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Biomedical subjects

Robert M Corn

Publications and source records attributed to Robert M Corn.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Characterization and optimization of peptide arrays for the study of epitope-antibody interactions using surface plasmon resonance imaging.

The characterization of peptide arrays on gold surfaces designed for the study of peptide-antibody interactions using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging is described. A two-step process was used to prepare the peptide arrays: (i) a set of parallel microchannels was used to deliver chemical reagents to covalently attach peptide probes to the surface by a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction; (ii) a second microchannel with a wraparound design was used as a small-volume flow cell (5 microL) to introduce antibody solutions to the peptide surface. As a demonstration, the interactions of the FLAG epitope tag and monoclonal anti-FLAG M2 were monitored by SPR imaging using a peptide array. This peptide-antibody pair was studied because of its importance as a means to purify fusion proteins. The surface coverage of the FLAG peptide was precisely controlled by creating the peptide arrays on mixed monolayers of alkanethiols containing an amine-terminated surface and an inert alkanethiol. The mole fraction of peptide epitopes was also controlled by reacting solutions containing FLAG peptide and the non-interacting peptide HA or cysteine. By studying variants based on the FLAG binding motif, it was possible to distinguish peptides differing by a single amino acid substitution using SPR imaging. In addition, quantitative analysis of the signal was accomplished using the peptide array to simultaneously determine the binding constants of the antibody-peptide interactions for four peptides. The binding constant, K(ads), for the FLAG peptide was measured and found to be 1.5 x 10(8) M(-1) while variants made by the substitution of alanine for residues based on the binding motif had binding constants of 2.8 x 10(7), 5.0 x 10(6), and 2.0 x 10(6) M(-1).

Antibodies↗

Chemically induced hairpin formation in DNA monolayers.

A naphthyridine dimer that binds specifically to G-G mismatches has been used to induce hairpin formation in oligonucleotides immobilized onto chemically modified gold surfaces. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging measurements of DNA microarrays were used to demonstrate that binding of the naphthyridine dimer to G-G mismatches within the stem portion of an immobilized 42-mer oligonucleotide could be used to induce hairpin formation that prevented hybridization of DNA complementary to the loop sequence. In addition, the selectivity of the naphthyridine dimer for G-G mismatches was verified through SPR imaging measurements of the hybridization adsorption of an 11-mer oligonucleotide to a four-component DNA array of zero- and single-base mismatch sequences.

Base Sequence↗

Label-free detection of 16S ribosomal RNA hybridization on reusable DNA arrays using surface plasmon resonance imaging.

In this paper, we describe the detection of bacterial cell-extracted 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) using an emerging technology, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging of DNA arrays. Surface plasmon resonance enables detection of molecular interactions on surfaces in response to changes in the index of refraction, therefore eliminating the need for a fluorescent or radioactive label. A variation of the more common SPR techniques, SPR imaging enables detection from multiple probes in a reusable array format. The arrays developed here contain DNA probes (15-21 bases) designed to be complementary to 16S rRNA gene sequences of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis as well as to a highly conserved sequence found in rRNAs from most members of the domain Bacteria. We report species-specific hybridization of cell-extracted total RNA and in vitro transcribed 16S rRNA to oligonucleotide probes on SPR arrays. We tested multiple probe sequences for each species, and found that success or failure of hybridization was dependent upon probe position in the 16S rRNA molecule. It was also determined that one of the probes intended to bind 16S rRNA also bound an unknown protein. The amount of binding to these probes was quantified with SPR imaging. A detection limit of 2 micro g ml-1 was determined for fragmented E. coli total cellular RNA under the experimental conditions used. These results indicate the feasibility of using SPR imaging for 16S rRNA identification and encourage further development of this method for direct detection of other RNA molecules.

DNA Probes↗

Synthesis and characterization of covalently linked single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide-dendron conjugates.

A solution-phase synthesis and characterization of covalent DNA-dendron conjugates is presented. Thiol-terminated 12-base oligonucleotides were added to second- and third-generation triazine-based dendrons via thiol/disulfide exchange chemistry. Single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides were successfully attached to dendrons at the core, the periphery, and both. Proof of structure for these architectures is derived primarily from mass spectrometry and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and complemented by labeling analysis using Ellman's reagent and degradation analysis using a reducing agent.

Coloring Agents↗