Biomedical subjects

N J Maeji

Publications and source records attributed to N J Maeji.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Use of the multipin peptide synthesis technique for the generation of antipeptide sera.

The multipin peptide synthesis technique has been used to map antigenic sites of proteins (1,2). Antibodies raised to the whole protein are screened on pin-synthesized overlapping octapeptides homologous with the protein of interest, and the peptides that bind antibodies clearly identify the epitopes. What is described in this study is a method using pin-synthesized peptides to generate specific antibodies to many peptides. Cleavable linkers have been developed (3) that, used together with the multipin peptide synthesis technique, allow the synthesis and cleavage of many thousands of peptides into aqueous solutions at physiological pH. This technique is useful for assays requiring peptides in solution, e.g., mapping of T-cell determinants. A technique has been developed for the cleavage of many peptides from pins and simultaneous coupling to immunogenic carriers (4). The conjugates produced are suitable for the generation of antipeptide antibodies. This procedure is illustrated using several 15 amino acid long peptides (15-mers), homologous with the sequence of a model antigen, myohemerythrin (MHr). The resulting antipeptide sera generated were tested by ELISA for titer and specificity on pin-synthesized peptides and beta-amide peptides and the protein antigen coated to microtiter plates.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Novel alpha-hydroxyethyl-polystyrene, alpha-chloroethyl-polystyrene and alpha-amino-oxyethyl-polystyrene linkers on the Multipin solid support for solid-phase organic synthesis.

A simple method for the generation of three novel linkers, alpha-hydroxyethyl-polystyrene, alpha-chloroethyl-polystyrene and alpha-amino-oxyethyl-polystyrene on Multipin supports (SynPhase Crowns) has been developed. Applications of these linkers have been successfully demonstrated for solid-phase synthesis of dipeptide, oxime, and hydroxamic acid compounds in good yields and purities.

Organic Chemicals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Systematic screening for bioactive peptides.

Using simultaneous multiple peptide synthesis by the multipin approach, the feasibility of systematic large-scale pharmacological screening of peptide ligands was investigated. The method involves the assembly of small quantities of peptides (ca. 50 nmol) on plastic pins derivatized with an ester linker based on glycolate and 4-(hydroxymethyl)benzoate. These esters are stable under peptide synthesis and side-chain deprotection conditions but cleave under relatively mild basic conditions to generate peptides having C-terminal acid, amide and methylamide. A two-step approach to side-chain deprotection and cleavage from the solid support allows potentially toxic reagents to be removed (washed) from the peptide prior to cleavage. Consequently, the resulting peptide solutions can be used in bioassays with minimal processing. A series of angiotensin II and substance P analogs were synthesized and evaluated in an in vivo rat model and in vitro radioreceptor assay, respectively. Structure-activity studies on analogs of these bioactive peptides are well documented. The data obtained were consistent with that reported in the literature.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multipin technology in the preparation and screening of peptide libraries.

Peptide libraries are relatively new sources of enormous numbers of unique compounds, fodder for the mill of drug discovery programs. Their enormous diversity derives from vast numbers of combinations of a small number of monomers (Geysen et al., 1986). For example, a complete hexapeptide library synthesized from just 10 monomers (amino acids) has one million unique compounds in it. In principle, other types of combinatorial libraries can have equally vast numbers of members; for example, the monomers can be N-acyl glycines, giving rise to the so-called "peptoids" (Simon et al., 1992); or the monomers could be monosaccharides or nucleotides.

Biotechnology↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Larger scale multipin peptide synthesis.

The multipin peptide synthesis approach originated as an immunological tool for epitope mapping. However, continuing evolution of the basic technology has allowed synthesis at scales up to 10 mumol per pin. At this loading, the methodology can no longer be considered just a screening tool. The overall synthesis efficiency of this approach was assessed by the synthesis of 2913 different peptides having little or no sequence homology and ranging up to a 46-mer in length. High performance liquid chromatography analysis of the crude peptides indicates overall quality of synthesis was high. The method is suitable for multi-milligram synthesis of peptides without sacrificing any of the inherent advantages of the 96-well format.

Amino Acid Sequence↗