Versatile strategy for the synthesis of biotin-labelled glycans, their immobilization to establish a bioactive surface and interaction studies with a lectin on a biochip

Plant Nanobionics: Application of Nanobiosensors in Plant Biology

Nanobiosensors (NBSs) are a class of chemical sensors which are sensitive to a physical or chemical stimulus (heat, acidity, metabolism transformations) that conveys information about vital processes. NBSs detect physiological signals and convert them into standardized signals, often electrical, to be quantified from analog to digital. NBSs are classified according to the transducer element (electrochemical, piezoelectric, optical, and thermal) in accordance with biorecognition principle (enzyme recognition, affinity immunoassay, whole sensors, DNA). NBSs have varied forms, depending on the degree of interpretation of natural processes in plants. Plant nanobionics uses mathematical models based on qualitative and less quantitative records. NBSs can give information about endogenous concentrations or endogenous fluxes of signaling molecules (phytohormones). The properties of NBSs are temporal and spatial resolution, the ability of being used without significantly interfering with the system. NBSs with the best properties are the optically genetically coded NBSs, but each NBS needs specific development efforts. NBS technologies using antibodies as a recognition domain are generic and tend to be more invasive, and there are examples of their use in plant nanobionics. Through opportunities that develop along with technologies, we hope that more and more NBSs will become available for plant nanobionics. The main advantages of NBSs are short analysis time, low-cost tests and portability, real-time measurements, and remote control.

Immobilization of glycans on solid surfaces for application in glycomics

Carbohydrates are an important class of biomolecules which are involved in a multitude of cellular functions. In the field of glycomics, the structure and function of various carbohydrates, oligosaccharides, glycans and their conjugates are constantly under investigation. In the continuing quest to understand the roles of carbohydrates in their interactions with proteins, immunogens, and other cell-surface carbohydrates, scientists have developed methods for observing the effects of specific saccharide sequences on various cellular components. Carbohydrate immobilization has allowed researchers to study the impact of specific sequences, leading to a deeper understanding of many cellular processes. The goal of this review is to highlight the chemical reactions and interactions that have been used for glycan immobilization.

Versatile on-resin synthesis of high mannose glycosylated asparagine with functional handles

Here we present a synthetic route for solid phase synthesis of N-linked glycoconjugates containing high mannose oligosaccharides which allows the incorporation of useful functional handles on the N-terminus of asparagine. In this strategy, the C-terminus of an Fmoc protected aspartic acid residue is first attached to a solid phase support. The side chain of aspartic acid is protected by a 2-phenylisopropyl protecting group, which allows selective deprotection for the introduction of glycosylation. By using a convergent on-resin glycosylamine coupling strategy, an N-glycosidic linkage is successfully formed on the free side chain of the resin bound aspartic acid with a large high mannose oligosaccharide, Man8GlcNAc2, to yield N-linked high mannose glycosylated asparagine. The use of on-resin glycosylamine coupling provides excellent glycosylation yield, can be applied to couple other types of oligosaccharides, and also makes it possible to recover excess oligosaccharides conveniently after the on-resin coupling reaction. Useful functional handles including an alkene (p-vinylbenzoic acid), an alkyne (4-pentynoic acid), biotin, and 5-carboxyfluorescein are then conjugated onto the N-terminal amine of asparagine on-resin after the removal of the Fmoc protecting group. In this way, useful functional handles are introduced onto the glycosylated asparagine while maintaining the structural integrity of the reducing end of the oligosaccharide. The asparagine side chain also serves as a linker between the glycan and the functional group and preserves the native presentation of N-linked glycan which may aid in biochemical and structural studies. As an example of a biochemical study using functionalized high mannose glycosylated asparagine, a fluorescence polarization assay has been utilized to study the binding of the lectin Concanavalin A (ConA) using 5-carboxyfluorescein labeled high mannose glycosylated asparagine.

Immobilized glycosylated Fmoc-amino acid for SPR: comparative studies of lectin-binding to linear or biantennary diLacNAc structures

A method to immobilize glycan-linked amino acids with protected α-amino groups, which are key intermediates to produce the desired neoglycoprotein, to a Biacore sensor chip was developed and its utility for interaction analyses was demonstrated. Two types of diN-acetyllactosamine (diLacNAc)-containing glycans, a core 2 hexasaccharide involving linear diLacNAc that is O-linked to N-(9-fluorenyl)methoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-Thr and a biantennary diLacNAc that is N-linked to Fmoc-Asn, were used as ligands. For immobilization, the free carboxyl groups of the amino acid residues were activated with EDC/NHS, then reacted with the ethylenediamine-derivatized carboxymethyldextran sensor chip to obtain the desired ligand concentrations. Interactions of the ligands with five plant lectins were analyzed by surface plasmon resonance, and the bindings were compared. The resonance unit of each lectin was corrected by subtracting that of the reference cell on which the Fmoc-Thr-core 1 or Fmoc-Asn was immobilized as a ligand. The carbohydrate specificities of interactions were verified by preincubating lectins with their respective inhibitory sugar before injection. By steady state analysis, the Lycopersicon esculentum lectin showed a 27-fold higher affinity to linear diLacNAc than to biantennary diLacNAc, while Datura stramonium and Solanum tuberosum lectins both showed low Ka,apps of 10(6)M(-1) for these two ligands. In contrast, Ricinus communis agglutinin-120 showed a 3.2-fold higher Ka,app to biantennary LacNAc than to linear diLacNAc. A lectin purified from Pleurocybella porrigens mushroom interacted at the high affinity of 10(8)M(-1) with both linear and biantennary diLacNAcs, which identified it as a unique probe. This method provides a useful and sensitive system to analyze interactions by simulating the glycans on the cell surface.

Grading the commercial optical biosensor literature-Class of 2008: 'The Mighty Binders'

Optical biosensor technology continues to be the method of choice for label-free, real-time interaction analysis. But when it comes to improving the quality of the biosensor literature, education should be fundamental. Of the 1413 articles published in 2008, less than 30% would pass the requirements for high-school chemistry. To teach by example, we spotlight 10 papers that illustrate how to implement the technology properly. Then we grade every paper published in 2008 on a scale from A to F and outline what features make a biosensor article fabulous, middling or abysmal. To help improve the quality of published data, we focus on a few experimental, analysis and presentation mistakes that are alarmingly common. With the literature as a guide, we want to ensure that no user is left behind.

High-sensitivity analysis of naturally occurring sugar chains, using a novel fluorescent linker molecule

To analyse the binding of sugar chains to proteins, viruses and cells, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique is very convenient and effective because it is a real-time, non-destructive detection system. Key to this method is linker compounds for immobilization of the sugar chains to the gold-coated chip for SPR. Also, well-designed fluorescent labelling reagents are essential when analysing the structure of trace amounts of sugar chains derived from natural sources, such as glycoproteins on the surface of specific cells. In this report, we developed a novel linker molecule, named 'f-mono', which has both of these properties: simple immobilization chemistry and a fluorescent label. Since the molecule contains a 2,5-diaminopyridyl group and a thioctic acid group, conjugation with sugar chains can be achieved using the well-established reductive amination reaction. This conjugate of sugar chain and fluorescent linker (fluorescent ligand-conjugate, FLC) has fluorescent properties (ex. 335 nm, em. 380 nm), and as little as 1 microg of FLC can be easily purified using HPLC with a fluorescent detector. MS and MS/MS analysis of the FLC is also possible. As a +2 Da larger MS peak ([M + H + 2](+) ion) was always associated with the theoretical MS peak ([M + H](+)) (due to the reduction of the thioctic acid moiety), the MS peaks of the FLC were easily found, even using unfractionated crude samples. Immobilization of the FLC onto gold-coated chips, and their subsequent SPR analyses were successively accomplished, as had been performed previously using non-fluorescent ligand conjugates.