Surface modification of PLGA particles: the interplay between stabilizer, ligand size, and hydrophobic interactions.

Therapeutic and diagnostic carriers can be functionalized with active targeters to induce tissue-specific delivery. However, the possible impact of adsorbed steric stabilizer such as the frequently used poloxamers (Pluronics) on surface modification of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) particles has not been examined so far. Therefore, three model ligands of different molecular weights (653; 36,000; 155,000 g/mol) covering the size range of important targeters were conjugated to the surface of PLGA microparticles in the presence of different concentrations of Pluronic F68 (0.01-5%, w/v). Flow cytometry and fluorimetric quantification revealed for all tested ligands that high Pluronic concentrations decreased the coupling efficiency to a half or even one-third of that achieved in the absence of stabilizer. Moreover, the reduction strongly depends on the ligand size and its propensity for hydrophobic interactions. Apart from that, a high degree of particle aggregation was observed with Pluronic concentrations below 0.1% (w/v). Thus, a compromise has to be found, which combines sufficient stability with the best possible ligand coupling efficiency. For the studied system, 0.1% (w/v) turned out to be the optimum concentration of Pluronic F68.

Optical resonance-enhanced absorption-based near-field immunochip biosensor for allergen detection.

An optical immunochip biosensor has been developed as a rapid method for allergen detection in complex food matrixes, and its application evaluated for the detection of the egg white allergens, ovalbumin and ovomucoid. The optical near-field phenomenon underlying the basic principle of the sensor design is called resonance-enhanced absorption (REA), which utilizes gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as signal transducers in a highly sensitive interferometric setup. Using this approach, a novel, simple, and rapid colorimetric solid-phase immunoassay on a planar chip substrate was realized in direct and sandwich assay formats, with a detection system that does not require any instrumentation for readout. Semiquantitative immunochemical responses are directly visible to the naked eye of the analyst. The biosensor shows concentration-dependent color development by capturing antibody-functionalized Au NPs on allergen-coated chips and has a detection limit of 1 ng/mL. To establish a rapid method, we took advantage of the physicochemical microenvironment of the Au NP-antibody bioconjugate to be bound directly over an interacting poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate) interlayer by an immobilized antigen. In the direct assay format, a coating time with allergen of only 5 min under "soft" nondenaturing conditions was sufficient for accurate reproducibility and sensitivity. In conclusion, the REA-based immunochip sensor is easy to fabricate, is reproducible and selective in its performance, has minimal technical requirements, and will enable high-throughput screening of affinity binding interactions in technological and medical applications.

Significance of aquaporins and sodium potassium ATPase subunits for expansion of the early equine conceptus.

Expansion of the equine conceptus can be divided into blastocoel and yolk sac phases. The endodermal layer transforming the blastocoel into the yolk sac is completed around day 8 of pregnancy. From that time, the size of the spherical conceptus increases tremendously due mainly to the accumulation of fluid rather than cell multiplication. In this study, we have investigated the abundance and localisation of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPases and aquaporins (AQP) in the equine conceptus on days 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 by multiplex reverse transcriptase PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. During conceptus expansion, the ectoderm of the yolk sac exhibited basolateral abundance of alpha1ATPase, apical localisation of AQP5, and membrane and cytoplasmic expression of AQP3. With increasing conceptus size its cells showed an extensive enlargement of the apical membrane surface by microvilli. From day 14 onwards, the yolk sac endoderm forms arc-like structures with attaching sites to the ectodermal layer and shows intensive staining for alpha1ATPase, AQP5 and AQP3 in the membrane as well as in the cytoplasm. In the yolk sac ectoderm, the arrangement of these proteins is comparable with the collecting ducts of kidney with AQP2 being replaced by the closely related AQP5. The detection of phosphorylation sites for protein kinase A suggests a similar AQP5 traffic and regulation as known for AQP2 in the collecting ducts of the kidney. The arrangement of these proteins in equine embryos indicates at least partially the mechanism of conceptus expansion.

A "gold cluster-linked immunosorbent assay": optical near-field biosensor chip for the detection of allergenic beta-lactoglobulin in processed milk matrices.

A new optical biosensor based on the resonance enhanced absorption (REA) effect is described. REA effects are observed when noble metal nanoclusters are deposited at a nanometric distance from a highly reflective mirror. The aim of our study was to adopt the REA effect for the rapid testing of proteins in a direct immunoassay format on chip and to adjust a conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to a cluster-linked immunosorbent assay (CLISA) by labelling the read-out antibody with monodisperse colloidal gold clusters. For generation of a strong REA signal 30 min of coating of the target protein was sufficient. To evaluate our approach we used the milk allergen beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG) as analyte, and beta-LG-isolations of processed milk products to prove the applicability of our method to the analysis of proteins in complex matrices at even the trace level. For validating the specificity of the CLISA biosensor we used the non-functionalised cluster reagent without antibody and a non-immunoreactive milk matrix as controls. As expected, very weak background signals were obtained with the controls, whereas the purified food samples clearly showed that beta-LG was present and detectable. In conclusion, we were able to describe the successful development of a new biosensor chip for assaying proteins using the REA effect.

Farnesylation or geranylgeranylation? Efficient assays for testing protein prenylation in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Available in vitro and in vivo methods for verifying protein substrates for posttranslational modifications via farnesylation or geranylgeranylation (for example, autoradiography with 3H-labeled anchor precursors) are time consuming (weeks/months), laborious and suffer from low sensitivity. RESULTS: We describe a new technique for detecting prenyl anchors in N-terminally glutathione S-transferase (GST)-labeled constructs of target proteins expressed in vitro in rabbit reticulocyte lysate and incubated with 3H-labeled anchor precursors. Alternatively, hemagglutinin (HA)-labeled constructs expressed in vivo (in cell culture) can be used. For registration of the radioactive marker, we propose to use a thin layer chromatography (TLC) analyzer. As a control, the protein yield is tested by Western blotting with anti-GST- (or anti-HA-) antibodies on the same membrane that has been previously used for TLC-scanning. These protocols have been tested with Rap2A, v-Ki-Ras2 and RhoA (variant RhoA63L) including the necessary controls. We show directly that RasD2 is a farnesylation target. CONCLUSION: Savings in time for experimentation and the higher sensitivity for detecting 3H-labeled lipid anchors recommend the TLC-scanning method with purified GST- (or HA-) tagged target proteins as the method of choice for analyzing their prenylation capabilities in vitro and in vivo and, possibly, also for studying the myristoyl and palmitoyl posttranslational modifications.

Changes in peptic digestibility of bovine beta-lactoglobulin as a result of food processing studied by capillary electrophoresis and immunochemical methods.

Digestion studies constitute a functional tool for allergen characterisation. This strategy for investigating allergenic proteins relates to the observation of increased proteolytic resistance of some proteins recognised to exhibit allergenic potential. beta-Lactoglobulin (betaLG) is one of the major whey proteins, a potent milk allergen and shows a high stability against peptic hydrolysis in its native form. In order to study the impact of milk fermentation process on its digestibility, two complementary analytical methods were applied: capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) to quantitatively study proteolytic degradation of betaLG isolated from different fermented bovine milk products, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess differences in immunoreactivity. betaLG, isolated from either raw or pasteurised cow's milk (CM), as expected, showed only minimal digestibility (less than 10% in 2 h). However, when raw milk or pasteurised milk was fermented, the rate of peptic digestion of the protein significantly increased (up to 45% in 2 h). In accordance with changes in digestibility, the immunochemical response for all fermented samples was lower than that of non-fermented references. Raw and pasteurised milk "naturally" fermented in our laboratory only resulted in a slight reduction (betaLG detected is still in the range of milligrams per gram sample), whereas the industrially manufactured sour milk as well as the "Acidophilus milk" reflected a remarkably lower level of immunoreactivity (55-56 microg/g sample).

Investigation of the lactosylation of whey proteins by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Heat treatment of milk induces a reaction between the milk proteins and lactose, resulting in lactosylated protein species. The lactosylation of the two major whey proteins alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin was investigated by reversed phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Three sample series, consisting of aqueous model solutions of each whey protein separately and in mixture and whole milk, were heated for different time periods, and the progression of the lactosylation reaction was monitored. The observed degrees of lactosylation and the reaction kinetics showed that the lactosylation of beta-lactoglobulin was not influenced by the presence of other components, whereas the lactosylation of alpha-lactalbumin was enhanced in whole milk compared to the aqueous model systems. An in-depth evaluation of the LC-MS data yielded information regarding changes of physicochemical properties of the whey proteins upon lactosylation. Whereas retention time shifts indicated changes in hydrophobicity for both alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin, changes in the charge state distribution denoting conformational alterations were observed only for beta-lactoglobulin. The analysis of different liquid and solid milk products showed that the lactosylation patterns of the whey proteins can be used as indicators for the extent of heat treatment.

Direct optical visualization of DNA-DNA interaction by nanoparticle-capture on resonant PET-films.

Based on the understanding of the absorption behavior of metal nanoparticles we aimed at the direct detection of sub-monomolecular layers of DNA with the naked eye. This extremely sensitive detection needs optical amplification techniques to be used in replacement of nanoparticle-aggregates applied e.g., in agglutination assays. We focus on the nanolayer-coated metallized-PET-chip setup and on the synthesis of DNA-nanoparticle conjugates suitable for 'resonance enhanced absorption'-point of care-tests and the application of those particles in the direct visualization of DNA-DNA binding events. Stabilization of nanoparticles and their sequence specific binding was proven with direct optical visibility of sub-monolayers of colored nanoclusters. Synthetic routes leading to suitable conjugates as well as stability tests and a biorecognition test are described in detail adding to the repertoire of tools that contribute to the application of nanoparticles in novel nano-enhanced devices.

Preparation, characterization and application of artificial Caco-2 cell surfaces in the silver nanoparticle enhanced fluorescence technique.

To approach in vivo conditions during real time monitoring of biorecognitive interactions, biomimetic surfaces were prepared by fusion of purified plasma membrane fractions from Caco-2 cells with self-assembled monolayers attached to silver colloid coated standard microplates. Proper orientation and integrity of the membrane coating was confirmed by binding of fluorescein-labelled wheat germ agglutinin (F-WGA) which interacts with certain carbohydrates of the glycocalyx. Additionally, the competition with the complementary carbohydrate decreased the F-WGA binding to 15%. The assay setup offers information about the real time binding kinetics and the affinity of the interaction with the cell membrane excluding interfering events such as internalization and metabolism. As exemplified by F-WGA-binding, the mean velocity of the interaction is 627.07 mFU/s and the working range is 40-240 nM with a detection limit of 1.6 pmol F-WGA. The storage stability of the ready-to-use plates exceeded at least 1 month. The real time monitoring of lectin-prodrug binding to the biomimetic membranes revealed that high conjugation numbers reduces the affinity. The assays are simple and fast one-step reactions without any washing steps as this new technique discriminates between membrane bound and bulk fluorescence. Thus, biomimetic membranes on silver colloid layers represent a versatile tool for high throughput screening at early stages of drug discovery and development.

Silver nanoparticle enhanced immunoassays: one step real time kinetic assay for insulin in serum.

Silver nanoparticle enhanced fluorescence is introduced as an alternative method to surface plasmon resonance techniques for real time monitoring of biorecognitive interactions or immunoassays. This method relies on the phenomenon that an electromagnetic near field is generated upon illumination on the surface of silver nanoparticles. The interaction of this field with nearby fluorophores results in fluorescence enhancement. Thus, fluorophores in the bulk solution can be discriminated from surface bound fluorophores. Anti-insulin-antibodies were immobilized on the surface of silver colloids in the following order: A ready to use microplate was prepared by bottom up coating with layers of aminosilane, silver nanoparticles, Fc-recognizing F(ab)(2)-fragments and anti-insulin-antibodies. At equilibrium conditions fluorescein-labeled insulin could only be detected in the presence of the colloid; the detection limit was 250 nM, and a fourfold increase in fluorescence was observed upon real time monitoring. The competitive assay of labeled and unlabeled insulin revealed a working range of 10-200 nM insulin in serum. The rapid single step immunoassay is easy to perform even in microplate format, its sensitivity is comparable to ELISA techniques, and offers broad application for real time monitoring of molecular recognitive processes.

Development of an in vitro blood-brain barrier model based on immortalized porcine brain microvascular endothelial cells.

Immortalized porcine brain microvessel endothelial cells (PBMEC/C1-2) were used to develop a model for measurement of blood-brain barrier permeation of central nervous system active drugs. Previous studies showed that a system using C6 astrocyte glioma conditioned medium leads to cell layers with transendothelial electrical resistance values up to 300 Omega cm(2) and a permeability coefficient P(e) of 3.24 +/- 0.14 x 10(-4) cm/min for U-[(14)C]sucrose, which is in good agreement to published values and thus indicates the formation of tight junctions in vitro. However, commercially available inserts for the Transwell system were not permeable for highly lipophilic compounds, such as diazepam. Systematic studies with different insert showed, that inserts with a pore width of 1 microm proved to be optimal for permeation studies of lipophilic compounds. Permeability studies with a set of three benzodiazepines further supported this finding.

Biocompatible medical implant materials with binding sites for a biodegradable drug-delivery system.

Feasibility studies have been carried out for development of a biocompatible coating of medical implant materials allowing the binding of biodegradable drug-delivery systems in a way that their reloading might be possible. These novel coatings, able to bind biodegradable nanoparticles, may serve in the long run as drug carriers to mediate local pharmacological activity. After biodegradation of the nanoparticles, the binding sites could be reloaded with fresh drug-delivering particles. As a suitable receptor system for the nanoparticles, antibodies are anchored. The design of the receptor is of great importance as any bio- or chemorecognitive interaction with other components circulating in the blood has to be avoided. Furthermore, the binding between receptor and the particles has to be strong enough to keep them tightly bound during their lifetime, but on the other hand allow reloading after final degradation of the particles. The nanoparticles suggested as a drug-delivery system for medical implants can be loaded with different pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, growth factors, or immunosuppressives. This concept may enable the changing of medication, even after implantation of the medical device, if afforded by patients' needs.

Immunosorbent assay using gold colloid cluster technology for determination of IgEs in patients' sera.

This study focuses on the development of a sensitive and simple cluster-linked immunosorbent assay (CLISA) using gold colloidal cluster labeling for determination of proteins such as antigens (Ags) or antibodies (Abs). Abs for detection can be labeled with gold colloid clusters (GCCs). The Fc domain of the Abs binds to the clusters, and the Fab domain to the Ag on a nitrocellulose membrane or a microtiter plate as a support for dot-blotting. The signal of positive interaction between GCC-labeled Abs and its dotted Ag is detectable by the naked eye and can be quantified by comparison to a color scale prepared from a dilution series of known sample concentrations. The colored reaction product is stable for prolonged periods and does not fade, making this method a simple, fast, and convenient means for detection of Ag or Ab biorecognitions and an alternative to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Several interactions between different Ags or Abs (eg, ß-lactoglobulin) and solutions avoiding gold colloidal cluster flocculation (eg, using protein G) were studied. CLISA was tested for other analytical purposes such as detection of IgEs in patients' sera.

Absolute quantitation of beta-lactoglobulin by protein liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and its application to different milk products.

The absolute quantitation of proteins in biological matrixes is of great interest in many fields and can be accomplished by different methodologies. Here, a method for the absolute quantitation of the whey protein beta-lactoglobulin using protein liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry is reported. The developed approach was characterized in detail and applied to the determination of beta-lactoglobulin contents in various milk products. A special focus was placed on the recovery rates of the isolation procedure and on robust quantitation by LC-MS. For these purposes protein internal standards were employed. The observed recovery rates of beta-lactoglobulin from various samples ranged from 100% for whole milk to just over 50% for a strongly processed yogurt-based baby food product. The influence of processing was investigated in greater detail, showing that an increasing intensity of the applied heat treatment resulted in an increasing loss of beta-lactoglobulin. LC-MS quantitation at the protein level proved to be highly suitable, avoiding a potentially problematic digestion step. The use of an appropriate internal standard to compensate for sample losses during sample workup was shown to be essential for obtaining accurate results.

Prevalence of botulinum neurotoxin C1 and its corresponding gene in environmental samples from low and high risk avian botulism areas.

Botulinum neurotoxin C1 (BoNt C1) and its corresponding gene were detected in seven aquatic habitats covering a range of low (LR) to high risk (HR) avian botulism outbreak areas during a study period of 10 months. Toxin and gene in sediment and avian faecal samples were analysed before (in situ) and after cultivation (in vitro) by a newly adapted ELISA, the common mouse bioassay and by a recently described nested PCR protocol. BoNt C1 gene fragments were detected in 74% and 83% of all investigated sediment samples by in situ PCR and in vitro PCR, respectively, at comparable frequencies in HR and LR areas. Similar high values were also observed for faecal samples. No BoNt C1 could be detected in the sediment in situ, while 53% and 56% of all cultivated samples contained BoNt C1 as detected in the mouse bioassay and the ELISA, respectively. The percentage of BoNt C1 positive cultivated samples was significantly higher (2-fold) in HR areas than in LR areas. Hence, our data clearly indicate an increased ratio of potentially BoNt C1 producing clostridia to BoNt C1 genes as the frequency or likelihood of botulinum epizootics increases in the environment. In addition, the good correlation between the results from the ELISA and the mouse bioassay for all sediment and faecal samples (r=0.90, p<0.001, n=121) indicates a high potential for the ELISA to reduce/replace the mouse bioassay for the detection of BoNt C1 in environmental samples.

Wheat germ agglutinin binds to the epidermal growth factor receptor of artificial Caco-2 membranes as detected by silver nanoparticle enhanced fluorescence.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify one of the ligands that mediate carbohydrate-specific cytoadhesion and cytoinvasion of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)-containing drug delivery systems. METHODS: The receptor-ligand studies were performed with isolated epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors as well as biomimetic membranes prepared from Caco-2 and A-431 cells. The binding of fluorescent labeled WGA was detected by the silver nanoparticle enhanced fluorescence technique. RESULTS: The binding of WGA to isolated EGF receptors is saturable and the equilibrium is reached within 1 min. The interaction between WGA and isolated EGF receptors is fully inhibited by the complementary carbohydrate and at least 85% of WGA binding to artificial Caco-2 membranes is caused by protein-carbohydrate interactions involving the tetrasialo-binding motif. The integrity and the presence of EGF-receptors in artificial Caco-2 membranes as well as their WGA-binding capacity were confirmed by immunoblot detection. CONCLUSIONS: The glycosylated extracellular domain III of the EGF receptor is involved in the WGA-Caco-2 cell interaction. Accordingly, receptor mediated endocytosis is the basic mechanism for internalization of WGA. As the EGF receptor is overexpressed in a high number of tumors but also occurs in non-malignant tissue at considerable density, WGA-mediated drug delivery opens exciting possibilities for specific binding and uptake of poorly absorbable drugs.

Structural behavior of nanometric carbohydrate films transduced by a resonant technique.

New optical nanoresonance effects enabled us to study the effect of ions on nanometric carbohydrate thin layers on chips. Immobilization was done via spin coating of the derivatized carbohydrate polymer at a metallized chip surface forming ultrathin films (about 50-300 nm thick) followed by photochemical cross-linking. Deposition of metal-nanoclusters, synthesized by chemical means and sputter coating on top of the polymer, induced an optical resonance effect, which transduced changes of polymer structure quantitatively into an optical signal that can be observed directly as resonance shift of a narrow optical peak. The response of the sensor chip even visible to the eye was quantified spectroscopically in the visible and ir range of the spectrum. The lifetime of thin film was good, and thus application as a sensor was limited only by the mechanical stability of the reactive matrix, but not by photobleaching or molecular leakage. Due to the inherent hydrophilic nature of the alginate polymer, the response time of this new sensor is governed by simple aqueous diffusion of the ionic calcium for up to 300 nm completed within less than one second. Monitoring of calcium fluctuations in a high background of magnesium and even serum was demonstrated with a dynamic range optimal for physiological measurements and a linear response up to 5 mM. Surface and alignment of polymer chain were influenced by the nanostructure of the supporting metal film-contrary to alginic acid, chitosan was deposited well aligned to the nanocrystals of the support.

[PCR and ELISA--in vitro alternatives to the mouse-bioassay for assessing the botulinum-neurotoxin-C1 production potential in environmental samples?]. / PCR und ELISA - Alternativen zum Maustest für die Analyse des Botulismus-Neurotoxin-C1 Giftbildungspotentiales in Umweltproben?

Botulism is one of the most important bird diseases world-wide and is caused by the intoxication with Botulinum-Neurotoxin-C1 (BoNt-C1), which is produced by toxigenic clostridia under appropriate conditions. Avian botulism leads regularly to large losses among the migrating bird populations breeding and resting at the saltwater pools of the Austrian national park Neusiedler See-Seewinkel. Despite of its ethical dubiousness and its high technical expense the mouse-bioassay is still used as the routine standard method for the detection of BoNt-C1. According to the 3R-concept, in vitro alternative methods for the qualitative detection of BoNt-C1 (immunostick-ELISA) and a corresponding BoNt-C1 gene fragment (nested-PCR) were established. In order to estimate the BoNt-C1 production potential the methods were tested with sediment samples from different saltwater pools subjected to cultivation conditions appropriate for in vitro BoNt-C1-production. With the mouse-bioassay, 52 out of 77 samples were found to have a positive toxin production potential. The immunostick-ELISA showed a similar sensitivity as the mouse-bioassay and exhibited a highly significant positive correlation (r=0.94; p<0.001) with the mouse-bioassay in detecting BoNt-C1. The nested-PCR approach revealed higher numbers of positive BoNt-C1 gene fragment detections as compared to the direct toxin analysis approaches. A weak correlation (r=0.21; p=0.07) with the mouse-bioassay was discernible, no correlation was found with the immunostick-ELISA (r=0.09; p=0.46). Obviously, the PCR approach detected the BoNt-C1 gene fragment in some of the samples where no toxin expression has occurred. Thus it is suggested that the qualitative immunostick-ELISA represents a potential in-vitro alternative to the mouse-bioassay for assessing the BoNt-C1 production potential in environmental samples. In contrast, qualitative BoNt-C1 gene fragment detection via PCR led to an overestimation of the actual toxin production potential.