Recombinant protein therapeutics often suffer from short circulating half-life and poor stability, necessitating multiple injections and resulting in limited shelf-life. Conjugation to polyethylene glycol chains (PEG) extends the circulatory half-life of many proteins, but the methods for attachment often lack specificity, resulting in loss of biological activity. Using four-helix bundle cytoki...

In the present study, the construction of arrays on silicon for naked-eye detection of DNA dengue was demonstrated. The array was created by exposing a polyethylene glycol (PEG) silane monolayer to 254 nm ultraviolet (UV) light through a photomask. Formation of the PEG silane monolayer and photomodifed surface properties was thoroughly characterized by using atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray...

We used photo irradiation to design core crosslinked polymeric micelles whose only significant physico-chemical change was in their physico-chemical stability, which helps elucidate poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-related immunogenicity. Synthetic routes and compositions of PEG-b-poly(aspartic acid) block copolymers were optimized with the control of n-alkyl chain length and photo-sensitive chalcon...

Doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic drug used as a cure for cancer. Being an anthracycline antibiotic, it is commonly used in treating a wide varieties of cancers. In this report, the molecular structure, Binding Energy(BE), Dipole Moment (DM), Gibbs free energy of solvation (ΔG(solvation)) and some physicochemical properties of Doxorubicin were conjugated chemically to the terminal end of a di-b...

We have previously developed a linker technology for half-life extension of peptides, proteins and small molecule drugs (1). The linkers undergo β-elimination reactions with predictable cleavage rates to release the native drug. Here we utilize this technology for half-life extension of the 38 amino acid HIV-1 fusion inhibitor TRI-1144. Conjugation of TRI-1144 to 40 kDa PEG by an appropriate β-...

BACKGROUND A novel brain drug delivery system using cationic bovine serum albumin (CBSA)-conjugated biodegradable polymersomes (CBSA-PO) was prepared, and its intracellular delivery mechanism and brain delivery kinetics were evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS Biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) was used to prepare the polymersomes, and thiolated CBSA was conjugated ...

Staphylococcus aureus sortase A catalyzes the transpeptidation of an LPXTG peptide acceptor and a glycine-linked peptide donor and has proven to be a powerful tool for site-specific protein modification. The substrate specificity of sortase A is stringent, limiting its broader utility. Here we report the laboratory evolution of two orthogonal sortase A variants that recognize each of two altere...

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is one of the most extensively studied and utilized viral vectors in clinical gene transfer research. However, the serum instability and immunogenicity of AAV vectors significantly limit their application. Here, we endeavored to overcome these limitations by developing a straightforward approach for site-specific PEGylation of AAV via genetic code expansion. This te...

To address the need for effective medications to aid in the treatment of methamphetamine (METH) abuse, we used a nanotechnology approach to customize the in vivo behavior of an anti-METH single chain antibody (scFv7F9Cys). Anti-METH scFv7F9Cys was conjugated to dendrimer nanoparticles via a polyethylene glycol (PEG) linker to generate high-order conjugates termed dendribodies. We found that the...

MRI offers high spatial resolution with excellent tissue penetration but it has limited sensitivity and the commonly administered contrast agents lack specificity. In this study, two sets of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were synthesized that were designed to selectively undergo copper-free click conjugation upon sensing of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes, thereby leading to a self-as...