Refine
Has Fulltext
- yes (4)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (4)
Year of publication
- 2020 (4) (remove)
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (4) (remove)
Language
- English (4) (remove)
Keywords
- Aptamer (1)
- Diamant (1)
- Dihydrooxazole (1)
- FRET (1)
- Fluoreszenz (1)
- Fluoreszenz-Resonanz-Energie-Transfer (1)
- Fotokatalyse (1)
- Glucosyltransferasen (1)
- Hydrogel (1)
- Nucleinsäuren (1)
Institute
- Institut für Organische Chemie (4) (remove)
The initial goal was the conversion of Bifidobacterium adolescentis Sucrose Phosphorylase (BaSP) into a polyphenol glucosidase by structure based enzyme engineering. BaSP was chosen because of its ability to utilize sucrose, an economically viable and sustainable donor substrate, and transfer the glucosyl moiety to various acceptor substrates. The introduction of aromatic residues into the active site was considered a viable way to render it more suitable for aromatic acceptor compounds by reducing its polarity and potentially introducing π-π-interactions with the polyphenols. An investigation of the active site revealed Gln345 as a suitable mutagenesis target. As a proof of concept BaSP Q345F was employed in the glycosylation of (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin and resveratrol. The variant was selective for the aromatic acceptor substrates and the glucose disaccharide side reaction was only observed after almost quantitative conversion of the aromatic substrates. A crystal structure of BaSP Q345F in complex with glucose was obtained and it displayed an unexpected shift of an entire domain by 3.3 Å. A crystal structure of BaSP D192N-Q345F, an inactive variant in complex with resveratrol-3-α-D-glucosid, the glucosylation product of resveratrol, synthesized by BaSP Q345F was solved. It proved that the domain shift is in fact responsible for the ability of the variant to glycosylate aromatic compounds. Simultaneously a ligand free crystal structure of BaSP Q345F disproved an induced fit effect as the cause of the domain shift. The missing link, a crystal structure of BaSP Q345F in the F-conformation is obtained. This does not feature the domain shift, but is in outstanding agreement with the wildtype structure. The domain shift is therefore not static but rather a step in a dynamic process. It is further conceivable that the domain shifted conformation of BaSP Q345F resembles the open conformation of the wild type and that an adjustment of a conformational equilibrium as a result of the Q345F point mutation is observed. An investigation into the background reaction, the formation of glucose-glucose disaccharides of BaSP Q345F and three further variants that addressed the same region (L341C, D316C-L341C and D316C-N340C) revealed the formation of nigerose by BaSP Q345F.
The aim of the thesis was to develop water soluble poly(2-oxazoline) (POx) copolymers with new side group functionalities, which can be used for the formation of hydrogels in biomedical applications and for the development of peptide-polymer conjugates.
First, random copolymers of the monomer MeOx or EtOx with ButEnOx and EtOx with DecEnOx were synthesized and characterized. The vinyl functionality brought into the copolymer by the monomers ButEnOx and DecEnOx would later serve for post-polymerization functionalization. The synthesized copolymers were further functionalized with thiols via post-polymerization functionalization using a newly developed synthesis protocol or with a protected catechol molecule for hydrogel formation. For the formation of peptide-polymer conjugates, a cyclic thioester, namely thiolactone acrylamide and an azlactone precursor, whose synthesis was newly developed, were attached to the side chain of P(EtOx-co-ButEnOx) copolymers.
The application of the functionalized thiol copolymers as hydrogels using thiol-ene chemistry for cross-linking was demonstrated. The swelling behavior and mechanical properties were characterized. The hydrophilicity of the network as well as the cross-linking density strongly influenced the swelling behavior and the mechanical strength of the hydrogels. All hydrogels showed good cell viability results.
The hydrogel networks based on MeOx and EtOx were loaded with two dyes, fluorescein and methylene blue. It was observed that the uptake of the more hydrophilic dye fluorescein depended more on the ability of the hydrogel to swell. In contrast, the uptake of the more hydrophobic dye methylene blue was less dependent on the swelling degree, but much more on the hydrophilicity of the network.
For the potential application as cartilage glue, (biohybrid) hydrogels were synthesized based on the catechol-functionalized copolymers, with and without additional fibrinogen, using sodium periodate as the oxidizing agent. The system allowed for degradation due to the incorporated ester linkages at the cross-linking points. The swelling behavior as well as the mechanical properties were characterized. As expected, hydrogels with higher degrees of cross-linking showed less swelling and higher elastic modulus. The addition of fibrinogen however increased the elasticity of the network, which can be favorable for the intended application as a cartilage glue. Biological evaluation clearly demonstrated the advantage of degradable ester links in the hydrogel network, where chondrocytes were able to bridge the artificial gap in contrast to hydrogels without any ester motifs.
Lastly, different ways to form peptide-polymer conjugates were presented. Peptides were attached with the thiol of the terminal cysteine group to the vinyl side chain of P(EtOx-co-ButEnOx) copolymers by radical thiol-ene chemistry. Another approach was to use a cyclic thioester, thiolactone, or an azlactone functionality to bind a model peptide via native chemical ligation. The two latter named strategies to bind peptides to POx side chains are especially interesting as one and in the case of thiolactone two free thiols are still present at the binding site after the reaction, which can, for example, be used for further thiol-ene cross-linking to form POx hydrogels.
In summary, side functional poly(oxazoline) copolymers show great potential for numerous biomedical applications. The various side chain functionalities can be introduced by an appropriate monomer or by post-polymerization functionalization, as demonstrated. By their multi-functionality, hydrogel characteristics, such as cross-linking degree and mechanical strength, can be fine-tuned and adjusted depending on the application in the human body. In addition, the presented chemoselective and orthogonal reaction strategies can be used in the future to synthesize polymer conjugates, which can, for example, be used in drug delivery or in tissue regeneration.
In this work the catalytic activity of nanodiamond particles with different dopants and surface terminations and of diamond nanomaterials funtionalized with ruthenium-based photocatalysts was investigated, illustrating materials application in photoredox chemistry and the photo(electro)catalytic reduction of CO2. Regarding the application of diamond nanomaterials in photocatalysis, methods to fabricate and characterize several (un)doped nanoparticles with different surface termination were successfully developed. Various photocatalysts, attached to nanodiamond particles via linker systems, were tested in photoredox catalysis and the photo(electro)catalytic reduction of CO2.
Fluorogenic Aptamers and Fluorescent Nucleoside Analogs as Probes for RNA Structure and Function
(2020)
RNA plays a key role in numerous cellular processes beyond the central dogma of molecular biology. Observing and understanding this wealth of functions, discovering new ones and engineering them into purpose-built tools requires a sensitive means of observation. Over the past decade, fluorogenic aptamers have emerged to fill this niche. These short oligonucleotides are generated by in vitro selection to specifically interact with small organic fluorophores and can be utilized as genetically encoded tags for RNAs of interest.
The most versatile class of fluorogenic aptamers is based on derivatives of hydroxybenzylidene imidazolone (HBI), a conditional fluorophore mimicking the chromophore structure found in green and red fluorescent proteins. The respective aptamers are well-known by the “vegetable” nomenclature, including Spinach, Broccoli and Corn, and have found numerous applications for studying RNA function in vitro and in cells.
Their success, however, is somewhat overshadowed by individual shortcomings such as a propensity for misfolding, dependence on unphysiologically high concentrations of magnesium ions or, in the case of Corn, dimerization that might affect the function of the tagged RNA. Moreover, most fluorogenic aptamers exhibit limited ligand promiscuity by design, thereby restricting their potential for spectral tuning to a narrow window of wavelengths.
This thesis details the characterization of a new fluorogenic aptamer system nicknamed Chili. Chili is derived from an aptamer that was originally selected to bind 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy¬hydroxy-benzylidene imidazolone (DMHBI), resulting in a green fluorescent complex. Unlike other aptamers of its kind, Chili engages in a proton transfer cycle with the bound ligand, resulting in a remarkably large Stokes shift of more than 130 nm.
By means of an empirical ligand optimization approach, several new DMHBI derivatives were found that bind to Chili with high affinity, furnishing complexes up to 7.5 times brighter compared to the parent ligand. In addition, Chili binds to π-extended DMHBI derivatives that confer fluorescence in the yellow–red region of the visible spectrum. The highest affinity and degree of fluorescence turn-on for both green and red fluorogenic ligands were achieved by the incorporation of a unique, positively charged substituent into the HBI scaffold.
Supplemented by NMR spectroscopy, kinetic and thermodynamic studies showed that the binding site of Chili is loosely preorganized in the absence of ligand and likely forms a G-quadruplex upon ligand binding.
To showcase future applications, Chili was incorporated into a FRET sensor for monitoring the cleavage of an RNA substrate by a 10-23 DNAzyme.
Besides aptamers as macromolecular fluorescent complexes, fluorescent nucleobase analogs are powerful small isomorphic components of RNA suitable for studying structure and folding. Here, the highly emissive nucleobase analog 4-cyanoindole (4CI) was developed into a ribonucleoside (r4CI) for this purpose. A new phosphoramidite building block was synthesized to enable site-specific incorporation of 4CI into RNA.
Thermal denaturation experiments confirmed that 4CI behaves as a universal nucleobase, i.e. without bias towards any particular hybridization partner. Photophysical characterization established r4CI as a generally useful fluorescent ribonucleoside analog. In this work, it was employed to gain further insight into the structure of the Chili aptamer. Using several 4CI-modified Chili–HBI complexes, a novel base–ligand FRET assay was established to obtain a set of combined distance and orientation restraints for the tertiary structure of the aptamer.
In addition to their utility for interrogating structure and binding, supramolecular FRET pairs comprising a fluorescent nucleobase analog donor and an innately fluorogenic acceptor hold great promise for the construction of color-switchable RNA aptamer sensor devices.