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A novel C3 symmetric peptide conjugate "Wheel-FKFE" consisting of three beta-sheet-forming peptides with wheel-like arrangement is developed, and the morphology of self-assembled peptide conjugates in aqueous solutions is observed at various pH. The CD spectra of Wheel-FKFE show the formation of beta-sheet structures in pH 6.9 phosphate buffer, whereas random structures are formed in aqueous HCl (pH 3.3) and NaOH (pH 11) solutions. In transmission electron microscopy, nanofibers with a uniform width of 3-4 nm and lengths of several micrometers are observed in pH 6.9 phosphate buffer, whereas nanorods with the width of several nanometers and the length of several tens of nanometers are observed for that of aqueous HCl (pH 3.3) and NaOH (pH 11) solutions. The uniform width (3-4 nm) of the fibers observed in neutral solution indicates formation of columnar self-assembly of Wheel-FKFEs. The fluorescence spectrum of polarity sensitive dye, sodium 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS), in the presence of Wheel-FKFE fibers revealed that the polarity inside the fibers corresponds to that of acetone, indicating that the internal space of the fibers possesses medium hydrophobic environment.

A novel strategy for artificial regulation system of gene expression applying the specific molecular recognition between carbohydrate and lectin is proposed. Plasmid-lactose conjugates (pActin-lactose and pGFP-lactose) prepared via diazocoupling maintained the transcription activity with T7 RNA polymerase. Gel-shift assay showed that the pActin-lactose conjugates were specifically complexed with galactose-specific lectin RCA(120) with a strong binding affinity (K(a) = 7.6 x 10(5) M(-1) per Lac-unit). The complexes were observed to form aggregates of sub-several micrometer size by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The activities of transcription and expression of the conjugates were evaluated, respectively, on the basis of the amount of transcript of pActin and the fluorescent intensity of the expressed GFP. These activities were repressed in the presence of an increasing concentration of RCA120, and then recovered by adding lactose, lactosylceramide-containing liposomes, and lactose-carrying polymers to the conjugate-RCA120 complex. Gel-shift assay and TEM observation revealed that the aggregation form of the complex was relaxed partially in the presence of the lactose derivatives, which increased the accessibility of T7 RNA polymerase to result in the recovery of transcription activity.

Carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions between Gg3 trisaccharide-carrying polystyrene (PN(Gg3)) and monolayers of several glycosphingolipids (GSLs) were quantitatively investigated by surface plasmon resonance techniques. PN(Gg3) was adsorbed onto a GM3 monolayer strongly and specifically with an apparent affinity constant of K(a) = 2.5 x 10(6) M(-1), and the apparent affinity constants onto GSLs decreased in the following order: GM3 > LacCer > (KDN)GM3 approximately GlcCer > GM2 approximately GD3 approximately GM4 > GM1 approximately 2,6-isoGM3 > ceramide. These results suggest that PN(Gg3) recognizes not only some specified portions of GM3 but also the trisaccharide as a whole. On the other hand, PN(Lac) and PN(Cel) were bound to GSLs less strongly (K(a) approximately 10(4) M(-1)) and less selectively. The kinetic analysis revealed that the selectivity in the adsorption of PN(Gg3) onto the GM3 monolayer is dominated by the faster adsorption rate.

Three strands of 30-mer oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) were designed to form three-way junctions that possess self-complementary sticky ends. The morphology of self-assembled ODNs in water was observed in situ by confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy. The three-way junctions self-assembled into spherical assemblies, in accordance with transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The size of nucleospheres was in the range of several tens of nanometers to micrometers, which varied depending on the concentration of ODNs and added salts. Fluorescence images of spherical ODN assemblies suggested that the nucleospheres possess multiwalled structures. The fluorescence of sodium 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate in the presence of nucleospheres revealed that the interior of nucleospheres possesses polarity corresponding to that between methanol and ethanol. A dye-inclusion experiment showed that cationic and even anionic dyes were adsorbed to the interior of the nucleospheres. The dye-included nucleospheres released dyes by thermal dissociation or digestion of the constituent ODNs.