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A simple microfluidic-based technique to quantitate the binding affinity between the glycopeptide antibiotics teicoplanin from Actinoplanes teicomyceticus and vancomycin from Streptomyces orientalis and 5-carboxyfluorescein-D-Ala-D-Ala-D-Ala (5-FAM-(DA)(3)) is described. In this work, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane is used to modify the surfaces of a series of microchannels, and each channel is subsequently exposed to a solution of antibiotic for a few minutes. The antibiotic is retained after washing through electrostatic interactions, and the series of channels are subsequently exposed to an increasing concentration of 5-FAM-(DA)(3) followed by washing to exclude any nonspecific binding. The extent of fluorescence is quantified using a microscope fitted with a CCD camera. The binding constants for the interaction of teicoplanin and vancomycin with the fluorescent peptide were determined to be 6.03 +/- 0.97 x 10(4) and 4.93 +/- 1.13 x 10(4) M(-1), respectively, in good agreement with previous data. The ease of quantifying the extent of interaction in this microchip technique may prove powerful for exploration of a myriad of receptor-ligand pairs.

This paper describes the development and study of a disposable and inexpensive microfluidic chip, fabricated from poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) incorporating conventional chromatographic reversed-phase silica particles (C18) without the use of frits, permanent physical barriers, tapers, or restrictors. The packing of C18 modified silica particles into the microfluidic channels is made possible by the hydrophobic nature and excellent elasticity of PDMS. Keystone-, clamping-, and anchor-effects provide the stability and the compactness of the packing and attenuated wall-effects were observed.

This paper describes the estimation of binding constants (Kb) between carbonic anhydrase B (CAB, EC 4.2.1.1, from bovine erythrocytes) and charged benzenesulfonamides by affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) under conditions in which the migration time is affected by changes in electroosmotic flow and by nonspecific interactions accompanying changes in the concentration of ligand. Comparisons of values of migration times of the protein of interest, and of "noninteracting" marker proteins, with those of a neutral internal standard provide the basis for corrections for variable electroosmotic flow; these corrections make possible the estimation of Kb and its uncertainty even in the presence of substantial variations in electroosmotic flow.

Affinity capillary electrophoresis has been used to determine the two dissociation constants of the complex between anti-DNP rat monoclonal IgG 2b antibody and charged ligands that contained a N-dinitrophenyl group. Singly and multiply charged ligands were used to establish the influence of the charge on the mobility of the complex between Ig and its ligand(s). Zwitterionic buffer additives lessened adsorption of protein to the walls of the capillary. A form of analysis of the binding data is derived that is more useful than Scatchard analysis for certain multivalent systems where cooperativity of binding is in question, but where it is also possible to make plausible assumptions about electrophoretic mobilities of protein and protein-ligand complexes. The uncertainties and assumptions of this analysis are contrasted with those of Scatchard analysis. For this antibody and these monovalent ligands, the dissociation of the ligands from the antibody occurred noncooperatively. The charge on IgG 2b at pH 8.3 is estimated to be -8.0 ± 0.2 ; this value is obtained by analysis of the electrophoretic mobilities of complexes IgG 2b L2, where the ligands L are structurally similar but have different charges (the charges on the ligands were also determined by CE).

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an analytical method that is useful for investigating processes that modify the charge of proteins. This paper explores the ability of CE to rationalize charges and electrophoretic mobilities of a simple protein--insulin and its acylated derivatives--as a function of pH. Insulin is a peptide hormone (MW = 5700) that has two alpha-amino groups (G alpha and F alpha) and one epsilon-amino group (K epsilon). Treatment of insulin with acetic anhydride affords seven derivatives that differ in the sites of acetylation of the three amino groups. Analysis of the pH dependence of the electrophoretic mobilities of these derivatives gives pKa values for the two N-terminal ammonium groups: pKa (G alpha) = 8.4; pKa (F alpha) = 7.1. Values of the total charge of insulin estimated from electrophoretic mobility differ from those estimated from values of pKa for its ionizable groups by less than 0.5 unit for both bovine and human insulins over the range of pH from 5.5 to 9.5. Analysis of the concentration dependence of the electrophoretic mobility of insulin yields a lower limit for the association constant for dimerization of insulin of KD > or = 6 x 10(3) M-1 (25 mM tris and 192 mM Gly, pH 8.4). Studies of electrophoretic mobility as a function of pH and extent of acetylation of amino groups rationalize the charge of insulin in detail. The sensitivity of CE to charge permits the quantitative study of electrostatic properties of proteins in solution. Insulin is a useful small-protein model with which to investigate phenomena in electrophoresis.