gramicidin-a and betadex

The integration of nanotechnology with mass spectrometry for sensitive and selective detection of molecules is a hot/important field of research. Synthesis of graphene (G) coated with mesoporous silica (SiO2, G@SiO2) for mass spectrometric application has been demonstrated. For the first time, we proposed the significant role of surfactant that used during the synthesis of mesorporous silicate (SiO2) in mass spectrometry. It was noticed that G could initiate SiO2 via surfactants which work as initiators for further ionization. The porosity of SiO2 trapped the analytes that was released and ionized with the surfactant fragments. Undoubtedly, strong background interferences were present in the case of organic matrix, which greatly obscured the detection of low molecular weight compounds. G@SiO2 nanocomposite affords several advantages, such as the ability to detect small molecules (<500Da), high sample localization through silica mesoporosity, and high ionization efficiency over than G or conventional matrices. The high performance of G@SiO2 is not only due to the large surface area but also due to high desorption/ionization efficiency of inevitably surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, CATB). Unlike the conventional MALDI-MS, the G@SiO2-MS is capable of generating multiply charged polysaccharides. The present method was validated to detect surfactants with low limits of detection.

Topics: beta-Cyclodextrins; Environmental Pollutants; Gramicidin; Graphite; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Molecular Structure; Nanocomposites; Particle Size; Porosity; Reproducibility of Results; Silicon Dioxide; Spectinomycin; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Surface-Active Agents; Tobramycin

To detect protein-ligand interaction a gramicidin-based sensor was developed. Biotin was tagged to the C-terminus of gramicidin (Gram-bio 1). The biotin-moiety, which faces the electrolyte, gave little effect on single-channel conductance. Streptavidin added to the electrolyte was detected by Gram-bio 1 through the monitoring channel current using the planar bilayer system. The suppression of macroscopic currents and the acceleration of their decaying time course were observed in a concentration dependent manner. In the single-channel level, however, no significant effect on the single-channel conductance and the open dwell time was observed upon addition of streptavidin. Therefore, streptavidin neither blocked the open channel nor changed the stability of the conducting dimer. Insertion of a linker between gramicidin and biotin did not change the streptavidin-sensitivity of the current reduction. We conclude that the binding of streptavidin to the Gram-bio 1 shifted the distribution of the complex from the membrane to the electrolyte and, thus, reduced the formation of conducting dimer of Gram-bio 1 in the membrane. Interaction of biotin with an anti-biotin antibody was also observed using this system, indicating that this system is applicable for the detection of protein-ligand interaction having a binding constant of approximately 10(8-9) M(-1) or more. Both the adamantane-tagged gramicidin for detection of beta-cyclodextrin and the Strep Tag-II-tagged gramicidin for detection of streptavidin (binding constant: approximately 10(5) M(-1) or less) failed to respond. Thus, high-affinity ligands upon tagging to gramicidin render the gramicidin-based sensor able to execute as a real-time monitoring system for protein-ligand interaction.

Topics: Adamantane; beta-Cyclodextrins; Biotin; Carcinogens; Cell Membrane; Cyclodextrins; Dimerization; Gramicidin; Ion Channel Gating; Ion Channels; Ligands; Lipid Bilayers; Models, Biological; Protein Binding; Streptavidin