Biotin as acylating agent in the Friedel-Crafts reaction. Avidin affinity of biotinyl derivatives of ferrocene, ruthenocene and pyrene and fluorescence properties of 1-biotinylpyrene

(D)-Biotin was used for Friedel-Crafts acylation of electron-rich aromatic molecules--ferrocene, ruthenocene and pyrene. The reaction carried out in the presence of trifluoroacetic anhydride and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid afforded the corresponding biotinylarenes in moderate yields. These compounds, although lacking an amide bond, exhibited high affinity for avidin, with the ability to displace 2-(4'-hydroxyphenylazo)-benzoic acid (HABA) in its complex with avidin. Their affinity for avidin was determined by a solid-phase competitive enzymatic assay, which gave IC(50) values in the range of 33-58 nM (under the same conditions biotin showed IC(50) = 24 ± 7 nM). 1-Biotinylpyrene (1c) excited at 355 nm displayed fluorescence emission in aqueous solutions with λ(max) = 461 nm. The fluorescence maximum was shifted to 425 nm upon binding of 1c to avidin. Formation of the avidin-1c complex was also evidenced by quenching of the fluorescence from the protein tryptophan residues (342 nm) and appearance of the emission band of the avidin-bound 1c at 430 nm as a result of a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) phenomenon.

Site-specific conjugation of metal carbonyl dendrimer to antibody and its use as detection reagent in immunoassay

We describe here the conjugation of polyclonal goat anti-rabbit antibody to generation 4 polyamidoamine (G4-PAMAM) dendrimers carrying (i) (η(5)-cyclopentadienyl) iron dicarbonyl succinimidato complexes as infrared (IR) probes, (ii) nitroaniline entities as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes, (iii) acetamide groups for surface neutralization, and (iv) hydrazide-terminated spacer arms for the reaction with aldehyde. To preserve a high binding affinity, the conjugation was performed on the carbohydrate moieties located on the Fc fragment. The resulting conjugates were characterized by Fourier transform-IR, ultraviolet (UV), and high-mass matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. On the basis of relative concentration ratios of IR probes and antibody, an average labeling of 30 IR probes per antibody was reached (i.e., more than twice the value obtained with our previous strategy that generated no spacer arm). Immunoassays revealed that the antibody-dendrimer conjugates retained 55.1% of immunoreactivity on average with respect to underivatized antibody. Finally, the conjugates were used to quantify their antigen by solid-phase carbonyl metallo immunoassay (CMIA). Results showed a significant enhancement of the IR signal, demonstrating the efficiency of the new conjugation strategy and the potential of the new antibody-dendrimer conjugates as universal immunoanalytical reagents.

Infrared optical immunosensor: application to the measurement of the herbicide atrazine

A new approach to optically transduce antigen-antibody association, needing no label, is described herein, taking advantage of the ability of reflection-absorption infrared (IR) spectroscopy to analyze organic thin films at the surface of reflective materials with high sensitivity. As a proof-of-principle, this new technique was applied to the immunodetection of the herbicide atrazine. Gold-coated chips were covered with a capture layer consisting of a protein derivative of the herbicide atrazine covalently bound to a self-assembled monolayer containing a carboxy-terminated thiolate. Successive binding of anti-atrazine antibody and secondary anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G antibody resulted in a change of the IR absorption properties of the organic film at the sensor surface. The two prominent amide I and II bands observed on the surface IR spectra were taken for semiquantitative analysis of the adsorbed protein amount. The presence of increasing amounts of atrazine resulted in the progressive inhibition of antibodies binding to the sensors, yielding a relative lower increase of the IR signals. The deduced standard curves displayed a sigmoidal shape typical of competitive inhibition assays. The test midpoint (IC(50)) and the limit of detection (IC(80)) were found to be in the nanomolar range and very close to those measured by an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the same antibody and the same antigen competitor.

Anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G detection in complex medium by PM-RAIRS and QCM

Two antibody immobilisation procedures were compared to set up an immunosensor for goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin (anti-rIgG), i.e. rIgG covalently bound or immobilised via affinity to protein A (PrA). In both cases, the first layer of protein was covalently bound to a mixed self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) and mercaptohexanol (C6OH) on a gold surface. The elaboration of the sensitive surfaces, as well as their selectivity and sensitivity were studied step by step by polarization modulation-reflection absorption infra-red spectroscopy (PM-RAIRS) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) with impedance measurement. QCM measurements showed that the viscoelastic properties of the antibody layer were markedly modified during the antigen recognition when the antibody was bound by affinity to PrA. The specific detection of antigen within a complex medium was assessed by PM-RAIRS thanks to the grafting of cobalt-carbonyl probes. Affinity constants between the immobilised rIgG and the anti-rIgG were determined from PM-RAIRS analysis.

Cysteine-Specific, Covalent Anchoring of Transition Organometallic Complexes to the Protein Papain fromCarica papaya

Site-directed and covalent introduction of various transition metal-organic entities to the active site of the cysteine endoproteinase, papain, was achieved by treatment of this enzyme with a series of organometallic maleimide derivatives specially designed for the purpose. Kinetic studies made it clear that time-dependent irreversible inactivation of papain occurred in the presence of these organometallic maleimides as a result of Michael addition of the sulfhydryl of Cys25. The rate and mechanism of inactivation were highly dependent on the structure of the organometallic entity attached to the maleimide group. Combined ESI-MS and IR analysis indicated that all the resulting papain adducts contained one organometallic moiety per protein molecule. This confirmed that chemospecific introduction of the metal complexes was indeed achieved. Thus, three novel reagents for heavy-atom derivatization of protein crystals, which include ruthenium, rhenium and tungsten, are now available for the introduction of electron-dense scatterers for phasing of X-ray crystallographic data.

Immobilization of Protein A on SAMs for the elaboration of immunosensors

Binary mixtures of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) and other thiols of various lengths and terminal functions were chemisorbed on gold-coated surfaces via S-Au bonds to form mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Several values of the mole fraction of MUA in the thiol mixtures were tested and the structure and composition of the resulted thin films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and polarization modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). The results made it clear that co-adsorption of MUA with thiols of similar chain length led to well-ordered monolayers whereas the co-adsorption of MUA with shorter thiols yielded less crystalline-like thin films, but with more reactive carboxylic acid terminal groups. This criterion appeared decisive for efficient covalent binding of Staphylococcus aureus Protein A (PrA), a protein that displays high affinity for the constant fragment (Fc) of antibodies of the IgG type from various mammal species. The ability of immobilized Protein A to recognize and bind a model IgG appeared to be optimal for the mixed SAM of MUA and the short-chain, omega-hydroxythiol 6-mercaptohexanol in the proportion 1-3.

Building of an immunosensor: How can the composition and structure of the thiol attachment layer affect the immunosensor efficiency?

Immunosensors, based on the immobilization of a model rabbit antibody on mixed self-assembled monolayers and Protein A as a linking agent on gold transducers, were elaborated and characterized at each step by modulated polarization-infrared spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and occasionally by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). By testing two different mixed SAMs comprising 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA), together with either decanethiol (C9CH3) or mercaptohexanol (C6OH), the role of the chemical composition and structure of the antibody attachment layer upon the sensor performance was demonstrated.

Electrochemical microbead-based immunoassay using an (eta5-cyclopentadienyl)tricarbonylmanganese redox marker bound to bovine serum albumin

A first example of the solid-phase immunoassay of a high-weight antigen bovine serum albumin (BSA) using an (eta(5)-cyclopentadienyl)tricarbonylmanganese (cymantrene) redox probe is presented. The electrochemical detection is based on the impedance measurements of a one-electron reversible reduction of the organometallic probe. The microbead-based immunoassay is discussed for two types of microbeads with different diameters (2.5 and 90 microm) and capabilities to bind the immunoglobulins (2.4 and 10 microg/mg of beads). The use of larger agarose microbeads allows the formation of an antigen-antibody complex at the surface of microbeads directly dispersed in the analyzed solution. No additional separation step is necessary for the electrochemical competitive immunoassay analysis of BSA. The presence of agarose beads in the analyzed solution has no effect on the electrochemical signal from labeled BSA released from the antigen-antibody complex.

Sulfhydryl-Selective, Covalent Labeling of Biomolecules with Transition Metallocarbonyl Complexes. Synthesis of (η5-C5H5)M(CO)3(η1-N-Maleimidato) (M = Mo, W), X-ray Structure, and Reactivity Studies

The photochemical reaction of (eta5-C5H5)Mo(CO)3I with maleimide in the presence of diisopropylamine yielded complex (eta5-C5H5)Mo(CO)3(eta1-N-maleimidato) 4 in 52% yield. The single-crystal X-ray structure of this complex was determined and shows unusual interactions between oxygen atoms of the maleimidato ligand and carbon atoms of the cis-CO ligands. The tungsten analogue of 4, (eta5-C5H5)W(CO)3(eta1-N-maleimidato) 5, was synthesized in 37% yield by the reaction of (eta5-C5H5)W(CO)3I with the thallium(I) salt of maleimide. Complexes 4 and 5 reacted with cysteine ethyl ester and glutathione to afford products of the addition of the sulfhydryl group to the ethylenic bond of the maleimidato ligand. The reaction of 4 and 5 with glutathione proceeded faster than the reaction of the analogous complex (eta5-C5H5)Fe(CO)2(eta1-N-maleimidato) (3). However, all these complexes react with glutathione more slowly than N-ethylmaleimide. Complexes 4 and 5 were used for labeling of bovine serum albumin (BSA), enriched in thiol groups by reaction with Traut's reagent. Reaction of thiolated BSA containing 7.4 SH groups with 4 and 5 gave bioconjugates bearing 6.9 and 6.4 metallocarbonyl moieties, respectively. Under the same conditions, reaction with 3 afforded a BSA conjugate containing 7.6 metallocarbonyl moieties. Labeling was presumed to be site-specific, as the number of metallocarbonyl entities matched very well with the initial number of SH groups measured for the thiolated BSA sample. IR spectra of BSA labeled with 4 and 5 show intense nu(C[triple bond]O)) bands (2042 and 1948 cm(-1) in the latter case), enabling sensitive detection of the bioconjugates in biological samples. Complexes 4 and 5 (especially the latter) should be of interest as heavy atom phasing reagents for protein X-ray crystallography.

Covalent immobilization of lysozyme on stainless steel. Interface spectroscopic characterization and measurement of enzymatic activity

A new strategy aiming at the protection of metallic surfaces against the growth of biofilms is presented here. This work reports the grafting of primary amines by aminosilanization of oxidized stainless steel followed by chemical coupling of the glycosidase lysozyme from hen egg white using glutaraldehyde as homobifunctional cross-linking agent. Controlled characterization of a stainless steel surface by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy at each step enabled the mode of binding, coverage, and orientation of the grafted molecules to be addressed. As a result, the stainless steel samples covered with a covalently immobilized layer of lysozyme showed some lytic activity on a suspension of bacteria Micrococcus lysodeikticus.