Synthesis and biological activity of a novel methylamine-bridged enkephalin analogue (MABE): a new route to cyclic peptides and peptidomimetics.

The synthesis and biological activity of a methylamine-bridged enkephalin analogue (MABE) is presented. The key step in the synthesis of the target compound involves the ring opening of Cbz-d-serine beta-lactone with Boc-Phe-NHCH2CH2NHCH3. Further synthetic elaboration of the resulting building block yielded compound 1 (MABE, Tyr-c[(NbetaCH3)-D-A2pr-Gly-Phe-NHCH2CH2-], where A2pr is a 2,3-diaminopropionic acid residue). Utilizing a combination of NMR and molecular modeling, the structure-biological activity relationships for compound 1 were studied. Using an in vitro isolated receptor assay, MABE was found to have affinities for isolated mu delta, and kappa opioid receptors of 1.6, 2.1, and 340 nM, respectively. By an in vivo thermal escape assay, MABE was found to have an ED50 of 0.027 microg in the rat when administered intrathecally. This effect was reversed by naloxone. By comparison, DAMGO, morphine, and DPDPE were found to yield ED50 values of 0.14, 2.4, and 54 microg, respectively, in the same assay.

Quenching of biotinylated aequorin bioluminescence by dye-labeled avidin conjugates: application to homogeneous bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assays.

[see reaction]. Avidin conjugates containing the covalently attached dyes QSY-7 and dabcyl were prepared and shown to quench the bioluminescence of biotinylated aequorin. Quenching efficiency was shown to be dependent on both the label-to-avidin ratio and the concentration of the avidin conjugate. These properties were exploited to develop a homogeneous bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assay for biotin.

Synthetic haptens as probes of antibody response and immunorecognition.

The molecular forces that bind antibody to antigen have long fascinated chemists. The use of synthetic haptens to study immunochemical phenomena can be traced back to the classic work of Karl Lansteiner. His utilization of small-molecule-protein conjugates first demonstrated the shape-selective nature of antibody binding. Later work by Linus Pauling and David Pressman employed multivalent, synthetic ligands to establish the bivalent nature of antibodies and explain the nature of immunoprecipitation. Fluorescent probes such as dansyl, fluorescein, and Ru(bpy)(2+)(3) have been used to study affinity maturation, quantify antibody affinities, and investigate polyclonal antibody heterogeneity. Finally, X-ray crystallography has yielded a molecular picture of how antibodies exercise intermolecular forces (e.g., charge-charge interactions, H-bonding, and Van der Waals) to bind haptens. Studies inspired by Landsteiner's original work continue to play an important role in fields ranging from immunodiagnostics to catalytic antibodies.

Tracermer signal generators: an arborescent approach to the incorporation of multiple chemiluminescent labels.

The synthesis, conjugation, and chemiluminescent evaluation of zero, first, and second order acridinium-based Tracermer signal generators are described. Members of this family of labels have potential use as tracers in diagnostic assays and are structurally similar to arborol dendrimers. Tracermer-BSA conjugates showed up to a sixfold increase in light emission compared to the normal acridinium label.

Quantitative determination of noncovalently bound acridinium in protein conjugates by liquid chromatography/electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry.

A sensitive and robust liquid chromatography/electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed for the quantitative determination of noncovalently bound acridinium free acid in protein-acridinium conjugates. The lower level of quantitation (LOQ) for acridinium free acid was determined to be 0.6 ng. The assay was validated with a linear concentration range of 0.6-60 ng. The method requires minimum sample handling and is specific, reproducible, and provides a new aspect for protein-acridinium conjugate characterization.

Region-selective labeling of antibodies as determined by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).

The electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis of three sets of monoclonal antibody-acridinium-9-carboxamide conjugates is described. The conjugates (nine total) were enzymatically digested using papain and the resulting fragments [Fc heavy chain, Fab, or F(ab')(2)] were analyzed using liquid chromatography/ESI-MS. The average number of labels per fragment were calculated using Sigma nx%, where n is the number of acridinium molecules covalently bound to the fragment and x% is the percent relative area of the corresponding peaks in the mass spectrum. When these values were normalized against the molecular weight of their respective region, antibody-dependent labeling patterns were observed. For antibodies T (anti-L-T(4)) and F (anti-FITC), there was a preference for conjugation of the Fab region over the Fc region. For antibody B (anti-biotin), the trend was reversed.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) as a tool for antibody conjugate analysis.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis was used to assess the immunoreactivity of anti-biotin (4) and anti-fluorescein (5) monoclonal antibody after conjugation with the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of acridinium-9-carboxamide 1. Only minor changes in the apparent equilibrium dissociation constants of the antibody conjugates for their ligands resulted from the conjugation process. However, comparison of the initial binding rate of the conjugates with their ligands with those of the unmodified antibodies over a range of concentrations showed that the antibody conjugates were partially inactivated. The anti-fluorescein conjugates retained at least 90% of their immunoreactivity over the range of modification tested, while anti-biotin conjugates showed a progressive loss of reactivity with increased substitution by the label.

Design of acridinium-9-carboxamides and anti-acridinium antibodies for chemiluminescent signal enhancement.

A novel system of signal enhancement is presented in which every labeled antibody is capable of generating a signal. Three chemiluminescent acridinium-9-carboxamide haptens (1, 2, and 3) which incorporated differences in charge and location of the linker were designed and synthesized. Anti-acridinium polyclonal antibodies for each hapten were screened using surface plasmon resonance instrumentation to determine specificity for each hapten. Anti-acridinium 2 antibodies were found to be non-cross-reactive to acridinium 1. This property was exploited to design secondary antibody conjugates which would bind to primary antibodies labeled with 2 yet could still be labeled with the structurally similar acridinium 1. Consequently, both layers contributed to the overall chemiluminescent signal. This format is an advance over other signal amplification formats which employ non-signal-generating, labeled antibodies to construct multilayered systems.

Linker-mediated modulation of the chemiluminescent signal from N(10)-(3-Sulfopropyl)-N-sulfonylacridinium-9-carboxamide tracers.

Four chemiluminescent N-sulfonylacridinium-9-carboxamide active esters (17-20) were prepared from the corresponding acids and coupled to both of the aminated phenobarbital (13) and N-(6-aminohexyl)phenytoin (16) haptens. The level of signal produced by chemiluminescent N-sulfonylacridinium-9-carboxamide phenobarbital and phenytoin tracers in a solid-phase immunoassay format was found to be modulated by at least 20-fold by the judicious choice of the reactive acridinium-hapten linking group.

Solid phase organic synthesis of piperazinone containing enkephalin mimetics: a readily derivatized, traceless scaffold.

The solid phase synthesis of a series of piperazinone-derived Leu-enkephalin analogues is presented. The initial step in the synthesis involved the N-alkylation of Wang resin bound N-(4-tert-butyloxy-phenethyl)-glycine with D or L Boc-serine-beta-lactone (the Vederas lactone). The resulting carboxylic acid was then coupled to a variety of monosubstituted benzylamine derivatives using benzotriazol-1-yloxy-tris(dimethyl-amino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (the BOP reagent) to yield a series of resin bound tertiary amides. Treatment with 5% H2O in TFA resulted in the facile cleavage, deprotection, and cyclization of this linear precursor to yield a series of piperazinones (compounds 1-8).