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Schmidt M, Karg M, Thelakkat M, Brendel JC. Correlating Molar Mass, π-Conjugation, and Optical Properties of Narrowly Distributed Anionic Polythiophenes in Aqueous Solutions. Macromol Rapid Commun 2024; 45:e2300396. [PMID: 37533353 DOI: 10.1002/marc.202300396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Polythiophene-based conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPE) are attracting increasing attention as sensor or interface materials in chemistry and biology. While cationic polythiophenes are better understood, limited structural information is available on their anionic counterparts. Limited access to well-defined polymers has made the study of structure-property relationships difficult and clear correlations have remained elusive. By combining controlled Kumada catalyst transfer polymerization with a polymer-analog substitution, regioregular and narrowly distributed poly(6-(thiophen-3-yl)hexane-1-sulfonate)s (PTHS) with tailored chain length are prepared. Analysis of their aqueous solution structures by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) revealed a cylindrical conformation for all polymers tested, with a length close to the contour length of the polymer chains, while the estimated radii remain too small (<1.5 nm) for extensive π-stacking of the chains. The latter is particularly interesting as the longest polymer exhibits a concentration-independent structured absorption typical of crystalline polythiophenes. Increasing the ionic strength of the solution diminishes these features as the Coulomb repulsion between the charged repeat units is shielded, allowing the polymer to adopt a more coiled conformation. The extended π-conjugation, therefore, appears to be a key parameter for these unique optical features, which are not present in the corresponding cationic polythiophenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Schmidt
- Applied Functional Polymers (AFUPO), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Matthias Karg
- Physical Chemistry I, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Mukundan Thelakkat
- Applied Functional Polymers (AFUPO), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Johannes C Brendel
- Laboratory of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Humboldtstraße 10, 07743, Jena, Germany
- Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743, Jena, Germany
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Lang Y, Wang Y, Zhou R, Wu P. Self-Immolative Polythiophene for Sunlight Inactivation of Harmful Cyanobacteria. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:7800-7808. [PMID: 37163388 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c08868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Harmful cyanobacterial blooms and the released microcystins (MCs) caused serious environmental and public health concerns to drinking water safety. Photo-oxidation is an appealing treatment option and alternative to conventional flocculation and microbial antagonists, but the performances of current photosensitizers (either inorganic or organic) are unsatisfactory. Here, a polythiophene photosensitizer (PT10) with both high yield of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (mainly 1O2, ΦΔ = 0.51, > 8 h continuous generation) and moderate photostability was used as a powerful algaecide to inhibit Microcystis aeruginosa. Due to the positive charge of PT10, the algal cells were quickly flocculated, followed by efficient inactivation in 4 h under white light irradiation (96.7%, 10 mW/cm2). Meanwhile, PT10 was self-immolated in about 6 h. Upon biosafety evaluation with adult zebrafish, the low toxicity of PT10 and the degradation products of PT10 and algae (early logarithmic growth stage) were confirmed. In addition, microcystin-LR (MC-LR), a toxic microcystin that will be released during the destruction of the algal cells, was also degraded. Therefore, PT10-based photoinactivation of M. aeruginosa featured both high performance and low secondary pollution. In real-world aquatic systems, PT10 was confirmed to be capable of sunlight-assisted inactivation of M. aeruginosa and prevent algal blooms, thus making it appealing for environmental remediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunhe Lang
- Analytical & Testing Centre, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Analytical & Testing Centre, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Ronghui Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Peng Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
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Kara N, Ayoub N, Ilgu H, Fotiadis D, Ilgu M. Aptamers Targeting Membrane Proteins for Sensor and Diagnostic Applications. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28093728. [PMID: 37175137 PMCID: PMC10180177 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28093728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Many biological processes (physiological or pathological) are relevant to membrane proteins (MPs), which account for almost 30% of the total of human proteins. As such, MPs can serve as predictive molecular biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Indeed, cell surface MPs are an important class of attractive targets of the currently prescribed therapeutic drugs and diagnostic molecules used in disease detection. The oligonucleotides known as aptamers can be selected against a particular target with high affinity and selectivity by iterative rounds of in vitro library evolution, known as Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential Enrichment (SELEX). As an alternative to antibodies, aptamers offer unique features like thermal stability, low-cost, reuse, ease of chemical modification, and compatibility with various detection techniques. Particularly, immobilized-aptamer sensing platforms have been under investigation for diagnostics and have demonstrated significant value compared to other analytical techniques. These "aptasensors" can be classified into several types based on their working principle, which are commonly electrochemical, optical, or mass-sensitive. In this review, we review the studies on aptamer-based MP-sensing technologies for diagnostic applications and have included new methodological variations undertaken in recent years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nilufer Kara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
| | - Nooraldeen Ayoub
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Huseyin Ilgu
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Dimitrios Fotiadis
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Muslum Ilgu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
- Aptalogic Inc., Ames, IA 50014, USA
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Zhang P, Zandieh M, Ding Y, Wu L, Wang X, Liu J, Li Z. A Label-Free, Mix-and-Detect ssDNA-Binding Assay Based on Cationic Conjugated Polymers. BIOSENSORS 2023; 13:bios13010122. [PMID: 36671957 PMCID: PMC9855919 DOI: 10.3390/bios13010122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The accurate, simple, and efficient measurement of the concentration of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is important for many analytical applications, such as DNA adsorption, biosensor design, and disease diagnosis, but it is still a challenge. Herein, we studied a cationic conjugated polymer (CCP)-based ssDNA assay taking advantage of the obvious fluorescence change of CCPs upon binding ssDNA. Poly(3-(3'-N,N,N-triethylamino-1'-propyloxy)-4-methyl-2,5-thiophene hydrochloride) (PMNT) achieved an apparent dissociation constant (Kd) of 57 ± 4 nM for ssDNA, indicating a very high binding affinity between PMNT and ssDNA. This allowed us to develop a CCP-based ssDNA biosensor with a detection limit of 0.6 nM, similar to the fluorescence-dye-based method using SYBR Green I and SYBR Gold. Our CCP-based biosensor produced smaller differences among ssDNA samples with different base compositions. In addition, the existence of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) at different concentrations did not interfere with the fluorescence of PMNT, indicating that our CCP-based biosensor was more suitable for the measurement of ssDNA. Compared with fluorescence-intensity-based quantification, our CCP system allowed ratiometric quantification, which made the calibration easier and more robust. We then applied our method to the quantification of ssDNA on AuNPs using both unmodified and thiolated ssDNA, and the accurate quantification of ssDNA was achieved without any fluorophore modification. This method provides an alternative approach for the measurement of ssDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengbo Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- Department of Chemistry, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Mohamad Zandieh
- Department of Chemistry, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Yuzhe Ding
- Department of Chemistry, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Lyuyuan Wu
- Department of Chemistry, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Xiaoyu Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Juewen Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Zhengping Li
- School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
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