A method is described for indirect electron microscopic visualization and mapping of tRNA and other short transcripts hybridized to DNA. This method depends upon the attachment of the electron-dense protein ferritin to the RNA, the binding being mediated by the remarkably strong association of the egg white protein avidin with biotin. Biotin is covalently attached to the 3' end of tRNA using an...

Amino acids and peptides are known to bind metal ions, in some cases very strongly. There are only a few examples of exploiting this binding in sensors. The review covers the current literature on the interaction of peptides and metals and the electrochemistry of bound metal ions. Peptides may be covalently attached to surfaces. Of particular interest is the attachment to gold via sulfur linkag...

An "artificial flavinylation" approach was developed to replace a native noncovalent flavin prosthetic group with a covalently attached flavin analogue in recombinant human d-amino acid oxidase. The protein residue Gly-281 was replaced with Cys by site-directed mutagenesis, followed by reaction between mutated apoenzyme and the thiol-reactive flavin analogue, 8-methylsulfonyl FAD. The stoichiom...

Here we describe the first example of 2 nm gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) covalently functionalized with a chemotherapeutic drug, paclitaxel. The synthetic strategy involves the attachment of a flexible hexaethylene glycol linker at the C-7 position of paclitaxel followed by coupling of the resulting linear analogue to phenol-terminated gold nanocrystals. The reaction proceeds under mild esterific...

Degenerative retinal diseases are a leading cause of visual loss and irreversible blindness, particularly in the developed world. Retinal pigment cell (RPE) transplantation is nowadays considered the most promising therapeutic approach for certain retinal diseases, and the presence of a supportive scaffold has been considered essential to ensure the success of the implant. In this work, collage...

A major cause of implant failure in skeletal tissues is failure of osseointegration, often due to lack of adhesion of cells to the titanium (Ti) alloy interface. Since arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD)-containing peptides have been shown to regulate osteoblast adhesion, we tested the hypothesis that, bound to a Ti surface, these peptides would promote osteoblasts differentiation, while at th...

Immobilization of cellulase from Aspergillus niger on TiO2 nanoparticles was studied by two different approaches--physical adsorption and covalent coupling. A. niger was selected, as it is generally non-pathogenic, is found in nature in the broad range of habitats and produces cellulase extracellulary. For covalent method, TiO2 nanoparticles were modified with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS)....

Orthopedic-device-related infections are notorious for causing physical and psychological trauma to patients suffering from them. Traditional methods of treating these have relied heavily on antibiotics becoming ineffectual due the rise antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Mimics antimicrobial peptides emerged as exciting alternatives their favorable antibacterial properties lack propensity generatin...

Our recent studies demonstrated that apolipoprotein E mediates cell attachment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) through interactions with the cell surface heparan sulfate (HS). HS is known to covalently attach to core proteins to form heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) on the cell surface. The HSPG core proteins include the membrane-spanning syndecans (SDCs), the lycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked...