Search

This study aims to improve our understanding of the interaction between olfactory receptors and odorants to develop highly selective biosensing devices. Natural nanovesicles (NVs) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ∼100 nm in diameter, carrying either the human OR17-40 or the chimpanzee OR7D4 olfactory receptor (OR) tagged with the c-myc epitope at their N-terminus, are presented as model systems to quantify the interaction between odorant and olfactory receptors. The level of expression of olfactory receptors was determined at individual NVs using a novel competitive ELISA immunoassay comparing the values obtained against those from techniques involving the solubilization of cell membrane proteins and the identification of c-myc-carrying receptors. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) measurements on L1 Biacore chips indicate that cognate odorants bind to their Ors, thereby quantifying the approximate number of odorants that interact with a given olfactory receptor. The selectivity of OR17-40-carrying NVs towards helional and OR7D4-carrying NVs towards androstenone has been proven in cross-check experiments with non-specific odorant molecules (heptanal and pentadecalactone, respectively) and in control receptors. © 2017 The Author(s)., This work was supported by the “Nanoscience, nanotechnologies, materials, and new production technologies” programme under the BOND project (228685-2) from the 7th Research Framework Programme of the European Union (PI and AC), by the FIS Project PI10/01171 funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, by the Botin fundation, and by the predoctoral fellowship of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spain) (MS). The Nb4D group and Nanobioengineering SIC-BIO group are supported by the Commission for Universities and Research of the Department of Innovation, Universities, and Enterprise of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014 SGR 1442 and 2014 SGR 1484). This work was partially supported by the MINDS project (TEC2015-70104-P), awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the CERCA program from Generalitat de Catalunya. CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&i Plan 2008-2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, CIBER Actions and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with support from the European Regional Development Fund. The authors also thank Dr. Marie-Annick Persuy and Dr. Edith Pajot-Augy (NBO, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay) for olfactory receptors expression in yeast cells and yeast membrane material. Dr. José Amable Bernabé (ICMAB/CSIC/CIBER BBN) for his help with Nanosight measurements and Dr. Carmen López (CCiT, UB) for her help with Cryo-EM measurements.

A NP-based biobarcode for C-reactive protein (CRP) quantification in plasma samples is reported for the first time. The assay uses capture antibody functionalized magnetic beads (pAbCRP2-MP), multifunctional oligonucleotide encoded probes modified with a detection antibody (pAbCRP1-ePSP), and a fluorescent DNA microarray. Thus, magnetic beads are added to the sample to form immunocomplexes that will be isolated, to then add the codified particles to form a sandwich complex with both particles and the target protein, subsequently the complexes are treated to release the oligonucleotide codes, which are finally hybridized in a fluorescent DNA microarray. The assay has been implemented to the analysis of plasma samples being able to quantify this biomarker within 900 ng mL −1 to 12500 ng mL −1 with an excellent accuracy (mean of recovery of 99.5 ± 4.2%, N = 3 ). The CRP biobarcode has been used on a small pilot clinical study in which plasma samples from patients suffering different pathologies, most of them related to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The samples have been analyzed and the results compared to a reference method demonstrating that the assay can be useful for monitoring this biomarker on patients being suspicious to be under risk of suffering CVDs or other diseases involving inflammatory processes.

Two direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been developed for detection of sulfonamide antibiotic residues in milk samples. One of them is using magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) for target capture/enrichment (Ab-MNP-ELISA), and the second is performed using microtiter plates. Selective polyclonal antibodies, raised against 5-[6-(4-amino-benzenesulfonylamino)-pyridin-3-yl]-2-methyl-pentanoic acid (SA1), used in combination with an enzyme tracer prepared with the same hapten, has allowed us to reach a limit of detection (LOD) lower than 0.5 microg L(-1) for both ELISA formats. Sulfapyridine, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfathiazole, and sulfachloropyridazine are detected below the maximum residue limits established by the European Union for these antibiotics in milk (100 microg L(-1)). Matrix effects and accuracy studies performed with full-cream milk and hair extracts indicated a lack of interference from these sample matrices and very good recovery values, especially when using the Ab-MNP format. Milk samples and hair extracts can be measured without any previous treatment. The results demonstrate the high potential of these methods as screening tools for food safety and inspection controls.

Cell membrane proteins are involved in a variety of biochemical pathways and therefore constitute important targets for therapy and development of new drugs. Bioanalytical platforms and binding assays using these membrane protein receptors for drug screening or diagnostic require the construction of well-characterized liposome and lipid bilayer arrays that act as support to prevent protein denaturation during biochip processing. Quantification of the protein receptors in the lipid membrane arrays is a key issue in order to produce reproducible and well-characterized chips. Herein, we report a novel immunochemical analytical approach for the quantification of membrane proteins (i.e., G-protein-coupled receptor, GPCR) in nanovesicles (NVs). The procedure allows direct determination of tagged receptors (i.e., c-myc tag) without any previous protein purification or extraction steps. The immunochemical method is based on a microplate ELISA format and quantifies this tag on proteins embedded in NVs with detectability in the picomolar range, using protein bioconjugates as reference standards. The applicability of the method is demonstrated through the quantification of the c-myc-olfactory receptor (OR, c-myc-OR1740) in the cell membrane NVs. The reported method opens the possibility to develop well-characterized drug-screening platforms based on G-coupled proteins embedded on membranes.

Here, we report evidence for the production of ozone in human disease. Signature products unique to cholesterol ozonolysis are present within atherosclerotic tissue at the time of carotid endarterectomy, suggesting that ozone production occurred during lesion development. Furthermore, advanced atherosclerotic plaques generate ozone when the leukocytes within the diseased arteries are activated in vitro. The steroids produced by cholesterol ozonolysis cause effects that are thought to be critical to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, including cytotoxicity, lipid-loading in macrophages, and deformation of the apolipoprotein B-100 secondary structure. We propose the trivial designation “atheronals” for this previously unrecognized class of steroids.

Antibodies against 2,4,5-trichlorophenol have been prepared after theoretical and molecular modeling chemical studies of three potential immunizing haptens with the aim to find out the one mimicking best the target analyte. Competitive direct and indirect ELISAs have been developed after screening a battery of haptenized enzyme tracers and coating antigens, respectively. The relation between the degree of heterology of the competitor and the resulting immunoassay detectability has been investigated according to the electronic similarities of the competitor haptens with the target analyte taking in consideration their pK(a) values. These studies have been performed using theoretical and molecular modeling tools to find out their electronic distribution at their minimum energetic levels. The results suggest that the competitors should have a high homology to produced assays with good detectability values. On the other hand detectability improves when lowering the hapten density of the competitors. An indirect competitive ELISA has been finally selected for further investigation. The immunoassay has an IC(50) value of 0.6 microg L(-)(1) and a limit of detection of 0.084 microg L(-)(1). The selectivity of the assay is high in relation to other chlorophenols frequently present in real samples. In contrast, the brominated analogues may also be recognized with this assay.

Trichlorophenols (TCP) eliminated by the urine can be considered as potential biomarkers of exposure of many chemicals (chlorophenols, chlorophenoxy acid herbicides, prochloraz, lindane, hexachlorobenzene, etc). High-throughput screening methods are necessary to carry out efficient monitoring programs that may help to prevent certain occupational health diseases. For this purpose, an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for 2,4,6-trichlorophenol detection has been developed using polyclonal antisera raised against 3-(3-hydroxy-2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)propanoic acid (hapten 5) covalently coupled by the mixed anhydride (MA) method to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). The indirect ELISA uses a heterologous coating antigen prepared by conjugation of 3-(2-hydroxy-3,6-dichlorophenyl)propanoic acid (hapten 4) to bovine serum albumin (BSA) using the active ester (AE) method. The optimum hapten density for the coating antigen was found to be 3 mol of hapten/mol of protein. The assay shows a limit of detection of 0.245 +/- 0.116 microg L(-1), and it is performed on 96-well microtiter plates in about 1.5 h. The ELISA reported recognizes on a much less extent other chlorinated phenols, such as 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol (2,3,4,6-TtCP, 21%), 2,4,5-TCP (12%) and 2,3,5-TCP (15%); however, brominated phenols (BP) are even more recognized than the corresponding chlorinated analogues (ex. 2,4,6-TBP, 710%; 2,4-DBP, 119%). With the aim of finding an explanation for this behavior, theoretical calculations have been performed for those and other halogenated phenols (2,4,6-triiodophenol and 2,4,6-trifluorophenol) to clarify which physicochemical parameter can explain better the recognition pattern observed. Finally, the assay has been adapted to the analysis of urine samples. The studies have shown that a limit of detection of 1 microg L(-1) can be accomplished on this biological matrix by combining the ELISA procedure with a C18 solid-phase extraction method.

A polyclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) was developed, optimized and validated for the analysis of this polar compound in water samples. The concentrations of the immunoreagents were selected to provide the highest sensitivity on an indirect ELISA format. Moreover, the influence of several physico-chemical parameters, such as incubation time, ionic strength, detergent concentration and pH were also studied. The IC 50 and limit of detection (LOD) of the optimized assay As34/3-BSA (antiserum 34 and hapten 3 conjugated to bovine serum albumin) were 9.32 and 0.61 μg l −1 , respectively. The specificity of this immunoassay was also evaluated by using eleven phenolic compounds, four different structurally related organophosphorus pesticides and a surfactant. Two kinds of sample matrices (Milli-Q and river water) were evaluated for possible interferences. A good correlation between the analysis by conventional techniques and by immunoassay was obtained, when five certified water samples were analyzed.

A convenient, generic synthesis of bioconjugates from haptens with a thiol group has been established. The corresponding haptens are synthesized as stable symmetric dimmers through a disulfide bond that is reduced immediately before conjugation with the aid of a di(n-butyl)phenylphosphine polystyrene (DBPP) resin. This strategy was used to prepare haptenized biomolecules and to raise antibodies against short-alkyl-chain sulfophenyl carboxylates (X-C(z)-SPCs; X is the position of the benzylic group and z is the alkyl-chain length) formed after degradation of the widely used domestic and industrial linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LASs) surfactants. Because of the complexity of the LASs technical mixture, homologous and pseudo-heterologous immunization strategies have been studied with the aim of broadening antibody recognition of the SPC family. With this purpose, two types of immunizing haptens have been synthesized and used to prepare bioconjugates and raise antibodies. Type-A bioconjugates (SPC(A)-protein) were prepared by synthesizing type-A haptens as stable symmetric dimers, generically 2,2'-dithiobis[5-{4-(N-ethylsulfamoyl)}phenylalkanoic acids] (X-C(z)-S-SPC). On the other hand, type-B bioconjugates (SPC(B)-protein) were prepared by treating the carboxylic groups of the corresponding 4-sulfophenylalkanoic acids (X-C(z)-SPC) with the amino groups of the lysine residues by using classical carbodiimide procedures. Type-A haptens produced antibodies with a much higher avidity for the target analyte. Under competitive immunochemical configurations (As112/2-C(5)-ovalbumin), these antibodies can reach a limit of detection (LOD) of 40 ng L(-1) with an IC(50) value of 200 ng L(-1) for 3-C(6)-SPC, which opens up the possibility of trace contamination of edible waters by surfactants with 3-C(6)-SPC as a marker of LAS pollution. A comparative study of the properties of the three families of polyclonal antibodies produced revealed that antibodies raised through pseudo-heterologous immunization strategies produced antibodies with a broader specificity versus the SPC family. These results indicate that this approach could be useful in avoiding synthetic difficulties associated with preparing haptens that preserve all the most important chemical functionalities of the molecule.

9 pages, 5 figures.-- PMID: 17085033 [PubMed]., Available online on Nov 7, 2006., A novel and very sensitive electrochemical immunosensing strategy for the detection of atrazine based on affinity biocomposite transducers is presented. Firstly, the graphite–epoxy composite transducer was bulk-modified with different universal affinity biomolecules, such as avidin and Protein A. Two strategies for the immobilization of the anti-atrazine antibodies on both biocomposite transducers were evaluated: ‘wet-affinity’ and ‘dry-assisted affinity’ immobilization. Finally, the performance of a novel anti-atrazine immunocomposite bulk-modified with anti-atrazine antibodies was also evaluated. The better immobilization performance of the anti-atrazine antibodies was achieved by ‘dry-assisted affinity’ immobilization on Protein A (2%) graphite–epoxy biocomposite (ProtA(2%)-GEB) as a transducer. The immunological reaction for the detection of atrazine performed on the ProtA(2%)-GEB biosensors is based on a direct competitive assay using atrazine-HRP tracer as the enzymatic label. The electrochemical detection is thus achieved through a suitable substrate and a mediator for the enzyme HRP. This novel strategy was successfully evaluated using spiked orange juice samples. The detection limit for atrazine in orange juices using the competitive electrochemical immunosensing assay was found to be 6×10−3 μgL−1 (0.03 nmol L−1) thus this biosensing method accomplishes by far the LODs required for the European Community directives for potable water and food samples (0.1 μgL−1). This strategy offers great promise for rapid, simple, cost effective, and on-site biosensing of biological, food, and environmental samples., Proyecto Panoptes AGL 2005-07700-c06-01 Plan Nacional I+D Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia.

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a method for the purification of the specific anti-sulfonamide antibody, for the construction of a magneto graphite–epoxy composite (m-GEC) electrode, for the immobilization of the specific anti-sulfonamide antibody on Tosyl-modified magnetic beads, and for the quantification of sulfonamide antibiotics in milk based on its immunological reaction with the class-selective specific antibody by using an electrochemical strategy based on magnetic beads and m-GEC electrode. To purify the anti-sulfonamide class-specific antibodies, 45% saturated solution is obtained by adding ammonium sulfate dropwise in 3 mL of immune and preimmune antisera of immunized and nonimmunized New Zealand white rabbits. The supernatant is separated after 4 h from the solid by centrifugation. The solution is filtered. Finally, the antibodies are dialyzed and lyophilized. To evaluate the antibody binding Bradford test is used. Electrochemical determination of sulfonamide in milk includes construction of the standard sulfonamide curve in PBST and in milk.

A recently developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the determination of linear alkyl benzenesulfonates (LAS) and long chain sulfophenyl carboxylates (SPCs) has been evaluated for its application in wastewater control analysis. This ELISA based on the use of polyclonal antibodies in an indirect format shows an IC50 of 28.1 +/- 3.2 microg L(-1) and a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.8 +/- 0.6 microg L(-1) in buffer. The assay uses antibodies raised through a pseudoheterologous immunization strategy using an equimolar mixture of two immunogens, N-(4-alkylphenyl)sulfonyl-3-aminopropanoic acid covalently coupled to keyhole limped hemocyanin (SFA-KLH) and sulfophenyl carboxylate 13C13 coupled to KLH (13C13-SPC-KLH). The immunizing haptens have been designed to address recognition versus two different epitopes of the LAS molecule. To assess the performance of this immunoassay in complex real samples, a cross reactivity study was carried out, and the possible interference of other surfactants commonly detected in wastewater, including nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs), nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), and coconut fatty acid diethanol amides (CDEA), have been evaluated. Additionally, a study of the matrix effects of different types of wastewater was achieved. This ELISA has been evaluated and validated by measuring the LAS content of 22 samples collected from the influents and the effluents of six wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) located in Catalonia, Spain. A solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detection (SPE-LC-MS) has been used as a validation method of the new ELISA test.

11 pages, 5 tables, 7 figures.-- PMID: 16383312 [PubMed].-- Available online Nov 25, 2005., Supporting information available at: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/ac051141s, ELISA methods have been developed for screening contamination of water resources by linear alkyl benzene sulfonates (LAS) or the most immediate degradation products, the long chain sulfophenyl carboxylates, SPCs. The assay uses antibodies raised through pseudoheterologous immunization strategies using an equimolar mixture of two immunogens (SFA−KLH and 13C13-SPC−KLH) prepared by coupling N-(4-alkylphenyl)sulfonyl-3-aminopropanoic acid (SFA) and p-(1-carboxy-13-tridecyl)phenylsulfonic acid (13C13-SPC) to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). The immunizing haptens have been designed to address recognition versus two different epitopes of the molecule. The SFA hapten maximizes recognition of the alkyl moiety while preserving the complexity of the different alkyl chains present in the LAS technical mixture. The 13C13-SPC hapten addresses recognition of the common and highly antigenic phenylsulfonic group. The antisera raised using this strategy have been shown to be superior to those obtained through homologous immunization procedures using a single substance. By using an indirect ELISA format, LAS and long-chain SPCs can be detected down to 1.8 and 0.2 μg L-1, respectively. Coefficients of variation of 6 and 12% within and between assays, respectively, demonstrate immunoassay reproducibility. The assay can be used in media with a wide range of pH and ionic strength values. Preliminary experiments performed to assess matrix effects have demonstrated the potential applicability of the method as a screening tool to assess contamination by these types of surfactants in natural water samples., This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (Contract numbers ALG2002-04635-C04-03 and TEC2004-0121-E), the European Community (IST-2003-508774) and by the Department of Universities, Research and Information Society of the Generalitat of Catalonia (expedient 00207).

9 pages, 6 figures., The proatherogenic properties of the cholesterol 5,6-secosterols (atheronal-A and atheronal-B), recently discovered in atherosclerotic arteries, have been investigated in terms of their effects on monocyte/macrophage function. A fluorescent analogue of atheronal-B (1) (50 μM), when cultured in either aqueous buffer (PBS) or in media containing fetal calf serum (10%), is rapidly taken-up into cultured macrophage (J774.1 or RAW 264.7) cells and accumulates at perinuclear sites (within 1 h). Co-incubation of macrophage cells (J774.1) with atheronal-A (25 μM) and atheronal-B (25 μM) when complexed with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (100 μg/mL) leads to a significant upregulation of scavenger receptor class A (3-fold increase relative to LDL alone, p < 0.05) but not CD36, showing that cultured macrophages respond to LDL-complexed atheronals in a manner highly analogous to acetylated LDL rather than oxidized LDL. Both atheronal-A and atheronal-B in solution exhibit a dose-dependent (0−25 μM) induction of chemotaxis of cultured macrophages (p < 0.001). When complexed with LDL (100 μg/mL), atheronal-A (but not atheronal-B) induces a dose-dependent (0−25 μM, p < 0.05) upregulation of the cell-surface adhesion molecule endothelial (E)-selectin on vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs). LDL (100 μg/mL) complexed atheronal-B (25 μM) but not atheronal-A induces cultured human monocytes (THP-1) to differentiate into macrophage cell lineage., When these in vitro data are taken together with the already known effects of cholesterol 5,6-secosterols on foam cell formation and macrophage cytotoxicity, the atheronals possess biological effects that if translated to an in vivo setting could lead to the recruitment, entrapment, dysfunction, and ultimate destruction of macrophages, with the major leukocyte player in inflammatory artery disease. As such, the atheronal molecules may be a new association, in the already complex inter-relationship, between inflammation, cholesterol oxidation, the tissue macrophage, and atherosclerosis., This work was supported by the ALSAM Foundation and the Skaggs Institute for Research and Novartis Pharma AG (SFP-1551). R.G. was supported by a fellowship from Secretaría de Estado de Educación y Universidades and Fondo Social Europeo. D.W. was supported by a Scripps Florida-Oxford predoctoral scholarship. We thank Prof. S. Schmidt (TSRI) for helpful discussion during manuscript preparation and Dr. H. Ditzel (TSRI), Professor L. Gerace (TSRI), and Mr. M. Wood (TSRI) for assistance with fluorescence microscopy.