obtained from Lippia gracilis Schauer (genotype 201) that was used as the natural combinatory library. From the experiments, a selective binder has been undisclosed with an accurate mass of 449.1131 m/z and identified as eriodictyol 2'-O-glucoside or eriodictyol 3'-O-glucoside. The selectivity of the binding assay was demonstrated, as much as, that erydictiol 7-O-glucoside was not fished, although it was present in the crude aqueous extract. The binding assay platform exhibited high specificity and did not require any sample pretreatment, making it appropriate for profiling binders at natural libraries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Instrumentation: Ion Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fritz, James S.

    1987-01-01

    Discusses the importance of ion chromatography in separating and measuring anions. The principles of ion exchange are presented, along with some applications of ion chromatography in industry. Ion chromatography systems are described, as well as ion pair and ion exclusion chromatography, column packings, detectors, and programming. (TW)

  20. Determination of a highly selective mixed-affinity sigma receptor ligand, in rat plasma by ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

    PubMed Central

    Jamalapuram, Seshulatha; Vuppala, Pradeep K.; Mesangeau, Christophe; McCurdy, Christopher R.; Avery, Bonnie A.

    2014-01-01

    A selective, rapid and sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) method was developed and validated to quantitate a highly selective mixed-affinity sigma receptor ligand, CM156 (3-(4-(4-cyclohexylpiperazin-1-yl)butyl)benzo[d] thiazole-2(3H)-thione), in rat plasma. CM156 and the internal standard (aripiprazole) were extracted from plasma samples by a single step liquid–liquid extraction using chloroform. The analysis was carried out on an ACQUITY UPLCTM BEH HILIC column (1.7 µm, 2.1 mm × 50 mm) with isocratic elution at flow rate of 0.2 mL/min using 10 mM ammonium formate in 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile (10:90) as the mobile phase. The detection of the analyte was performed on a mass spectrometer operated in selected ion recording (SIR) mode with positive electrospray ionization (ESI). The validated analytical method resulted in a run time of 4 min and the retention times observed were 2.6 ± 0.1 and 2.1 ± 0.1 min for CM156 and the IS, respectively. The calibration curve exhibited excellent linearity over a concentration range of 5–4000 ng/mL with the lower limit of quantification of 5 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision values were below 15% and accuracy ranged from −6.5% to 5.0%. The mean recovery of CM156 from plasma was 96.8%. The validated method was applied to a pilot intravenous pharmacokinetic study in rats. PMID:22406103

  1. Retro-Nasal Aroma Release Is Correlated with Variations in the In-Mouth Air Cavity Volume after Empty Deglutition

    PubMed Central

    Mishellany-Dutour, Anne; Woda, Alain; Labouré, Hélène; Bourdiol, Pierre; Lachaze, Pauline; Guichard, Elisabeth; Feron, Gilles

    2012-01-01

    We hypothesized that interindividual differences in motor activities during chewing and/or swallowing were determining factors for the transfer of volatile aroma from the in-mouth air cavity (IMAC) toward the olfactory mucosa. In our first experiment, we looked for changes in IMAC volume after saliva deglutition in 12 healthy subjects. The mean IMAC volume was measured after empty deglutition using an acoustic pharyngometer device. Based on the time course of the IMAC volume after swallowing, we discerned two groups of subjects. The first group displayed a small, constant IMAC volume (2.26 mL ±0.62) that corresponded to a high tongue position. The second group displayed a progressive increase in IMAC (from 6.82 mL ±2.37 to 22.82 mL ±3.04) that corresponded to a progressive lowering of the tongue to its resting position. In our second experiment, we investigated the relationship between IMAC volume changes after deglutition and the level of aroma release at the nostril. For this purpose, the release of menthone was measured at the nostril level in 25 subjects who consumed similar amounts of a mint tablet. The subjects were separated into two groups corresponding to two levels of menthone release: high (H) and low (L). The mean volume of IMAC was measured during and after empty deglutition. Group H displayed a small, constant amplitude of IMAC volume change after deglutition, while Group L displayed a progressive increase in IMAC. It is likely that Group H continuously released the aroma through the veloglossal isthmus as the mint was consumed, while Group L trapped the aroma in the oral cavity and then released it into the nasal cavity upon swallowing. These results show that the in vivo aroma release profile in humans depends closely on the different motor patterns at work during empty deglutition. PMID:22815986

  2. Notch and affinity boundaries in Drosophila.

    PubMed

    Herranz, Héctor; Milán, Marco

    2006-02-01

    Cells in multicellular organisms often do not intermingle freely with each other. Differential cell affinities can contribute to organizing cells into different tissues. Drosophila limbs and the vertebrate central nervous system are subdivided into compartments. Cells in adjacent compartments do not mix. Cell interactions mediated by Notch-family receptors have been implicated in the specification of these compartment boundaries. Two recent reports analyze the role of the Notch signaling pathway in the generation of an affinity boundary in the Drosophila wing. The first report analyzes the connection between Notch and the actin cytoskeleton. The second report analyzes the differential requirements of Notch and the transcription factor Suppressor of Hairless in generating the affinity boundary.

  3. Rapid characterization of a novel taspine derivative-HMQ1611 binding to EGFR by a cell membrane chromatography method.

    PubMed

    Du, Hui; Lv, Nan; Wang, Sicen; He, Langchong

    2013-05-01

    A new high-expression endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) cell membrane chromatography (CMC) method was applied to recognize the ligands acting on EGFR specifically, and investigate the affinity of gefitinib/HMQ1611 to EGFR. In the self and direct competitive assay, gefitinib/HMQ1611 was used as a competitor in the mobile phase to evaluate the effect of the competitor's concentrations on the retention of the ligands, respectively, and the competition between gefitinib and HMQ1611 binding to EGFR was also been examined. The retention behavior indicated that gefitinib had one type of binding sites on the EGFR, and the equilibrium dissociation constant (K(D)) was (9.11 ± 1.89) × 10(-6) M; HMQ1611 had two major binding regions on the EGFR, and the K(D) values obtained from the model were (2.39 ± 0.33) × 10(-7) and (3.87 ± 0.93) × 10(-5) M for HMQ1611 at the high- and low-affinity sites, respectively. The competition between gefitinib and HMQ1611 occurred at the low-affinity sites on the EGFR. The low-affinity sites were of higher concentrations and contributed to a much larger part of retention of HMQ1611. The results suggested that gefitinib and HMQ1611 competed for the common binding sites on the EGFR, no matter the ligand was used as an analyte or a competitor.

  4. High-affinity K+ uptake in pepper plants.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Cordero, M Angeles; Martínez, Vicente; Rubio, Francisco

    2005-06-01

    High-affinity K+ uptake is an essential process for plant nutrition under K+-limiting conditions. The results presented here demonstrate that pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants grown in the absence of NH4+ and starved of K+ show an NH4+-sensitive high-affinity K+ uptake that allows plant roots to deplete external K+ to values below 1 microM. When plants are grown in the presence of NH4+, high-affinity K+ uptake is not inhibited by NH4+. Although NH4+-grown plants deplete external K+ below 1 microM in the absence of NH4+, when 1 mM NH4+ is present they do not deplete external K+ below 10 microM. A K+ transporter of the HAK family, CaHAK1, is very likely mediating the NH4+-sensitive component of the high-affinity K+ uptake in pepper roots. CaHAK1 is strongly induced in the roots that show the NH4+-sensitive high-affinity K+ uptake and its induction is reduced in K+-starved plants grown in the presence of NH4+. The NH4+-insensitive K+ uptake may be mediated by an AKT1-like K+ channel.

  5. Electron affinity of liquid water

    DOE PAGES

    Gaiduk, Alex P.; Pham, Tuan Anh; Govoni, Marco; ...

    2018-01-16

    Understanding redox and photochemical reactions in aqueous environments requires a precise knowledge of the ionization potential and electron affinity of liquid water. The former has been measured, but not the latter. We predict the electron affinity of liquid water and of its surface from first principles, coupling path-integral molecular dynamics with ab initio potentials, and many-body perturbation theory. Our results for the surface (0.8 eV) agree well with recent pump-probe spectroscopy measurements on amorphous ice. Those for the bulk (0.1-0.3 eV) differ from several estimates adopted in the literature, which we critically revisit. We show that the ionization potential ofmore » the bulk and surface are almost identical; instead their electron affinities differ substantially, with the conduction band edge of the surface much deeper in energy than that of the bulk. We also discuss the significant impact of nuclear quantum effects on the fundamental gap and band edges of the liquid.« less

  6. Electron affinity of liquid water

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gaiduk, Alex P.; Pham, Tuan Anh; Govoni, Marco

    Understanding redox and photochemical reactions in aqueous environments requires a precise knowledge of the ionization potential and electron affinity of liquid water. The former has been measured, but not the latter. We predict the electron affinity of liquid water and of its surface from first principles, coupling path-integral molecular dynamics with ab initio potentials, and many-body perturbation theory. Our results for the surface (0.8 eV) agree well with recent pump-probe spectroscopy measurements on amorphous ice. Those for the bulk (0.1-0.3 eV) differ from several estimates adopted in the literature, which we critically revisit. We show that the ionization potential ofmore » the bulk and surface are almost identical; instead their electron affinities differ substantially, with the conduction band edge of the surface much deeper in energy than that of the bulk. We also discuss the significant impact of nuclear quantum effects on the fundamental gap and band edges of the liquid.« less

  7. Image management and communication in patient care: perspectives on implementation and impact.

    PubMed

    Greberman, M; Mun, S K

    1989-02-01

    Image management and communication (IMAC) systems are automated and integrated systems that capture digital medical images and related patient information and transmit them electronically, display them for interpretation, and store them for future retrieval. The IMAC system concept includes images and relevant information from all clinical sources. The First International Conference on Image Management and Communication in Patient Care (IMAC 89) provides a forum for expert presentations, poster sessions, and discussion and debate among all attendees interested in the implementation and impact of IMAC systems. Plenary sessions provide an international perspective and explore the role of image-based information in patient care, approaches to improved IMAC systems, current technical barriers, quality of care issues, evaluation approaches, and scenarios for the future. Invited participants are from North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and the WHO. Conference organizers are working with numerous professional organizations and representatives of meetings which focus on IMAC-related technology to complement, and not duplicate, the contribution of other groups.

  8. Chromatography resin support

    DOEpatents

    Dobos, James G.

    2002-01-01

    An apparatus and method of using an improved chromatography resin support is disclosed. The chromatography support platform is provided by a stainless steel hollow cylinder adapted for being inserted into a chromatography column. An exterior wall of the stainless steel cylinder defines a groove for carrying therein an "O"-ring. The upper surface of the stainless steel column is covered by a fine stainless steel mesh welded to the edges of the stainless steel cylinder. When placed upon a receiving ledge defined within a chromatography column, the "O"-ring provides a fluid tight seal with the inner edge wall of the chromatography cylinder. The stainless steel mesh supports the chromatography matrix and provides a back flushable support which is economical and simple to construct.

  9. Thin-Layer Chromatography Experiments That Illustrate General Problems in Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lederer, M.; Leipzig-Pagani, E.

    1996-01-01

    Describes experiments that illustrate a number of general principles such as pattern identification, displacement chromatography, and salting-out adsorption, plus an experiment that demonstrates that identification by chromatography alone is impossible. Illustrates that chromatography is still possible with quite simple means, notwithstanding the…

  10. Centrifugal precipitation chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Ito, Yoichiro; Lin, Qi

    2009-01-01

    Centrifugal precipitation chromatography separates analytes according their solubility in ammonium sulfate (AS) solution and other precipitants. The separation column is made from a pair of long spiral channels partitioned with a semipermeable membrane. In a typical separation, concentrated ammonium sulfate is eluted through one channel while water is eluted through the other channel in the opposite direction. The countercurrent process forms an exponential AS concentration gradient through the water channel. Consequently, protein samples injected into the water channel is subjected to a steadily increasing AS concentration and at the critical AS concentration they are precipitated and deposited in the channel bed by the centrifugal force. Then the chromatographic separation is started by gradually reducing the AS concentration in the AS channel which lowers the AS gradient concentration in the water channel. This results in dissolution of deposited proteins which are again precipitated at an advanced critical point as they move through the channel. Consequently, proteins repeat precipitation and dissolution through a long channel and finally eluted out from the column in the order of their solubility in the AS solution. The present method has been successfully applied to a number of analytes including human serum proteins, recombinant ketosteroid isomerase, carotenoid cleavage enzymes, plasmid DNA, polysaccharide, polymerized pigments, PEG-protein conjugates, etc. The method is capable to single out the target species of proteins by affinity ligand or immunoaffinity separation. PMID:19541553

  11. How Structure Defines Affinity in Protein-Protein Interactions

    PubMed Central

    Erijman, Ariel; Rosenthal, Eran; Shifman, Julia M.

    2014-01-01

    Protein-protein interactions (PPI) in nature are conveyed by a multitude of binding modes involving various surfaces, secondary structure elements and intermolecular interactions. This diversity results in PPI binding affinities that span more than nine orders of magnitude. Several early studies attempted to correlate PPI binding affinities to various structure-derived features with limited success. The growing number of high-resolution structures, the appearance of more precise methods for measuring binding affinities and the development of new computational algorithms enable more thorough investigations in this direction. Here, we use a large dataset of PPI structures with the documented binding affinities to calculate a number of structure-based features that could potentially define binding energetics. We explore how well each calculated biophysical feature alone correlates with binding affinity and determine the features that could be used to distinguish between high-, medium- and low- affinity PPIs. Furthermore, we test how various combinations of features could be applied to predict binding affinity and observe a slow improvement in correlation as more features are incorporated into the equation. In addition, we observe a considerable improvement in predictions if we exclude from our analysis low-resolution and NMR structures, revealing the importance of capturing exact intermolecular interactions in our calculations. Our analysis should facilitate prediction of new interactions on the genome scale, better characterization of signaling networks and design of novel binding partners for various target proteins. PMID:25329579

  12. Recombinant production of enzymatically active male contraceptive drug target hTSSK2 - Localization of the TSKS domain phosphorylated by TSSK2.

    PubMed

    Shetty, Jagathpala; Sinville, Rondedrick; Shumilin, Igor A; Minor, Wladek; Zhang, Jianhai; Hawkinson, Jon E; Georg, Gunda I; Flickinger, Charles J; Herr, John C

    2016-05-01

    The testis-specific serine/threonine kinase 2 (TSSK2) has been proposed as a candidate male contraceptive target. Development of a selective inhibitor for this kinase first necessitates the production of highly purified, soluble human TSSK2 and its substrate, TSKS, with high yields and retention of biological activity for crystallography and compound screening. Strategies to produce full-length, soluble, biologically active hTSSK2 in baculovirus expression systems were tested and refined. Soluble preparations of TSSK2 were purified by immobilized-metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) followed by gel filtration chromatography. The biological activities of rec.hTSSK2 were verified by in vitro kinase and mobility shift assays using bacterially produced hTSKS (isoform 2), casein, glycogen synthase peptide (GS peptide) and various TSKS peptides as target substrates. Purified recombinant hTSSK2 showed robust kinase activity in the in vitro kinase assay by phosphorylating hTSKS isoform 2 and casein. The ATP Km values were similar for highly and partially purified fractions of hTSSK2 (2.2 and 2.7 μM, respectively). The broad spectrum kinase inhibitor staurosporine was a potent inhibitor of rec.hTSSK2 (IC50 = 20 nM). In vitro phosphorylation experiments carried out with TSKS (isoform 1) fragments revealed particularly strong phosphorylation of a recombinant N-terminal region representing aa 1-150 of TSKS, indicating that the N-terminus of human TSKS is phosphorylated by human TSSK2. Production of full-length enzymatically active recombinant TSSK2 kinase represents the achievement of a key benchmark for future discovery of TSSK inhibitors as male contraceptive agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Purification and biological characterization of soluble, recombinant mouse IFNβ expressed in insect cells.

    PubMed

    Stifter, Sebastian A; Gould, Jodee A; Mangan, Niamh E; Reid, Hugh H; Rossjohn, Jamie; Hertzog, Paul J; de Weerd, Nicole A

    2014-02-01

    Interferon β (IFNβ) is a member of the type I interferon family of cytokines widely recognised for their anti-viral, anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory properties. Recombinant, biologically active forms of this cytokine are used clinically for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and in laboratories to study the role of this cytokine in health and disease. Established methods for expression of IFNβ utilise either bacterial systems from which the insoluble recombinant proteins must be refolded, or mammalian expression systems in which large volumes of cell culture are required for recovery of acceptable yields. Utilising the baculovirus expression system and Trichoplusia ni (Cabbage Looper) BTI-TN-5B1-4 cell line, we report a reproducible method for production and purification of milligram/litre quantities of biologically active murine IFNβ. Due to the design of our construct and the eukaryotic nature of insect cells, the resulting soluble protein is secreted allowing purification of the Histidine-tagged natively-folded protein from the culture supernatant. The IFNβ purification method described is a two-step process employing immobilised metal-ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) that results in production of significantly more purified IFNβ than any other reported eukaryotic-based expression system. Recombinant murine IFNβ produced by this method was natively folded and demonstrated hallmark type I interferon biological effects including antiviral and anti-proliferative activities, and induced genes characteristic of IFNβ activity in vivo. Recombinant IFNβ also had specific activity levels exceeding that of the commercially available equivalent. Together, our findings provide a method for production of highly pure, biologically active murine IFNβ. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. High-affinity cannabinoid binding site in brain: A possible marijuana receptor

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nye, J.S.

    The mechanism by which delta{sup 9} tetrahydrocannabinol (delta{sup 9}THC), the major psychoactive component of marijuana or hashish, produces its potent psychological and physiological effects is unknown. To find receptor binding sites for THC, we designed a water-soluble analog for use as a radioligand. 5{prime}-Trimethylammonium-delta{sup 8}THC (TMA) is a positively charged analog of delta-{sup 8}THC modified on the 5{prime} carbon, a portion of the molecule not important for its psychoactivity. We have studied the binding of ({sup 3}H)-5{prime}-trimethylammonium-delta-{sup 8}THC (({sup 3}H)TMA) to rat neuronal membranes. ({sup 3}H)TMA binds saturably and reversibly to brain membranes with high affinity to apparently one classmore » of sites. Highest binding site density occurs in brain, but several peripheral organs also display specific binding. Detergent solubilizes the sites without affecting their pharmacologial properties. Molecular sieve chromatography reveals a bimodal peak of ({sup 3}H)TMA binding activity of approximately 60,000 daltons apparent molecular weight.« less

  15. Employees' Perceptions of Female Affinity Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gabriel, Peter J.

    2017-01-01

    Female affinity groups offered by corporations are formalized corporate initiatives focused on networking and professional development opportunities for women (Welbourne & McLaughlin, 2013). The scholarly literature focused on female affinity groups was limited. The purpose of this grounded theory Dissertation in Practice study was to…

  16. Affinity+: Semi-Structured Brainstorming on Large Displays

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Burtner, Edwin R.; May, Richard A.; Scarberry, Randall E.

    2013-04-27

    Affinity diagraming is a powerful method for encouraging and capturing lateral thinking in a group environment. The Affinity+ Concept was designed to improve the collaborative brainstorm process through the use of large display surfaces in conjunction with mobile devices like smart phones and tablets. The system works by capturing the ideas digitally and allowing users to sort and group them on a large touch screen manually. Additionally, Affinity+ incorporates theme detection, topic clustering, and other processing algorithms that help bring structured analytic techniques to the process without requiring explicit leadership roles and other overhead typically involved in these activities.

  17. Classification of neocortical interneurons using affinity propagation.

    PubMed

    Santana, Roberto; McGarry, Laura M; Bielza, Concha; Larrañaga, Pedro; Yuste, Rafael

    2013-01-01

    In spite of over a century of research on cortical circuits, it is still unknown how many classes of cortical neurons exist. In fact, neuronal classification is a difficult problem because it is unclear how to designate a neuronal cell class and what are the best characteristics to define them. Recently, unsupervised classifications using cluster analysis based on morphological, physiological, or molecular characteristics, have provided quantitative and unbiased identification of distinct neuronal subtypes, when applied to selected datasets. However, better and more robust classification methods are needed for increasingly complex and larger datasets. Here, we explored the use of affinity propagation, a recently developed unsupervised classification algorithm imported from machine learning, which gives a representative example or exemplar for each cluster. As a case study, we applied affinity propagation to a test dataset of 337 interneurons belonging to four subtypes, previously identified based on morphological and physiological characteristics. We found that affinity propagation correctly classified most of the neurons in a blind, non-supervised manner. Affinity propagation outperformed Ward's method, a current standard clustering approach, in classifying the neurons into 4 subtypes. Affinity propagation could therefore be used in future studies to validly classify neurons, as a first step to help reverse engineer neural circuits.

  18. The application of new software tools to quantitative protein profiling via isotope-coded affinity tag (ICAT) and tandem mass spectrometry: I. Statistically annotated datasets for peptide sequences and proteins identified via the application of ICAT and tandem mass spectrometry to proteins copurifying with T cell lipid rafts.

    PubMed

    von Haller, Priska D; Yi, Eugene; Donohoe, Samuel; Vaughn, Kelly; Keller, Andrew; Nesvizhskii, Alexey I; Eng, Jimmy; Li, Xiao-jun; Goodlett, David R; Aebersold, Ruedi; Watts, Julian D

    2003-07-01

    Lipid rafts were prepared according to standard protocols from Jurkat T cells stimulated via T cell receptor/CD28 cross-linking and from control (unstimulated) cells. Co-isolating proteins from the control and stimulated cell preparations were labeled with isotopically normal (d0) and heavy (d8) versions of the same isotope-coded affinity tag (ICAT) reagent, respectively. Samples were combined, proteolyzed, and resultant peptides fractionated via cation exchange chromatography. Cysteine-containing (ICAT-labeled) peptides were recovered via the biotin tag component of the ICAT reagents by avidin-affinity chromatography. On-line micro-capillary liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was performed on both avidin-affinity (ICAT-labeled) and flow-through (unlabeled) fractions. Initial peptide sequence identification was by searching recorded tandem mass spectrometry spectra against a human sequence data base using SEQUEST software. New statistical data modeling algorithms were then applied to the SEQUEST search results. These allowed for discrimination between likely "correct" and "incorrect" peptide assignments, and from these the inferred proteins that they collectively represented, by calculating estimated probabilities that each peptide assignment and subsequent protein identification was a member of the "correct" population. For convenience, the resultant lists of peptide sequences assigned and the proteins to which they corresponded were filtered at an arbitrarily set cut-off of 0.5 (i.e. 50% likely to be "correct") and above and compiled into two separate datasets. In total, these data sets contained 7667 individual peptide identifications, which represented 2669 unique peptide sequences, corresponding to 685 proteins and related protein groups.

  19. Revealing multi-binding sites for taspine to VEGFR-2 by cell membrane chromatography zonal elution.

    PubMed

    Du, Hui; Wang, Sicen; Ren, Jing; Lv, Nan; He, Langchong

    2012-03-01

    A new high-expression vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) cell membrane chromatography (CMC) method was developed to investigate the affinity of ligands for VEGFR-2. An HEK293 VEGFR-2/CMC system was applied to specifically recognize ligands acting on VEGFR-2. Sorafenib was used as a mobile phase additive to evaluate the effect of the marker's concentration on the retention of sorafenib and taspine, respectively. The relationship among the retention, the types of binding sites and the affinity of taspine binding to VEGFR-2 has also been concerned. The retention behavior indicated that sorafenib had two major binding regions on VEGFR-2, and that taspine might act as a multi-target VEGFR-2 inhibitor with similar biological activity to sorafenib. The equilibrium dissociation constants (K(D)) obtained from the model are (5.25 ± 0.31) × 10⁻⁷ and (9.88 ± 0.54) × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ for sorafenib at the high- and low-affinity sites, respectively, and the corresponding values for taspine are (3.88 ± 0.31) × 10⁻⁶ and (7.04 ± 0.49)×10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹. The two types of binding sites contributed about a 1:2 ratio on the retention of taspine. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Immobilization of sugars in supermacroporous cryogels for the purification of lectins by affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Gonçalves, Gabriel Ramos Ferreira; Gandolfi, Olga Reinert Ramos; Santos, Leandro Soares; Bonomo, Renata Cristina Ferreira; Veloso, Cristiane Martins; Veríssimo, Lizzy Ayra Alcântara; Fontan, Rafael da Costa Ilhéu

    2017-11-15

    Lectins are glycoproteins that bind to carbohydrates or glycoconjugates by specific interactions. The specificity of lectins to various carbohydrates is a determinant factor in the choice of ligand for the chromatographic matrix when using chromatography as a lectin purification technique. In this work, the immobilization of three different aminated carbohydrates on the surface of macroporous polymeric cryogels was evaluated. Carbohydrates were immobilized on cryogel surfaces via the glutaraldehyde method to create spacer arms, reducing steric hindrance. The immobilized N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and N-acetyl-d-mannosamine concentrations contained approximately 130mg of carbohydrate/g dehydrated cryogel, while the N-acetyl-d-galactosamine contained 105mg of carbohydrate/g dehydrated cryogel. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the physical structure and porosity of the chromatographic columns were not affected by the immobilization process, maintaining an elevated hydration capacity and the macroporous structure of the cryogels. Adsorption of concanavalin A on cryogels functionalized with N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (cryo-d-GlcNAc) was tested, as well as its reuse capability. After 5 cycles of use, cryo-d-GlcNAc was shown to be stable, with an adsorptive capacity of around 50mg/g. Carbohydrate immobilization in polyacrylamide cryogels was satisfactory, with promise for applications in lectin purification processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Affinity purification of angiotensin type 2 receptors from N1E-115 cells: evidence for agonist-induced formation of multimeric complexes.

    PubMed

    Siemens, I R; Yee, D K; Reagan, L P; Fluharty, S J

    1994-01-01

    The murine neuroblastoma N1E-115 cell line possesses type 1 and type 2 angiotensin II (AngII) receptor subtypes. In vitro differentiation of these cells substantially increases the density of the AT2-receptor subtype, whereas the density of the AT1 receptors remains unchanged. In the present study, we report that the zwitterionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) selectively solubilized AT2 receptors from N1E-115 cell membranes and that these receptors could be purified further to near homogeneity by affinity chromatography. More specifically, the presence of an agonist (AngII) during affinity purification of AT2 receptors resulted in the elution of high (110-kDa) and low (66-kDa) molecular mass proteins as determined by gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions. In contrast, when the nonselective antagonist Sar1,Ile8-AngII was used during purification, only the lower 66-kDa protein was observed. Affinity purification in the presence of the peptide and nonpeptide AT2-receptor antagonists CGP42112A and PD123319 also resulted in elution of the same 66-kDa protein, but unlike that in the presence of Sar1,Ile8-AngII, some of the high molecular weight site was observed as well. On the other hand, Losartan, an AT1-receptor antagonist, was completely ineffective in eluting any AngII receptors from the affinity column, further confirming their AT2 identity. After agonist elution, the 110-kDa band dissociated into two low molecular mass bands of 66 kDa and 54 kDa when sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis was run under reducing conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  2. Hydroxylapatite chromatography.

    PubMed

    Broadhurst, A V

    2001-05-01

    Hydroxylapatite (also called hydroxyapatite), a form of calcium phosphate, can be used as a matrix for the chromatography of both proteins and nucleic acids. Protocols are provided for both standard low-pressure chromatography of a protein mixture using a hydroxylapatite column prepared in the laboratory, and an HPLC method, applicable to proteins and nucleic acids, that uses a commercially available column. Alternate protocols describe column chromatography using a step gradient or batch binding and step-gradient elution.

  3. Phosphoproteomic analysis of the striatum from pleiotrophin knockout and midkine knockout mice treated with cocaine reveals regulation of oxidative stress-related proteins potentially underlying cocaine-induced neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration.

    PubMed

    Vicente-Rodríguez, Marta; Gramage, Esther; Herradón, Gonzalo; Pérez-García, Carmen

    2013-12-06

    The neurotrophic factors pleiotrophin (PTN) and midkine (MK) are highly upregulated in different brain areas relevant to drug addiction after administrations of different drugs of abuse, including psychostimulants. We have previously demonstrated that PTN and MK modulate amphetamine-induced neurotoxicity and that PTN prevents cocaine-induced cytotoxicity in NG108-15 and PC12 cells. In an effort to dissect the different mechanisms of action triggered by PTN and MK to exert their protective roles against psychostimulant neurotoxicity, we have now used a proteomic approach to study protein phosphorylation, in which we combined phosphoprotein enrichment, by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, in order to identify the phosphoproteins regulated in the striatum of PTN knockout, MK knockout and wild type mice treated with a single dose of cocaine (15mg/kg, i.p.). We identified 7 differentially expressed phosphoproteins: 5'(3')-deoxyribonucleotidase, endoplasmic reticulum resident protein 60 (ERP60), peroxiredoxin-6 (PRDX6), glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (GLUD1), aconitase and two subunits of hemoglobin. Most of these proteins are related to neurodegeneration processes and oxidative stress and their variations specially affect the PTN knockout mice, suggesting a protective role of endogenous PTN against cocaine-induced neural alterations. Further studies are needed to validate these proteins as possible targets against neural alterations induced by cocaine. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Surfactant-free Colloidal Particles with Specific Binding Affinity

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Colloidal particles with specific binding affinity are essential for in vivo and in vitro biosensing, targeted drug delivery, and micrometer-scale self-assembly. Key to these techniques are surface functionalizations that provide high affinities to specific target molecules. For stabilization in physiological environments, current particle coating methods rely on adsorbed surfactants. However, spontaneous desorption of these surfactants typically has an undesirable influence on lipid membranes. To address this issue and create particles for targeting molecules in lipid membranes, we present here a surfactant-free coating method that combines high binding affinity with stability at physiological conditions. After activating charge-stabilized polystyrene microparticles with EDC/Sulfo-NHS, we first coat the particles with a specific protein and subsequently covalently attach a dense layer of poly(ethyelene) glycol. This polymer layer provides colloidal stability at physiological conditions as well as antiadhesive properties, while the protein coating provides the specific affinity to the targeted molecule. We show that NeutrAvidin-functionalized particles bind specifically to biotinylated membranes and that Concanavalin A-functionalized particles bind specifically to the glycocortex of Dictyostelium discoideum cells. The affinity of the particles changes with protein density, which can be tuned during the coating procedure. The generic and surfactant-free coating method reported here transfers the high affinity and specificity of a protein onto colloidal polystyrene microparticles. PMID:28847149

  5. Monitoring binding affinity between drug and α1-acid glycoprotein in real time by Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, Ning; Lu, Xin; Yang, YuHan; Yao, Chen Xi; Ning, BaoMing; He, Dacheng; He, Lan; Ouyang, Jin

    2015-10-01

    A new approach for monitoring the binding affinity between drugs and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in real time was developed based on a combination of drug-protein reaction followed by Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry determination of the free drug concentrations. A known basic drug, propranolol was used to validate the new built method. Binding constant values calculated by venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry was in good accordance with a traditional ultrafiltration combined with high performance liquid chromatography method. Then six types of basic drugs were used as the samples to conduct the real time analysis. Upon injection of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein to the drug mixture, the ion chromatograms were extracted to show the changes in the free drug concentrations in real time. By observing the drop-out of six types of drugs during the whole binding reaction, the binding affinities of different drugs were distinguished. A volume shift validating experiment and an injection delay correcting experiment were also performed to eliminate extraneous factors and verify the reliability of our experiment. Therefore, the features of Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry (V-EASI-MS) and the experimental results indicate that our technique is likely to become a powerful tool for monitoring drug-AGP binding affinity in real time. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Ethanol increases affinity of protein kinase C for phosphatidylserine

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chin, J.H.

    1986-03-01

    Protein kinase C is a calcium-dependent enzyme that requires phospholipid for its activation. It is present in relatively high concentration in the brain and may be involved in neuronal function. The present experiments test whether the membrane disorder induced by ethanol affects the activity of kinase C by changing its interaction with membrane lipid. Fractions rich in kinase C were purified from rat brain cytosol by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. Enzyme activity was assayed by measuring the phosphorylation of histone H1. As expected, phosphatidylserine activated the enzyme, and the stimulation was further increased by the addition ofmore » calcium and/or diacylglycerol. At low concentration of free calcium (0.5-1..mu..M), ethanol (800 mM0 enhanced kinase C activity if the presence of phospholipid. similar results were observed in the absence of calcium. Double reciprocal plots of the data showed that ethanol increased the affinity of the enzyme for phosphatidylserine without affecting the V/sub max. The stimulation of kinase C activity by ethanol was not observed at high calcium concentrations. These experiments suggest that ethanol may activated protein kinase C at physiological levels of calcium by facilitating its transfer into the hydrophobic membrane environment.« less

  7. Modern affinity reagents: Recombinant antibodies and aptamers.

    PubMed

    Groff, Katherine; Brown, Jeffrey; Clippinger, Amy J

    2015-12-01

    Affinity reagents are essential tools in both basic and applied research; however, there is a growing concern about the reproducibility of animal-derived monoclonal antibodies. The need for higher quality affinity reagents has prompted the development of methods that provide scientific, economic, and time-saving advantages and do not require the use of animals. This review describes two types of affinity reagents, recombinant antibodies and aptamers, which are non-animal technologies that can replace the use of animal-derived monoclonal antibodies. Recombinant antibodies are protein-based reagents, while aptamers are nucleic-acid-based. In light of the scientific advantages of these technologies, this review also discusses ways to gain momentum in the use of modern affinity reagents, including an update to the 1999 National Academy of Sciences monoclonal antibody production report and federal incentives for recombinant antibody and aptamer efforts. In the long-term, these efforts have the potential to improve the overall quality and decrease the cost of scientific research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Affinity Proteomics in the mountains: Alpbach 2015.

    PubMed

    Taussig, Michael J

    2016-09-25

    The 2015 Alpbach Workshop on Affinity Proteomics, organised by the EU AFFINOMICS consortium, was the 7th workshop in this series. As in previous years, the focus of the event was the current state of affinity methods for proteome analysis, including complementarity with mass spectrometry, progress in recombinant binder production methods, alternatives to classical antibodies as affinity reagents, analysis of proteome targets, industry focus on biomarkers, and diagnostic and clinical applications. The combination of excellent science with Austrian mountain scenery and winter sports engender an atmosphere that makes this series of workshops exceptional. The articles in this Special Issue represent a cross-section of the presentations at the 2015 meeting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Direct Measurement of Equilibrium Constants for High-Affinity Hemoglobins

    PubMed Central

    Kundu, Suman; Premer, Scott A.; Hoy, Julie A.; Trent, James T.; Hargrove, Mark S.

    2003-01-01

    The biological functions of heme proteins are linked to their rate and affinity constants for ligand binding. Kinetic experiments are commonly used to measure equilibrium constants for traditional hemoglobins comprised of pentacoordinate ligand binding sites and simple bimolecular reaction schemes. However, kinetic methods do not always yield reliable equilibrium constants with more complex hemoglobins for which reaction mechanisms are not clearly understood. Furthermore, even where reaction mechanisms are clearly understood, it is very difficult to directly measure equilibrium constants for oxygen and carbon monoxide binding to high-affinity (KD ≪ 1 μM) hemoglobins. This work presents a method for direct measurement of equilibrium constants for high-affinity hemoglobins that utilizes a competition for ligands between the "target" protein and an array of "scavenger" hemoglobins with known affinities. This method is described for oxygen and carbon monoxide binding to two hexacoordinate hemoglobins: rice nonsymbiotic hemoglobin and Synechocystis hemoglobin. Our results demonstrate that although these proteins have different mechanisms for ligand binding, their affinities for oxygen and carbon monoxide are similar. Their large affinity constants for oxygen, 285 and ∼100 μM−1 respectively, indicate that they are not capable of facilitating oxygen transport. PMID:12770899

  10. Affine.m—Mathematica package for computations in representation theory of finite-dimensional and affine Lie algebras

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nazarov, Anton

    2012-11-01

    In this paper we present Affine.m-a program for computations in representation theory of finite-dimensional and affine Lie algebras and describe implemented algorithms. The algorithms are based on the properties of weights and Weyl symmetry. Computation of weight multiplicities in irreducible and Verma modules, branching of representations and tensor product decomposition are the most important problems for us. These problems have numerous applications in physics and we provide some examples of these applications. The program is implemented in the popular computer algebra system Mathematica and works with finite-dimensional and affine Lie algebras. Catalogue identifier: AENA_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AENB_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 24 844 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1 045 908 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Mathematica. Computer: i386-i686, x86_64. Operating system: Linux, Windows, Mac OS, Solaris. RAM: 5-500 Mb Classification: 4.2, 5. Nature of problem: Representation theory of finite-dimensional Lie algebras has many applications in different branches of physics, including elementary particle physics, molecular physics, nuclear physics. Representations of affine Lie algebras appear in string theories and two-dimensional conformal field theory used for the description of critical phenomena in two-dimensional systems. Also Lie symmetries play a major role in a study of quantum integrable systems. Solution method: We work with weights and roots of finite-dimensional and affine Lie algebras and use Weyl symmetry extensively. Central problems which are the computations of weight multiplicities, branching and fusion coefficients are solved using one general recurrent

  11. Hydride affinity scale of various substituted arylcarbeniums in acetonitrile.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Xiao-Qing; Wang, Chun-Hua

    2010-12-23

    Combined with the integral equation formalism polarized continuum model (IEFPCM), the hydride affinities of 96 various acylcarbenium ions in the gas phase and CH(3)CN were estimated by using the B3LYP/6-31+G(d)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d), B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d), and BLYP/6-311++G(2df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d) methods for the first time. The results show that the combination of the BLYP/6-311++G(2df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d) method and IEFPCM could successfully predict the hydride affinities of arylcarbeniums in MeCN with a precision of about 3 kcal/mol. On the basis of the calculated results from the BLYP method, it can be found that the hydride affinity scale of the 96 arylcarbeniums in MeCN ranges from -130.76 kcal/mol for NO(2)-PhCH(+)-CN to -63.02 kcal/mol for p-(Me)(2)N-PhCH(+)-N(Me)(2), suggesting most of the arylcarbeniums are good hydride acceptors. Examination of the effect of the number of phenyl rings attached to the carbeniums on the hydride affinities shows that the increase of the hydride affinities takes place linearly with increasing number of benzene rings in the arylcarbeniums. Analyzing the effect of the substituents on the hydride affinities of arylcarbeniums indicates that electron-donating groups decrease the hydride affinities and electron-withdrawing groups show the opposite effect. The hydride affinities of arylcarbeniums are linearly dependent on the sum of the Hammett substituent parameters σ(p)(+). Inspection of the correlation of the solution-phase hydride affinities with gas-phase hydride affinities and aqueous-phase pK(R)(+) values reveals a remarkably good correspondence of ΔG(H(-)A)(R(+)) with both the gas-phase relative hydride affinities only if the α substituents X have no large electron-donating or -withdrawing properties and the pK(R)(+) values even though the media are dramatically different. The solution-phase hydride affinities also have a linear relationship with the electrophilicity parameter E, and this dependence can

  12. Liquid Crystals in Chromatography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Witkiewicz, Zygfryd

    The following sections are included: * INTRODUCTION * LIQUID CRYSTALS SUITABLE FOR GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY * Monomeric Liquid Crystal Stationary Phases * Polymeric Liquid Crystal Stationary Phases * Polymeric Liquid Crystal Stationary Phases * Conventional Analytical Columns * Capillary Columns * FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATIONS ON LIQUID CRYSTAL STATIONARY PHASES * Kind of Mesophase of the Liquid Crystal * Molecular Structure of the Liquid Crystals and of the Chromatographed Substances * Substrate on which the Liquid Crystal is Deposited * ANALYTICAL APPLICATIONS OF LIQUID CRYSTAL STATIONARY PHASES IN GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY * Separation of Isomers of Benzene and Naphthalene Derivatives * Separation of Alkane and Alkene Isomers * Separation of Mixtures of Benzene and Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Derivatives Containing Heteroatoms * Separation of Polynuclear Hydrocarbons * INVESTIGATION OF THE PROPERTIES OF LIQUID CRYSTALS BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY * APPLICATION OF LIQUID CRYSTALS IN LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY * Column Chromatography * Thin-Layer Chromatography * APPLICATION OF LIQUID CRYSTAL STATIONARY PHASES IN SUPERCRITICAL FLUID CHROMATOGRAPHY * FINAL REMARKS * References

  13. Affine group formulation of the Standard Model coupled to gravity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chou, Ching-Yi, E-mail: l2897107@mail.ncku.edu.tw; Ita, Eyo, E-mail: ita@usna.edu; Soo, Chopin, E-mail: cpsoo@mail.ncku.edu.tw

    In this work we apply the affine group formalism for four dimensional gravity of Lorentzian signature, which is based on Klauder’s affine algebraic program, to the formulation of the Hamiltonian constraint of the interaction of matter and all forces, including gravity with non-vanishing cosmological constant Λ, as an affine Lie algebra. We use the hermitian action of fermions coupled to gravitation and Yang–Mills theory to find the density weight one fermionic super-Hamiltonian constraint. This term, combined with the Yang–Mills and Higgs energy densities, are composed with York’s integrated time functional. The result, when combined with the imaginary part of themore » Chern–Simons functional Q, forms the affine commutation relation with the volume element V(x). Affine algebraic quantization of gravitation and matter on equal footing implies a fundamental uncertainty relation which is predicated upon a non-vanishing cosmological constant. -- Highlights: •Wheeler–DeWitt equation (WDW) quantized as affine algebra, realizing Klauder’s program. •WDW formulated for interaction of matter and all forces, including gravity, as affine algebra. •WDW features Hermitian generators in spite of fermionic content: Standard Model addressed. •Constructed a family of physical states for the full, coupled theory via affine coherent states. •Fundamental uncertainty relation, predicated on non-vanishing cosmological constant.« less

  14. Characterization of Affinity-Purified Isoforms of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus Y1 Glutathione Transferases

    PubMed Central

    Chee, Chin-Soon; Tan, Irene Kit-Ping; Alias, Zazali

    2014-01-01

    Glutathione transferases (GST) were purified from locally isolated bacteria, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus Y1, by glutathione-affinity chromatography and anion exchange, and their substrate specificities were investigated. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the purified GST resolved into a single band with a molecular weight (MW) of 23 kDa. 2-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis showed the presence of two isoforms, GST1 (pI 4.5) and GST2 (pI 6.2) with identical MW. GST1 was reactive towards ethacrynic acid, hydrogen peroxide, 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, and trans,trans-hepta-2,4-dienal while GST2 was active towards all substrates except hydrogen peroxide. This demonstrated that GST1 possessed peroxidase activity which was absent in GST2. This study also showed that only GST2 was able to conjugate GSH to isoproturon, a herbicide. GST1 and GST2 were suggested to be similar to F0KLY9 (putative glutathione S-transferase) and F0KKB0 (glutathione S-transferase III) of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus strain PHEA-2, respectively. PMID:24892084

  15. Comparison of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography for the separation of synthetic cathinones.

    PubMed

    Carnes, Stephanie; O'Brien, Stacey; Szewczak, Angelica; Tremeau-Cayel, Lauriane; Rowe, Walter F; McCord, Bruce; Lurie, Ira S

    2017-09-01

    A comparison of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography for the separation of synthetic cathinones has been conducted. Nine different mixtures of bath salts were analyzed in this study. The three different chromatographic techniques were examined using a general set of controlled synthetic cathinones as well as a variety of other synthetic cathinones that exist as positional isomers. Overall 35 different synthetic cathinones were analyzed. A variety of column types and chromatographic modes were examined for developing each separation. For the ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography separations, analyses were performed using a series of Torus and Trefoil columns with either ammonium formate or ammonium hydroxide as additives, and methanol, ethanol or isopropanol organic solvents as modifiers. Ultra high performance liquid chromatographic separations were performed in both reversed phase and hydrophilic interaction chromatographic modes using SPP C18 and SPP HILIC columns. Gas chromatography separations were performed using an Elite-5MS capillary column. The orthogonality of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography was examined using principal component analysis. For the best overall separation of synthetic cathinones, the use of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography in combination with gas chromatography is recommended. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Separation techniques: Chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Coskun, Ozlem

    2016-01-01

    Chromatography is an important biophysical technique that enables the separation, identification, and purification of the components of a mixture for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Proteins can be purified based on characteristics such as size and shape, total charge, hydrophobic groups present on the surface, and binding capacity with the stationary phase. Four separation techniques based on molecular characteristics and interaction type use mechanisms of ion exchange, surface adsorption, partition, and size exclusion. Other chromatography techniques are based on the stationary bed, including column, thin layer, and paper chromatography. Column chromatography is one of the most common methods of protein purification. PMID:28058406

  17. Probes for narcotic receptor mediated phenomena. 43. Synthesis of the ortho-a and para-a, and improved synthesis and optical resolution of the ortho-b and para–b oxide-bridged phenylmorphans: Compounds with moderate to low opioid-receptor affinity

    PubMed Central

    Li, Feng; Folk, John E.; Cheng, Kejun; Kurimura, Muneaki; Deck, Jason A.; Deschamps, Jeffrey R.; Rothman, Richard B.; Dersch, Christina M.; Jacobson, Arthur E.; Rice, Kenner C.

    2011-01-01

    N-Phenethyl-substituted ortho-a and para-a oxide-bridged phenylmorphans have been obtained through an improved synthesis and their binding affinity examined at the various opioid receptors. Although the N-phenethyl substituent showed much greater affinity for μ- and κ-opioid receptors than their N-methyl relatives (e.g., Ki = 167 nM and 171 nM at μ- and κ-receptors vs >2800 and 7500 nM for the N-methyl ortho-a oxide-bridged phenylmorphan), the a-isomers were not examined further because of their relatively low affinity. The N-phenethyl substituted ortho-b and para-b oxide-bridged phenylmorphans were also synthesized and their enantiomers were obtained using supercritical fluid chromatography. Of the four enantiomers, only the (+)-ortho-b isomer had moderate affinity for μ- and κ-receptors (Ki = 49 and 42 nM, respectively, and it was found to also have moderate μ- and κ-opioid antagonist activity in the [35S]GTP-γ-S assay (Ke = 31 and 26 nM). PMID:21684752

  18. Calculation of protein-ligand binding affinities.

    PubMed

    Gilson, Michael K; Zhou, Huan-Xiang

    2007-01-01

    Accurate methods of computing the affinity of a small molecule with a protein are needed to speed the discovery of new medications and biological probes. This paper reviews physics-based models of binding, beginning with a summary of the changes in potential energy, solvation energy, and configurational entropy that influence affinity, and a theoretical overview to frame the discussion of specific computational approaches. Important advances are reported in modeling protein-ligand energetics, such as the incorporation of electronic polarization and the use of quantum mechanical methods. Recent calculations suggest that changes in configurational entropy strongly oppose binding and must be included if accurate affinities are to be obtained. The linear interaction energy (LIE) and molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) methods are analyzed, as are free energy pathway methods, which show promise and may be ready for more extensive testing. Ultimately, major improvements in modeling accuracy will likely require advances on multiple fronts, as well as continued validation against experiment.

  19. Gas Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karasek, Francis W.; And Others

    1984-01-01

    This review covers fundamental developments in gas chromatography during 1982 and 1983. Literature is considered under these headings: columns; liguid phases; solid supports; sorption processes and solvents; open tubular column gas chromatography; instrumentation; high-resolution columns and applications; other techniques; qualitative and…

  20. [Role of hemoglobin affinity to oxygen in adaptation to hypoxemia].

    PubMed

    Kwasiborski, Przemysław Jerzy; Kowalczyk, Paweł; Zieliński, Jakub; Przybylski, Jacek; Cwetsch, Andrzej

    2010-04-01

    One of the basic mechanisms of adapting to hypoxemia is a decrease in the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen. This process occurs mainly due to the increased synthesis of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) in the erythrocytes, as well as through the Bohr effect. Hemoglobin with decreased affinity for oxygen increases the oxygenation of tissues, because it gives up oxygen more easily during microcirculation. In foetal circulation, however, at a partial oxygen pressure (pO2) of 25 mmHg in the umbilical vein, the oxygen carrier is type F hemoglobin which has a high oxygen affinity. The commonly accepted role for hemoglobin F is limited to facilitating diffusion through the placenta. Is fetal life the only moment when haemoglobin F is useful? THE AIM OF STUDY was to create a mathematical model, which would answer the question at what conditions an increase, rather than a decrease, in haemoglobin oxygen affinity is of benefit to the body. Using the kinetics of dissociation of oxygen from hemoglobin described by the Hill equation as the basis for further discussion, we created a mathematical model describing the pO2 value in the microcirculatory system and its dependence on arterial blood pO2. The calculations were performed for hemoglobin with low oxygen affinity (adult type) and high-affinity hemoglobin (fetal type). The modelling took into account both physiological and pathological ranges of acid-base equilibrium and tissue oxygen extraction parameters. It was shown that for the physiological range of acid-base equilibrium and the resting level of tissue oxygen extraction parameters, with an arterial blood pO2 of 26.8 mmHg, the higher-affinity hemoglobin becomes the more effective oxygen carrier. It was also demonstrated that the arterial blood pO2, below which the high-affinity hemoglobin becomes the more effective carrier, is dependent on blood pH and the difference between the arterial and venous oxygen saturation levels. Simulations performed for the pathological

  1. Facile isolation of α-ribazole from vitamin B12 hydrolysates using boronate affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Mattes, Theodoric A; Escalante-Semerena, Jorge C

    2018-05-16

    Alpha-ribazole (α-R) is a unique riboside found in the nucleotide loop of coenzyme B 12 (CoB 12 ). α-R is not an intermediate of the de novo biosynthetic pathway of coenzyme B 12 , but some bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes have evolved a two-protein system (transporter, kinase) that scavenges α-R from the environment and converts it to the pathway intermediate α-RP. Since α-R is not commercially available, one must either synthesize α-R, or isolate it from hydrolysates of vitamin B 12 (cyano-B 12 , CNB 12 ), so the function of the above-mentioned proteins can be studied. Here we report a facile protocol for the isolation of α-R from CNB 12 hydrolysates. CNB 12 dissolved in NaOH (5 M) was heated to 85 °C for 75 min, then cooled to 4 °C for 30 min. The solution was neutralized with HCl (5 M), and the hydrolysate was diluted with an equal volume of ammonium acetate (0.3 M, pH 8.8). Alkaline phosphatase was added and the mixture was incubated at 37 °C for 16 h. After incubation, the sample was loaded onto a boronate affinity resin column, washed with ammonium sulfate (0.3 M, pH 8.8), water (to remove residual corrinoids) and finally with formic acid (0.1 M) to release (α-R). Formic acid was removed by lyophilization, and the final yield of α-R was 85% from the theoretically recoverable amount. Methods for quantifying the concentration of α-R are reported. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Single-step affinity purification of enzyme biotherapeutics: a platform methodology for accelerated process development.

    PubMed

    Brower, Kevin P; Ryakala, Venkat K; Bird, Ryan; Godawat, Rahul; Riske, Frank J; Konstantinov, Konstantin; Warikoo, Veena; Gamble, Jean

    2014-01-01

    Downstream sample purification for quality attribute analysis is a significant bottleneck in process development for non-antibody biologics. Multi-step chromatography process train purifications are typically required prior to many critical analytical tests. This prerequisite leads to limited throughput, long lead times to obtain purified product, and significant resource requirements. In this work, immunoaffinity purification technology has been leveraged to achieve single-step affinity purification of two different enzyme biotherapeutics (Fabrazyme® [agalsidase beta] and Enzyme 2) with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, respectively, as ligands. Target molecules were rapidly isolated from cell culture harvest in sufficient purity to enable analysis of critical quality attributes (CQAs). Most importantly, this is the first study that demonstrates the application of predictive analytics techniques to predict critical quality attributes of a commercial biologic. The data obtained using the affinity columns were used to generate appropriate models to predict quality attributes that would be obtained after traditional multi-step purification trains. These models empower process development decision-making with drug substance-equivalent product quality information without generation of actual drug substance. Optimization was performed to ensure maximum target recovery and minimal target protein degradation. The methodologies developed for Fabrazyme were successfully reapplied for Enzyme 2, indicating platform opportunities. The impact of the technology is significant, including reductions in time and personnel requirements, rapid product purification, and substantially increased throughput. Applications are discussed, including upstream and downstream process development support to achieve the principles of Quality by Design (QbD) as well as integration with bioprocesses as a process analytical technology (PAT). © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  3. Employing immuno-affinity for the analysis of various microbial metabolites of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Yan; Hassan, Yousef I; Shao, Suqin; Zhou, Ting

    2018-06-29

    Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a type B trichothecene mycotoxin that is commonly detected in grains infested with Fusarium species. The maximum tolerated levels of DON in the majority of world's countries are restricted to 0.75 mg kg -1 within the human food chain and to less than 1-5 mg kg -1 in animal feed depending on the feed material and/or animal species due to DON's short and long-term adverse effects on human health and animal productivity. The ability to accurately analyze DON and some of its fungal/bacterial metabolites is increasingly gaining a paramount importance in food/feed analysis and research. In this study, we used the immuno-affinity approach to enrich and detect DON and three of its bacterial metabolites, namely 3-epi-DON, 3-keto-DON, and deepoxy-DON (DOM-1). The optimized enrichment step coupled with high performance liquid chromatography can accurately and reproducibly quantify the aforementioned metabolites in feed matrixes (silage extract as an example in this case). It minimizes any background interface and provides a fast and easy-to-operate protocol for the analytical determination of such metabolites. More importantly, the presented data demonstrates the ability of the utilized monoclonal antibody, generated originally to capture DON in Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA), to cross react with three less/non-toxic DON metabolites. This raises the concerns about the genuine need to account for such cross-reactivity when DON contamination is assessed through an immuno-affinity based analyses using the investigated antibody. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Screening for Natural Inhibitors of Topoisomerases I from Rhamnus davurica by Affinity Ultrafiltration and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Guilin; Guo, Mingquan

    2017-01-01

    Topoisomerase I (Topo I) catalyzes topological interconversion of duplex DNA during DNA replication and transcription, and has been deemed as important antineoplastic targets. In this study, the fraction R.d-60 from ethyl acetate extracts of Rhamnus davurica showed higher inhibitory rates against SGC-7901 and HT-29 compared with the R.d-30 fraction in vitro. However, the specific active components of R.d-60 fraction remain elusive. To this end, a method based on bio-affinity ultrafiltration and high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry (HPLC- ESI-MS/MS) was developed to rapidly screen and identify the Topo I inhibitors in this fraction. The enrichment factors (EFs) were calculated to evaluate the binding affinities between the bioactive constituents and Topo I. As a result, eight ligands were identified and six of which with higher EFs showed more potential antitumor activity. Furthermore, antiproliferative assays in vitro (IC50 values) with two representative candidates (apigenin, quercetin) against SGC-7901, HT-29 and Hep G2 cells were conducted and further validated. Finally, the structure-activity relationships revealed that flavones contain a C2-C3 double bond of C ring exhibited higher bio-affinities to Topo I than those without it. This integrated method combining Topo I ultrafiltration with HPLC-MS/MS proved to be very efficient in rapid screening and identification of potential Topo I inhibitors from the complex extracts of medicinal plants, and could be further explored as a valuable high-throughput screening platform in the early drug discovery stage. PMID:28919906

  5. Perfusion chromatography separation of the tomato fruit-specific pectin methylesterase from a semipurified commercial enzyme preparation.

    PubMed

    Savary, B J

    2001-08-01

    A rapid and simple method was developed, using perfusion chromatography media, to separate the fruit-specific pectin methylesterase (PME) isoform from the depolymerizing enzyme polygalacturonase (PG) and other contaminating pectinases present in a commercial tomato enzyme preparation. Pectinase activities were adsorbed onto a Poros HS (a strong cation exchanger) column in 20 M HEPES buffer at pH 7.5. The fruit-specific PME was eluted from the column with 80 mM NaCl, followed by a step to 300 mM NaCl to elute PG activity. Rechromatography of the PME activity peak with a linear gradient further resolved two PME isoenzymes and removed residual traces of PG activity. The PG activity peak was further treated with lectin affinity chromatography to provide purified PG enzyme, which was separated from a salt-dependent PME (tentatively identified as a "ubiquitous-type" isoform), and a pectin acetylesterase. The later enzyme has not been reported previously in tomato. This method provides monocomponent enzymes that will be useful for studying enzyme mechanisms and for modifying pectin structure and functional properties.

  6. Multi-Affinity for Growing Rough Interfaces of Bacterial Colonies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kobayashi, N.; Ozawa, T.; Saito, K.; Yamazaki, Y.; Matsuyama, T.; Matsushita, M.

    We have examined whether rough interfaces of bacterial colonies are multi-affine. We have used the bacterial species called textit{Bacillus subtilis}, which has been found to exhibit a variety of colony patterns when varying both the concentration of nutrient and solidity of agar medium. Consequently, we have found that the colony interface on a nutrient-rich, solid agar medium is multi-affine. On the other hand, the colony interface on a nutrient-rich, semi-solid agar medium is self-affine.

  7. Characterization of self-affinity in the global regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neimark, Alexander V.

    1994-11-01

    Methods for characterization of self-affine surfaces and measurements of their roughness exponents H are developed. It is shown that for smoothed surfaces, which underwent particular coarse graining or averaging of the small-scale fluctuations, the excess surface area Sex and the mean square root radius of curvature ac are related by two distinct asymptotic power laws if ac is well below or well above a certain crossover scale acr. In the local regime of self-affinity, when ac<affinity, when ac>>acr, Sex~(ac/acr)-2(1-H)/(2-H). The former scaling relationship is consistent with the well known definition of local fractal dimensions dloc=dtop+1-H. The latter scaling relationship offers alternatives for characterization of self-affinity over large scales by means of excess dimensions defined as dex=dtop+2(1-H)/(2-H) and can be used for determination of roughness exponents from the measurements provided in the global regime. The thermodynamic method of fractal analysis, proposed earlier for self-similar surfaces (A.V. Neimark, Pis'ma Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 51, 535 (1990) [JETP Lett. 51, 607 (1990)]; Physica A 191, 258 (1992)), is extended for self-affine surfaces for determination of fractal dimensions and roughness exponents from adsorption and capillary experimental data.

  8. Hydride affinities of cumulated, isolated, and conjugated dienes in acetonitrile.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Xiao-Qing; Liang, Hao; Zhu, Yan; Cheng, Jin-Pei

    2008-11-07

    The hydride affinities (defined as the enthalpy changes in this work) of 15 polarized dienes [five phenyl sulfone substituted allenes (1a), the corresponding five isolated dienes (1b), and the corresponding five conjugated dienes (1c)] in acetonitrile solution were determined by titration calorimetry for the first time. The results display that the hydride affinity scales of the 15 dienes in acetonitrile range from -71.6 to -73.9 kcal/mol for 1a, from -46.2 to -49.7 kcal/mol for 1b, and from -45.0 to -46.5 kcal/mol for 1c, which indicates that the hydride-obtaining abilities of the cumulated dienes (1a) are not only much larger than those of the corresponding conjugated dienes (1c) but also much larger than those of the corresponding isolated dienes (1b). The hydrogen affinities of the 15 dienes as well as the hydrogen affinities and the proton affinities of the radical anions of the dienes (1(-*)) in acetonitrile were also evaluated by using relative thermodynamic cycles according to Hess's law. The results show that (i) the hydrogen affinities of the neutral dienes 1 cover a range from -44.5 to -45.6 kcal/mol for 1a, from -20.4 to -21.4 kcal/mol for 1b, and from -17.3 to -18.5 kcal/mol for 1c; (ii) the hydrogen affinities of the radical anions of the dienes (1(-*)) in acetonitrile cover a range from -40.6 to -47.2 kcal/mol for 1a(-*), from -21.6 to -29.6 kcal/mol for 1b(-*), and from -10.0 to -15.4 kcal/mol for 1c(-*); (iii) the proton affinities of the 15 1a(-*) in acetonitrile cover a range from -97.0 to -100.6 kcal/mol for 1a(-*), from -77.8 to -83.4 kcal/mol for 1b(-*), and from -66.2 to -68.9 kcal/mol for 1c(-*). The main reasons for the great difference between the cumulated dienes and the corresponding isolated and conjugated dienes in the hydride affinity, hydrogen affinity, and proton affinity have been examined. It is evident that these experimental results should be quite valuable to facilitate the elucidation of the origins of the especially high

  9. The Independent Medicare Advisory Committee: death panel or smart governing?

    PubMed

    Coleman, Robert

    2011-01-01

    This comment explores whether health care reform legislation establishes an administrative body effectively charged with the rationing of health care resources; insofar as it establishes a presidentially appointed Independent Medicare Advisory Committee (IMAC). IMAC would be charged with "making two annual reports dictating updated rates for Medicare providers including physicians, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health, and durable medical equipment." IMAC's recommendations would be implemented nationally, subject to a Congressional vote. Congress would be granted a thirty-day window to achieve a simple majority for or against the IMAC recommendations. Part I is an introduction. Part II of this article covers the history of American health care. It lays out the federal government's evolving role in the arena of public health and health care, starting in the mid-nineteenth century and continues up to the present day. Part III examines the existing process by which Medicare spending is controlled. This part focuses on the administrative procedures that control Medicare reimbursements. Part IV examines IMAC. This part discusses IMAC's statutory provisions and the administrative transparency laws IMAC would be bound to follow. The close of this part, draws on three analogies as a gauge for how IMAC will operate: Senator Tom Daschle's Federal Health Board (FHB) proposal; the administrative oversight of the Federal Reserve; and the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Part V creates a snapshot of the U.S. health care system as it operates today. This part emphasizes cost, quality, and accessibility of health care, with comparisons to international and state-run health care systems. Throughout this article there are a number of words, phrases, and agencies that have been given acronyms. For convenience, an index of these acronyms is provided in an appendix following the article.

  10. Higher Nucleoporin-Importinβ Affinity at the Nuclear Basket Increases Nucleocytoplasmic Import

    PubMed Central

    Azimi, Mohammad; Mofrad, Mohammad R. K.

    2013-01-01

    Several in vitro studies have shown the presence of an affinity gradient in nuclear pore complex proteins for the import receptor Importinβ, at least partially contributing to nucleocytoplasmic transport, while others have historically argued against the presence of such a gradient. Nonetheless, the existence of an affinity gradient has remained an uncharacterized contributing factor. To shed light on the affinity gradient theory and better characterize how the existence of such an affinity gradient between the nuclear pore and the import receptor may influence the nucleocytoplasmic traffic, we have developed a general-purpose agent based modeling (ABM) framework that features a new method for relating rate constants to molecular binding and unbinding probabilities, and used our ABM approach to quantify the effects of a wide range of forward and reverse nucleoporin-Importinβ affinity gradients. Our results indicate that transport through the nuclear pore complex is maximized with an effective macroscopic affinity gradient of 2000 µM, 200 µM and 10 µM in the cytoplasmic, central channel and nuclear basket respectively. The transport rate at this gradient is approximately 10% higher than the transport rate for a comparable pore lacking any affinity gradient, which has a peak transport rate when all nucleoporins have an affinity of 200 µM for Importinβ. Furthermore, this optimal ratio of affinity gradients is representative of the ratio of affinities reported for the yeast nuclear pore complex – suggesting that the affinity gradient seen in vitro is highly optimized. PMID:24282617

  11. Production of recombinant human beta2-microglobulin for scintigraphic diagnosis of amyloidosis in uremia and hemodialysis.

    PubMed

    Linke, R P; Schäeffer, J; Gielow, P; Lindner, P; Lottspeich, F; Plückthun, A; Weiss, E H

    2000-02-01

    Amyloid of beta2-microglobulin (beta2m) origin can be diagnosed using 131I-radiolabelled-beta2m scintigraphy in patients with uremia and hemodialysis treatment. As the tracer beta2m is isolated from another patient, it carries the common risks, including viral infections such as Hepatitis B, C and HIV, which are associated with human plasma products. In order to exclude these risks we have produced recombinant human beta2m (rhbeta2m) in Escherichia coli. The expression vector pASK40DeltaLbeta2m(His)5 contains a C-terminal (His)5-tag for purification via immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC). Size exclusion chromatography on a Superose 12 column represents the second step of purification. The isolated rhbeta2mH5 reacted in an immunochemically identical manner to native human beta2m, and showed a single band of approximately 11.8 kDa in Western blot analysis and revealed a single spot in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed a single peak at the expected molecular mass of 12 415.8 Da. Uniformity was further proven by crystallization and N-terminal amino-acid sequence analysis. The rhbeta2mH5 protein was then produced under conditions that allow the intravenous use in humans. Intraveneously applied indium-111-labelled rhbeta2mH5 was monitored in hemodialysed patients with and without known beta2m-amyloidosis. The tracer was localized specifically to particular areas known to contain amyloid. Thus, this rhbeta2mH5 preparation is suitable for detecting amyloid-containing organs of the beta2m-class in vivo and fulfils the requirements of a tracer for common use. Finally, the use of indium-111 instead of iodine-131 has reduced the radioactive load and resulted in higher resolution.

  12. High-yield soluble expression, purification and characterization of human steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) fused to a cleavable Maltose-Binding Protein (MBP).

    PubMed

    Sluchanko, Nikolai N; Tugaeva, Kristina V; Faletrov, Yaroslav V; Levitsky, Dmitrii I

    2016-03-01

    Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) is responsible for the rapid delivery of cholesterol to mitochondria where the lipid serves as a source for steroid hormones biosynthesis in adrenals and gonads. Despite many successful investigations, current understanding of the mechanism of StAR action is far from being completely clear. StAR was mostly obtained using denaturation/renaturation or in minor quantities in a soluble form at decreased temperatures that, presumably, limited the possibilities for its consequent detailed exploration. In our hands, existing StAR expression constructs could be bacterially expressed almost exclusively as insoluble forms, even upon decreased expression temperatures and in specific strains of Escherichia coli, and isolated protein tended to aggregate and was difficult to handle. To maximize the yield of soluble protein, optimized StAR sequence encompassing functional domain STARD1 (residues 66-285) was fused to the C-terminus of His-tagged Maltose-Binding Protein (MBP) with the possibility to cleave off the whole tag by 3C protease. The developed protocol of expression and purification comprising of a combination of subtractive immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and size-exclusion chromatography allowed us to obtain up to 25 mg/1 L culture of completely soluble StAR protein, which was (i) homogenous according to SDS-PAGE, (ii) gave a single symmetrical peak on a gel-filtration, (iii) showed the characteristic CD spectrum and (iv) pH-dependent ability to bind a fluorescently-labeled cholesterol analogue. We conclude that our strategy provides fully soluble and native StAR protein which in future could be efficiently used for biotechnology and drug discovery aimed at modulation of steroids production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Methyl cation affinities of neutral and anionic maingroup-element hydrides: trends across the periodic table and correlation with proton affinities.

    PubMed

    Mulder, R Joshua; Guerra, Célia Fonseca; Bickelhaupt, F Matthias

    2010-07-22

    We have computed the methyl cation affinities in the gas phase of archetypal anionic and neutral bases across the periodic table using ZORA-relativistic density functional theory (DFT) at BP86/QZ4P//BP86/TZ2P. The main purpose of this work is to provide the methyl cation affinities (and corresponding entropies) at 298 K of all anionic (XH(n-1)(-)) and neutral bases (XH(n)) constituted by maingroup-element hydrides of groups 14-17 and the noble gases (i.e., group 18) along the periods 2-6. The cation affinity of the bases decreases from H(+) to CH(3)(+). To understand this trend, we have carried out quantitative bond energy decomposition analyses (EDA). Quantitative correlations are established between the MCA and PA values.

  14. Familial secondary erythrocytosis due to increased oxygen affinity is caused by destabilization of the T state of hemoglobin Brigham (α2β2Pro100Leu)

    PubMed Central

    Mollan, Todd L; Abraham, Bindu; Strader, Michael Brad; Jia, Yiping; Lozier, Jay N; Olson, John S; Alayash, Abdu I

    2012-01-01

    Hemoglobin Brigham (β Pro100 to Leu) was first reported in a patient with familial erythrocytosis. Erythrocytes of an affected individual from the same family contain both HbA and Hb Brigham and exhibit elevated O2 affinity compared with normal cells (P50 = 23 mm Hg vs. 31 mmHg at pH 7.4 at 37°C). O2 affinities measured for hemolysates were sensitive to changes in pH or chloride concentrations, indicating little change in the Bohr and Chloride effects. Hb Brigham was separated from normal HbA by nondenaturing cation exchange liquid chromatography, and the amino acid substitution was verified by mass spectrometry. The properties of Hb Brigham isolated from the patient's blood were then compared with those of recombinant Hb Brigham expressed in Escherichia coli. Kinetic experiments suggest that the rate constants for ligand binding and release in the high (R) and low (T) affinity quaternary states of Hb Brigham are similar to those of native hemoglobin. However, the Brigham mutation decreases the T to R equilibrium constant (L) which accelerates the switch to the R state during ligand binding to deoxy-Hb, increasing the rate of association by approximately twofold, and decelerates the switch during ligand dissociation from HbO2, decreasing the rate approximately twofold. These kinetic data help explain the high O2 affinity characteristics of Hb Brigham and provide further evidence for the importance of the contribution of Pro100 to intersubunit contacts and stabilization of the T quaternary structure. PMID:22821886

  15. Novel cross-linked alcohol-insoluble solid (CL-AIS) affinity gel from pea pod for pectinesterase purification.

    PubMed

    Wu, Ming-Chang; Lin, Guan-Hui; Wang, Yuh-Tai; Jiang, Chii-Ming; Chang, Hung-Min

    2005-10-05

    Alcohol-insoluble solids (AIS) from pea pod were cross-linked (CL-AIS) and used as an affinity gel matrix to isolate pectin esterases (PEs) from tendril shoots of chayote (TSC) and jelly fig achenes (JFA), and the results were compared with those isolated by ion-exchange chromatography with a commercial resin. CL-AIS gel matrix in a column displayed poor absorption and purification fold of PE; however, highly methoxylated CL-AIS (HM-CL-AIS), by exposing CL-AIS to methanolic sulfuric acid to increase the degree of esterification (DE) to 92%, facilitated the enzyme purification. The purified TSC PE and JFA PE by the HM-CL-AIS column were proofed as a single band on an SDS-PAGE gel, showing that the HM-CL-AIS column was a good matrix for purification of PE, either with alkaline isoelectric point (pI) (TSC PE) or with acidic pI (JFA PE).

  16. Asymptotic Representations of Quantum Affine Superalgebras

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Huafeng

    2017-08-01

    We study representations of the quantum affine superalgebra associated with a general linear Lie superalgebra. In the spirit of Hernandez-Jimbo, we construct inductive systems of Kirillov-Reshetikhin modules based on a cyclicity result that we established previously on tensor products of these modules, and realize their inductive limits as modules over its Borel subalgebra, the so-called q-Yangian. A new generic asymptotic limit of the same inductive systems is proposed, resulting in modules over the full quantum affine superalgebra. We derive generalized Baxter's relations in the sense of Frenkel-Hernandez for representations of the full quantum group.

  17. Evaluation of microbeads of calcium alginate as a fluidized bed medium for affinity chromatography of Aspergillus niger Pectinase.

    PubMed

    Roy, Ipsita; Jain, Sulakshana; Teotia, Sunita; Gupta, Munishwar Nath

    2004-01-01

    Calcium alginate microbeads (212-425 microm) were prepared by spraying 2% (w/v) alginate solution into 1 M CaCl2 solution. The fluidization behavior of these beads was studied, and the bed expansion index and terminal velocity were found to be 4.3 and 1808 cm h(-1), respectively. Residence time distribution curves showed that the dispersion of the protein was much less with these microbeads than with conventionally prepared calcium alginate macrobeads when both kinds of beads were used for chromatography in a fluidized bed format. The fluidized bed of these beads was used for the purification of pectinase from a commercial preparation. The media performed well even with diluted feedstock; 90% activity recovery with 211-fold purification was observed.

  18. Use and optimization of a dual-flowrate loading strategy to maximize throughput in protein-a affinity chromatography.

    PubMed

    Ghose, Sanchayita; Nagrath, Deepak; Hubbard, Brian; Brooks, Clayton; Cramer, Steven M

    2004-01-01

    The effect of an alternate strategy employing two different flowrates during loading was explored as a means of increasing system productivity in Protein-A chromatography. The effect of such a loading strategy was evaluated using a chromatographic model that was able to accurately predict experimental breakthrough curves for this Protein-A system. A gradient-based optimization routine is carried out to establish the optimal loading conditions (initial and final flowrates and switching time). The two-step loading strategy (using a higher flowrate during the initial stages followed by a lower flowrate) was evaluated for an Fc-fusion protein and was found to result in significant improvements in process throughput. In an extension of this optimization routine, dynamic loading capacity and productivity were simultaneously optimized using a weighted objective function, and this result was compared to that obtained with the single flowrate. Again, the dual-flowrate strategy was found to be superior.

  19. Relationships between chemical structure and affinity for acetylcholine receptors

    PubMed Central

    Abramson, F. B.; Barlow, R. B.; Mustafa, M. G.; Stephenson, R. P.

    1969-01-01

    1. Series of analogues of acetylcholine have been prepared in which the acetyl group was replaced by phenylacetyl, cyclohexylacetyl, diphenylacetyl, dicyclohexylacetyl, (±)-phenylcyclohexylacetyl, benziloyl and (±)-phenylcyclohexylhydroxyacetyl groups and the trimethylammonium group was replaced by Me2EtN+, MeEt2N+, Et3N+, [Formula: see text] Further series were prepared in which the acetoxyethyl group was replaced by ethoxyethyl, phenylethoxyethyl, cyclohexylethoxyethyl, diphenylethoxyethyl, and dicyclohexylethoxyethyl groups, and by n-pentyl, 5-phenylpentyl, 5-cyclohexylpentyl and 5:5-diphenylpentyl groups. 2. The ethoxyethyl and n-pentyl series contain some compounds which are agonists or partial agonists when tested on the isolated guinea-pig ileum, but all the other compounds are antagonists. 3. The affinity of the compounds for the postganglionic (“muscarinesensitive”) acetylcholine receptors has been measured in conditions in which the antagonists have been shown to be acting competitively. There were considerable differences between their affinities, the most active (log K, 9·8) having one million times the affinity of the least active (log K, 3·7). 4. The changes in affinity as the onium group was modified were not entirely independent of changes in the rest of the molecule. Increasing the size of the onium group, as judged from conductivity measurements on simpler onium salts, increased affinity in the series containing one large group (phenyl or cyclohexyl) but, in the series with two large groups, affinity declined when the size was increased beyond -+NMeEt2. 5. In general, the effects of changes in the rest of the molecule on affinity were bigger than the effects of changes in the onium group and there were bigger interactions. Affinity was increased to a greater extent by introducing one phenyl and one cyclohexyl group together than by introducing either two phenyl or two cyclohexyl groups; the increment was greater than the separate

  20. Deer mouse hemoglobin exhibits a lowered oxygen affinity owing to mobility of the E helix.

    PubMed

    Inoguchi, Noriko; Oshlo, Jake R; Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Weber, Roy E; Fago, Angela; Storz, Jay F; Moriyama, Hideaki

    2013-04-01

    The deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, exhibits altitude-associated variation in hemoglobin oxygen affinity. To examine the structural basis of this functional variation, the structure of the hemoglobin was solved. Recombinant hemoglobin was expressed in Escherichia coli and was purified by ion-exchange chromatography. Recombinant hemoglobin was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion method using polyethylene glycol as a precipitant. The obtained orthorhombic crystal contained two subunits in the asymmetric unit. The refined structure was interpreted as the aquo-met form. Structural comparisons were performed among hemoglobins from deer mouse, house mouse and human. In contrast to human hemoglobin, deer mouse hemoglobin lacks the hydrogen bond between α1Trp14 in the A helix and α1Thr67 in the E helix owing to the Thr67Ala substitution. In addition, deer mouse hemoglobin has a unique hydrogen bond at the α1β1 interface between residues α1Cys34 and β1Ser128.

  1. Deer mouse hemoglobin exhibits a lowered oxygen affinity owing to mobility of the E helix

    PubMed Central

    Inoguchi, Noriko; Oshlo, Jake R.; Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Weber, Roy E.; Fago, Angela; Storz, Jay F.; Moriyama, Hideaki

    2013-01-01

    The deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, exhibits altitude-associated variation in hemoglobin oxygen affinity. To examine the structural basis of this functional variation, the structure of the hemoglobin was solved. Recombinant hemoglobin was expressed in Escherichia coli and was purified by ion-exchange chromatography. Recombinant hemoglobin was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion method using polyethylene glycol as a precipitant. The obtained orthorhombic crystal contained two subunits in the asymmetric unit. The refined structure was interpreted as the aquo-met form. Structural comparisons were performed among hemoglobins from deer mouse, house mouse and human. In contrast to human hemoglobin, deer mouse hemoglobin lacks the hydrogen bond between α1Trp14 in the A helix and α1Thr67 in the E helix owing to the Thr67Ala substitution. In addition, deer mouse hemoglobin has a unique hydrogen bond at the α1β1 interface between residues α1Cys34 and β1Ser128. PMID:23545644

  2. Fluorogen-Activating-Proteins as Universal Affinity Biosensors for Immunodetection

    PubMed Central

    Gallo, Eugenio; Vasilev, Kalin V.; Jarvik, Jonathan

    2014-01-01

    Fluorogen-activating-proteins (FAPs) are a novel platform of fluorescence biosensors utilized for protein discovery. The technology currently demands molecular manipulation methods that limit its application and adaptability. Here, we highlight an alternative approach based on universal affinity reagents for protein detection. The affinity reagents were engineered as bi-partite fusion proteins, where the specificity moiety is derived from IgG-binding proteins –Protein-A or Protein-G – and the signaling element is a FAP. In this manner, primary antibodies provide the antigenic selectivity against a desired protein in biological samples, while FAP affinity reagents target the constant region (Fc) of antibodies and provide the biosensor component of detection. Fluorescence results using various techniques indicate minimal background and high target specificity for exogenous and endogenous proteins in mammalian cells. Additionally, FAP-based affinity reagents provide enhanced properties of detection previously absent using conventional affinity systems. Distinct features explored in this report include: (1) unfixed signal wavelengths (excitation and emission) determined by the particular fluorogen chosen, (2) real-time user controlled fluorescence on-set and off-set, (3) signal wavelength substitution while performing live analysis, and (4) enhanced resistance to photobleaching. PMID:24122476

  3. Red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and oxygen affinity.

    PubMed

    MacDonald, R

    1977-06-01

    The ease with which haemoglobin releases oxygen to the tissues is controlled by erythrocytic 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) such that an increase in the concentration of 2,3-DPG decreases oxygen affinity and vice versa. This review article describes the synthesis and breakdown of 2,3-DPG in the Embden-Meyerof pathway in red cells and briefly explains the molecular basis for its effect on oxygen affinity. Interaction of the effects of pH, Pco2, temperature and 2,3-DPG on the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve are discussed. The role of 2,3-DPG in the intraerythrocytic adaptation to various types of hypoxaemia is described. The increased oxygen affinity of blood stored in acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) solution has been shown to be due to the decrease in the concentration of 2,3-DPG which occurs during storage. Methods of maintaining the concentration of 2,3-DPG in stored blood are described. The clinical implication of transfusion of elderly people, anaemic or pregnant patients with ACD stored blood to anaesthetically and surgically acceptable haemoglobin concentrations are discussed. Hypophosphataemia in association with parenteral feeding reduces 2,3-DPG concentration and so increases oxygen affinity. Since post-operative use of intravenous fluids such as dextrose or dextrose/saline also lead to hypophosphataemia, the addition of inorganic phosphorus to routine post-operative intravenous fluid may be advisable. Disorders of acid-base balance effect oxygen affinity not only by the direct effect of pH on the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve but by its control of 2,3-DPG metabolism. Management of acid-base disorders and pre-operative aklalinization of patients with sickle cell disease whould take account of this. It is known that anaesthesia alters the position of the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve, but it is thought that this is independent of any effects which anaesthetic agents may have on 2,3-DPG concentration. In vitro manipulation of 2,3-DPG concentration

  4. Metal-organic frameworks in chromatography.

    PubMed

    Yusuf, Kareem; Aqel, Ahmad; ALOthman, Zeid

    2014-06-27

    Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) emerged approximately two decades ago and are the youngest class of porous materials. Despite their short existence, MOFs are finding applications in a variety of fields because of their outstanding chemical and physical properties. This review article focuses on the applications of MOFs in chromatography, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), and other chromatographic techniques. The use of MOFs in chromatography has already had a significant impact; however, the utilisation of MOFs in chromatography is still less common than other applications, and the number of MOF materials explored in chromatography applications is limited. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Affinity Electrophoresis Using Ligands Attached To Polymers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Van Alstine, James M.; Snyder, Robert S.; Harris, J. M.; Brooks, D. E.

    1990-01-01

    In new technique, reduction of electrophoretic mobilities by addition of polyethylene glycol to ligands increases electrophoretic separabilities. In immuno-affinity electrophoresis, modification of ligands extends specificity of electrophoretic separation to particles having surface electric-charge structures otherwise making them electrophoretically inseparable. Modification of antibodies by polyethylene glycol greatly reduces ability to aggregate while enhancing ability to affect electrophoretic mobilities of cells. In hydrophobic-affinity electrophoresis, addition of polyethylene glycol reduces tendency toward aggregation of cells or macromolecules.

  6. Exploring Girls' Science Affinities Through an Informal Science Education Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Todd, Brandy; Zvoch, Keith

    2017-10-01

    This study examines science interests, efficacy, attitudes, and identity—referred to as affinities, in the context of an informal science outreach program for girls. A mixed methods design was used to explore girls' science affinities before, during, and after participation in a cohort-based summer science camp. Multivariate analysis of survey data revealed that girls' science affinities varied as a function of the joint relationship between family background and number of years in the program, with girls from more affluent families predicted to increase affinities over time and girls from lower income families to experience initial gains in affinities that diminish over time. Qualitative examination of girls' perspectives on gender and science efficacy, attitudes toward science, and elements of science identities revealed a complex interplay of gendered stereotypes of science and girls' personal desires to prove themselves knowledgeable and competent scientists. Implications for the best practice in fostering science engagement and identities in middle school-aged girls are discussed.

  7. High Performance Liquid Chromatography Resolution of Ubiquitin Pathway Enzymes from Wheat Germ 1

    PubMed Central

    Sullivan, Michael L.; Callis, Judy; Vierstra, Richard D.

    1990-01-01

    The highly conserved protein ubiquitin is involved in several cellular processes in eukaryotes as a result of its covalent ligation to a variety of target proteins. Here, we describe the purification of several enzymatic activities involved in ubiquitin-protein conjugate formation and disassembly from wheat germ (Triticum vulgare) by a combination of ubiquitin affinity chromatography and anion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography. Using this procedure, ubiquitin activating enzyme (E1), several distinct ubiquitin carrier proteins (E2s) with molecular masses of 16, 20, 23, 23.5, and 25 kilodaltons, and a ubiquitin-protein hydrolase (isopeptidase) were isolated. Purified E1 formed a thiol ester linkage with 125I-ubiquitin in an ATP-dependent manner and transferred bound ubiquitin to the various purified E2s. The ubiquitin protein hydrolase fraction was sensitive to hemin, and in an ATP-independent reaction, was capable of removing the ubiquitin moiety from both ubiquitin 125I-lysozyme conjugates (ε-amino or isopeptide linkage) and the ubiquitin 52-amino acid extension protein fusion (α-amino or peptide linkage). Using this procedure, wheat germ represents an inexpensive source from which enzymes involved in the ubiquitin pathway may be isolated. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 PMID:16667769

  8. Preparation of high affinity antibody for ribavirin with new haptens and residue analysis in chicken muscle, eggs and duck muscle.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhaopeng; Yu, Xuezhi; Ma, Licai; Liu, Hebing; Ding, Shuangyang; Wang, Zhanhui; Zhang, Xiya; Shen, Jianzhong; Wen, Kai

    2018-05-23

    In this work, high affinity polyclonal antibodies for ribavirin (RBV) from new haptens were prepared and were used to analyse RBV residues in chicken muscle, eggs and duck muscle. The new haptens were synthesised with different spacers, and the best antibody was obtained with an IC 50 value as low as 0.61 ng/mL in indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The cross-reactivities with another five antiviral drugs including amantadine, rimantadine, moroxydine, zanamivir and oseltamivir were less than 0.1%, which indicated the good specificity of the antibody. An ELISA was developed based on the antibody and applied to detect RBV in multi-food matrices. The sample preparation prior to detection only needed simple dilution after trichloroacetic acid extraction. The limits of detection were 1.07, 1.18 and 1.03 μg/kg in chicken muscle, eggs and duck muscle, respectively. Recoveries ranged from 89.0% to 112.7% with coefficients of variation below 13.0%. Ten blind samples of chicken muscle were analysed simultaneously by ELISA and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and a good correlation between the methods was observed. The results indicated that the high affinity antibody could be applied for the simple and fast detection of RBV in multi-food matrices.

  9. High yield of recombinant human Apolipoprotein A-I expressed in Pichia pastoris by using mixed-mode chromatography.

    PubMed

    Narasimhan Janakiraman, Vignesh; Noubhani, Abdelmajid; Venkataraman, Krishnan; Vijayalakshmi, Mookambeswaran; Santarelli, Xavier

    2016-01-01

    A vast majority of the cardioprotective properties exhibited by High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is mediated by its major protein component Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA1). In order to develop a simplified bioprocess for producing recombinant human Apolipoprotein A-I (rhApoA1) in its near-native form, rhApoA1was expressed without the use of an affinity tag in view of its potential therapeutic applications. Expressed in Pichia pastoris at expression levels of 58.2 mg ApoA1 per litre of culture in a reproducible manner, the target protein was purified by mixed-mode chromatography using Capto™ MMC ligand with a purity and recovery of 84% and 68%, respectively. ApoA1 purification was scaled up to Mixed-mode Expanded Bed Adsorption chromatography to establish an 'on-line' process for the efficient capture of rhApoA1 directly from the P. pastoris expression broth. A polishing step using anion exchange chromatography enabled the recovery of ApoA1 up to 96% purity. Purified ApoA1 was identified and verified by RPLC-ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometry. This two-step process would reduce processing times and therefore costs in comparison to the twelve-step procedure currently used for recovering rhApoA1 from P. pastoris. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Contributory role of the tongue and mandible in modulating the in-mouth air cavity at rest.

    PubMed

    Bourdiol, Pierre; Mishellany-Dutour, Anne; Peyron, Marie-Agnes; Woda, Alain

    2013-12-01

    The tongue-to-palate distance influences the volume of the in-mouth air cavity (IMAC), thus conditioning the entry of aromatic compounds to the olfactory mucosa site. This study was set out to record the IMAC volume by measuring tongue-to-palate distance at rest. Twelve young adults in good general health were tested--lips contacting, with at-rest posture of the tongue and jaw during a silent reading task. Observations in this study were limited to pre- and post-swallowing sequences. The tongue-to-palate distance was measured using three electromagnetic sensors placed on the tongue upper surface. IMAC volume was evaluated from a geometrical model, taking into account the tongue-to-palate distance, the IMAC transversal distance measured from dental casts and historic data giving the anterior-posterior distance of the oral cavity. (1) In the at-rest posture, the tongue-to-palate distance was significantly greater at the posterior sensor level. (2) A vertical shift in tongue posture at rest frequently appeared following deglutition. The upward shifts were of larger amplitude and more frequent than the downward shifts. (3) Evaluation of the IMAC volume gave an approximate value of 12 ml at rest. (4) The chin sensor at rest was 2.8 ± 0.8 mm below its position when in occlusion. The tongue and mandible contribute to shaping the IMAC volume. These and other results suggest that deglutition changes tongue-to-palate distance and influences aroma release during mastication/deglutition acts through modulation of the IMAC volume.

  11. Contributions of the S100A9 C-Terminal Tail to High-Affinity Mn(II) Chelation by the Host-Defense Protein Human Calprotectin

    PubMed Central

    Brophy, Megan Brunjes; Nakashige, Toshiki G.; Gaillard, Aleth; Nolan, Elizabeth M.

    2014-01-01

    Human calprotectin (CP) is an antimicrobial protein that coordinates Mn(II) with high affinity in a Ca(II)-dependent manner at an unusual histidine-rich site (site 2) formed at the S100A8/S100A9 dimer interface. We present a 16-member CP mutant family where mutations in the S100A9 C-terminal tail (residues 96–114) are employed to evaluate the contributions of this region, which houses three histidines and four acidic residues, to Mn(II) coordination at site 2. The results from analytical size-exclusion chromatography, Mn(II) competition titrations, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy establish that the C-terminal tail is essential for high-affinity Mn(II) coordination by native CP in solution. The studies indicate that His103 and His105 (HXH motif) of the tail complete the Mn(II) coordination sphere in solution, affording an unprecedented biological His6 site. These solution studies are in agreement with a Mn(II)-CP crystal structure reported recently (PNAS 2013, 110, 3841). Remarkably high-affinity Mn(II) binding is retained when either H103 or H105 are mutated to Ala, when the HXH motif is shifted from positions 103–105 to 104–106, and when the human tail is substituted by the C-terminal tail of murine S100A9. Nevertheless, antibacterial activity assays employing human CP mutants reveal that the native disposition of His residues is important for conferring growth inhibition against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Within the S100 family, the S100A8/S100A9 heterooligomer is essential for providing high-affinity Mn(II) binding; the S100A7ox, S100A9(C3S), S100A12, and S100B homodimers do not exhibit such Mn(II)-binding capacity. PMID:24245608

  12. Motion planning in velocity affine mechanical systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jakubiak, Janusz; Tchoń, Krzysztof; Magiera, Władysław

    2010-09-01

    We address the motion planning problem in specific mechanical systems whose linear and angular velocities depend affinely on control. The configuration space of these systems encompasses the rotation group, and the motion planning involves the system orientation. Derivation of the motion planning algorithm for velocity affine systems has been inspired by the continuation method. Performance of this algorithm is illustrated with examples of the kinematics of a serial nonholonomic manipulator, the plate-ball kinematics and the attitude control of a rigid body.

  13. Measurements of the talus in the assessment of population affinity.

    PubMed

    Bidmos, Mubarak A; Dayal, Manisha R; Adegboye, Oyelola A

    2018-06-01

    As part of their routine work, forensic anthropologists are expected to report population affinity as part of the biological profile of an individual. The skull is the most widely used bone for the estimation of population affinity but it is not always present in a forensic case. Thus, other bones that preserve well have been shown to give a good indication of either the sex or population affinity of an individual. In this study, the potential of measurements of the talus was investigated for the purpose of estimating population affinity in South Africans. Nine measurements from two hundred and twenty tali of South African Africans (SAA) and South African Whites (SAW) from the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons were used. Direct and step-wise discriminant function and logistic regression analyses were carried out using SPSS and SAS. Talar length was the best single variable for discriminating between these two groups for males while in females the head height was the best single predictor. Average accuracies for correct population affinity classification using logistic regression analysis were higher than those obtained from discriminant function analysis. This study was the first of its type to employ discriminant function analyses and logistic regression analyses to estimate the population affinity of an individual from the talus. Thus these equations can now be used by South African anthropologists when estimating the population affinity of dismembered or damaged or incomplete skeletal remains of SAA and SAW. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Excited state electron affinity calculations for aluminum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hussein, Adnan Yousif

    2017-08-01

    Excited states of negative aluminum ion are reviewed, and calculations of electron affinities of the states (3s^23p^2)^1D and (3s3p^3){^5}{S}° relative to the (3s^23p)^2P° and (3s3p^2)^4P respectively of the neutral aluminum atom are reported in the framework of nonrelativistic configuration interaction (CI) method. A priori selected CI (SCI) with truncation energy error (Bunge in J Chem Phys 125:014107, 2006) and CI by parts (Bunge and Carbó-Dorca in J Chem Phys 125:014108, 2006) are used to approximate the valence nonrelativistic energy. Systematic studies of convergence of electron affinity with respect to the CI excitation level are reported. The calculated value of the electron affinity for ^1D state is 78.675(3) meV. Detailed Calculations on the ^5S°c state reveals that is 1216.8166(3) meV below the ^4P state.

  15. Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of low oxygen-affinity haemoglobin from cat (Felis silvestris catus) in two different crystal forms.

    PubMed

    Balasubramanian, M; Moorthy, Pon Sathya; Neelagandan, K; Ponnuswamy, M N

    2009-03-01

    Haemoglobin is a metalloprotein which plays a major role in the transportation of oxygen from the lungs to tissues and of carbon dioxide back to the lungs. The present work reports the preliminary crystallographic study of low oxygen-affinity haemoglobin from cat in different crystal forms. Cat blood was collected, purified by anion-exchange chromatography and crystallized in two different conditions by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method under unbuffered low-salt and buffered high-salt concentrations using PEG 3350 as a precipitant. Intensity data were collected using MAR345 and MAR345dtb image-plate detector systems. Cat haemoglobin crystallizes in monoclinic and orthorhombic crystal forms with one and two whole biological molecules (alpha(2)beta(2)), respectively, in the asymmetric unit.

  16. Column Liquid Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Majors, Ronald E.; And Others

    1984-01-01

    Reviews literature covering developments of column liquid chromatography during 1982-83. Areas considered include: books and reviews; general theory; columns; instrumentation; detectors; automation and data handling; multidimensional chromatographic and column switching techniques; liquid-solid chromatography; normal bonded-phase, reversed-phase,…

  17. PRINCIPLES OF AFFINITY-BASED BIOSENSORS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Despite the amount of resources that have been invested by national and international academic, government, and commercial sectors to develop affinity-based biosensor products, little obvious success has been realized through commercialization of these devices for specific applic...

  18. Shark Attack: high affinity binding proteins derived from shark vNAR domains by stepwise in vitro affinity maturation.

    PubMed

    Zielonka, Stefan; Weber, Niklas; Becker, Stefan; Doerner, Achim; Christmann, Andreas; Christmann, Christine; Uth, Christina; Fritz, Janine; Schäfer, Elena; Steinmann, Björn; Empting, Martin; Ockelmann, Pia; Lierz, Michael; Kolmar, Harald

    2014-12-10

    A novel method for stepwise in vitro affinity maturation of antigen-specific shark vNAR domains is described that exclusively relies on semi-synthetic repertoires derived from non-immunized sharks. Target-specific molecules were selected from a CDR3-randomized bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) vNAR library using yeast surface display as platform technology. Various antigen-binding vNAR domains were easily isolated by screening against several therapeutically relevant antigens, including the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), the Ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EphA2), and the human serine protease HTRA1. Affinity maturation was demonstrated for EpCAM and HTRA1 by diversifying CDR1 of target-enriched populations which allowed for the rapid selection of nanomolar binders. EpCAM-specific vNAR molecules were produced as soluble proteins and more extensively characterized via thermal shift assays and biolayer interferometry. Essentially, we demonstrate that high-affinity binders can be generated in vitro without largely compromising the desirable high thermostability of the vNAR scaffold. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Bidirectional Elastic Image Registration Using B-Spline Affine Transformation

    PubMed Central

    Gu, Suicheng; Meng, Xin; Sciurba, Frank C.; Wang, Chen; Kaminski, Naftali; Pu, Jiantao

    2014-01-01

    A registration scheme termed as B-spline affine transformation (BSAT) is presented in this study to elastically align two images. We define an affine transformation instead of the traditional translation at each control point. Mathematically, BSAT is a generalized form of the affine transformation and the traditional B-Spline transformation (BST). In order to improve the performance of the iterative closest point (ICP) method in registering two homologous shapes but with large deformation, a bi-directional instead of the traditional unidirectional objective / cost function is proposed. In implementation, the objective function is formulated as a sparse linear equation problem, and a sub-division strategy is used to achieve a reasonable efficiency in registration. The performance of the developed scheme was assessed using both two-dimensional (2D) synthesized dataset and three-dimensional (3D) volumetric computed tomography (CT) data. Our experiments showed that the proposed B-spline affine model could obtain reasonable registration accuracy. PMID:24530210

  20. Increased hemoglobin O2 affinity protects during acute hypoxia

    PubMed Central

    Yalcin, Ozlem

    2012-01-01

    Acclimatization to hypoxia requires time to complete the adaptation mechanisms that influence oxygen (O2) transport and O2 utilization. Although decreasing hemoglobin (Hb) O2 affinity would favor the release of O2 to the tissues, increasing Hb O2 affinity would augment arterial O2 saturation during hypoxia. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that pharmacologically increasing the Hb O2 affinity will augment O2 transport during severe hypoxia (10 and 5% inspired O2) compared with normal Hb O2 affinity. RBC Hb O2 affinity was increased by infusion of 20 mg/kg of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5HMF). Control animals received only the vehicle. The effects of increasing Hb O2 affinity were studied in the hamster window chamber model, in terms of systemic and microvascular hemodynamics and partial pressures of O2 (Po2). Pimonidazole binding to hypoxic areas of mice heart and brain was also studied. 5HMF decreased the Po2 at which the Hb is 50% saturated with O2 by 12.6 mmHg. During 10 and 5% O2 hypoxia, 5HMF increased arterial blood O2 saturation by 35 and 48% from the vehicle group, respectively. During 5% O2 hypoxia, blood pressure and heart rate were 58 and 30% higher for 5HMF compared with the vehicle. In addition, 5HMF preserved microvascular blood flow, whereas blood flow decreased to 40% of baseline in the vehicle group. Consequently, perivascular Po2 was three times higher in the 5HMF group compared with the control group at 5% O2 hypoxia. 5HMF also reduced heart and brain hypoxic areas in mice. Therefore, increased Hb O2 affinity resulted in hemodynamics and oxygenation benefits during severe hypoxia. This acute acclimatization process may have implications in survival during severe environmental hypoxia when logistic constraints prevent chronic acclimatization. PMID:22636677

  1. Highly affine and selective aptamers against cholera toxin as capture elements in magnetic bead-based sandwich ELAA.

    PubMed

    Frohnmeyer, Esther; Frisch, Farina; Falke, Sven; Betzel, Christian; Fischer, Markus

    2018-03-10

    Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides, which have been emerging as recognition elements in disease diagnostics and food control, including the detection of bacterial toxins. In this study, we employed the semi-automated just in time-selection to identify aptamers that bind to cholera toxin (CT) with high affinity and specificity. CT is the main virulence factor of Vibrio cholerae and the causative agent of the eponymous disease. For the selected aptamers, dissociation constants in the low nanomolar range (23-56 nM) were determined by fluorescence-based affinity chromatography and cross-reactivity against related proteins was evaluated by direct enzyme-linked aptamer assay (ELAA). Aptamer CT916 has a dissociation constant of 48.5 ± 0.5 nM and shows negligible binding to Shiga-like toxin 1B, protein A and BSA. This aptamer was chosen to develop a sandwich ELAA for the detection of CT from binding buffer and local tap water. Amine-C6- or biotin-modified CT916 was coupled to magnetic beads to serve as the capture element. Using an anti-CT polyclonal antibody as the reporter, detection limits of 2.1 ng/ml in buffer and 2.4 ng/ml in tap water, with a wide log-linear dynamic range from 1 ng/ml to 1000 ng/ml and 500 ng/ml, respectively, were achieved. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Interplay between binding affinity and kinetics in protein-protein interactions.

    PubMed

    Cao, Huaiqing; Huang, Yongqi; Liu, Zhirong

    2016-07-01

    To clarify the interplay between the binding affinity and kinetics of protein-protein interactions, and the possible role of intrinsically disordered proteins in such interactions, molecular simulations were carried out on 20 protein complexes. With bias potential and reweighting techniques, the free energy profiles were obtained under physiological affinities, which showed that the bound-state valley is deep with a barrier height of 12 - 33 RT. From the dependence of the affinity on interface interactions, the entropic contribution to the binding affinity is approximated to be proportional to the interface area. The extracted dissociation rates based on the Arrhenius law correlate reasonably well with the experimental values (Pearson correlation coefficient R = 0.79). For each protein complex, a linear free energy relationship between binding affinity and the dissociation rate was confirmed, but the distribution of the slopes for intrinsically disordered proteins showed no essential difference with that observed for ordered proteins. A comparison with protein folding was also performed. Proteins 2016; 84:920-933. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Binding affinities of anti-acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bray, J.J.; Drachman, D.B.

    1982-01-01

    Antibodies directed against acetylcholine (ACh) receptors are present in the sera of nearly 90% of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), and are involved in the pathogenesis of this autoimmune disease. However, the antibody titers measured by the standard radioimmunoassay correspond poorly with the clinical severity of the disease. To determine whether this disparity could be accounted for by differences in the binding affinities of anti-ACh receptor antibodies in different patients, we have measured the binding affinities of these autoantibodies in 15 sera from MG patients. The affinity constants (K/sub o/), as determined by Scatchard analysis, were all in the rangemore » of 10/sup 10/ M/sup -1/, comparable to the highest values reported in immunized animals. The affinity constants were truly representative of the population of autoantibodies detected by the radioimmunoassay, as shown by the remarkable linearity of the Scatchard plots (r/sup 2/>0.90) and the close correlation between the antibody titers determined by extrapolation of the Scatchard plots and by saturation analysis (r = 0.99; p < 0.001). There was only a 6-fold variation in affinity constants measured in this series of patients despite widely differing antibody titers and severity of the disease. Factors other than the titer and affinity of anti-ACh receptor antibodies may correlate better with the clinical manifestations of MG.« less

  4. Regulatory mechanisms of hemoglobin oxygen affinity in acidosis and alkalosis

    PubMed Central

    Bellingham, A. J.; Detter, J. C.; Lenfant, C.

    1971-01-01

    The recent reports of the effect of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) on hemoglobin affinity for oxygen suggested that this substance may play a role in man's adaptation to acidosis and alkalosis. A study of the effect of induced acidosis and alkalosis on the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve of normal man was therefore carried out, and the mechanisms involved in the physiological regulation of hemoglobin oxygen affinity examined. In acute changes of plasma pH there was no alteration in red cell 2,3-DPG content. However, there were changes in hemoglobin oxygen affinity and these correlated with changes in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). With maintained acidosis and alkalosis, red cell 2,3-DPG content was altered and correlated with the changes in hemoglobin oxygen affinity. Both of these mechanisms shift the hemoglobin oxygen dissociation curve opposite to the direct pH (Bohr) effect, and providing the rate of pH change is neither too rapid nor too large, they counteract the direct pH effect and the in vivo hemoglobin oxygen affinity remains unchanged. It is also shown that approximately 35% of the change in hemoglobin oxygen affinity resulting from an alteration in red cell 2,3-DPG, is explained by effect of 2,3-DPG on the red cell pH. PMID:5545127

  5. Aspartate aminotransferase is potently inhibited by copper complexes: Exploring copper complex-binding proteome.

    PubMed

    Jia, Yuqi; Lu, Liping; Yuan, Caixia; Feng, Sisi; Zhu, Miaoli

    2017-05-01

    Recent researches indicated that a copper complex-binding proteome that potently interacted with copper complexes and then influenced cellular metabolism might exist in organism. In order to explore the copper complex-binding proteome, a copper chelating ion-immobilized affinity chromatography (Cu-IMAC) column and mass spectrometry were used to separate and identify putative Cu-binding proteins in primary rat hepatocytes. A total of 97 putative Cu-binding proteins were isolated and identified. Five higher abundance proteins, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), catalase (CAT), calreticulin (CRT) and albumin (Alb) were further purified using a SP-, and (or) Q-Sepharose Fast Flow column. The interaction between the purified proteins and selected 11 copper complexes and CuCl 2 was investigated. The enzymes inhibition tests demonstrated that AST was potently inhibited by copper complexes while MDH and CAT were weakly inhibited. Schiff-based copper complexes 6 and 7 potently inhibited AST with the IC 50 value of 3.6 and 7.2μM, respectively and exhibited better selectivity over MDH and CAT. Fluorescence titration results showed the two complexes tightly bound to AST with binding constant of 3.89×10 6 and 3.73×10 6 M -1 , respectively and a stoichiometry ratio of 1:1. Copper complex 6 was able to enter into HepG2 cells and further inhibit intracellular AST activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Integrated Method for Purification and Single-Particle Characterization of Lentiviral Vector Systems by Size Exclusion Chromatography and Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensing.

    PubMed

    Heider, Susanne; Muzard, Julien; Zaruba, Marianne; Metzner, Christoph

    2017-07-01

    Elements derived from lentiviral particles such as viral vectors or virus-like particles are commonly used for biotechnological and biomedical applications, for example in mammalian protein expression, gene delivery or therapy, and vaccine development. Preparations of high purity are necessary in most cases, especially for clinical applications. For purification, a wide range of methods are available, from density gradient centrifugation to affinity chromatography. In this study we have employed size exclusion columns specifically designed for the easy purification of extracellular vesicles including exosomes. In addition to viral marker protein and total protein analysis, a well-established single-particle characterization technology, termed tunable resistive pulse sensing, was employed to analyze fractions of highest particle load and purity and characterize the preparations by size and surface charge/electrophoretic mobility. With this study, we propose an integrated platform combining size exclusion chromatography and tunable resistive pulse sensing for monitoring production and purification of viral particles.

  7. An improved affine projection algorithm for active noise cancellation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Congyan; Wang, Mingjiang; Han, Yufei; Sun, Yunzhuo

    2017-08-01

    Affine projection algorithm is a signal reuse algorithm, and it has a good convergence rate compared to other traditional adaptive filtering algorithm. There are two factors that affect the performance of the algorithm, which are step factor and the projection length. In the paper, we propose a new variable step size affine projection algorithm (VSS-APA). It dynamically changes the step size according to certain rules, so that it can get smaller steady-state error and faster convergence speed. Simulation results can prove that its performance is superior to the traditional affine projection algorithm and in the active noise control (ANC) applications, the new algorithm can get very good results.

  8. Kool-Aid Chromatography

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jenkins, Christie L.

    1986-01-01

    Offers guidelines and suggests activities that can introduce middle school students to the process and principles of chromatography in an inexpensive and safe manner. Proposes that experiences with Kool-aid and food coloring chromatography can provide insights into how scientists think, work, and communicate. (ML)

  9. Characterizing informative sequence descriptors and predicting binding affinities of heterodimeric protein complexes.

    PubMed

    Srinivasulu, Yerukala Sathipati; Wang, Jyun-Rong; Hsu, Kai-Ti; Tsai, Ming-Ju; Charoenkwan, Phasit; Huang, Wen-Lin; Huang, Hui-Ling; Ho, Shinn-Ying

    2015-01-01

    Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are involved in various biological processes, and underlying mechanism of the interactions plays a crucial role in therapeutics and protein engineering. Most machine learning approaches have been developed for predicting the binding affinity of protein-protein complexes based on structure and functional information. This work aims to predict the binding affinity of heterodimeric protein complexes from sequences only. This work proposes a support vector machine (SVM) based binding affinity classifier, called SVM-BAC, to classify heterodimeric protein complexes based on the prediction of their binding affinity. SVM-BAC identified 14 of 580 sequence descriptors (physicochemical, energetic and conformational properties of the 20 amino acids) to classify 216 heterodimeric protein complexes into low and high binding affinity. SVM-BAC yielded the training accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, AUC and test accuracy of 85.80%, 0.89, 0.83, 0.86 and 83.33%, respectively, better than existing machine learning algorithms. The 14 features and support vector regression were further used to estimate the binding affinities (Pkd) of 200 heterodimeric protein complexes. Prediction performance of a Jackknife test was the correlation coefficient of 0.34 and mean absolute error of 1.4. We further analyze three informative physicochemical properties according to their contribution to prediction performance. Results reveal that the following properties are effective in predicting the binding affinity of heterodimeric protein complexes: apparent partition energy based on buried molar fractions, relations between chemical structure and biological activity in principal component analysis IV, and normalized frequency of beta turn. The proposed sequence-based prediction method SVM-BAC uses an optimal feature selection method to identify 14 informative features to classify and predict binding affinity of heterodimeric protein complexes. The characterization

  10. Modeling on-column reduction of trisulfide bonds in monoclonal antibodies during protein A chromatography.

    PubMed

    Ghose, Sanchayita; Rajshekaran, Rupshika; Labanca, Marisa; Conley, Lynn

    2017-01-06

    Trisulfides can be a common post-translational modification in many recombinant monoclonal antibodies. These are a source of product heterogeneity that add to the complexity of product characterization and hence, need to be reduced for consistent product quality. Trisulfide bonds can be converted to the regular disulfide bonds by incorporating a novel cysteine wash step during Protein A affinity chromatography. An empirical model is developed for this on-column reduction reaction to compare the reaction rates as a function of typical operating parameters such as temperature, cysteine concentration, reaction time and starting level of trisulfides. The model presented here is anticipated to assist in the development of optimal wash conditions for the Protein A step to effectively reduce trisulfides to desired levels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Superlinear variant of the dual affine scaling algorithm

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Luz, C.; Cardosa, D.

    1994-12-31

    The affine scaling methods introduced by Dikin are generally considered the most efficient interior point algorithms from a computational point of view. However, it is actually an open question to know whether there is a polynomial affine scaling algorithm. This fact has motivated many investigations efforts and led to several convergence results. This is the case of the recently obtained results by Tsuchiya, Tseng and Luo and Tsuchiya and Muramatsu which, unlike the pioneering Dikin`s convergence result, do not require any non degeneracy assumption. This paper presents a new variant of the dual affine scaling algorithm for Linear Programming that,more » in a finite number of iterations, determines a primal-dual pair of optimal solutions. It is also shown the superlinear convergence of that variant without requiring any non degeneracy assumption.« less

  12. Facile Affinity Maturation of Antibody Variable Domains Using Natural Diversity Mutagenesis

    PubMed Central

    Tiller, Kathryn E.; Chowdhury, Ratul; Li, Tong; Ludwig, Seth D.; Sen, Sabyasachi; Maranas, Costas D.; Tessier, Peter M.

    2017-01-01

    The identification of mutations that enhance antibody affinity while maintaining high antibody specificity and stability is a time-consuming and laborious process. Here, we report an efficient methodology for systematically and rapidly enhancing the affinity of antibody variable domains while maximizing specificity and stability using novel synthetic antibody libraries. Our approach first uses computational and experimental alanine scanning mutagenesis to identify sites in the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) that are permissive to mutagenesis while maintaining antigen binding. Next, we mutagenize the most permissive CDR positions using degenerate codons to encode wild-type residues and a small number of the most frequently occurring residues at each CDR position based on natural antibody diversity. This mutagenesis approach results in antibody libraries with variants that have a wide range of numbers of CDR mutations, including antibody domains with single mutations and others with tens of mutations. Finally, we sort the modest size libraries (~10 million variants) displayed on the surface of yeast to identify CDR mutations with the greatest increases in affinity. Importantly, we find that single-domain (VHH) antibodies specific for the α-synuclein protein (whose aggregation is associated with Parkinson’s disease) with the greatest gains in affinity (>5-fold) have several (four to six) CDR mutations. This finding highlights the importance of sampling combinations of CDR mutations during the first step of affinity maturation to maximize the efficiency of the process. Interestingly, we find that some natural diversity mutations simultaneously enhance all three key antibody properties (affinity, specificity, and stability) while other mutations enhance some of these properties (e.g., increased specificity) and display trade-offs in others (e.g., reduced affinity and/or stability). Computational modeling reveals that improvements in affinity are generally

  13. 2D Affine and Projective Shape Analysis.

    PubMed

    Bryner, Darshan; Klassen, Eric; Huiling Le; Srivastava, Anuj

    2014-05-01

    Current techniques for shape analysis tend to seek invariance to similarity transformations (rotation, translation, and scale), but certain imaging situations require invariance to larger groups, such as affine or projective groups. Here we present a general Riemannian framework for shape analysis of planar objects where metrics and related quantities are invariant to affine and projective groups. Highlighting two possibilities for representing object boundaries-ordered points (or landmarks) and parameterized curves-we study different combinations of these representations (points and curves) and transformations (affine and projective). Specifically, we provide solutions to three out of four situations and develop algorithms for computing geodesics and intrinsic sample statistics, leading up to Gaussian-type statistical models, and classifying test shapes using such models learned from training data. In the case of parameterized curves, we also achieve the desired goal of invariance to re-parameterizations. The geodesics are constructed by particularizing the path-straightening algorithm to geometries of current manifolds and are used, in turn, to compute shape statistics and Gaussian-type shape models. We demonstrate these ideas using a number of examples from shape and activity recognition.

  14. Local uncontrollability for affine control systems with jumps

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Treanţă, Savin

    2017-09-01

    This paper investigates affine control systems with jumps for which the ideal If(g1, …, gm) generated by the drift vector field f in the Lie algebra L(f, g1, …, gm) can be imbedded as a kernel of a linear first-order partial differential equation. It will lead us to uncontrollable affine control systems with jumps for which the corresponding reachable sets are included in explicitly described differentiable manifolds.

  15. Quantifying domain-ligand affinities and specificities by high-throughput holdup assay

    PubMed Central

    Vincentelli, Renaud; Luck, Katja; Poirson, Juline; Polanowska, Jolanta; Abdat, Julie; Blémont, Marilyne; Turchetto, Jeremy; Iv, François; Ricquier, Kevin; Straub, Marie-Laure; Forster, Anne; Cassonnet, Patricia; Borg, Jean-Paul; Jacob, Yves; Masson, Murielle; Nominé, Yves; Reboul, Jérôme; Wolff, Nicolas; Charbonnier, Sebastian; Travé, Gilles

    2015-01-01

    Many protein interactions are mediated by small linear motifs interacting specifically with defined families of globular domains. Quantifying the specificity of a motif requires measuring and comparing its binding affinities to all its putative target domains. To this aim, we developed the high-throughput holdup assay, a chromatographic approach that can measure up to a thousand domain-motif equilibrium binding affinities per day. Extracts of overexpressed domains are incubated with peptide-coated resins and subjected to filtration. Binding affinities are deduced from microfluidic capillary electrophoresis of flow-throughs. After benchmarking the approach on 210 PDZ-peptide pairs with known affinities, we determined the affinities of two viral PDZ-binding motifs derived from Human Papillomavirus E6 oncoproteins for 209 PDZ domains covering 79% of the human PDZome. We obtained exquisite sequence-dependent binding profiles, describing quantitatively the PDZome recognition specificity of each motif. This approach, applicable to many categories of domain-ligand interactions, has a wide potential for quantifying the specificities of interactomes. PMID:26053890

  16. High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Costanzo, Samuel J.

    1984-01-01

    Clarifies where in the scheme of modern chromatography high performance thin layer chromatography (TLC) fits and why in some situations it is a viable alternative to gas and high performance liquid chromatography. New TLC plates, sample applications, plate development, and instrumental techniques are considered. (JN)

  17. Affine theory of gravitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Popławski, Nikodem

    2014-01-01

    We propose a theory of gravitation, in which the affine connection is the only dynamical variable describing the gravitational field. We construct a simple dynamical Lagrangian density that is entirely composed from the connection, via its curvature and torsion, and is a polynomial function of its derivatives. It is given by the contraction of the Ricci tensor with a tensor which is inverse to the symmetric, contracted square of the torsion tensor, . We vary the total action for the gravitational field and matter with respect to the affine connection, assuming that the matter fields couple to the connection only through . We derive the resulting field equations and show that they are identical with the Einstein equations of general relativity with a nonzero cosmological constant if the tensor is regarded as proportional to the metric tensor. The cosmological constant is simply a constant of proportionality between the two tensors, which together with and provides a natural system of units in gravitational physics. This theory therefore provides a physical construction of the metric as a polynomial function of the connection, and explains dark energy as an intrinsic property of spacetime.

  18. Multi-exemplar affinity propagation.

    PubMed

    Wang, Chang-Dong; Lai, Jian-Huang; Suen, Ching Y; Zhu, Jun-Yong

    2013-09-01

    The affinity propagation (AP) clustering algorithm has received much attention in the past few years. AP is appealing because it is efficient, insensitive to initialization, and it produces clusters at a lower error rate than other exemplar-based methods. However, its single-exemplar model becomes inadequate when applied to model multisubclasses in some situations such as scene analysis and character recognition. To remedy this deficiency, we have extended the single-exemplar model to a multi-exemplar one to create a new multi-exemplar affinity propagation (MEAP) algorithm. This new model automatically determines the number of exemplars in each cluster associated with a super exemplar to approximate the subclasses in the category. Solving the model is NP-hard and we tackle it with the max-sum belief propagation to produce neighborhood maximum clusters, with no need to specify beforehand the number of clusters, multi-exemplars, and superexemplars. Also, utilizing the sparsity in the data, we are able to reduce substantially the computational time and storage. Experimental studies have shown MEAP's significant improvements over other algorithms on unsupervised image categorization and the clustering of handwritten digits.

  19. Three dimensional liquid chromatography coupling ion exchange chromatography/hydrophobic interaction chromatography/reverse phase chromatography for effective protein separation in top-down proteomics.

    PubMed

    Valeja, Santosh G; Xiu, Lichen; Gregorich, Zachery R; Guner, Huseyin; Jin, Song; Ge, Ying

    2015-01-01

    To address the complexity of the proteome in mass spectrometry (MS)-based top-down proteomics, multidimensional liquid chromatography (MDLC) strategies that can effectively separate proteins with high resolution and automation are highly desirable. Although various MDLC methods that can effectively separate peptides from protein digests exist, very few MDLC strategies, primarily consisting of 2DLC, are available for intact protein separation, which is insufficient to address the complexity of the proteome. We recently demonstrated that hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) utilizing a MS-compatible salt can provide high resolution separation of intact proteins for top-down proteomics. Herein, we have developed a novel 3DLC strategy by coupling HIC with ion exchange chromatography (IEC) and reverse phase chromatography (RPC) for intact protein separation. We demonstrated that a 3D (IEC-HIC-RPC) approach greatly outperformed the conventional 2D IEC-RPC approach. For the same IEC fraction (out of 35 fractions) from a crude HEK 293 cell lysate, a total of 640 proteins were identified in the 3D approach (corresponding to 201 nonredundant proteins) as compared to 47 in the 2D approach, whereas simply prolonging the gradients in RPC in the 2D approach only led to minimal improvement in protein separation and identifications. Therefore, this novel 3DLC method has great potential for effective separation of intact proteins to achieve deep proteome coverage in top-down proteomics.

  20. FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Affine constellations without mutually unbiased counterparts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weigert, Stefan; Durt, Thomas

    2010-10-01

    It has been conjectured that a complete set of mutually unbiased bases in a space of dimension d exists if and only if there is an affine plane of order d. We introduce affine constellations and compare their existence properties with those of mutually unbiased constellations. The observed discrepancies make a deeper relation between the two existence problems unlikely.

  1. A peptide affinity column for the identification of integrin alpha IIb-binding proteins.

    PubMed

    Daxecker, Heide; Raab, Markus; Bernard, Elise; Devocelle, Marc; Treumann, Achim; Moran, Niamh

    2008-03-01

    To understand the regulation of integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3), a critical platelet adhesion molecule, we have developed a peptide affinity chromatography method using the known integrin regulatory motif, LAMWKVGFFKR. Using standard Fmoc chemistry, this peptide was synthesized onto a Toyopearl AF-Amino-650 M resin on a 6-aminohexanoic acid (Ahx) linker. Peptide density was controlled by acetylation of 83% of the Ahx amino groups. Four recombinant human proteins (CIB1, PP1, ICln and RN181), previously identified as binding to this integrin regulatory motif, were specifically retained by the column containing the integrin peptide but not by a column presenting an irrelevant peptide. Hemoglobin, creatine kinase, bovine serum albumin, fibrinogen and alpha-tubulin failed to bind under the chosen conditions. Immunodetection methods confirmed the binding of endogenous platelet proteins, including CIB1, PP1, ICln RN181, AUP-1 and beta3-integrin, from a detergent-free platelet lysate. Thus, we describe a reproducible method that facilitates the reliable extraction of specific integrin-binding proteins from complex biological matrices. This methodology may enable the sensitive and specific identification of proteins that interact with linear, membrane-proximal peptide motifs such as the integrin regulatory motif LAMWKVGFFKR.

  2. Argonaute pull-down and RISC analysis using 2'-O-methylated oligonucleotides affinity matrices.

    PubMed

    Jannot, Guillaume; Vasquez-Rifo, Alejandro; Simard, Martin J

    2011-01-01

    During the last decade, several novel small non-coding RNA pathways have been unveiled, which reach out to many biological processes. Common to all these pathways is the binding of a small RNA molecule to a protein member of the Argonaute family, which forms a minimal core complex called the RNA-induced silencing complex or RISC. The RISC targets mRNAs in a sequence-specific manner, either to induce mRNA cleavage through the intrinsic activity of the Argonaute protein or to abrogate protein synthesis by a mechanism that is still under investigation. We describe here, in details, a method for the affinity chromatography of the let-7 RISC starting from extracts of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our method exploits the sequence specificity of the RISC and makes use of biotinylated and 2'-O-methylated oligonucleotides to trap and pull-down small RNAs and their associated proteins. Importantly, this technique may easily be adapted to target other small RNAs expressed in different cell types or model organisms. This method provides a useful strategy to identify the proteins associated with the RISC, and hence gain insight in the functions of small RNAs.

  3. Affinity learning with diffusion on tensor product graph.

    PubMed

    Yang, Xingwei; Prasad, Lakshman; Latecki, Longin Jan

    2013-01-01

    In many applications, we are given a finite set of data points sampled from a data manifold and represented as a graph with edge weights determined by pairwise similarities of the samples. Often the pairwise similarities (which are also called affinities) are unreliable due to noise or due to intrinsic difficulties in estimating similarity values of the samples. As observed in several recent approaches, more reliable similarities can be obtained if the original similarities are diffused in the context of other data points, where the context of each point is a set of points most similar to it. Compared to the existing methods, our approach differs in two main aspects. First, instead of diffusing the similarity information on the original graph, we propose to utilize the tensor product graph (TPG) obtained by the tensor product of the original graph with itself. Since TPG takes into account higher order information, it is not a surprise that we obtain more reliable similarities. However, it comes at the price of higher order computational complexity and storage requirement. The key contribution of the proposed approach is that the information propagation on TPG can be computed with the same computational complexity and the same amount of storage as the propagation on the original graph. We prove that a graph diffusion process on TPG is equivalent to a novel iterative algorithm on the original graph, which is guaranteed to converge. After its convergence we obtain new edge weights that can be interpreted as new, learned affinities. We stress that the affinities are learned in an unsupervised setting. We illustrate the benefits of the proposed approach for data manifolds composed of shapes, images, and image patches on two very different tasks of image retrieval and image segmentation. With learned affinities, we achieve the bull's eye retrieval score of 99.99 percent on the MPEG-7 shape dataset, which is much higher than the state-of-the-art algorithms. When the data

  4. Affinity proteomics to study endogenous protein complexes: Pointers, pitfalls, preferences and perspectives

    PubMed Central

    LaCava, John; Molloy, Kelly R.; Taylor, Martin S.; Domanski, Michal; Chait, Brian T.; Rout, Michael P.

    2015-01-01

    Dissecting and studying cellular systems requires the ability to specifically isolate distinct proteins along with the co-assembled constituents of their associated complexes. Affinity capture techniques leverage high affinity, high specificity reagents to target and capture proteins of interest along with specifically associated proteins from cell extracts. Affinity capture coupled to mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic analyses has enabled the isolation and characterization of a wide range of endogenous protein complexes. Here, we outline effective procedures for the affinity capture of protein complexes, highlighting best practices and common pitfalls. PMID:25757543

  5. Affinity purification of human factor H on polypeptides derived from streptococcal m protein: enrichment of the Y402 variant.

    PubMed

    Nilsson, O Rickard; Lannergård, Jonas; Morgan, B Paul; Lindahl, Gunnar; Gustafsson, Mattias C U

    2013-01-01

    Recent studies indicate that defective activity of complement factor H (FH) is associated with several human diseases, suggesting that pure FH may be used for therapy. Here, we describe a simple method to isolate human FH, based on the specific interaction between FH and the hypervariable region (HVR) of certain Streptococcus pyogenes M proteins. Special interest was focused on the FH polymorphism Y402H, which is associated with the common eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and has also been implicated in the binding to M protein. Using a fusion protein containing two copies of the M5-HVR, we found that the Y402 and H402 variants of FH could be efficiently purified by single-step affinity chromatography from human serum containing the corresponding protein. Different M proteins vary in their binding properties, and the M6 and M5 proteins, but not the M18 protein, showed selective binding of the FH Y402 variant. Accordingly, chromatography on a fusion protein derived from the M6-HVR allowed enrichment of the Y402 protein from serum containing both variants. Thus, the exquisite binding specificity of a bacterial protein can be exploited to develop a simple and robust procedure to purify FH and to enrich for the FH variant that protects against AMD.

  6. Characterizing informative sequence descriptors and predicting binding affinities of heterodimeric protein complexes

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Background Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are involved in various biological processes, and underlying mechanism of the interactions plays a crucial role in therapeutics and protein engineering. Most machine learning approaches have been developed for predicting the binding affinity of protein-protein complexes based on structure and functional information. This work aims to predict the binding affinity of heterodimeric protein complexes from sequences only. Results This work proposes a support vector machine (SVM) based binding affinity classifier, called SVM-BAC, to classify heterodimeric protein complexes based on the prediction of their binding affinity. SVM-BAC identified 14 of 580 sequence descriptors (physicochemical, energetic and conformational properties of the 20 amino acids) to classify 216 heterodimeric protein complexes into low and high binding affinity. SVM-BAC yielded the training accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, AUC and test accuracy of 85.80%, 0.89, 0.83, 0.86 and 83.33%, respectively, better than existing machine learning algorithms. The 14 features and support vector regression were further used to estimate the binding affinities (Pkd) of 200 heterodimeric protein complexes. Prediction performance of a Jackknife test was the correlation coefficient of 0.34 and mean absolute error of 1.4. We further analyze three informative physicochemical properties according to their contribution to prediction performance. Results reveal that the following properties are effective in predicting the binding affinity of heterodimeric protein complexes: apparent partition energy based on buried molar fractions, relations between chemical structure and biological activity in principal component analysis IV, and normalized frequency of beta turn. Conclusions The proposed sequence-based prediction method SVM-BAC uses an optimal feature selection method to identify 14 informative features to classify and predict binding affinity of heterodimeric protein

  7. Synthesis and binding affinity of neuropeptide Y at opiate receptors.

    PubMed

    Kiddle, James J; McCreery, Heather J; Soles, Sonia

    2003-03-24

    Neuropeptide Y and several metabolic fragments were synthesized and evaluated for binding affinity at non-selective opiate receptors. Neuropeptide Y and several C-terminal fragments were shown to bind to non-selective opiate receptors with an affinity similar to that of Leu-enkephalin.

  8. Enantioselective separation and online affinity chromatographic characterization of R,R- and S,S-fenoterol.

    PubMed

    Beigi, Farideh; Bertucci, Carlo; Zhu, Weizhong; Chakir, Khalid; Wainer, Irving W; Xiao, Rui-Ping; Abernethy, Darrell R

    2006-11-01

    rac-Fenoterol is a beta2-adrenoceptor agonist (beta2-AR) used in the treatment of asthma. It has two chiral centers and is marketed as a racemic mixture of R,R'- and S,S'-fenoterol (R-F and S-F). Here we report the separation of the R-F and S-F enantiomers and the evaluation of their binding to and activation of the beta2-AR. R-F and S-F were separated from the enantiomeric mixture by chiral chromatography and absolute configuration determined by circular dichroism. Beta2-AR binding was evaluated using frontal affinity chromatography with a stationary phase containing immobilized membranes from HEK-293 cells that express human beta2-AR and standard membrane binding studies using the same membranes. The effect of R-F and S-F on cardiomyocyte contractility was also investigated using freshly isolated adult rat cardiomyocytes. Chiral chromatography of rac-fenoterol yielded separated peaks with an enantioselectivity factor of 1.21. The less retained peak was assigned the absolute configuration of S-F and the more retained peak R-F. Frontal chromatography using membrane-bound beta2-AR as the stationary phase and rac-3H-fenoterol as a marker ligand showed that addition of increasing concentrations of R-F to the mobile phase produced concentration-dependent decreases in rac-3H-fenoterol retention, while similar addition of S-F produced no change in rac-3H-fenoterol retention. The calculated dissociation constant of R-F was 472 nM and the number of available binding sites 176 pmol/column, which was consistent with the results from the membrane binding study 460 +/- 55 nM (R-F) and 109,000 +/- 10,400 nM (S-F). In the cardiomyocytes, R-F increased maximum contractile response from (265 +/- 11.6)% to (306 +/- 11.8)% of resting cell length (P < 0.05) and reduced EC50 from -7.0 +/- 0.270 to -7.1 +/- 0.2 log[M] (P < 0.05), while S-F had no significant effect. Previous studies have shown that rac-fenoterol acts as an apparent beta2-AR/G(s) selective agonist and fully restores

  9. Affinity Purification of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Expressed in Raji Cells by Produced scFv Antibody Coupled CNBr-Activated Sepharose

    PubMed Central

    Abdolalizadeh, Jalal; Majidi Zolbanin, Jafar; Nouri, Mohammad; Baradaran, Behzad; Movassaghpour, AliAkbar; Farajnia, Safar; Omidi, Yadollah

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Recombinant tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) has been utilized as an antineoplastic agent for the treatment of patients with melanoma and sarcoma. It targets tumor cell antigens by impressing tumor-associated vessels. Protein purification with affinity chromatography has been widely used in the downstream processing of pharmaceutical-grade proteins. Methods:In this study, we examined the potential of our produced anti-TNF-α scFv fragments for purification of TNF-α produced by Raji cells. The Raji cells were induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to express TNF-α. Western blotting and Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) flow cytometry analyses were used to evaluate the TNF-α expression. The anti-TNF-α scFv selected from antibody phage display library was coupled to CNBr-activated sepharose 4B beads used for affinity purification of expressed TNF-α and the purity of the protein was assessed by SDS-PAGE. Results: Western blot and FACS flow cytometry analyses showed the successful expression of TNF-α with Raji cells. SDS-PAGE analysis showed the performance of scFv for purification of TNF-α protein with purity over 95%. Conclusion: These findings confirm not only the potential of the produced scFv antibody fragments but also this highly pure recombinant TNF-α protein can be applied for various in vitro and in vivo applications. PMID:24312807

  10. Optimizing pH response of affinity between protein G and IgG Fc: how electrostatic modulations affect protein-protein interactions.

    PubMed

    Watanabe, Hideki; Matsumaru, Hiroyuki; Ooishi, Ayako; Feng, Yanwen; Odahara, Takayuki; Suto, Kyoko; Honda, Shinya

    2009-05-01

    Protein-protein interaction in response to environmental conditions enables sophisticated biological and biotechnological processes. Aiming toward the rational design of a pH-sensitive protein-protein interaction, we engineered pH-sensitive mutants of streptococcal protein G B1, a binder to the IgG constant region. We systematically introduced histidine residues into the binding interface to cause electrostatic repulsion on the basis of a rigid body model. Exquisite pH sensitivity of this interaction was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance and affinity chromatography employing a clinically used human IgG. The pH-sensitive mechanism of the interaction was analyzed and evaluated from kinetic, thermodynamic, and structural viewpoints. Histidine-mediated electrostatic repulsion resulted in significant loss of exothermic heat of the binding that decreased the affinity only at acidic conditions, thereby improving the pH sensitivity. The reduced binding energy was partly recovered by "enthalpy-entropy compensation." Crystal structures of the designed mutants confirmed the validity of the rigid body model on which the effective electrostatic repulsion was based. Moreover, our data suggested that the entropy gain involved exclusion of water molecules solvated in a space formed by the introduced histidine and adjacent tryptophan residue. Our findings concerning the mechanism of histidine-introduced interactions will provide a guideline for the rational design of pH-sensitive protein-protein recognition.

  11. Affinity resins as new tools for identifying target proteins of ascorbic acid.

    PubMed

    Iwaoka, Yuji; Nishino, Kohei; Ishikawa, Takahiro; Ito, Hideyuki; Sawa, Yoshihiro; Tai, Akihiro

    2018-02-12

    l-Ascorbic acid (AA) has diverse physiological functions, but little is known about the functional mechanisms of AA. In this study, we synthesized two types of affinity resin on which AA is immobilized in a stable form to identify new AA-targeted proteins, which can provide important clues for elucidating unknown functional mechanisms of AA. To our knowledge, an affinity resin on which AA as a ligand is immobilized has not been prepared, because AA is very unstable and rapidly degraded in an aqueous solution. By using the affinity resins, cytochrome c (cyt c) was identified as an AA-targeted protein, and we showed that oxidized cyt c exhibits specific affinity for AA. These results suggest that two kinds of AA-affinity resin can be powerful tools to identify new target proteins of AA.

  12. Thermodynamic Bounds on the Ultra- and Infra-affinity of Hsp70 for Its Substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nguyen, Basile; Hartich, David; Seifert, Udo; Rios, Paolo De Los

    2017-07-01

    The 70 kDa Heat Shock Proteins Hsp70 have several essential functions in living systems, such as protecting cells against protein aggregation, assisting protein folding, remodeling protein complexes and driving the translocation into organelles. These functions require high affinity for non-specific amino-acid sequences that are ubiquitous in proteins. It has been recently shown that this high affinity, called ultra-affinity, depends on a process driven out of equilibrium by ATP hydrolysis. Here we establish the thermodynamic bounds for ultra-affinity, and further show that the same reaction scheme can in principle be used both to strengthen and to weaken affinities (leading in this case to infra-affinity). We show that cofactors are essential to achieve affinity beyond the equilibrium range. Finally, biological implications are discussed.

  13. Robust feature matching via support-line voting and affine-invariant ratios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jiayuan; Hu, Qingwu; Ai, Mingyao; Zhong, Ruofei

    2017-10-01

    Robust image matching is crucial for many applications of remote sensing and photogrammetry, such as image fusion, image registration, and change detection. In this paper, we propose a robust feature matching method based on support-line voting and affine-invariant ratios. We first use popular feature matching algorithms, such as SIFT, to obtain a set of initial matches. A support-line descriptor based on multiple adaptive binning gradient histograms is subsequently applied in the support-line voting stage to filter outliers. In addition, we use affine-invariant ratios computed by a two-line structure to refine the matching results and estimate the local affine transformation. The local affine model is more robust to distortions caused by elevation differences than the global affine transformation, especially for high-resolution remote sensing images and UAV images. Thus, the proposed method is suitable for both rigid and non-rigid image matching problems. Finally, we extract as many high-precision correspondences as possible based on the local affine extension and build a grid-wise affine model for remote sensing image registration. We compare the proposed method with six state-of-the-art algorithms on several data sets and show that our method significantly outperforms the other methods. The proposed method achieves 94.46% average precision on 15 challenging remote sensing image pairs, while the second-best method, RANSAC, only achieves 70.3%. In addition, the number of detected correct matches of the proposed method is approximately four times the number of initial SIFT matches.

  14. Direct optimization, affine gap costs, and node stability.

    PubMed

    Aagesen, Lone

    2005-09-01

    The outcome of a phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequence data is highly dependent on the homology-assignment step and may vary with alignment parameter costs. Robustness to changes in parameter costs is therefore a desired quality of a data set because the final conclusions will be less dependent on selecting a precise optimal cost set. Here, node stability is explored in relationship to separate versus combined analysis in three different data sets, all including several data partitions. Robustness to changes in cost sets is measured as number of successive changes that can be made in a given cost set before a specific clade is lost. The changes are in all cases base change cost, gap penalties, and adding/removing/changing affine gap costs. When combining data partitions, the number of clades that appear in the entire parameter space is not remarkably increased, in some cases this number even decreased. However, when combining data partitions the trees from cost sets including affine gap costs were always more similar than the trees were from cost sets without affine gap costs. This was not the case when the data partitions were analyzed independently. When data sets were combined approximately 80% of the clades found under cost sets including affine gap costs resisted at least one change to the cost set.

  15. Binding affinity of aluminium to human serum transferrin and effects of carbohydrate chain modification as studied by HPLC/high-resolution ICP-MS--speciation of aluminium in human serum.

    PubMed

    Nagaoka, Megumi Hamano; Maitani, Tamio

    2005-09-01

    Aluminium (Al) in the blood is bound to transferrin (Tf), a glycoprotein of about 80kDa that is characterized by its need for a synergistic anion. In this focused review, the binding affinity of Al to Tf is surveyed in the context of our recent studies using on-line high-performance liquid chromatography/high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC/HR-ICP-MS). Al in human serum without any in vitro Al-spikes was present in a form bound to the N-lobe site of Tf. The influences of sialic acid in the carbohydrate chain of human serum Tf (hTf) were studied using asialo-hTf, obtained by treatment with sialidase. The binding affinity of Fe was similar between asialo-hTf and native-hTf, while that of Al for asialo-hTf was larger than that for native-hTf, especially in the presence of oxalate, a synergistic anion. The above findings are discussed in relation to diseases in which the serum concentrations of carbohydrate-deficient Tf and oxalate are augmented.

  16. High affinity ligands from in vitro selection: Complex targets

    PubMed Central

    Morris, Kevin N.; Jensen, Kirk B.; Julin, Carol M.; Weil, Michael; Gold, Larry

    1998-01-01

    Human red blood cell membranes were used as a model system to determine if the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) methodology, an in vitro protocol for isolating high-affinity oligonucleotides that bind specifically to virtually any single protein, could be used with a complex mixture of potential targets. Ligands to multiple targets were generated simultaneously during the selection process, and the binding affinities of these ligands for their targets are comparable to those found in similar experiments against pure targets. A secondary selection scheme, deconvolution-SELEX, facilitates rapid isolation of the ligands to targets of special interest within the mixture. SELEX provides high-affinity compounds for multiple targets in a mixture and might allow a means for dissecting complex biological systems. PMID:9501188

  17. Revision of the experimental electron affinity of BO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rienstra, Jonathan C.; Schaefer, Henry F., III

    1997-05-01

    The experimental electron affinity of BO has proven questionable. We obtained the electron affinity of BO using the large aug-cc-pVQZ basis with SCF, CISD, CISD+Q, CCSD, and CCSD(T) methods and predict a value of 2.57 eV, or 0.55 eV smaller than the latest experimental value. The 2∑+ to 2Π excitation energy of BO has also been obtained with the CCSD(T) method and found to be 2.82 eV.

  18. Simultaneous analysis for water- and fat-soluble vitamins by a novel single chromatography technique unifying supercritical fluid chromatography and liquid chromatography.

    PubMed

    Taguchi, Kaori; Fukusaki, Eiichiro; Bamba, Takeshi

    2014-10-03

    Chromatography techniques usually use a single state in the mobile phase, such as liquid, gas, or supercritical fluid. Chromatographers manage one of these techniques for their purpose but are sometimes required to use multiple methods, or even worse, multiple techniques when the target compounds have a wide range of chemical properties. To overcome this challenge, we developed a single method covering a diverse compound range by means of a "unified" chromatography which completely bridges supercritical fluid chromatography and liquid chromatography. In our method, the phase state was continuously changed in the following order; supercritical, subcritical and liquid. Moreover, the gradient of the mobile phase starting at almost 100% CO2 was replaced with 100% methanol at the end completely. As a result, this approach achieved further extension of the polarity range of the mobile phase in a single run, and successfully enabled the simultaneous analysis of fat- and water-soluble vitamins with a wide logP range of -2.11 to 10.12. Furthermore, the 17 vitamins were exceptionally separated in 4min. Our results indicated that the use of dense CO2 and the replacement of CO2 by methanol are practical approaches in unified chromatography covering diverse compounds. Additionally, this is a first report to apply the novel approach to unified chromatography, and can open another door for diverse compound analysis in a single chromatographic technique with single injection, single column and single system. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Affinity interactions between natural pigments and human whole saliva.

    PubMed

    Yao, Jiang-Wu; Lin, Feng; Tao, Tao; Lin, Chang-Jian

    2011-03-01

    The aim of the present study was to assess the null hypothesis that there are no differences of affinity between pigments and human whole saliva (WS), and the affinity is not influenced by the functional groups of pigments, temperatures, pH values, and salt concentrations. The affinity constants of interactions between WS and theaflavin (TF)/curcumin (Cur)/cyanidin (Cy) were determined by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and fluorescence quenching. Mass-uptake at various temperatures, pH values, and salt concentrations was also carried out. The order of affinity of the pigments binding to WS is TF>Cur>Cy. A large number of complexes and precipitations of pigments/proteins were formed through a quick, strong, and almost irreversible binding process. The mass-uptake of pigments was affected not only by the functional groups, but also by molecular weight of pigments, temperatures, pH values, and salt concentrations. The complex of pigments may easily and rapidly deposit onto the WS film, and are difficult to remove from the WS surface. However, the complex of pigments can be reduced by properly regulating the physicochemical conditions, such as temperatures, pH values, and salt concentrations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. [Comparison of acetonitrile, ethanol and chromatographic column to eliminate high-abundance proteins in human serum].

    PubMed

    Li, Yin; Liao, Ming; He, Xiao; Zhou, Yi; Luo, Rong; Li, Hongtao; Wang, Yun; He, Min

    2012-11-01

    To compare the effects of acetonitrile precipitation, ethanol precipitation and multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 removal to eliminate high-abundance proteins in human serum. Elimination of serum high-abundance proteins performed with acetonitrile precipitation, ethanol precipitation and multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 removal. Bis-Tris Mini Gels electrophoresis and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to detect the effect. Grey value analysis from 1-DE figure showed that after serum processed by acetonitrile method, multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 removal method and ethanol method, the grey value of albumin changed into 157.2, 40.8 and 8.2 respectively from the original value of 19. 2-DE analysis results indicated that using multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 method, the protein points noticeable increased by 137 compared to the original serum. After processed by acetonitrile method and ethanol method, the protein point reduced, but the low abundance protein point emerged. The acetonitrile precipitation could eliminate the vast majority of high abundance proteins in serum and gain more proteins of low molecular weight, ethanol precipitation could eliminate part of high abundance proteins in serum, but low abundance proteins less harvested, and multiple affinity chromatography column Human 14 method could effectively removed the high abundance proteins, and keep a large number of low abundance proteins.

  1. Methods for quantifying T cell receptor binding affinities and thermodynamics

    PubMed Central

    Piepenbrink, Kurt H.; Gloor, Brian E.; Armstrong, Kathryn M.; Baker, Brian M.

    2013-01-01

    αβ T cell receptors (TCRs) recognize peptide antigens bound and presented by class I or class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins. Recognition of a peptide/MHC complex is required for initiation and propagation of a cellular immune response, as well as the development and maintenance of the T cell repertoire. Here we discuss methods to quantify the affinities and thermodynamics of interactions between soluble ectodomains of TCRs and their peptide/MHC ligands, focusing on titration calorimetry, surface plasmon resonance, and fluorescence anisotropy. As TCRs typically bind ligand with weak-to-moderate affinities, we focus the discussion on means to enhance the accuracy and precision of low affinity measurements. In addition to further elucidating the biology of the T cell mediated immune response, more reliable low affinity measurements will aid with more probing studies with mutants or altered peptides that can help illuminate the physical underpinnings of how TCRs achieve their remarkable recognition properties. PMID:21609868

  2. Affinity purification using recombinant PXR as a tool to characterize environmental ligands.

    PubMed

    Dagnino, Sonia; Bellet, Virginie; Grimaldi, Marina; Riu, Anne; Aït-Aïssa, Sélim; Cavaillès, Vincent; Fenet, Hélène; Balaguer, Patrick

    2014-02-01

    Many environmental endocrine disrupting compounds act as ligands for nuclear receptors. The human pregnane X receptor (hPXR), for instance, is activated by a variety of environmental ligands such as steroids, pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, alkylphenols, polychlorinated biphenyls and polybromo diethylethers. Some of us have previously reported the occurrence of hPXR ligands in environmental samples but failed to identify them. The aim of this study was to test whether a PXR-affinity column, in which recombinant hPXR was immobilized on solid support, could help the purification of these chemicals. Using PXR ligands of different affinity (10 nM < EC50 < 10 μM), we demonstrated that the PXR-affinity preferentially column captured ligands with medium to high affinities (EC50 < 1 μM). Furthermore, by using the PXR-affinity column to analyze an environmental sample containing ERα, AhR, AR, and PXR activities, we show that (i) half of the PXR activity of the sample was due to compounds with medium to high affinity for PXR and (ii) PXR shared ligands with ERα, AR, and AhR. These findings demonstrate that the newly developed PXR-affinity column coupled to reporter cell lines represents a valuable tool for the characterization of the nature of PXR active compounds and should therefore guide and facilitate their further analysis. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley company.

  3. Let's get specific: the relationship between specificity and affinity.

    PubMed

    Eaton, B E; Gold, L; Zichi, D A

    1995-10-01

    The factors that lead to high-affinity binding are a good fit between the surfaces of the two molecules in their ground state and charge complementarity. Exactly the same factors give high specificity for a target. We argue that selection for high-affinity binding automatically leads to highly specific binding. This principle can be used to simplify screening approaches aimed at generating useful drugs.

  4. Isolation by cell-column chromatography of immunoglobulins specific for cell surface carbohydrates

    PubMed Central

    1977-01-01

    A new method of affinity chromatography using glutaraldehyde-fixed cells immobilized on Sephadex beads has been used to isolate immunoglobulins (Ig's) specific for cell surface glycoproteins. Ig's that specifically bound and agglutinated the same cells as those originally fixed on the columns were isolated from nonimmune sera of various species. Periodate treatment of the cell-columns and the free cells destroyed their ability to bind the Ig's, and the binding of the Ig's to untreated cells was inhibited by monosaccharides such as D- galactose and sialic acid. The binding of antibodies directed against cell surfaces obtained by immunizing animals with the same mouse tumor cell lines used on the columns (P388 and EL4) was not inhibited by various saccharides. Surface glycoproteins obtained from the mouse tumor cells by immunoprecipitation with the column-isolated Ig's yielded specific electrophoretic patterns that differed from those obtained using Ig's from the sera of rabbits immunized with the tumor cells. The data suggest that the Ig's isolated by cell-column chromatography were directed against carbohydrates, probably those in terminal positions of the polysaccharide portions of the tumor cell surface glycoproteins. Column-isolated Ig's specific for carbohydrates were also useful in studies of cell interactions in nonmammalian systems including Dictyostelium discoideum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The cell-column method appears to be adaptable to the isolation of a variety of molecules in addition to antibodies. PMID:833547

  5. Enhancing Community Detection By Affinity-based Edge Weighting Scheme

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yoo, Andy; Sanders, Geoffrey; Henson, Van

    Community detection refers to an important graph analytics problem of finding a set of densely-connected subgraphs in a graph and has gained a great deal of interest recently. The performance of current community detection algorithms is limited by an inherent constraint of unweighted graphs that offer very little information on their internal community structures. In this paper, we propose a new scheme to address this issue that weights the edges in a given graph based on recently proposed vertex affinity. The vertex affinity quantifies the proximity between two vertices in terms of their clustering strength, and therefore, it is idealmore » for graph analytics applications such as community detection. We also demonstrate that the affinity-based edge weighting scheme can improve the performance of community detection algorithms significantly.« less

  6. Preparation of a silica stationary phase co-functionalized with Wulff-type phenylboronate and C12 for mixed-mode liquid chromatography.

    PubMed

    Li, Hengye; Zhang, Xuemeng; Zhang, Lin; Wang, Xiaojin; Kong, Fenying; Fan, Dahe; Li, Lei; Wang, Wei

    2017-04-15

    A silica stationary phase was designed and synthesized through the co-functionalization of silica with Wulff-type phenylboronate and C12 for mixed-mode liquid chromatography applications. The as-synthesized stationary phase was characterized by elemental analysis and Fourier Transform-InfraRed Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Retention mechanisms, including boronate affinity (BA), reversed-phase (RP) and anion-exchange (AE), were involved. Retention mechanism switching was easily realized by adjustment of the mobile phase constitution. Cis-diol compounds could be selectively captured under neutral conditions in BA mode and off-line separated in RP mode. Neutral, basic, acidic and amphiprotic compounds were chromatographed on the column in RP chromatography, while inorganic anions were chromatographed in AE chromatography to characterize the mixed-mode nature of the prepared stationary phase. In addition, the RP performance was compared with an octadecyl silica column in terms of column efficiency (N/m), asymmetry factor (A f ), retention factor (k) and resolution (Rs). The prepared stationary phase offered multiple interactions with analytes in addition to hydrophobic interactions under RP elution conditions. Based on the mixed-mode properties, off-line 2D-LC, for selective capture and separation of urinary nucleosides, was successfully realized on a single column, demonstrating its powerful application potential for complex samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Immobilizing affinity proteins to nitrocellulose: a toolbox for paper-based assay developers.

    PubMed

    Holstein, Carly A; Chevalier, Aaron; Bennett, Steven; Anderson, Caitlin E; Keniston, Karen; Olsen, Cathryn; Li, Bing; Bales, Brian; Moore, David R; Fu, Elain; Baker, David; Yager, Paul

    2016-02-01

    To enable enhanced paper-based diagnostics with improved detection capabilities, new methods are needed to immobilize affinity reagents to porous substrates, especially for capture molecules other than IgG. To this end, we have developed and characterized three novel methods for immobilizing protein-based affinity reagents to nitrocellulose membranes. We have demonstrated these methods using recombinant affinity proteins for the influenza surface protein hemagglutinin, leveraging the customizability of these recombinant "flu binders" for the design of features for immobilization. The three approaches shown are: (1) covalent attachment of thiolated affinity protein to an epoxide-functionalized nitrocellulose membrane, (2) attachment of biotinylated affinity protein through a nitrocellulose-binding streptavidin anchor protein, and (3) fusion of affinity protein to a novel nitrocellulose-binding anchor protein for direct coupling and immobilization. We also characterized the use of direct adsorption for the flu binders, as a point of comparison and motivation for these novel methods. Finally, we demonstrated that these novel methods can provide improved performance to an influenza hemagglutinin assay, compared to a traditional antibody-based capture system. Taken together, this work advances the toolkit available for the development of next-generation paper-based diagnostics.

  8. Host-Guest Complexes with Protein-Ligand-Like Affinities: Computational Analysis and Design

    PubMed Central

    Moghaddam, Sarvin; Inoue, Yoshihisa

    2009-01-01

    It has recently been discovered that guests combining a nonpolar core with cationic substituents bind cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) in water with ultra-high affinities. The present study uses the Mining Minima algorithm to study the physics of these extraordinary associations and to computationally test a new series of CB[7] ligands designed to bind with similarly high affinity. The calculations reproduce key experimental observations regarding the affinities of ferrocene-based guests with CB[7] and β-cyclodextrin and provide a coherent view of the roles of electrostatics and configurational entropy as determinants of affinity in these systems. The newly designed series of compounds is based on a bicyclo[2.2.2]octane core, which is similar in size and polarity to the ferrocene core of the existing series. Mining Minima predicts that these new compounds will, like the ferrocenes, bind CB[7] with extremely high affinities. PMID:19133781

  9. Tending to Change: Toward a Situated Model of Affinity Spaces

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bommarito, Dan

    2014-01-01

    The concept of affinity spaces, a theoretical construct used to analyze literate activity from a spatial perspective, has gained popularity among scholars of literacy studies and, particularly, video-game studies. This article seeks to expand current notions of affinity spaces by identifying key assumptions that have limited researchers'…

  10. Controlled levels of protein modification through a chromatography-mediated bioconjugation

    DOE PAGES

    Kwant, Richard L.; Jaffe, Jake; Palmere, Peter J.; ...

    2015-02-27

    Synthetically modified proteins are increasingly finding applications as well-defined scaffolds for materials. In practice it remains difficult to construct bioconjugates with precise levels of modification because of the limited number of repeated functional groups on proteins. This article describes a method to control the level of protein modification in cases where there exist multiple potential modification sites. A protein is first tagged with a handle using any of a variety of modification chemistries. This handle is used to isolate proteins with a particular number of modifications via affinity chromatography, and then the handle is elaborated with a desired moiety usingmore » an oxidative coupling reaction. This method results in a sample of protein with a well-defined number of modifications, and we find it particularly applicable to systems like protein homomultimers in which there is no way to discern between chemically identical subunits. We demonstrate the use of this method in the construction of a protein-templated light-harvesting mimic, a type of system which has historically been difficult to make in a well-defined manner.« less

  11. Bacillus Collagen Like Protein of Anthracis: Immunological and Functional Analyses

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-09-21

    heated at 65°C for 30 minutes, diluted, and plated on trypticase soy agar (TSA) to obtain viable counts. Since heat treatment kills the vegetative...purification of that protein by nickel-affinity chromatography are also described in detail elsewhere (Brahmbhatt T.N, lK. Janes, E.S. Stibitz, S.C...Trap Nickel affinity column chromatography with the Fast Phase Liquid Chromatography (FPLC) AKTA system (GE Healthcare, Piscataway, NJ). Rabbit anti

  12. Effect of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate on oxygen affinity of blood in sickle cell anemia

    PubMed Central

    Charache, Samuel; Grisolia, Santiago; Fiedler, Adam J.; Hellegers, Andre E.

    1970-01-01

    Blood of patients with sickle cell anemia (SS) exhibits decreased affinity for oxygen, although the oxygen affinity of hemoglobin S is the same as that of hemoglobin A. SS red cells contain more 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) than normal erythrocytes. The oxygen affinity of hemolyzed red cells is decreased by added DPG, and hemolysates prepared from SS red cells do not differ from normal hemolysates in this regard. Reduction of oxygen affinity to the levels found in intact SS red cells required DPG concentrations in excess of those found in most SS patients. The same was true of oxygen affinity of patients with pyruvate kinase deficiency. Other organic phosphates, as well as inorganic ions, are known to alter the oxygen affinity of dilute solutions of hemoglobin. These substances, the state of aggregation of hemoglobin molecules, and cytoarchitectural factors probably play roles in determining oxygen affinity of both normal and SS red cells. PMID:5443181

  13. Generation of a novel high-affinity monoclonal antibody with conformational recognition epitope on human IgM.

    PubMed

    Sarikhani, Sina; Mirshahi, Manouchehr; Gharaati, Mohammad Reza; Mirshahi, Tooran

    2010-11-01

    As IgM is the first isotype of antibody which appears in blood after initial exposure to a foreign antigen in the pattern of primary response, detection, and quantification of this molecule in blood seems invaluable. To approach these goals, generation, and characterization of a highly specific mAb (monoclonal antibody) against human IgM were investigated. Human IgM immunoglobulins were used to immunize Balb/c mice. Spleen cells taken from the immunized animals were fused with SP2/O myeloma cells using PEG (polyethylene glycol, MW 1450) as fusogen. The hybridomas were cultured in HAT containing medium and supernatants from the growing hybrids were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using plates coated with pure human IgM and the positive wells were then cloned at limiting dilutions. The best clone designated as MAN-1, was injected intraperitoneally to some Pristane-injected mice. Anti-IgM mAb was purified from the animals' ascitic fluid by protein-G sepharose followed by DEAE-cellulose ion exchange chromatography. MAN-1 interacted with human IgM with a very high specificity and affinity. The purity of the sample was tested by SDS-PAGE and the affinity constant was measured (K(a) = 3.5 x 10(9)M(-1). Immunoblotting and competitive ELISA were done and the results showed that the harvested antibody recognizes a conformational epitope on the mu chain of human IgM and there was no cross-reactivity with other subclasses of immunoglobulins. Furthermore, isotyping test was done and the results showed the subclass of the obtained mAb which was IgG(1)kappa.

  14. Specificity and Affinity Quantification of Flexible Recognition from Underlying Energy Landscape Topography

    PubMed Central

    Chu, Xiakun; Wang, Jin

    2014-01-01

    Flexibility in biomolecular recognition is essential and critical for many cellular activities. Flexible recognition often leads to moderate affinity but high specificity, in contradiction with the conventional wisdom that high affinity and high specificity are coupled. Furthermore, quantitative understanding of the role of flexibility in biomolecular recognition is still challenging. Here, we meet the challenge by quantifying the intrinsic biomolecular recognition energy landscapes with and without flexibility through the underlying density of states. We quantified the thermodynamic intrinsic specificity by the topography of the intrinsic binding energy landscape and the kinetic specificity by association rate. We found that the thermodynamic and kinetic specificity are strongly correlated. Furthermore, we found that flexibility decreases binding affinity on one hand, but increases binding specificity on the other hand, and the decreasing or increasing proportion of affinity and specificity are strongly correlated with the degree of flexibility. This shows more (less) flexibility leads to weaker (stronger) coupling between affinity and specificity. Our work provides a theoretical foundation and quantitative explanation of the previous qualitative studies on the relationship among flexibility, affinity and specificity. In addition, we found that the folding energy landscapes are more funneled with binding, indicating that binding helps folding during the recognition. Finally, we demonstrated that the whole binding-folding energy landscapes can be integrated by the rigid binding and isolated folding energy landscapes under weak flexibility. Our results provide a novel way to quantify the affinity and specificity in flexible biomolecular recognition. PMID:25144525

  15. Specificity and affinity quantification of flexible recognition from underlying energy landscape topography.

    PubMed

    Chu, Xiakun; Wang, Jin

    2014-08-01

    Flexibility in biomolecular recognition is essential and critical for many cellular activities. Flexible recognition often leads to moderate affinity but high specificity, in contradiction with the conventional wisdom that high affinity and high specificity are coupled. Furthermore, quantitative understanding of the role of flexibility in biomolecular recognition is still challenging. Here, we meet the challenge by quantifying the intrinsic biomolecular recognition energy landscapes with and without flexibility through the underlying density of states. We quantified the thermodynamic intrinsic specificity by the topography of the intrinsic binding energy landscape and the kinetic specificity by association rate. We found that the thermodynamic and kinetic specificity are strongly correlated. Furthermore, we found that flexibility decreases binding affinity on one hand, but increases binding specificity on the other hand, and the decreasing or increasing proportion of affinity and specificity are strongly correlated with the degree of flexibility. This shows more (less) flexibility leads to weaker (stronger) coupling between affinity and specificity. Our work provides a theoretical foundation and quantitative explanation of the previous qualitative studies on the relationship among flexibility, affinity and specificity. In addition, we found that the folding energy landscapes are more funneled with binding, indicating that binding helps folding during the recognition. Finally, we demonstrated that the whole binding-folding energy landscapes can be integrated by the rigid binding and isolated folding energy landscapes under weak flexibility. Our results provide a novel way to quantify the affinity and specificity in flexible biomolecular recognition.

  16. A HIGH-LEVEL CALCULATION OF THE PROTON AFFINITY OF DIBORANE

    EPA Science Inventory

    The experimental proton affinity of diborane (B2H6) is based on an unstable species, B2H,+, 4 which has been observed only at low temperatures. The present work calculates the proton 5 affinity of diborane using the Gaussian-3 method and other high-level compound ab initio 6 met...

  17. Evaluation of Multi-tRNA Synthetase Complex by Multiple Reaction Monitoring Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Size Exclusion Chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Jun Seok; Lee, Cheolju

    2015-01-01

    Eight aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (M, K, Q, D, R, I, EP and LARS) and three auxiliary proteins (AIMP1, 2 and 3) are known to form a multi-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC) in mammalian cells. We combined size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with reversed-phase liquid chromatography multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (RPLC-MRM-MS) to characterize MSC components and free ARS proteins in human embryonic kidney (HEK 293T) cells. Crude cell extract and affinity-purified proteins were fractionated by SEC in non-denaturing state and ARSs were monitored in each fraction by MRM-MS. The eleven MSC components appeared mostly in earlier SEC fractions demonstrating their participation in complex formation. TARSL2 and AIMP2-DX2, despite their low abundance, were co-purified with KARS and detected in the SEC fractions, where MSC appeared. Moreover, other large complex-forming ARS proteins, such as VARS and FARS, were detected in earlier fractions. The MRM-MS results were further confirmed by western blot analysis. Our study demonstrates usefulness of combined SEC-MRM analysis for the characterization of protein complexes and in understanding the behavior of minor isoforms or variant proteins. PMID:26544075

  18. Evaluation of Multi-tRNA Synthetase Complex by Multiple Reaction Monitoring Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Size Exclusion Chromatography.

    PubMed

    Park, Seong-Jun; Ahn, Hee-Sung; Kim, Jun Seok; Lee, Cheolju

    2015-01-01

    Eight aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (M, K, Q, D, R, I, EP and LARS) and three auxiliary proteins (AIMP1, 2 and 3) are known to form a multi-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC) in mammalian cells. We combined size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with reversed-phase liquid chromatography multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (RPLC-MRM-MS) to characterize MSC components and free ARS proteins in human embryonic kidney (HEK 293T) cells. Crude cell extract and affinity-purified proteins were fractionated by SEC in non-denaturing state and ARSs were monitored in each fraction by MRM-MS. The eleven MSC components appeared mostly in earlier SEC fractions demonstrating their participation in complex formation. TARSL2 and AIMP2-DX2, despite their low abundance, were co-purified with KARS and detected in the SEC fractions, where MSC appeared. Moreover, other large complex-forming ARS proteins, such as VARS and FARS, were detected in earlier fractions. The MRM-MS results were further confirmed by western blot analysis. Our study demonstrates usefulness of combined SEC-MRM analysis for the characterization of protein complexes and in understanding the behavior of minor isoforms or variant proteins.

  19. Purification of organic acids by chromatography with strong anionic resins: Investigation of uptake mechanisms.

    PubMed

    Lemaire, Julien; Blanc, Claire-Line; Lutin, Florence; Théoleyre, Marc-André; Stambouli, Moncef; Pareau, Dominique

    2016-08-05

    Bio-based organic acids are promising renewable carbon sources for the chemical industry. However energy-consuming purification processes are used, like distillation or crystallization, to reach high purities required in some applications. That is why preparative chromatography was studied as an alternative separation technique. In a previous work dealing with the purification of lactic, succinic and citric acids, the Langmuir model was insufficient to explain the elution profiles obtained with a strong anionic resin. Consequently the Langmuir model was coupled with a usual ion-exchange model to take into account the retention of their conjugate bases (<2%), which are commonly neglected at low pH (<1.5). Elution simulations with both uptake mechanisms fitted very well with experimental pulse tests. Only two parameters were optimized (equilibrium constant of acid uptake and ion-exchange selectivity coefficient of conjugate base) and their value were coherent with experimental and resin suppliers' data. These results confirmed that the singular tailing and apparent delay observed with succinic and citric acids can be explained by the high affinity of succinate and citrate for resin cationic sites. The model was implemented in a preparative chromatography simulation program in order to optimize operating parameters of our pilot-scale ISMB unit (Improved Simulated Moving Bed). The comparison with experimental ISMB profiles was conclusive. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Evaluation of protein-ligand affinity prediction using steered molecular dynamics simulations.

    PubMed

    Okimoto, Noriaki; Suenaga, Atsushi; Taiji, Makoto

    2017-11-01

    In computational drug design, ranking a series of compound analogs in a manner that is consistent with experimental affinities remains a challenge. In this study, we evaluated the prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities using steered molecular dynamics simulations. First, we investigated the appropriate conditions for accurate predictions in these simulations. A conic harmonic restraint was applied to the system for efficient sampling of work values on the ligand unbinding pathway. We found that pulling velocity significantly influenced affinity predictions, but that the number of collectable trajectories was less influential. We identified the appropriate pulling velocity and collectable trajectories for binding affinity predictions as 1.25 Å/ns and 100, respectively, and these parameters were used to evaluate three target proteins (FK506 binding protein, trypsin, and cyclin-dependent kinase 2). For these proteins using our parameters, the accuracy of affinity prediction was higher and more stable when Jarzynski's equality was employed compared with the second-order cumulant expansion equation of Jarzynski's equality. Our results showed that steered molecular dynamics simulations are effective for predicting the rank order of ligands; thus, they are a potential tool for compound selection in hit-to-lead and lead optimization processes.

  1. Artificial Affinity Proteins as Ligands of Immunoglobulins

    PubMed Central

    Mouratou, Barbara; Béhar, Ghislaine; Pecorari, Frédéric

    2015-01-01

    A number of natural proteins are known to have affinity and specificity for immunoglobulins. Some of them are widely used as reagents for detection or capture applications, such as Protein G and Protein A. However, these natural proteins have a defined spectrum of recognition that may not fit specific needs. With the development of combinatorial protein engineering and selection techniques, it has become possible to design artificial affinity proteins with the desired properties. These proteins, termed alternative scaffold proteins, are most often chosen for their stability, ease of engineering and cost-efficient recombinant production in bacteria. In this review, we focus on alternative scaffold proteins for which immunoglobulin binders have been identified and characterized. PMID:25647098

  2. Aberrant antibody affinity selection in SHIP-deficient B cells.

    PubMed

    Leung, Wai-Hang; Tarasenko, Tatiana; Biesova, Zuzana; Kole, Hemanta; Walsh, Elizabeth R; Bolland, Silvia

    2013-02-01

    The strength of the Ag receptor signal influences development and negative selection of B cells, and it might also affect B-cell survival and selection in the GC. Here, we have used mice with B-cell-specific deletion of the 5'-inositol phosphatase SHIP as a model to study affinity selection in cells that are hyperresponsive to Ag and cytokine receptor stimulation. In the absence of SHIP, B cells have lower thresholds for Ag- and interferon (IFN)-induced activation, resulting in augmented negative selection in the BM and enhanced B-cell maturation in the periphery. Despite a tendency to spontaneously downregulate surface IgM expression, SHIP deficiency does not alter anergy induction in response to soluble hen-egg lysozyme Ag in the MDA4 transgenic model. SHIP-deficient B cells spontaneously produce isotype-switched antibodies; however, they are poor responders in immunization and infection models. While SHIP-deficient B cells form GCs and undergo mutation, they are not properly selected for high-affinity antibodies. These results illustrate the importance of negative regulation of B-cell responses, as lower thresholds for B-cell activation promote survival of low affinity and deleterious receptors to the detriment of optimal Ab affinity maturation. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Robust non-rigid registration algorithm based on local affine registration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Liyang; Xiong, Lei; Du, Shaoyi; Bi, Duyan; Fang, Ting; Liu, Kun; Wu, Dongpeng

    2018-04-01

    Aiming at the problem that the traditional point set non-rigid registration algorithm has low precision and slow convergence speed for complex local deformation data, this paper proposes a robust non-rigid registration algorithm based on local affine registration. The algorithm uses a hierarchical iterative method to complete the point set non-rigid registration from coarse to fine. In each iteration, the sub data point sets and sub model point sets are divided and the shape control points of each sub point set are updated. Then we use the control point guided affine ICP algorithm to solve the local affine transformation between the corresponding sub point sets. Next, the local affine transformation obtained by the previous step is used to update the sub data point sets and their shape control point sets. When the algorithm reaches the maximum iteration layer K, the loop ends and outputs the updated sub data point sets. Experimental results demonstrate that the accuracy and convergence of our algorithm are greatly improved compared with the traditional point set non-rigid registration algorithms.

  4. Affine Contractions on the Plane

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Celik, D.; Ozdemir, Y.; Ureyen, M.

    2007-01-01

    Contractions play a considerable role in the theory of fractals. However, it is not easy to find contractions which are not similitudes. In this study, it is shown by counter examples that an affine transformation of the plane carrying a given triangle onto another triangle may not be a contraction even if it contracts edges, heights or medians.…

  5. Liquid Chromatography in 1982.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeman, David H.

    1982-01-01

    Reviews trends in liquid chromatography including apparatus, factors affecting efficient separation of a mixture (peak sharpness and speed), simplified problem-solving, adsorption, bonded phase chromatography, ion selectivity, and size exclusion. The current trend is to control chemical selectivity by the liquid phase. (Author/JN)

  6. On the vanishing couplings in ADE affine Toda field theories

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saitoh, Y.; Shimada, T.

    In this paper, the authors show that certain vanishing couplins in the ADE affine Toda field theories remain vanishing even after higher-order corrections are included. This is a requisite property for the Lagrangian formulation of the theory. The authors develop a new perturbative formulation and treat affine Toda field theories as a massless theory with exponential interaction terms. The authors shown that the nonrenormalization comes from the Dynkin automorphism of the Lie algebra associated with these theories. A charge balance conditions plays an important role in our scheme. The all-order nonrenormalization of vanishing couplings in [bar A][sub n] affine Todamore » field theory is also proved in a standard massive scheme.« less

  7. [An examination of the determinants of social withdrawal and affinity for social withdrawal].

    PubMed

    Watanabe, Asami; Matsui, Yutaka; Takatsuka, Yusuke

    2010-12-01

    This study examined the determinants of social withdrawal using data from a survey by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office for Youth Affairs and Public Safety (2008). In addition, this study identified young people who showed an affinity for social withdrawal although they were not in a state of withdrawal, and examined the determinants of an affinity for social withdrawal. The results of stepwise discriminant analysis showed that factors such as social phobia, depression, violence, and emotional bonds with family differentiated between the general youth group and the social withdrawal group and the "affinity group". Social phobia, violence, and refusal to be interfered in self-decision making differentiated between the social withdrawal group and the "affinity group". This study shows that an "affinity group" should be cared as well as an actual withdrawal group.

  8. [Serological affinity of some species of nonpathogenic corynebacteria].

    PubMed

    Furtat, I M; Nohina, T M; Mikhal's'kyĭ, L O; Vedenieieva, O A

    2002-01-01

    Serological peculiarities of the species strains Corynebacterium glutamicum, C. ammoniagenes, C. vitaeruminis, C. variabilis and strain of Corynebacterium sp. (Brevibacterium stationis) UCM Ac-719 have been investigated with the help of immunoenzyme analysis ELISA with the use of mice immune serum, specific to C. ammoniagenes UCM Ac-732T, C. vitaeruminis UCM Ac-718T, C. variabilis UCM Ac-717T, C. glutamicum UCM Ac-733 and Corynebacterium sp. UCM Ac-719. It has been established that the species of nonpathogenic corynebacteria differ between themselves as to the degree of serological affinity. C. variabilis, C. ammoniagenes and C. glutamicum are the least similar as to this indication. Weak antigenic relations have been revealed in C. vitaeruminis and C. ammoniagenes. The latter displayed the higher, as compared with other strains, affinity for Corynebacterium sp. UCM Ac-719. The highest degree of serological affinity within the species was registered in strains C. glutamicum and C. variabilis. Data obtained evidence that the ELISA method permits conducting the high-reliability species diagnosis of nonpathogenic corynebacteria on the basis of their antigenic characteristics.

  9. Cryogelation of molecularly imprinted nanoparticles: a macroporous structure as affinity chromatography column for removal of β-blockers from complex samples.

    PubMed

    Hajizadeh, Solmaz; Xu, Changgang; Kirsebom, Harald; Ye, Lei; Mattiasson, Bo

    2013-01-25

    In this work, a new macroporous molecularly imprinted cryogel (MIP composite cryogel) was synthesized by glutaraldehyde cross-linking reaction of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) particles and amino-modified molecularly imprinted core-shell nanoparticles. The MIP core-shell nanoparticles were prepared using propranolol as a template by one-pot precipitation polymerization with sequential monomer addition. The characteristics of the MIP composite cryogel were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and texture analyzer. The macroporous structure of the composite (with the pore size varying from a few micrometers to 100 μm) enabled high mass transfer of particulate-containing fluids. In a solid phase extraction (SPE) process, the efficiency and selectivity of the MIP composite cryogel were investigated, where the cryogel was used as an affinity matrix to remove propranolol from aqueous solution as well as from complex plasma sample without prior protein precipitation. The MIP composite cryogel maintained high selectivity and stability and could be used repeatedly after regeneration. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Synthesis of hapten and preparation of specific polyclonal antibody with high affinity for lenalidomide, the potent drug for treatment of multiple myeloma.

    PubMed

    Darwish, Ibrahim A; Alzoman, Nourh Z; Abuhejail, Reem M; El-Samani, Tilal E

    2012-10-26

    For therapeutic monitoring and pharmacokinetic studies of lenalidomide (LND), the potent drug for treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), a specific antibody was required for the development of a sensitive immunoassay system for the accurate determination of LND in plasma. In this study, a hapten of LND (N-glutaryl-LND) was synthesized by introducing the glutaryl moiety, as a spacer, into the primary aromatic amine site of the LND molecular structure. The structure of the hapten (G-LND) was confirmed by mass, 1H-NMR, and 13C spectrometric techniques. G-LND was coupled to each of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) proteins by ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide as a coupling reagent. LND-KLH conjugate was used as an immunogen. Four female 2-3 months old New Zealand white rabbits were immunized with an emulsion of LND-KLH with Freund`s adjuvant. The immune response of the rabbits was monitored by direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using LND-BSA immobilized onto microwell plates as a solid phase. The rabbit that showed the highest antibody titer and affinity to LND was scarified and its sera were collected. The IgG fraction was isolated and purified by affinity chromatography on protein A column. The specificity of the purified antibody for LND was evaluated by indirect competitive ELISA using dexamethasone as a competitor as it is used with LND in a combination therapy. The high affinity of the antibody (IC50 = 10 ng/mL) will be useful in the development of an immunoassay system for the determination of plasma LND concentrations. Current research is going to optimize the assay conditions and validate the procedures for the routine application in clinical laboratories.

  11. Exploring high-affinity binding properties of octamer peptides by principal component analysis of tetramer peptides.

    PubMed

    Kume, Akiko; Kawai, Shun; Kato, Ryuji; Iwata, Shinmei; Shimizu, Kazunori; Honda, Hiroyuki

    2017-02-01

    To investigate the binding properties of a peptide sequence, we conducted principal component analysis (PCA) of the physicochemical features of a tetramer peptide library comprised of 512 peptides, and the variables were reduced to two principal components. We selected IL-2 and IgG as model proteins and the binding affinity to these proteins was assayed using the 512 peptides mentioned above. PCA of binding affinity data showed that 16 and 18 variables were suitable for localizing IL-2 and IgG high-affinity binding peptides, respectively, into a restricted region of the PCA plot. We then investigated whether the binding affinity of octamer peptide libraries could be predicted using the identified region in the tetramer PCA. The results show that octamer high-affinity binding peptides were also concentrated in the tetramer high-affinity binding region of both IL-2 and IgG. The average fluorescence intensity of high-affinity binding peptides was 3.3- and 2.1-fold higher than that of low-affinity binding peptides for IL-2 and IgG, respectively. We conclude that PCA may be used to identify octamer peptides with high- or low-affinity binding properties from data from a tetramer peptide library. Copyright © 2016 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. How Much Binding Affinity Can be Gained by Filling a Cavity?

    PubMed Central

    Kawasaki, Yuko; Chufan, Eduardo E.; Lafont, Virginie; Hidaka, Koushi; Kiso, Yoshiaki; Amzel, L. Mario; Freire, Ernesto

    2011-01-01

    Binding affinity optimization is critical during drug development. Here we evaluate the thermodynamic consequences of filling a binding cavity with functionalities of increasing van der Waals radii (-H, -F, -Cl and CH3) that improve the geometric fit without participating in hydrogen bonding or other specific interactions. We observe a binding affinity increase of two orders of magnitude. There appears to be three phases in the process. The first phase is associated with the formation of stable van der Waals interactions. This phase is characterized by a gain in binding enthalpy and a loss in binding entropy, attributed to a loss of conformational degrees of freedom. For the specific case presented in this paper, the enthalpy gain amounts to −1.5 kcal/mol while the entropic losses amount to +0.9 kcal/mol resulting in a net 3.5-fold affinity gain. The second phase is characterized by simultaneous enthalpic and entropic gains. This phase improves the binding affinity 25-fold. The third phase represents the collapse of the trend and is triggered by the introduction of chemical functionalities larger than the binding cavity itself (CH(CH3)2). It is characterized by large enthalpy and affinity losses. The thermodynamic signatures associated with each phase provide guidelines for lead optimization. PMID:20028396

  13. Cloning and functional characterization of the high-affinity K+ transporter HAK1 of pepper.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Cordero, M Angeles; Martínez, Vicente; Rubio, Francisco

    2004-10-01

    High-affinity K+ uptake in plants plays a crucial role in K+ nutrition and different systems have been postulated to contribute to the high-affinity K+ uptake. The results presented here with pepper (Capsicum annum) demonstrate that a HAK1-type transporter greatly contributes to the high-affinity K+ uptake observed in roots. Pepper plants starved of K+ for 3 d showed high-affinity K+ uptake (Km of 6 microM K+) that was very sensitive to NH and their roots expressed a high-affinity K+ transporter, CaHAK1, which clusters in group I of the KT/HAK/KUP family of transporters. When expressed in yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ), CaHAK1 mediated high-affinity K+ and Rb+ uptake with Km values of 3.3 and 1.9 microM, respectively. Rb+ uptake was competitively inhibited by micromolar concentrations of NH and Cs+, and by millimolar concentrations of Na+.

  14. An O({radical}nL) primal-dual affine scaling algorithm for linear programming

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Huang, Siming

    1994-12-31

    We present a new primal-dual affine scaling algorithm for linear programming. The search direction of the algorithm is a combination of classical affine scaling direction of Dikin and a recent new affine scaling direction of Jansen, Roos and Terlaky. The algorithm has an iteration complexity of O({radical}nL), comparing to O(nL) complexity of Jansen, Roos and Terlaky.

  15. PREDICTING ER BINDING AFFINITY FOR EDC RANKING AND PRIORITIZATION: MODEL II

    EPA Science Inventory

    The training set used to derive a common reactivity pattern (COREPA) model for estrogen receptor (ER) binding affinity in Model I (see Abstract I in this series) was extended to include 47 rat estrogen receptor (rER) relative binding affinity (RBA) measurements in addition to the...

  16. Paper-based immune-affinity arrays for detection of multiple mycotoxins in cereals.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Chen, Hongpu; Lv, Xiaolan; Wang, Min; Jiang, Xizhi; Jiang, Yifei; Wang, Heye; Zhao, Yongfu; Xia, Liru

    2018-03-01

    Mycotoxins produced by different species of fungi may coexist in cereals and feedstuffs, and could be highly toxic for humans and animals. For quantification of multiple mycotoxins in cereals, we developed a paper-based mycotoxin immune-affinity array. First, paper-based microzone arrays were fabricated by photolithography. Then, monoclonal mycotoxin antibodies were added in a copolymerization reaction with a cross-linker to form an immune-affinity monolith on the paper-based microzone array. With use of a competitive immune-response format, paper-based mycotoxin immune-affinity arrays were successfully applied to detect mycotoxins in samples. The detection limits for deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, T-2 toxin, and HT-2 toxin were 62.7, 10.8, 0.36, and 0.23 μg·kg -1 , respectively, which meet relevant requirements for these compounds in food. The recovery rates were 81-86% for deoxynivalenol, 89-117% for zearalenone, 79-86% for T-2 toxin, and 78-83% for HT-2 toxin, and showed the paper-based immune-affinity arrays had good reproducibility. In summary, the paper-based mycotoxin immune-affinity array provides a sensitive, rapid, accurate, stable, and convenient platform for detection of multiple mycotoxins in agro-foods. Graphical abstract Paper-based immune-affinity monolithic array. DON deoxynivalenol, HT-2 HT-2 toxin, T-2 T-2 toxin, PEGDA polyethylene glycol diacrylate, ZEN zearalenone.

  17. Detachment of affinity-captured bioparticles by elastic deformation of a macroporous hydrogel

    PubMed Central

    Dainiak, Maria B.; Kumar, Ashok; Galaev, Igor Yu.; Mattiasson, Bo

    2006-01-01

    Adsorption of bioparticles to affinity surfaces involves polyvalent interactions, complicating greatly the recovery of the adsorbed material. A unique system for the efficient binding and release of different cells and particles is described. Affinity-bound bioparticles and synthetic particles are detached from the macroporous hydrogel matrix, a so-called cryogel, when the cryogel undergoes elastic deformation. The particle detachment upon elastic deformation is believed to be due to breaking of many of the multipoint attachments between the particles and the affinity matrix and the change in the distance between affinity ligands when the matrix is deformed. However, no release of affinity-bound protein occurred upon elastic deformation. The phenomenon of particle detachment upon elastic deformation is believed to be of a generic nature, because it was demonstrated for a variety of bioparticles of different sizes and for synthetic particles, for different ligand–receptor pairs (IgG–protein A, sugar–ConA, metal ion–chelating ligand), and when the deformation was caused by either external forces (mechanical deformation) or internal forces (the shrinkage of thermosensitive, macroporous hydrogel upon an increase in temperature). The elasticity of cryogel monoliths ensures high recovery of captured cells under mild conditions, with highly retained viability. This property, along with their continuous porous structure makes cryogel monoliths very attractive for applications in affinity cell separation. PMID:16418282

  18. Structural correlates of affinity in fetal versus adult endplate nicotinic receptors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nayak, Tapan Kumar; Chakraborty, Srirupa; Zheng, Wenjun; Auerbach, Anthony

    2016-04-01

    Adult-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) mediate signalling at mature neuromuscular junctions and fetal-type AChRs are necessary for proper synapse development. Each AChR has two neurotransmitter binding sites located at the interface of a principal and a complementary subunit. Although all agonist binding sites have the same core of five aromatic amino acids, the fetal site has ~30-fold higher affinity for the neurotransmitter ACh. Here we use molecular dynamics simulations of adult versus fetal homology models to identify complementary-subunit residues near the core that influence affinity, and use single-channel electrophysiology to corroborate the results. Four residues in combination determine adult versus fetal affinity. Simulations suggest that at lower-affinity sites, one of these unsettles the core directly and the others (in loop E) increase backbone flexibility to unlock a key, complementary tryptophan from the core. Swapping only four amino acids is necessary and sufficient to exchange function between adult and fetal AChRs.

  19. Analysis of Structural Features Contributing to Weak Affinities of Ubiquitin/Protein Interactions.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Ariel; Rosenthal, Eran; Shifman, Julia M

    2017-11-10

    Ubiquitin is a small protein that enables one of the most common post-translational modifications, where the whole ubiquitin molecule is attached to various target proteins, forming mono- or polyubiquitin conjugations. As a prototypical multispecific protein, ubiquitin interacts non-covalently with a variety of proteins in the cell, including ubiquitin-modifying enzymes and ubiquitin receptors that recognize signals from ubiquitin-conjugated substrates. To enable recognition of multiple targets and to support fast dissociation from the ubiquitin modifying enzymes, ubiquitin/protein interactions are characterized with low affinities, frequently in the higher μM and lower mM range. To determine how structure encodes low binding affinity of ubiquitin/protein complexes, we analyzed structures of more than a hundred such complexes compiled in the Ubiquitin Structural Relational Database. We calculated various structure-based features of ubiquitin/protein binding interfaces and compared them to the same features of general protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with various functions and generally higher affinities. Our analysis shows that ubiquitin/protein binding interfaces on average do not differ in size and shape complementarity from interfaces of higher-affinity PPIs. However, they contain fewer favorable hydrogen bonds and more unfavorable hydrophobic/charge interactions. We further analyzed how binding interfaces change upon affinity maturation of ubiquitin toward its target proteins. We demonstrate that while different features are improved in different experiments, the majority of the evolved complexes exhibit better shape complementarity and hydrogen bond pattern compared to wild-type complexes. Our analysis helps to understand how low-affinity PPIs have evolved and how they could be converted into high-affinity PPIs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Accurate Evaluation Method of Molecular Binding Affinity from Fluctuation Frequency

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoshino, Tyuji; Iwamoto, Koji; Ode, Hirotaka; Ohdomari, Iwao

    2008-05-01

    Exact estimation of the molecular binding affinity is significantly important for drug discovery. The energy calculation is a direct method to compute the strength of the interaction between two molecules. This energetic approach is, however, not accurate enough to evaluate a slight difference in binding affinity when distinguishing a prospective substance from dozens of candidates for medicine. Hence more accurate estimation of drug efficacy in a computer is currently demanded. Previously we proposed a concept of estimating molecular binding affinity, focusing on the fluctuation at an interface between two molecules. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the compatibility between the proposed computational technique and experimental measurements, through several examples for computer simulations of an association of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) protease and its inhibitor (an example for a drug-enzyme binding), a complexation of an antigen and its antibody (an example for a protein-protein binding), and a combination of estrogen receptor and its ligand chemicals (an example for a ligand-receptor binding). The proposed affinity estimation has proven to be a promising technique in the advanced stage of the discovery and the design of drugs.

  1. A molecular determinant of phosphoinositide affinity in mammalian TRPV channels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Velisetty, Phanindra; Borbiro, Istvan; Kasimova, Marina A.; Liu, Luyu; Badheka, Doreen; Carnevale, Vincenzo; Rohacs, Tibor

    2016-06-01

    Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] is an important cofactor for ion channels. Affinity for this lipid is a major determinant of channel inhibition by depletion of PI(4,5)P2 upon phospholipase C (PLC) activation. Little is known about what determines PI(4,5)P2 affinity in mammalian ion channels. Here we report that two members of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid (TRPV) ion channel family, TRPV5 and TRPV6 lack a positively charged residue in the TM4-TM5 loop that was shown to interact with PI(4,5)P2 in TRPV1, which shows high affinity for this lipid. When this positively charged residue was introduced to either TRPV6 or TRPV5, they displayed markedly higher affinities for PI(4,5)P2, and were largely resistant to inhibition by PI(4,5)P2 depletion. Furthermore, Ca2+-induced inactivation of TRPV6 was essentially eliminated in the G488R mutant, showing the importance of PLC-mediated PI(4,5)P2 depletion in this process. Computational modeling shows that the introduced positive charge interacts with PI(4,5)P2 in TRPV6.

  2. Applications of alginate in bioseparation of proteins.

    PubMed

    Jain, Sulakshana; Mondal, Kalyani; Gupta, Munishwar N

    2006-01-01

    Alginate is a polysaccharide that is a block polymer consisting of block units of guluronic acid and mannuronic acid. It shows inherent biological affinity for a variety of enzymes such as pectinase, lipase, phospholipase D, a and ss amylases and glucoamylase. Taking advantage of its precipitation with Ca2+ and the above-mentioned property, alginate has been used for purification of these enzymes by affinity precipitation, aqueous two phase separation, macroaffinity ligand facilitated three phase partitioning, immobilized metal affinity chromatography and expanded bed affinity chromatography. Thus, this versatile marine resource has tremendous potential in bioseparation of proteins.

  3. Fatigue damage prognosis using affine arithmetic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gbaguidi, Audrey; Kim, Daewon

    2014-02-01

    Among the essential steps to be taken in structural health monitoring systems, damage prognosis would be the field that is least investigated due to the complexity of the uncertainties. This paper presents the possibility of using Affine Arithmetic for uncertainty propagation of crack damage in damage prognosis. The structures examined are thin rectangular plates made of titanium alloys with central mode I cracks and a composite plate with an internal delamination caused by mixed mode I and II fracture modes, under a harmonic uniaxial loading condition. The model-based method for crack growth rates are considered using the Paris Erdogan law model for the isotropic plates and the delamination growth law model proposed by Kardomateas for the composite plate. The parameters for both models are randomly taken and their uncertainties are considered as defined by an interval instead of a probability distribution. A Monte Carlo method is also applied to check whether Affine Arithmetic (AA) leads to tight bounds on the lifetime of the structure.

  4. Accurate and sensitive quantification of protein-DNA binding affinity.

    PubMed

    Rastogi, Chaitanya; Rube, H Tomas; Kribelbauer, Judith F; Crocker, Justin; Loker, Ryan E; Martini, Gabriella D; Laptenko, Oleg; Freed-Pastor, William A; Prives, Carol; Stern, David L; Mann, Richard S; Bussemaker, Harmen J

    2018-04-17

    Transcription factors (TFs) control gene expression by binding to genomic DNA in a sequence-specific manner. Mutations in TF binding sites are increasingly found to be associated with human disease, yet we currently lack robust methods to predict these sites. Here, we developed a versatile maximum likelihood framework named No Read Left Behind (NRLB) that infers a biophysical model of protein-DNA recognition across the full affinity range from a library of in vitro selected DNA binding sites. NRLB predicts human Max homodimer binding in near-perfect agreement with existing low-throughput measurements. It can capture the specificity of the p53 tetramer and distinguish multiple binding modes within a single sample. Additionally, we confirm that newly identified low-affinity enhancer binding sites are functional in vivo, and that their contribution to gene expression matches their predicted affinity. Our results establish a powerful paradigm for identifying protein binding sites and interpreting gene regulatory sequences in eukaryotic genomes. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  5. Accurate and sensitive quantification of protein-DNA binding affinity

    PubMed Central

    Rastogi, Chaitanya; Rube, H. Tomas; Kribelbauer, Judith F.; Crocker, Justin; Loker, Ryan E.; Martini, Gabriella D.; Laptenko, Oleg; Freed-Pastor, William A.; Prives, Carol; Stern, David L.; Mann, Richard S.; Bussemaker, Harmen J.

    2018-01-01

    Transcription factors (TFs) control gene expression by binding to genomic DNA in a sequence-specific manner. Mutations in TF binding sites are increasingly found to be associated with human disease, yet we currently lack robust methods to predict these sites. Here, we developed a versatile maximum likelihood framework named No Read Left Behind (NRLB) that infers a biophysical model of protein-DNA recognition across the full affinity range from a library of in vitro selected DNA binding sites. NRLB predicts human Max homodimer binding in near-perfect agreement with existing low-throughput measurements. It can capture the specificity of the p53 tetramer and distinguish multiple binding modes within a single sample. Additionally, we confirm that newly identified low-affinity enhancer binding sites are functional in vivo, and that their contribution to gene expression matches their predicted affinity. Our results establish a powerful paradigm for identifying protein binding sites and interpreting gene regulatory sequences in eukaryotic genomes. PMID:29610332

  6. Expression, purification and in vitro refolding of the recombinant truncated Saposin-like protein 2 antigen for development of diagnosis of human fascioliasis.

    PubMed

    Mirzadeh, Abolfazl; Valadkhani, Zarrintaj; Yoosefy, Asiyeh; Babaie, Jalal; Golkar, Majid; Esmaeili Rastaghi, Ahmad Reza; Kazemi-Rad, Elham; Ashrafi, Keyhan

    2017-07-01

    Early diagnosis of fascioliasis is critical in prevention of injury to the liver and bile ducts. Saposin-like protein (FhSAP-2) is probably the most ideal antigen of Fasciola hepatica for development of ELISA kits. SAP-2 has a conserved tertiary structure containing three disulfide bonds and conformational epitopes. Therefore, antigenicity of SAP-2 is greatly depends on disulfide bond formation and proper folding. We produced the recombinant truncated SAP-2 (rtSAP-2) in the SHuffle ® T7 and Rosetta strain of Escherichia coli, in soluble and insoluble forms, respectively and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The refolding process of denatured rtSAP-2 was performed using dialysis and dilution methods in the presence of chemical additives, along with reduced/oxidized glutathione (in vitro). Physicochemical studies, including non-reducing gel electrophoresis, Ellman's assay, Western blotting and ELISA showed the most antigenicity and likely correct folding of rtSAP-2, which was obtained by dialysis method. An IgG ELISA test was developed using rtSAP-2 refolded by dialysis and compared with excretory/secretory products of parasite with 52 positive fascioliasis samples, 79 other parasitic samples and 70 negative controls samples. The results exhibited 100% sensitivity and 98% specificity for rtSAP-2, also, 100% and 95.3% for excretory/secretory (E/S) antigen, respectively. In conclusion, it is suggested that rtSAP-2 with the correct folding could be used as a candidate antigen for detection of human fascioliasis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Determinants of the Differential Antizyme-Binding Affinity of Ornithine Decarboxylase

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yen-Chin; Hsu, Den-Hua; Huang, Chi-Liang; Liu, Yi-Liang; Liu, Guang-Yaw; Hung, Hui-Chih

    2011-01-01

    Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a ubiquitous enzyme that is conserved in all species from bacteria to humans. Mammalian ODC is degraded by the proteasome in a ubiquitin-independent manner by direct binding to the antizyme (AZ). In contrast, Trypanosoma brucei ODC has a low binding affinity toward AZ. In this study, we identified key amino acid residues that govern the differential AZ binding affinity of human and Trypanosoma brucei ODC. Multiple sequence alignments of the ODC putative AZ-binding site highlights several key amino acid residues that are different between the human and Trypanosoma brucei ODC protein sequences, including residue 119, 124,125, 129, 136, 137 and 140 (the numbers is for human ODC). We generated a septuple human ODC mutant protein where these seven bases were mutated to match the Trypanosoma brucei ODC protein sequence. The septuple mutant protein was much less sensitive to AZ inhibition compared to the WT protein, suggesting that these amino acid residues play a role in human ODC-AZ binding. Additional experiments with sextuple mutants suggest that residue 137 plays a direct role in AZ binding, and residues 119 and 140 play secondary roles in AZ binding. The dissociation constants were also calculated to quantify the affinity of the ODC-AZ binding interaction. The K d value for the wild type ODC protein-AZ heterodimer ([ODC_WT]-AZ) is approximately 0.22 μM, while the K d value for the septuple mutant-AZ heterodimer ([ODC_7M]-AZ) is approximately 12.4 μM. The greater than 50-fold increase in [ODC_7M]-AZ binding affinity shows that the ODC-7M enzyme has a much lower binding affinity toward AZ. For the mutant proteins ODC_7M(-Q119H) and ODC_7M(-V137D), the K d was 1.4 and 1.2 μM, respectively. These affinities are 6-fold higher than the WT_ODC K d, which suggests that residues 119 and 137 play a role in AZ binding. PMID:22073206

  8. Recombinant expression, isolation, and proteolysis of extracellular matrix-secreted phosphoprotein-24 kDa.

    PubMed

    Murray, Elsa J Brochmann; Murray, Samuel S; Simon, Robert; Behnam, Keyvan

    2007-01-01

    Secreted phosphoprotein-24 kDa (spp24) is an extracellular matrix protein first cloned from bone. Bovine spp24 is transcribed as a 203 amino acid residue protein that undergoes cleavage of a secretory peptide to form the mature protein (spp24, residues 24 to 203). While not osteogenic itself, spp24 is degraded to a pro-osteogenic protein, spp18.5, in bone. Both spp18.5 and spp24 contain a cyclic TRH1 (TGF-beta receptor II homology-1) domain similar to that found in the receptor itself and in fetuin. A synthetic peptide corresponding to the TRH1 domain of spp18.5 and spp24 specifically binds BMP-2 and enhances the rate and magnitude of BMP-2-induced ectopic bone formation in vivo. The parental protein, spp24, exhibits a high affinity for bone and mineral complexes, but its abundance there is low, suggesting that it is rapidly degraded. The availability of recombinant spp24 and its degradation products would facilitate the elucidation of their structure:function relationships. We describe here the expression of His(6)-tagged bovine spp24 (residues 24 to 203) in E. coli, its purification by high-resolution IMAC (immobilized metal affinity chromatography), and the characterization of the full-length recombinant 21.5 kDa protein and its two major 16 kDa and 14.5 kDa degradation products (spp24, residues 24 to 157, and spp24, residues 24 to 143) by mass spectroscopy. The recombinant spp24 protein was resistant to proteolysis by MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cell extracts in the absence of calcium; however, in the presence of 4 mM Ca, it can undergo essentially complete proteolysis to small peptides, bypassing the 16 kDa and 14.5 kDa intermediates. This confirms the proteolytic susceptibility of spp24. It also suggests that the levels of spp24 in bone may be regulated, in part, by calcium-dependent proteolysis mediated by osteoblastic cells.

  9. Gelatin Nanoparticles with Enhanced Affinity for Calcium Phosphate.

    PubMed

    Farbod, Kambiz; Diba, Mani; Zinkevich, Tatiana; Schmidt, Stephan; Harrington, Matthew J; Kentgens, Arno P M; Leeuwenburgh, Sander C G

    2016-05-01

    Gelatin nanoparticles can be tuned with respect to their drug loading efficiency, degradation rate, and release kinetics, which renders these drug carriers highly suitable for a wide variety of biomedical applications. The ease of functionalization has rendered gelatin an interesting candidate material to introduce specific motifs for selective targeting to specific organs, but gelatin nanoparticles have not yet been modified to increase their affinity to mineralized tissue. By means of conjugating bone-targeting alendronate to biocompatible gelatin nanoparticles, a simple method is developed for the preparation of gelatin nanoparticles which exhibit strong affinity to mineralized surfaces. It has been shown that the degree of alendronate functionalization can be tuned by controlling the glutaraldehyde crosslinking density, the molar ratio between alendronate and glutaraldehyde, as well as the pH of the conjugation reaction. Moreover, it has been shown that the affinity of gelatin nanoparticles to calcium phosphate increases considerably upon functionalization with alendronate. In summary, gelatin nanoparticles have been developed, which exhibit great potential for use in bone-specific drug delivery and regenerative medicine. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Relative binding affinities of monolignols to horseradish peroxidase

    DOE PAGES

    Sangha, Amandeep K.; Petridis, Loukas; Cheng, Xiaolin; ...

    2016-07-22

    Monolignol binding to the peroxidase active site is the first step in lignin polymerization in plant cell walls. Using molecular dynamics, docking, and free energy perturbation calculations, we investigate the binding of monolignols to horseradish peroxidase C. Our results suggest that p-coumaryl alcohol has the strongest binding affinity followed by sinapyl and coniferyl alcohol. Stacking interactions between the monolignol aromatic rings and nearby phenylalanine residues play an important role in determining the calculated relative binding affinities. p-Coumaryl and coniferyl alcohols bind in a pose productive for reaction in which a direct H-bond is formed between the phenolic –OH group andmore » a water molecule (W2) that may facilitate proton transfer during oxidation. In contrast, in the case of sinapyl alcohol there is no such direct interaction, the phenolic –OH group instead interacting with Pro139. Furthermore, since proton and electron transfer is the rate-limiting step in monolignol oxidation by peroxidase, the binding pose (and thus the formation of near attack conformation) appears to play a more important role than the overall binding affinity in determining the oxidation rate.« less

  11. Supercritical fluid chromatography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vigdergauz, M. S.; Lobachev, A. L.; Lobacheva, I. V.; Platonov, I. A.

    1992-03-01

    The characteristic features of supercritical fluid chromatography (SCFC) are examined and there is a brief historical note concerning the development of the method. Information concerning the use of supercritical fluid chromatography in the analysis of objects of different nature is presented in the form of a table. The roles of the mobile and stationary phases in the separation process and the characteristic features of the apparatus and of the use of the method in physicochemical research are discussed. The bibliography includes 364 references.

  12. Purification of bacteriophage lambda repressor

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Ning; Shearwin, Keith; Mack, John; Finzi, Laura; Dunlap, David

    2013-01-01

    Bacteriophage lambda repressor controls the lysogeny/lytic growth switch after infection of E. coli by lambda phage. In order to study in detail the looping of DNA mediated by the protein, tag-free repressor and a loss-of-cooperativity mutant were expressed in E.coli and purified by (1) ammonium sulfate fractionation, (2) anion-exchange chromatography and (3) heparin affinity chromatography. This method employs more recently developed and readily available chromatography resins to produce highly pure protein in good yield. In tethered particle motion looping assays and atomic force microscopy “footprinting” assays, both the wild-type protein and a C-terminal His-tagged variant, purified using immobilized metal affinity chromatography, bound specifically to high affinity sites to mediate loop formation. In contrast the G147D loss-of-cooperativity mutant bound specifically but did not secure loops. PMID:23831434

  13. Alkali Metal Cation versus Proton and Methyl Cation Affinities: Structure and Bonding Mechanism

    PubMed Central

    Boughlala, Zakaria; Fonseca Guerra, Célia

    2016-01-01

    Abstract We have analyzed the structure and bonding of gas‐phase Cl−X and [HCl−X]+ complexes for X+= H+, CH3 +, Li+, and Na+, using relativistic density functional theory (DFT). We wish to establish a quantitative trend in affinities of the anionic and neutral Lewis bases Cl− and HCl for the various cations. The Cl−X bond becomes longer and weaker along X+ = H+, CH3 +, Li+, and Na+. Our main purpose is to understand the heterolytic bonding mechanism behind the intrinsic (i.e., in the absence of solvent) alkali metal cation affinities (AMCA) and how this compares with and differs from those of the proton affinity (PA) and methyl cation affinity (MCA). Our analyses are based on Kohn–Sham molecular orbital (KS‐MO) theory in combination with a quantitative energy decomposition analysis (EDA) that pinpoints the importance of the different features in the bonding mechanism. Orbital overlap appears to play an important role in determining the trend in cation affinities. PMID:27551660

  14. Cyclization strategies of meditopes: affinity and diffraction studies of meditope–Fab complexes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bzymek, Krzysztof P.; Ma, Yuelong; Avery, Kendra A.

    An overview of cyclization strategies of a Fab-binding peptide to maximize affinity. Recently, a unique binding site for a cyclic 12-residue peptide was discovered within a cavity formed by the light and heavy chains of the cetuximab Fab domain. In order to better understand the interactions that drive this unique complex, a number of variants including the residues within the meditope peptide and the antibody, as well as the cyclization region of the meditope peptide, were created. Here, multiple crystal structures of meditope peptides incorporating different cyclization strategies bound to the central cavity of the cetuximab Fab domain are presented.more » The affinity of each cyclic derivative for the Fab was determined by surface plasmon resonance and correlated to structural differences. Overall, it was observed that the disulfide bond used to cyclize the peptide favorably packs against a hydrophobic ‘pocket’ and that amidation and acetylation of the original disulfide meditope increased the overall affinity ∼2.3-fold. Conversely, replacing the terminal cysteines with serines and thus creating a linear peptide reduced the affinity over 50-fold, with much of this difference being reflected in a decrease in the on-rate. Other cyclization methods, including the formation of a lactam, reduced the affinity but not to the extent of the linear peptide. Collectively, the structural and kinetic data presented here indicate that small perturbations introduced by different cyclization strategies can significantly affect the affinity of the meditope–Fab complex.« less

  15. Opposing intermolecular tuning of Ca2+ affinity for Calmodulin by its target peptides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheung, Margaret

    We investigated the impact of bound calmodulin (CaM)-target compound structure on the affinity of calcium (Ca2+) by integrating coarse-grained models and all-atomistic simulations with non-equilibrium physics. We focused on binding between CaM and two specific targets, Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and neurogranin (Ng), as they both regulate CaM-dependent Ca2+ signaling pathways in neurons. It was shown experimentally that Ca2+/CaM binds to the CaMKII peptide with higher affinity than the Ng peptide. The binding of CaMKII peptide to CaM in return increases the Ca2+ affinity for CaM. However, this reciprocal relation was not observed in the Ng peptide, which binds to Ca2+-free CaM or Ca2+/CaM with similar binding affinity. Unlike CaM-CaMKII peptide that allowed structure determination by crystallography, the structural description of CaM-Ng peptide is unknown due to low binding affinity, therefore, we computationally generated an ensemble of CaM-Ng peptide structures by matching the changes in the chemical shifts of CaM upon Ng peptide binding from nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. We computed the changes in Ca2+ affinity for CaM with and without binding targets in atomistic models using Jarzynski's equality. We discovered the molecular underpinnings of lowered affinity of Ca2+ for CaM in the presence of Ng by showing that the N-terminal acidic region of Ng peptide pries open the β-sheet structure between the Ca2+ binding loops particularly at C-domain of CaM, enabling Ca2+release. In contrast, CaMKII increases Ca2+ affinity for the C-domain of CaM by stabilizing the two Ca2+ binding loops.

  16. IA-2 autoantibody affinity in children at risk for type 1 diabetes.

    PubMed

    Krause, Stephanie; Chmiel, Ruth; Bonifacio, Ezio; Scholz, Marlon; Powell, Michael; Furmaniak, Jadwiga; Rees Smith, Bernard; Ziegler, Anette-G; Achenbach, Peter

    2012-12-01

    Autoantibodies to insulinoma-associated protein 2 (IA-2A) are associated with increased risk for type 1 diabetes. Here we examined IA-2A affinity and epitope specificity to assess heterogeneity in response intensity in relation to pathogenesis and diabetes risk in 50 children who were prospectively followed from birth. At first IA-2A appearance, affinity ranged from 10(7) to 10(11)L/mol and was high (>1.0×10(9)L/mol) in 41 (82%) children. IA-2A affinity was not associated with epitope specificity or HLA class II haplotype. On follow-up, affinity increased or remained high, and IA-2A were commonly against epitopes within the protein tyrosine phosphatase-like IA-2 domain and the homologue protein IA-2β. IA-2A were preceded or accompanied by other islet autoantibodies in 49 (98%) children, of which 34 progressed to diabetes. IA-2A affinity did not stratify diabetes risk. In conclusion, the IA-2A response in children is intense with rapid maturation against immunogenic epitopes and a strong association with diabetes development. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. An Investigation of State Educational Twitter Hashtags (SETHS) as Affinity Spaces

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosenberg, Joshua M.; Greenhalgh, Spencer P.; Koehler, Matthew J.; Hamilton, Erica R.; Akcaoglu, Mete

    2016-01-01

    Affinity spaces are digital or physical spaces in which participants interact with one another around content of shared interest and through a common portal (or platform). Among teachers, some of the largest affinity spaces may be those organized around hashtags on Twitter: These spaces are public, largely unmoderated, and thriving, yet very…

  18. Pushing antibody-based labeling systems to higher sensitivity by linker-assisted affinity enhancement.

    PubMed

    Gorris, Hans H; Bade, Steffen; Röckendorf, Niels; Fránek, Milan; Frey, Andreas

    2011-08-17

    The sensitivity of antibody/hapten-based labeling systems is limited by the natural affinity ceiling of immunoglobulins. Breaking this limit by antibody engineering is difficult. We thus attempted a different approach and investigated if the so-called bridge effect, a corecognition of the linker present between hapten and carrier protein during antibody generation, can be utilized to improve the affinity of such labeling systems. The well-known haptens 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) were equipped with various linkers, and the resulting affinity change of their cognate antibodies was analyzed by ELISA. Anti-2,4-DNP antibodies exhibited the best affinity to their hapten when it was combined with aminobutanoic acid or aminohexanoic acid. The affinity of anti-2,4-D antibodies could be enhanced even further with longer aliphatic spacers connected to the hapten. The affinity toward aminoundecanoic acid-2,4-D derivatives, for instance, was improved about 100-fold compared to 2,4-D alone and yielded detection limits as low as 100 amoles of analyte. As the effect occurred for all antibodies and haptens tested, it may be sensible to implement the bridge effect in future antibody/hapten-labeling systems in order to achieve the highest sensitivity possible.

  19. Influence of bone affinity on the skeletal distribution of fluorescently labeled bisphosphonates in vivo.

    PubMed

    Roelofs, Anke J; Stewart, Charlotte A; Sun, Shuting; Błażewska, Katarzyna M; Kashemirov, Boris A; McKenna, Charles E; Russell, R Graham G; Rogers, Michael J; Lundy, Mark W; Ebetino, Frank H; Coxon, Fraser P

    2012-04-01

    Bisphosphonates are widely used antiresorptive drugs that bind to calcium. It has become evident that these drugs have differing affinities for bone mineral; however, it is unclear whether such differences affect their distribution on mineral surfaces. In this study, fluorescent conjugates of risedronate, and its lower-affinity analogues deoxy-risedronate and 3-PEHPC, were used to compare the localization of compounds with differing mineral affinities in vivo. Binding to dentine in vitro confirmed differences in mineral binding between compounds, which was influenced predominantly by the characteristics of the parent compound but also by the choice of fluorescent tag. In growing rats, all compounds preferentially bound to forming endocortical as opposed to resorbing periosteal surfaces in cortical bone, 1 day after administration. At resorbing surfaces, lower-affinity compounds showed preferential binding to resorption lacunae, whereas the highest-affinity compound showed more uniform labeling. At forming surfaces, penetration into the mineralizing osteoid was found to inversely correlate with mineral affinity. These differences in distribution at resorbing and forming surfaces were not observed at quiescent surfaces. Lower-affinity compounds also showed a relatively higher degree of labeling of osteocyte lacunar walls and labeled lacunae deeper within cortical bone, indicating increased penetration of the osteocyte canalicular network. Similar differences in mineralizing surface and osteocyte network penetration between high- and low-affinity compounds were evident 7 days after administration, with fluorescent conjugates at forming surfaces buried under a new layer of bone. Fluorescent compounds were incorporated into these areas of newly formed bone, indicating that "recycling" had occurred, albeit at very low levels. Taken together, these findings indicate that the bone mineral affinity of bisphosphonates is likely to influence their distribution within the

  20. Exploring Thermoresponsive Affinity Agents to Enhance Microdialysis Sampling Efficiency of Proteins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vasicek, Thaddeus

    Affinity agents increase microdialysis protein relative recovery, yet they have not seen widespread use within the microdialysis community due to their additional instrumentation requirements and prohibitive cost. This dissertation describes new affinity agents for microdialysis that require no additional instrumentation to use, have nearly 100% particle recovery, are 7 times more cost efficient than alternatives, and have low specificity enabling their use for a wide variety of proteins. Initially gold nanoparticles were chosen as an affinity ligand support due to their high surface area/volume ratio and colloidal stability. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) was immobilized to the gold nanoparticles, which served to sterically stabilize the particles and to act as a generic, reversible protein capture agent. A method was developed to reproducibly vary and quantify poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) graft density from 0.09 to 0.40 ligands/nm2 on gold nanoparticles. During characterization of the polymer coated gold nanoparticles, irreversible particle agglomeration was observed at low polymer graft density in ionic solutions, which prevented further development as a protein capture agent. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) nanogels, which have low nonspecific adsorption, low interparticle attractive forces owing to the low curvature of the particle, and a low Hamaker constant, were synthesized to overcome the agglomeration problem. A generic protein affinity ligand cibacron blue, was immobilized to the nanogels, which enabled rapid determination of particle recovery. The perfusion of the nanogels through a microdialysis probe was optimized yielding 100% particle recovery using a combination of a syringe and peristaltic pump. The microdialysis collection efficiency of CCL2, a physiologically relevant cytokine, was increased 3-fold with addition of the nanogel to the microdialysis perfusion fluid. The reduction in instrumentation requirements, low cost, and low specificity obtained

  1. Affinity for Quantitative Tools: Undergraduate Marketing Students Moving beyond Quantitative Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tarasi, Crina O.; Wilson, J. Holton; Puri, Cheenu; Divine, Richard L.

    2013-01-01

    Marketing students are known as less likely to have an affinity for the quantitative aspects of the marketing discipline. In this article, we study the reasons why this might be true and develop a parsimonious 20-item scale for measuring quantitative affinity in undergraduate marketing students. The scale was administered to a sample of business…

  2. Affinity Maturation of a Cyclic Peptide Handle for Therapeutic Antibodies Using Deep Mutational Scanning*

    PubMed Central

    van Rosmalen, Martijn; Janssen, Brian M. G.; Hendrikse, Natalie M.; van der Linden, Ardjan J.; Pieters, Pascal A.; Wanders, Dave; de Greef, Tom F. A.; Merkx, Maarten

    2017-01-01

    Meditopes are cyclic peptides that bind in a specific pocket in the antigen-binding fragment of a therapeutic antibody such as cetuximab. Provided their moderate affinity can be enhanced, meditope peptides could be used as specific non-covalent and paratope-independent handles in targeted drug delivery, molecular imaging, and therapeutic drug monitoring. Here we show that the affinity of a recently reported meditope for cetuximab can be substantially enhanced using a combination of yeast display and deep mutational scanning. Deep sequencing was used to construct a fitness landscape of this protein-peptide interaction, and four mutations were identified that together improved the affinity for cetuximab 10-fold to 15 nm. Importantly, the increased affinity translated into enhanced cetuximab-mediated recruitment to EGF receptor-overexpressing cancer cells. Although in silico Rosetta simulations correctly identified positions that were tolerant to mutation, modeling did not accurately predict the affinity-enhancing mutations. The experimental approach reported here should be generally applicable and could be used to develop meditope peptides with low nanomolar affinity for other therapeutic antibodies. PMID:27974464

  3. Advanced proteomic liquid chromatography

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xie, Fang; Smith, Richard D.; Shen, Yufeng

    2012-10-26

    Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry is the predominant platform used to analyze proteomics samples consisting of large numbers of proteins and their proteolytic products (e.g., truncated polypeptides) and spanning a wide range of relative concentrations. This review provides an overview of advanced capillary liquid chromatography techniques and methodologies that greatly improve separation resolving power and proteomics analysis coverage, sensitivity, and throughput.

  4. Thin-Layer and Paper Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sherma, Joseph; Fried, Bernard

    1984-01-01

    Reviews literature on chromatography examining: books, reviews, student experiments; chromatographic systems, techniques, apparatus; detecting and identification of separated zones; preparative chromatography and radiochromatography; and applications related to specific materials (such as acids, alcohols, amino acids, antibiotics, enzymes, dyes,…

  5. Solitons and the energy-momentum tensor for affine Toda theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olive, D. I.; Turok, N.; Underwood, J. W. R.

    1993-07-01

    Following Leznov and Saveliev, we present the general solution to Toda field theories of conformal, affine or conformal affine type, associated with a simple Lie algebra g. These depend on a free massless field and on a group element. By putting the former to zero, soliton solutions to the affine Toda theories with imaginary coupling constant result with the soliton data encoded in the group element. As this requires a reformulation of the affine Kac-Moody algebra closely related to that already used to formulate the physical properties of the particle excitations, including their scattering matrices, a unified treatment of particles and solitons emerges. The physical energy—momentum tensor for a general solution is broken into a total derivative plus a part dependent only on the derivatives of the free field. Despite the non-linearity of the field equations and their complex nature the energy and momentum of the N-soliton solution is shown to be real, equalling the sum of contributions from the individual solitons. There are rank-g species of soliton, with masses given by a generalisation of a formula due to Hollowood, being proportional to the components of the left Perron-Frobenius eigenvector of the Cartan matrix of g.

  6. Affine invariants of convex polygons.

    PubMed

    Flusser, Jan

    2002-01-01

    In this correspondence, we prove that the affine invariants, for image registration and object recognition, proposed recently by Yang and Cohen (see ibid., vol.8, no.7, p.934-46, July 1999) are algebraically dependent. We show how to select an independent and complete set of the invariants. The use of this new set leads to a significant reduction of the computing complexity without decreasing the discrimination power.

  7. Semiempirical Theories of the Affinities of Negative Atomic Ions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Edie, John W.

    1961-01-01

    The determination of the electron affinities of negative atomic ions by means of direct experimental investigation is limited. To supplement the meager experimental results, several semiempirical theories have been advanced. One commonly used technique involves extrapolating the electron affinities along the isoelectronic sequences, The most recent of these extrapolations Is studied by extending the method to Include one more member of the isoelectronic sequence, When the results show that this extension does not increase the accuracy of the calculations, several possible explanations for this situation are explored. A different approach to the problem is suggested by the regularities appearing in the electron affinities. Noting that the regular linear pattern that exists for the ionization potentials of the p electrons as a function of Z, repeats itself for different degrees of ionization q, the slopes and intercepts of these curves are extrapolated to the case of the negative Ion. The method is placed on a theoretical basis by calculating the Slater parameters as functions of q and n, the number of equivalent p-electrons. These functions are no more than quadratic in q and n. The electron affinities are calculated by extending the linear relations that exist for the neutral atoms and positive ions to the negative ions. The extrapolated. slopes are apparently correct, but the intercepts must be slightly altered to agree with experiment. For this purpose one or two experimental affinities (depending on the extrapolation method) are used in each of the two short periods. The two extrapolation methods used are: (A) an isoelectronic sequence extrapolation of the linear pattern as such; (B) the same extrapolation of a linearization of this pattern (configuration centers) combined with an extrapolation of the other terms of the ground configurations. The latter method Is preferable, since it requires only experimental point for each period. The results agree within

  8. Structural Insights into the Affinity of Cel7A Carbohydrate-binding Module for Lignin*

    PubMed Central

    Strobel, Kathryn L.; Pfeiffer, Katherine A.; Blanch, Harvey W.; Clark, Douglas S.

    2015-01-01

    The high cost of hydrolytic enzymes impedes the commercial production of lignocellulosic biofuels. High enzyme loadings are required in part due to their non-productive adsorption to lignin, a major component of biomass. Despite numerous studies documenting cellulase adsorption to lignin, few attempts have been made to engineer enzymes to reduce lignin binding. In this work, we used alanine-scanning mutagenesis to elucidate the structural basis for the lignin affinity of Trichoderma reesei Cel7A carbohydrate binding module (CBM). T. reesei Cel7A CBM mutants were produced with a Talaromyces emersonii Cel7A catalytic domain and screened for their binding to cellulose and lignin. Mutation of aromatic and polar residues on the planar face of the CBM greatly decreased binding to both cellulose and lignin, supporting the hypothesis that the cellulose-binding face is also responsible for lignin affinity. Cellulose and lignin affinity of the 31 mutants were highly correlated, although several mutants displayed selective reductions in lignin or cellulose affinity. Four mutants with increased cellulose selectivity (Q2A, H4A, V18A, and P30A) did not exhibit improved hydrolysis of cellulose in the presence of lignin. Further reduction in lignin affinity while maintaining a high level of cellulose affinity is thus necessary to generate an enzyme with improved hydrolysis capability. This work provides insights into the structural underpinnings of lignin affinity, identifies residues amenable to mutation without compromising cellulose affinity, and informs engineering strategies for family one CBMs. PMID:26209638

  9. Determination of hydride affinities of various aldehydes and ketones in acetonitrile.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Xiao-Qing; Chen, Xi; Mei, Lian-Rui

    2011-05-06

    The hydride affinities of 21 typical aldehydes and ketones in acetonitrile were determined by using an experimental method, which is valuable for chemists choosing suitable reducing agents to reduce them. The focus of this paper is to introduce a very facile experimental method, which can be used to determine the hydride affinities of various carbonyl compounds in solution.

  10. Length-Two Representations of Quantum Affine Superalgebras and Baxter Operators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Huafeng

    2018-03-01

    Associated to quantum affine general linear Lie superalgebras are two families of short exact sequences of representations whose first and third terms are irreducible: the Baxter TQ relations involving infinite-dimensional representations; the extended T-systems of Kirillov-Reshetikhin modules. We make use of these representations over the full quantum affine superalgebra to define Baxter operators as transfer matrices for the quantum integrable model and to deduce Bethe Ansatz Equations, under genericity conditions.

  11. A dual affinity-tag strategy for the expression and purification of human linker histone H1.4 in Escherichia coli.

    PubMed

    Ryan, Daniel P; Tremethick, David J

    2016-04-01

    Linker histones are an abundant and critical component of the eukaryotic chromatin landscape. They play key roles in regulating the higher order structure of chromatin and many genetic processes. Higher eukaryotes possess a number of different linker histone subtypes and new data are consistently emerging that indicate these subtypes are functionally distinct. We were interested in studying one of the most abundant human linker histone subtypes, H1.4. We have produced recombinant full-length H1.4 in Escherichia coli. An N-terminal Glutathione-S-Transferase tag was used to promote soluble expression and was combined with a C-terminal hexahistidine tag to facilitate a simple non-denaturing two-step affinity chromatography procedure that results in highly pure full-length H1.4. The purified H1.4 was shown to be functional via in vitro chromatin assembly experiments and remains active after extended storage at -80 °C. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Solubilization and purification of melatonin receptors from lizard brain

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rivkees, S.A.; Conron, R.W. Jr.; Reppert, S.M.

    Melatonin receptors in lizard brain were identified and characterized using {sup 125}I-labeled melatonin (({sup 125}I)MEL) after solubilization with the detergent digitonin. Saturation studies of solubilized material revealed a high affinity binding site, with an apparent equilibrium dissociation constant of 181 +/- 45 pM. Binding was reversible and inhibited by melatonin and closely related analogs, but not by serotonin or norepinephrine. Treatment of solubilized material with the non-hydrolyzable GTP analog, guanosine 5'-(3-O-thiotriphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S), significantly reduced receptor affinity. Gel filtration chromatography of solubilized melatonin receptors revealed a high affinity, large (Mr 400,000) peak of specific binding. Pretreatment with GTP-gamma-S before solubilization resultedmore » in elution of a lower affinity, smaller (Mr 150,000) peak of specific binding. To purify solubilized receptors, a novel affinity chromatography resin was developed by coupling 6-hydroxymelatonin with Epoxy-activated Sepharose 6B. Using this resin, melatonin receptors were purified approximately 10,000-fold. Purified material retained the pharmacologic specificity of melatonin receptors. These results show that melatonin receptors that bind ligand after detergent treatment can be solubilized and substantially purified by affinity chromatography.« less

  13. Solubilization and purification of melatonin receptors from lizard brain.

    PubMed

    Rivkees, S A; Conron, R W; Reppert, S M

    1990-09-01

    Melatonin receptors in lizard brain were identified and characterized using 125I-labeled melatonin ([125I]MEL) after solubilization with the detergent digitonin. Saturation studies of solubilized material revealed a high affinity binding site, with an apparent equilibrium dissociation constant of 181 +/- 45 pM. Binding was reversible and inhibited by melatonin and closely related analogs, but not by serotonin or norepinephrine. Treatment of solubilized material with the non-hydrolyzable GTP analog, guanosine 5'-(3-O-thiotriphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S), significantly reduced receptor affinity. Gel filtration chromatography of solubilized melatonin receptors revealed a high affinity, large (Mr 400,000) peak of specific binding. Pretreatment with GTP-gamma-S before solubilization resulted in elution of a lower affinity, smaller (Mr 150,000) peak of specific binding. To purify solubilized receptors, a novel affinity chromatography resin was developed by coupling 6-hydroxymelatonin with Epoxy-activated Sepharose 6B. Using this resin, melatonin receptors were purified approximately 10,000-fold. Purified material retained the pharmacologic specificity of melatonin receptors. These results show that melatonin receptors that bind ligand after detergent treatment can be solubilized and substantially purified by affinity chromatography.

  14. Preparation of a novel antiserum to aromatase with high affinity and specificity: Its clinicopathological significance on breast cancer tissue.

    PubMed

    Kanomata, Naoki; Matsuura, Shiro; Nomura, Tsunehisa; Kurebayashi, Junichi; Mori, Taisuke; Kitawaki, Jo; Moriya, Takuya

    2017-01-01

    Aromatase inhibitors have been widely used for the endocrine treatment of estrogen-dependent breast cancer in postmenopausal patients. However, clinicopathological studies of aromatase have been limited due to unsatisfactory specificity and/or restricted availability of anti-aromatase antibodies. Here, we have generated a polyclonal antiserum with high affinity and specificity for human aromatase using a monoclonal antibody tagged immunoaffinity chromatography on an industrial production scale. Our preliminary immunohistochemical analysis of 221 invasive breast cancer cases indicated that 87.3% (193/221) had at least 5% aromatase positive cells. The histoscore for aromatase was inversely correlated with pT (p = 0.019), pN (p = 0.001), stage (p < 0.001), histologic grade (p = 0.003), lymphatic infiltration (p < 0.001), venous infiltration (p < 0.001), and Ki-67 index (p < 0.001). However, cancer aromatase expression was independent of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 statuses. This antiserum will be applicable to clinicopathological examination of aromatase in addition to ER and PgR for an appropriate use of aromatase inhibitor on the treatment of breast cancer. Further studies on the relationship between Aromatase inhibitors have been widely used for the endocrine treatment of estrogen-dependent breast cancer in postmenopausal patients. However, clinicopathological studies of aromatase have been limited due to unsatisfactory specificity and/or restricted availability of anti-aromatase antibodies. Here, we have generated a polyclonal antiserum with high affinity and specificity for human aromatase using a monoclonal antibody tagged immunoaffinity chromatography on an industrial production scale. Our preliminary immunohistochemical analysis of 221 invasive breast cancer cases indicated that 87.3% (193/221) had at least 5% aromatase positive cells. The histoscore for aromatase was inversely correlated

  15. Einstein’s gravity from a polynomial affine model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castillo-Felisola, Oscar; Skirzewski, Aureliano

    2018-03-01

    We show that the effective field equations for a recently formulated polynomial affine model of gravity, in the sector of a torsion-free connection, accept general Einstein manifolds—with or without cosmological constant—as solutions. Moreover, the effective field equations are partially those obtained from a gravitational Yang–Mills theory known as Stephenson–Kilmister–Yang theory. Additionally, we find a generalization of a minimally coupled massless scalar field in General Relativity within a ‘minimally’ coupled scalar field in this affine model. Finally, we present a brief (perturbative) analysis of the propagators of the gravitational theory, and count the degrees of freedom. For completeness, we prove that a Birkhoff-like theorem is valid for the analyzed sector.

  16. Indian Craniometric Variability and Affinities

    PubMed Central

    Raghavan, Pathmanathan; Bulbeck, David; Pathmanathan, Gayathiri; Rathee, Suresh Kanta

    2013-01-01

    Recently published craniometric and genetic studies indicate a predominantly indigenous ancestry of Indian populations. We address this issue with a fuller coverage of Indian craniometrics than any done before. We analyse metrical variability within Indian series, Indians' sexual dimorphism, differences between northern and southern Indians, index-based differences of Indian males from other series, and Indians' multivariate affinities. The relationship between a variable's magnitude and its variability is log-linear. This relationship is strengthened by excluding cranial fractions and series with a sample size less than 30. Male crania are typically larger than female crania, but there are also shape differences. Northern Indians differ from southern Indians in various features including narrower orbits and less pronounced medial protrusion of the orbits. Indians resemble Veddas in having small crania and similar cranial shape. Indians' wider geographic affinities lie with “Caucasoid” populations to the northwest, particularly affecting northern Indians. The latter finding is confirmed from shape-based Mahalanobis-D distances calculated for the best sampled male and female series. Demonstration of a distinctive South Asian craniometric profile and the intermediate status of northern Indians between southern Indians and populations northwest of India confirm the predominantly indigenous ancestry of northern and especially southern Indians. PMID:24455409

  17. Gas Chromatography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cram, Stuart P.; And Others

    1980-01-01

    Selects fundamental developments in theory, methodology, and instrumentation in gas chromatography (GC). A special section reviews GC in the People's Republic of China. Over 1,000 references are cited. (CS)

  18. Advanced proteomic liquid chromatography

    PubMed Central

    Xie, Fang; Smith, Richard D.; Shen, Yufeng

    2012-01-01

    Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry is the predominant platform used to analyze proteomics samples consisting of large numbers of proteins and their proteolytic products (e.g., truncated polypeptides) and spanning a wide range of relative concentrations. This review provides an overview of advanced capillary liquid chromatography techniques and methodologies that greatly improve separation resolving power and proteomics analysis coverage, sensitivity, and throughput. PMID:22840822

  19. Calculation of Host-Guest Binding Affinities Using a Quantum-Mechanical Energy Model.

    PubMed

    Muddana, Hari S; Gilson, Michael K

    2012-06-12

    The prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities is of central interest in computer-aided drug discovery, but it is still difficult to achieve a high degree of accuracy. Recent studies suggesting that available force fields may be a key source of error motivate the present study, which reports the first mining minima (M2) binding affinity calculations based on a quantum mechanical energy model, rather than an empirical force field. We apply a semi-empirical quantum-mechanical energy function, PM6-DH+, coupled with the COSMO solvation model, to 29 host-guest systems with a wide range of measured binding affinities. After correction for a systematic error, which appears to derive from the treatment of polar solvation, the computed absolute binding affinities agree well with experimental measurements, with a mean error 1.6 kcal/mol and a correlation coefficient of 0.91. These calculations also delineate the contributions of various energy components, including solute energy, configurational entropy, and solvation free energy, to the binding free energies of these host-guest complexes. Comparison with our previous calculations, which used empirical force fields, point to significant differences in both the energetic and entropic components of the binding free energy. The present study demonstrates successful combination of a quantum mechanical Hamiltonian with the M2 affinity method.

  20. Genetic identification of a gene involved in constitutive, high-affinity nitrate transport in higher plants.

    PubMed Central

    Wang, R; Crawford, N M

    1996-01-01

    Two mutations have been found in a gene (NRT2) of Arabidopsis thaliana that specifically impair constitutive, high-affinity nitrate uptake. These mutants were selected for resistance to 0.1 mM chlorate in the absence of nitrate. Progency from one of the backcrossed mutants showed no constitutive uptake of nitrate below 0.5 mM at pH 7.0 in liquid culture (that is, within 30 min of initial exposure to nitrate). All other uptake activities measured (high-affinity phosphate and sulfate uptake, inducible high-affinity nitrate uptake, and constitutive low-affinity nitrate uptake) were present or nearly normal in the backcrossed mutant. Electrophysiological analysis of individual root cells showed that the nrt2 mutant showed little response to 0.25 mM of nitrate, whereas NRT2 wild-type cells showed an initial depolarization followed by recovery. At 10 mM of nitrate both the mutant and wild-type cells displayed similar, strong electrical responses. These results indicate that NRT2 is a critical and perhaps necessary gene for constitutive, high-affinity nitrate uptake in Arabidopsis, but not for inducible, high-affinity nor constitutive, low-affinity nitrate uptake. Thus, these systems are genetically distinct. PMID:8799195

  1. Imprinting the Fate of Antigen-Reactive B Cells through the Affinity of the B Cell Receptor

    PubMed Central

    O'Connor, Brian P.; Vogel, Laura A.; Zhang, Weijun; Loo, William; Shnider, Danielle; Lind, Evan F.; Ratliff, Michelle; Noelle, Randolph J.; Erickson, Loren D.

    2010-01-01

    Long-lived plasma cells (PCs) and memory B cells (Bmem) constitute the cellular components of enduring humoral immunity, whereas short-lived PCs that rapidly produce Ig correspond to the host's need for immediate protection against pathogens. In this study we show that the innate affinity of the BCR for Ag imprints upon naive B cells their differentiation fate to become short-or long-lived PCs and Bmem. Using BCR transgenic mice with varying affinities for Ag, naive B cells with high affinity lose their capacity to form germinal centers (GCs), develop neither Bmem nor long-lived PCs, and are destined to a short-lived PC fate. Moderate affinity interactions result in hastened GC responses, and differentiation to long-lived PCs, but Bmem remain extinct. In contrast, lower affinity interactions show tempered GCs, producing Bmem and affinity-matured, long-lived PCs. Thus, a continuum of elementary to comprehensive humoral immune responses exists that is controlled by inherent BCR affinity. PMID:17114443

  2. Improvement of Aptamer Affinity by Dimerization

    PubMed Central

    Hasegawa, Hijiri; Taira, Ken-ichi; Sode, Koji; Ikebukuro, Kazunori

    2008-01-01

    To increase the affinities of aptamers for their targets, we designed an aptamer dimer for thrombin and VEGF. This design is based on the avidity of the antibody, which enables the aptamer to connect easily since it is a single-strand nucleic acid. In this study, we connected a 15-mer thrombin-binding aptamer with a 29-mer thrombin-binding aptamer. Each aptamer recognizes a different part of the thrombin molecule, and the aptamer dimer has a Kd value which is 1/10 of that of the monomers from which it is composed. Also, the designed aptamer dimer has higher inhibitory activity than the reported (15-mer) thrombin-inhibiting aptamer. Additionally, we connected together two identical aptamers against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165), which is a homodimeric protein. As in the case of the anti-thrombin aptamer, the dimeric anti-VEGF aptamer had a much lower Kd value than that of the monomer. This study demonstrated that the dimerization of aptamers effectively improves the affinities of those aptamers for their targets. PMID:27879754

  3. High affinity hemoglobin and Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Graham, Jeffrey; Hobson, Douglas; Ponnampalam, Arjuna

    2014-12-01

    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) region of the midbrain. Oxidative damage in this region has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Human neurons have been discovered to contain hemoglobin, with an increased concentration seen in the neurons of the SN. High affinity hemoglobin is a clinical entity resulting from mutations that create a functional increase in the binding of hemoglobin to oxygen and an inability to efficiently unload it to tissues. This can result in a number of metabolic compensatory changes, including an elevation in circulating hemoglobin and an increase in the molecule 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG). Population based studies have revealed that patients with PD have elevated hemoglobin as well as 2,3-DPG levels. Based on these observations, we hypothesize that the oxidative damage seen in PD is related to an underlying high affinity hemoglobin subtype. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Heparin affinity purification of extracellular vesicles

    PubMed Central

    Balaj, Leonora; Atai, Nadia A.; Chen, Weilin; Mu, Dakai; Tannous, Bakhos A.; Breakefield, Xandra O.; Skog, Johan; Maguire, Casey A.

    2015-01-01

    Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid membrane vesicles released by cells. They carry active biomolecules including DNA, RNA, and protein which can be transferred to recipient cells. Isolation and purification of EVs from culture cell media and biofluids is still a major challenge. The most widely used isolation method is ultracentrifugation (UC) which requires expensive equipment and only partially purifies EVs. Previously we have shown that heparin blocks EV uptake in cells, supporting a direct EV-heparin interaction. Here we show that EVs can be purified from cell culture media and human plasma using ultrafiltration (UF) followed by heparin-affinity beads. UF/heparin-purified EVs from cell culture displayed the EV marker Alix, contained a diverse RNA profile, had lower levels of protein contamination, and were functional at binding to and uptake into cells. RNA yield was similar for EVs isolated by UC. We were able to detect mRNAs in plasma samples with comparable levels to UC samples. In conclusion, we have discovered a simple, scalable, and effective method to purify EVs taking advantage of their heparin affinity. PMID:25988257

  5. Food and value motivation: Linking consumer affinities to different types of food products.

    PubMed

    de Boer, Joop; Schösler, Hanna

    2016-08-01

    This study uses the consumer affinity concept to examine the multiple motives that may shape consumers' relationships with food. The concept was applied in a study on four broad product types in the Netherlands, which cover a wide range of the market and may each appeal to consumers with different affinities towards foods. These product types may be denoted as 'conventional', 'efficient', 'gourmet' and 'pure'. A comparative analysis, based on Higgins' Regulatory Focus Theory, was performed to examine whether food-related value motivations could explain different consumer affinities for these product types. The affinities of consumers were measured by means of a non-verbal, visual presentation of four samples of food products in a nationwide survey (n = 742) among consumers who were all involved in food purchasing and/or cooking. The affinities found could be predicted fairly well from a number of self-descriptions relating to food and eating, which expressed different combinations of type of value motivation and involvement with food. The analysis demonstrated the contrasting role of high and low involvement as well as the potential complementarity of promotion- and prevention-focused value motivation. It is suggested that knowledge of the relationships between product types, consumer affinities and value motivation can help improve the effectiveness of interventions that seek to promote healthy and sustainable diets in developed countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Haemoglobin Pierre-Benite--a high affinity variant associated with relative polycythaemia.

    PubMed

    Beard, M E; Potter, H C; Spearing, R L; Brennan, S O

    2001-12-01

    This is the second reported example of Hb Pierre--Benite (beta90 Glu-->Asp). This mutation is associated with increased oxygen affinity and polycythaemia. No instability was found and there was no charge shift detected by cellulose acetate electrophoresis at pH 8.3. The mutation was however, clearly indicated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS), which showed an abnormal beta chain with a 14 Da decrease in mass. Blood volume studies documented a relative rather than a true polycythaemia and this finding has been reported in at least two other high affinity haemoglobin variants--Hb Heathrow and Hb Rahere. This finding led to delay in diagnosis because high oxygen affinity variants are conventionally considered to cause a true polycythaemia.

  7. Myoglobin oxygen affinity in aquatic and terrestrial birds and mammals.

    PubMed

    Wright, Traver J; Davis, Randall W

    2015-07-01

    Myoglobin (Mb) is an oxygen binding protein found in vertebrate skeletal muscle, where it facilitates intracellular transport and storage of oxygen. This protein has evolved to suit unique physiological needs in the muscle of diving vertebrates that express Mb at much greater concentrations than their terrestrial counterparts. In this study, we characterized Mb oxygen affinity (P50) from 25 species of aquatic and terrestrial birds and mammals. Among diving species, we tested for correlations between Mb P50 and routine dive duration. Across all species examined, Mb P50 ranged from 2.40 to 4.85 mmHg. The mean P50 of Mb from terrestrial ungulates was 3.72±0.15 mmHg (range 3.70-3.74 mmHg). The P50 of cetaceans was similar to terrestrial ungulates ranging from 3.54 to 3.82 mmHg, with the exception of the melon-headed whale, which had a significantly higher P50 of 4.85 mmHg. Among pinnipeds, the P50 ranged from 3.23 to 3.81 mmHg and showed a trend for higher oxygen affinity in species with longer dive durations. Among diving birds, the P50 ranged from 2.40 to 3.36 mmHg and also showed a trend of higher affinities in species with longer dive durations. In pinnipeds and birds, low Mb P50 was associated with species whose muscles are metabolically active under hypoxic conditions associated with aerobic dives. Given the broad range of potential globin oxygen affinities, Mb P50 from diverse vertebrate species appears constrained within a relatively narrow range. High Mb oxygen affinity within this range may be adaptive for some vertebrates that make prolonged dives. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  8. Characterization of synthetic dyes by comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography combining ion-exchange chromatography and fast ion-pair reversed-phase chromatography.

    PubMed

    Pirok, Bob W J; Knip, Jitske; van Bommel, Maarten R; Schoenmakers, Peter J

    2016-03-04

    In the late 19th century, newly invented synthetic dyes rapidly replaced the natural dyes on the market. The characterization of mixtures of these so-called early synthetic dyes is complicated through the occurrence of many impurities and degradation products. Conventional one-dimensional liquid chromatography does not suffice to obtain fingerprints with sufficient resolution and baseline integrity. Comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC×LC) is employed in this study, with ion-exchange chromatography in the first dimension and fast ion-pair liquid chromatography in the second. Retention in the first dimension is largely determined by the number of charges, while the selection of a small ion-pair reagent (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) in the second dimension causes retention to be largely determined by the molecular structure of the dye. As a result, there is a high degree of orthogonality of the two dimensions, similar to the values typically encountered in GC×GC. The proposed LC×LC method shows a theroretical peak capacity of about 2000 in an analysis time of about three hours. Clear, informative fingerprints are obtained that open a way to a more efficient characterization of dyes used in objects of cultural heritage. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Remarkable alkaline stability of an engineered protein A as immunoglobulin affinity ligand: C domain having only one amino acid substitution

    PubMed Central

    Minakuchi, Kazunobu; Murata, Dai; Okubo, Yuji; Nakano, Yoshiyuki; Yoshida, Shinichi

    2013-01-01

    Protein A affinity chromatography is the standard purification process for the capture of therapeutic antibodies. The individual IgG-binding domains of protein A (E, D, A, B, C) have highly homologous amino acid sequences. From a previous report, it has been assumed that the C domain has superior resistance to alkaline conditions compared to the other domains. We investigated several properties of the C domain as an IgG-Fc capture ligand. Based on cleavage site analysis of a recombinant protein A using a protein sequencer, the C domain was found to be the only domain to have neither of the potential alkaline cleavage sites. Circular dichroism (CD) analysis also indicated that the C domain has good physicochemical stability. Additionally, we evaluated the amino acid substitutions at the Gly-29 position of the C domain, as the Z domain (an artificial B domain) acquired alkaline resistance through a G29A mutation. The G29A mutation proved to increase the alkaline resistance of the C domain, based on BIACORE analysis, although the improvement was significantly smaller than that observed for the B domain. Interestingly, a number of other amino acid mutations at the same position increased alkaline resistance more than did the G29A mutation. This result supports the notion that even a single mutation on the originally alkali-stable C domain would improve its alkaline stability. An engineered protein A based on this C domain is expected to show remarkable performance as an affinity ligand for immunoglobulin. PMID:23868198

  10. Human llamas: adaptation to altitude in subjects with high hemoglobin oxygen affinity.

    PubMed Central

    Hebbel, R P; Eaton, J W; Kronenberg, R S; Zanjani, E D; Moore, L G; Berger, E M

    1978-01-01

    To assess the adaptive value of the right-shift of the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve (decreased affinity for oxygen) observed in humans upon altitude exposure, the short-term physiologic responses to altitude-induced hypoxia were evaluated in two subjects with a high oxygen affinity hemoglobin (Hb Andrew-Minneapolis) and in two of their normal siblings. In striking contrast to normal subjects, at moderately high altitude (3,100 m) the high affinity subjects manifested: (a) lesser increments in resting heart rate; (b) minimal increases in plasma and urinary erythropoietin; (c) no decrement in maximal oxygen consumption; and (d) no thrombocytopenia. There was no difference between subject pairs in 2,3-diphosphoglycerate response to altitude exposure. These results tend to contradict the belief that a decrease in hemoglobin oxygen affinity is of adaptive value to humans at moderate altitudes. Rather, they support the hypothesis that, despite disadvantages at low altitude, a left-shifted oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve may confer a degree of preadaptation to altitude. PMID:29054

  11. Affine generalization of the Komar complex of general relativity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mielke, Eckehard W.

    2001-02-01

    On the basis of the ``on shell'' Noether identities of the metric-affine gauge approach of gravity, an affine superpotential is derived which comprises the energy- and angular-momentum content of exact solutions. In the special case of general relativity (GR) or its teleparallel equivalent, the Komar or Freud complex, respectively, are recovered. Applying this to the spontaneously broken anti-de Sitter gauge model of McDowell and Mansouri with an induced Euler term automatically yields the correct mass and spin of the Kerr-AdS solution of GR with a (induced) cosmological constant without the factor two discrepancy of the Komar formula.

  12. Multiplexed Affinity-Based Separation of Proteins and Cells Using Inertial Microfluidics.

    PubMed

    Sarkar, Aniruddh; Hou, Han Wei; Mahan, Alison E; Han, Jongyoon; Alter, Galit

    2016-03-30

    Isolation of low abundance proteins or rare cells from complex mixtures, such as blood, is required for many diagnostic, therapeutic and research applications. Current affinity-based protein or cell separation methods use binary 'bind-elute' separations and are inefficient when applied to the isolation of multiple low-abundance proteins or cell types. We present a method for rapid and multiplexed, yet inexpensive, affinity-based isolation of both proteins and cells, using a size-coded mixture of multiple affinity-capture microbeads and an inertial microfluidic particle sorter device. In a single binding step, different targets-cells or proteins-bind to beads of different sizes, which are then sorted by flowing them through a spiral microfluidic channel. This technique performs continuous-flow, high throughput affinity-separation of milligram-scale protein samples or millions of cells in minutes after binding. We demonstrate the simultaneous isolation of multiple antibodies from serum and multiple cell types from peripheral blood mononuclear cells or whole blood. We use the technique to isolate low abundance antibodies specific to different HIV antigens and rare HIV-specific cells from blood obtained from HIV+ patients.

  13. PolyCheck: Dynamic Verification of Iteration Space Transformations on Affine Programs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bao, Wenlei; Krishnamoorthy, Sriram; Pouchet, Louis-noel

    2016-01-11

    High-level compiler transformations, especially loop transformations, are widely recognized as critical optimizations to restructure programs to improve data locality and expose parallelism. Guaranteeing the correctness of program transformations is essential, and to date three main approaches have been developed: proof of equivalence of affine programs, matching the execution traces of programs, and checking bit-by-bit equivalence of the outputs of the programs. Each technique suffers from limitations in either the kind of transformations supported, space complexity, or the sensitivity to the testing dataset. In this paper, we take a novel approach addressing all three limitations to provide an automatic bug checkermore » to verify any iteration reordering transformations on affine programs, including non-affine transformations, with space consumption proportional to the original program data, and robust to arbitrary datasets of a given size. We achieve this by exploiting the structure of affine program control- and data-flow to generate at compile-time lightweight checker code to be executed within the transformed program. Experimental results assess the correctness and effectiveness of our method, and its increased coverage over previous approaches.« less

  14. Characterization of detergent-solubilized sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase by high-performance liquid chromatography.

    PubMed

    Andersen, J P; Vilsen, B; Nielsen, H; Møller, J V

    1986-10-21

    Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase solubilized by the nonionic detergent octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether was studied by molecular sieve high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and analytical ultracentrifugation. Significant irreversible aggregation of soluble Ca2+-ATPase occurred within a few hours in the presence of less than or equal to 50 microM Ca2+. The aggregates were inactive and were primarily held together by hydrophobic forces. In the absence of reducing agent, secondary formation of disulfide bonds occurred. The stability of the inactive dimer upon dilution permitted unambiguous assignment of its elution position and sedimentation coefficient. At high Ca2+ concentration (500 microM), monomeric Ca2+-ATPase was stable for several hours. Reversible self-association induced by variation in protein, detergent, and lipid concentrations was studied by large-zone HPLC. The association constant for dimerization of active Ca2+-ATPase was found to be 10(5)-10(6) M-1 depending on the detergent concentration. More detergent was bound to monomeric than to dimeric Ca2+-ATPase, even above the critical micellar concentration of the detergent. Binding of Ca2+ and vanadate as well as ATP-dependent phosphorylation was studied in monomeric and in reversibly associated dimeric preparations. In both forms, two high-affinity Ca2+ binding sites per phosphorylation site existed. The delipidated monomer purified by HPLC was able to form ADP-insensitive phosphoenzyme and to bind ATP and vanadate simultaneously. These results suggest that formation of Ca2+-ATPase oligomers in the membrane is governed by nonspecific forces (low affinity) and that each polypeptide chain constitutes a functional unit.

  15. Structure of a High-Affinity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saphire, E.O.; Montero, M.; Menendez, A.

    2007-07-13

    The human antibody b12 recognizes a discontinuous epitope on gp120 and is one of the rare monoclonal antibodies that neutralize a broad range of primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates. We previously reported the isolation of B2.1, a dimeric peptide that binds with high specificity to b12 and competes with gp120 for b12 antibody binding. Here, we show that the affinity of B2.1 was improved 60-fold over its synthetic-peptide counterpart by fusing it to the N terminus of a soluble protein. This affinity, which is within an order of magnitude of that of gp120, probably more closely reflectsmore » the affinity of the phage-borne peptide. The crystal structure of a complex between Fab of b12 and B2.1 was determined at 1.8 Angstrom resolution. The structural data allowed the differentiation of residues that form critical contacts with b12 from those required for maintenance of the antigenic structure of the peptide, and revealed that three contiguous residues mediate B2.1's critical contacts with b12. This single region of critical contact between the B2.1 peptide and the b12 paratope is unlikely to mimic the discontinuous key binding residues involved in the full b12 epitope for gp120, as previously identified by alanine scanning substitutions on the gp120 surface. These structural observations are supported by experiments that demonstrate that B2.1 is an ineffective immunogenic mimic of the b12 epitope on gp120. Indeed, an extensive series of immunizations with B2.1 in various forms failed to produce gp120 cross-reactive sera. The functional and structural data presented here, however, suggest that the mechanism by which b12 recognizes the two antigens is very different. Here, we present the first crystal structure of peptide bound to an antibody that was originally raised against a discontinuous protein epitope. Our results highlight the challenge of producing immunogens that mimic discontinuous protein epitopes, and the necessity of combining

  16. Radiosynthesis and in vitro evaluation of 2-(N-alkyl-N-1'-11C-propyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin analogs as high affinity agonists for dopamine D-2 receptors.

    PubMed

    Shi, B; Narayanan, T K; Yang, Z Y; Christian, B T; Mukherjee, J

    1999-10-01

    We have developed radiotracers based on agonists that may potentially allow the in vivo assessment of the high affinity (HA) state of the dopamine D-2 receptors. The population of HA state, which is likely the functional state of the receptor, may be altered in certain diseases. We carried out radiosyntheses and evaluated the binding affinities, lipophilicity, and in vitro autoradiographic binding characteristics of three dopamine D-2 receptor agonists: (+/-)-2-(N,N-dipropyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin (5-OH-DPAT), (+/-)-2-(N-phenethyl-N-propyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin (PPHT), and (+/-)-2-(N-cyclohexylethyl-N-propyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin (ZYY-339). In 3H-spiperone assays using rat striata, ZYY-339 exhibited subnanomolar affinity for D-2 receptor sites (IC50 = 0.010 nM), PPHT was somewhat weaker (IC50 = 0.65 nM), and 5-OH-DPAT exhibited the weakest affinity (IC50 = 2.5 nM) of the three compounds. Radiosynthesis of these derivatives, 2-(N-propyl-N-1'-11C-propyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin (11C-5-OH-DPAT), 2-(N-phenethyl-N-1'-11C-propyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin (11C-PPHT), and 2-(N-cyclohexylethyl-N-1'-11C-propyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin (11C-ZYY-339) was achieved by first synthesizing 11C-1-propionyl chloride and subsequent coupling with the appropriate secondary amine precursor to form the respective amide, which was then reduced to provide the desired tertiary amine products. The final products were obtained by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purification in radiochemical yields of 5-10% after 60-75 min from the end of 11CO2 trapping and with specific activities in the range of 250-1,000 Ci/mmol. In vitro autoradiographs in rat brain slices with 11C-5-OH-DPAT, 11C-PPHT, and 11C-ZYY-339 revealed selective binding of the three radiotracers to the dopamine D-2 receptors in the striata.

  17. Hooking horseradish peroxidase by using the affinity Langmuir-Blodgett technique for an oriented immobilization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peng, Ye; Ling-Ling, Hu; Yu-Zhi, Du; Yong-Juan, Xu; Hua-Gang, Ni; Cong, Chen; Xiao-Lin, Lu; Xiao-Jun, Huang

    2017-05-01

    A novel method of oriented immobilization was presented: affinity Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. Firstly, a long carbon chain was bond to a ligand of Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP). The ligand derivative appears surface activity with the hydrophobic carbon chain oriented to air and the hydrophilic ligand faced to water. Then, this derivative was put onto the water/air surface to assemble a LB film and formed the affinity interaction with the active site of HRP. After that, the affinity LB film with the enzyme was transferred onto the support to obtain the oriented immobilized HRP. The specific activity of HRP immobilized by affinity LB (182.1 ± 14 U/mg) was higher than that by adsorption (40.5 ± 5 U/mg). HRP immobilized by affinity LB could maintain a more native conformation, compared to that by adsorption. This method could be effectively used to immobilize protein with orientation and show widely promising applications in many fields including biosensor and bioreactor.

  18. Development of a nonlinear model for the prediction of response times of glucose affinity sensors using concanavalin A and dextran and the development of a differential osmotic glucose affinity sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reis, Louis G.

    With the increasing prevalence of diabetes in the United States and worldwide, blood glucose monitoring must be accurate and reliable. Current enzymatic sensors have numerous disadvantages that make them unreliable and unfavorable among patients. Recent research in glucose affinity sensors correct some of the problems that enzymatic sensors experience. Dextran and concanavalin A are two of the more common components used in glucose affinity sensors. When these sensors were first explored, a model was derived to predict the response time of a glucose affinity sensor using concanavalin A and dextran. However, the model assumed the system was linear and fell short of calculating times representative of the response times determined through experimental tests with the sensors. In this work, a new model that uses the Stokes-Einstein Equation to demonstrate the nonlinear behavior of the glucose affinity assay was developed to predict the response times of similar glucose affinity sensors. In addition to the device tested by the original linear model, additional devices were identified and tested with the proposed model. The nonlinear model was designed to accommodate the many different variations between systems. The proposed model was able to accurately calculate response times for sensors using the concanavalin A-dextran affinity assay with respect to the experimentally reported times by the independent research groups. Parameter studies using the nonlinear model were able to identify possible setbacks that could compromise the response of thesystem. Specifically, the model showed that the improper use of asymmetrical membranes could increase the response time by as little as 20% or more as the device is miniaturized. The model also demonstrated that systems using the concanavalin Adextran assay would experience higher response times in the hypoglycemic range. This work attempted to replicate and improve an osmotic glucose affinity sensor. The system was designed to

  19. Detection of ovomucoid-specific low-affinity IgE in infants and its relationship to eczema.

    PubMed

    Kawamoto, Norio; Kamemura, Norio; Kido, Hiroshi; Fukao, Toshiyuki

    2017-06-01

    Allergen-specific low-affinity IgE was previously detected in cord blood by a highly sensitive densely carboxylated protein (DCP) chip, but not by ImmunoCAP. Here, we investigated the presence of low-affinity IgE during the early life of infants and observed its relationship with eczema. We conducted a birth cohort study, collecting sera at birth and 6 and 14 months of age (n = 110). We monitored the ovomucoid (OM)- and egg white (EW)-specific IgE (sIgE) by ImmunoCAP or DCP chip and analyzed the antigen affinity of sIgE by binding inhibition assays in the presence or absence of a mild chaotropic agent, diethyl amine (DEA). The low- and high-affinity OM-sIgEs and sensitization risk factors were analyzed by a multivariate logistic analysis. The OM-sIgE measured by DCP chip significantly correlated with that measured by ImmunoCAP, but some samples assessed as OM-sIgE positive by DCP chip were considered OM-sIgE negative by ImmunoCAP. Binding inhibition analysis after DEA treatment was performed for participants judged as OM-sIgE positive by DCP chip at 14 M. The group assessed as negative for OM- and EW-sIgE by ImmunoCAP at 6 and 14 months showed a larger binding inhibition curve shift after DEA treatment than did the group assessed as positive at these times, indicating the presence of low-affinity sIgE antibodies at 14 months. The logistic regression analysis found that persistent eczema from 6 to 14 months is a significant risk factor for developing high-affinity, but not low-affinity, sIgE. Human infant peripheral blood contains allergen-specific low-affinity sIgE. Persistent eczema is related to the development of high-affinity, but not low-affinity, IgE. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater using molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Song, Xingliang; Li, Jinhua; Xu, Shoufang; Ying, Rongjian; Ma, Jiping; Liao, Chunyang; Liu, Dongyan; Yu, Junbao; Chen, Lingxin

    2012-09-15

    A method of solid-phase extraction (SPE) using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as adsorbent coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed for the determination of 16 types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seawater samples. The MIPs were prepared through non-covalent polymerization by using the 16 PAHs mixture as a template based on sol-gel surface imprinting. Compared with the non-imprinted polymers (NIPs), the MIPs exhibited excellent affinity towards 16 PAHs with binding capacity of 111.0-195.0 μg g(-1), and imprinting factor of 1.50-3.12. The significant binding specificity towards PAHs even in the presence of environmental parameters such as dissolved organic matter and various metal ions, suggested that this new imprinting material was capable of removing 93.2% PAHs in natural seawater. High sensitivity was attained, with the low limits of detection for 16 PAHs in natural seawater ranging from 5.2-12.6 ng L(-1). The application of MIPs with high affinity and excellent stereo-selectivity toward PAHs in SPE might offer a more attractive alternative to conventional sorbents for extraction and abatement of PAH-contaminated seawater. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.