Mussel-inspired modification of dextran for protein-resistant coatings of titanium oxide.

Surface modification of inorganic materials to prevent non-specific protein adsorption is critically important for developing a biocompatible materials' platform for medical implantation, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Here we report mussel-inspired chemical modification of dextran for anti-fouling coatings of metal oxide. Catechols are conjugated to dextran via a carbamate ester linkage, producing catechol-grafted dextran with a grafting density of 7.3 mol.%. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is coated with the catechol-grafted dextran, and the anti-fouling effect of dextran coatings is examined by using the adsorption of human serum albumin. The mussel-inspired dextran coatings show excellent resistance to non-specific protein adsorption: the adsorption equilibrium constant (K) is 0.69 Lg(-1) for dextran-coated TiO2 while that for pristine TiO2 surface is 3.53 Lg(-1). This study suggests that catechol-grafted dextran is a promising material for effective anti-fouling coatings of implantable inorganic materials.

Protein-resistant, reductively dissociable polyplexes for in vivo systemic delivery and tumor-targeting of siRNA.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been considered as a very attractive therapeutic alternative to chemical drugs; however, the chemical and biological instability and poor delivery efficiency of siRNA limit its success in clinical applications. Here we report a protein-resistant, reductively dissociable siRNA delivery system based on self-assembled polyelectrolyte complexes of dextran-siRNA conjugates linked by disulfide bonds. The prepared polyplexes exhibit excellent dispersion stability in the presence of serum because of the anti-fouling property of dextran exposed onto the complex surface. The enzymatic degradation of siRNA is also effectively suppressed within the complex. Folates are introduced as an active tumor-targeting moiety via the conjugation of folates to the hydroxyl groups of dextran. An in vivo investigation with a xenograft tumor mouse model shows that the folate-decorated dextran-siRNA conjugates are very efficiently targeted to cancer cells and induce sequence-specific gene silencing.

Cell-repellant dextran coatings of porous titania using mussel adhesion chemistry.

The resistance of bioceramics against non-specific adsorption of serum proteins is critical for a wide range of biomedical applications. Some polysaccharides serve as natural protein-resistant molecules in extracellular matrices; however, the stable adhesion of polysaccharides to ceramic biomaterials in an aqueous solution is very challenging because chemical linkages at organic/inorganic interfaces are susceptible to hydrolytic degradation. Here, a catechol-grafted dextran, which strongly binds to titania (TiO2 ) in an aqueous milieu to effectively suppress cell adhesion through anti-fouling activity against non-specific protein adsorption, is introduced. Catechol is conjugated approximately to 6.7 mol% of glucose units of dextran via a carbamate ester linkage, corresponding to roughly three catechols per dextran chain having an average molecular weight of 6 kDa. Multivalent interactions of catechols with a titanium atom, enabled by the graft-type structure, provide a very stable coating of dextran on this inorganic surface. The adhesion of HeLa cells on the dextran-coated titania surface is reduced by 2.4-fold compared to that on a pristine titania surface. These results suggest that the graft-type incorporation of a small number of catechol moieties along a dextran backbone is an effective means of producing a stable anti-fouling interface on inorganic biomaterials in an aqueous environment.

Development of Porphyromonas gingivalis-specific quantitative real-time PCR primers based on the nucleotide sequence of rpoB.

Species-specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) primers were developed for the detection of Porphyromonas gingivalis. These primers, Pg-F/Pg-R, were designed based on the nucleotide sequences of RNA polymerase ß-subunit gene (rpoB). Species-specific amplicons were obtained from the tested P. gingivalis strains but not in any of the other strains (46 strains of 46 species). The qPCR primers could detect as little as 4 fg of P. gingivalis chromosomal DNA. These findings suggest that these qPCR primers are suitable for applications in epidemiological studies.

Bacterial model system for screening and determining optimal concentration of anti-caries natural extracts.

In general, an antimicrobial test for screening anti-caries natural extracts was performed by measuring the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against the type strains of mutans streptococci. However, it is unclear if the antimicrobial efficiency of natural extracts on the type strains of mutans streptococci is the same on the clinical strains. In this study, we introduced a bacterial model system for the screening of anti-caries and determining the optimal concentration of them to develop oral hygiene products for Korean populations.