A current challenge in life sciences is to image cell membrane receptors while characterizing their specific interactions with various ligands. Addressing this issue has been hampered by the lack of suitable nanoscopic methods. Here we address this challenge and introduce multifunctional high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) to image human protease-activated receptors (PAR1) in the func...

CVN (cyanovirin-N) is an anti-HIV protein. CVNH (cyanovirin-N homology) represents its homology. In a previous study, we first reported the full-length sequences of the CVNH gene cloned from Ceratopteris thalictroides. Based on the finding, the coding sequence of CtCVNH was optimized in the study, and then a pET prokaryotic expression vector was constructed. The purification and identification ...

The genetic modification of cells to develop cell-based vaccines and to modulate immune responses in vivo can be risky and inconvenient to perform in clinical situations. A novel chelator lipid, nitrilotriacetic acid di-tetradecylamine (NTA-DTDA) that, via the NTA group has high affinity for 6His peptide, was used to directly anchor recombinant forms of T cell costimulatory molecules containing...

The log K(1) value of analytical quality was obtained for the NiNTPA complex using the density functional theory (DFT)-computed (at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory in solvent, CPCM/UAKS) G(aq) values of the lowest-energy conformers of the ligands, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and nitrilotri-3-propanoic acid (NTPA), and the Ni(II) complexes (NiNTA and NiNTPA). The described mathematical p...

A new method was developed for modifying gold electrode surfaces through electrochemically triggered adsorption of acrylamide copolymers containing a low percentage of tyrosineamide side chains. The amount of copolymer adsorbed, as monitored by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), was proportional to the percent of tyrosineamide side chains in the polymer over the range 0-3 mol %. The modified gold...

Insect antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have a broad antimicrobial spectrum. To aid the characterization of the gene function and further applications, we cloned the gene of cecropinXJ into the prokaryotic expression vector pET32a and expressed cecropinXJ in Escherichia coli BL2l (DE3). Following induction by isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG), a 25 kDa fusion peptide of cecropinXJ with a tagged...

This paper challenges the production of the protein nanoparticles using the conjugation of Ni2+ complexed nitrilotriacetic acid end-functionalized polystyrene (Ni-NTA-PS) and histidine tagged GFP (His-GFP) hybrid. The microfluidic synthesis of the protein nanoparticle with the advantages of a uniform size, a fast reaction, and a precise control of preparation conditions is examined. The self-as...

While BIACORE instruments are routinely used for kinetic measurements and for the determination of binding constants, the immobilization of a ligand onto the sensor chip surface has to be individually optimized for every system. We show here that the histidine (His) tag, routinely used in protein purification and in detection is an ideal tag for immobilization, despite the intrinsically low aff...

The iron(III) compounds with several aminocarboxylate chelates containing an aryl or furan substituent exhibit high activity in enhancement of the reactivity of hydrogen peroxide, leading to facile hydroxylation at benzene ring, and to degradation of furan ring, but no such activity was observed for the corresponding Al(III) compounds. These results were interpreted in terms of the molecular or...