Journal articles

One challenge facing the purification of therapeutic glycoproteins by affinity chromatography is creating ligands specific for the glycan moiety. Affinity chromatography of glycoproteins is currently conducted with immobilized lectins or boronates, although biomimetic ligands could present a more desirable option. This work describes the rational design and combinatorial synthesis of carbohydrate-binding ligands based on the solid phase multi-component Ugi reaction.

(Figure Presented). Holographic displays are used for applications in data storage, light trapping, security, sensing, and optical devices. Currently available fabrication techniques for holography remain expertise-dependent, costly, and time-consuming, limiting the widespread personalized use of holograms. The development of efficient and low-cost techniques for the rapid fabrication of holograms is required for practical applications. In this report, we use a single 6 ns laser pulse to record holographic surface gratings by ablation in well-ordered printed ink on a substrate.

A 330-fold one-step purification of alkaline phosphatase from a crude calf intestinal extract has been achieved using specific elution with inorganic phosphate (5 mM) from a purpose designed adsorbent comprising a terminal ring phosphonate analogue of C.I. Reactive Blue 2 coupled to Sepharose CL-6B-200. The resulting alkaline phosphatase preparation displayed a specific activity in excess of 1000 U/mg and was of equivalent purity to commercial "high purity" preparations as deduced by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and specific activity comparisons.

The purification of recombinant proteins by affinity chromatography is one of the most efficient strategies due to the high recovery yields and purity achieved. However, this is dependent on the availability of specific affinity adsorbents for each particular target protein. The diversity of proteins to be purified augments the complexity and number of specific affinity adsorbents needed, and therefore generic platforms for the purification of recombinant proteins are appealing strategies.

A novel affinity "tag-receptor" pair was developed as a generic platform for the purification of fusion proteins. The hexapeptide RKRKRK was selected as the affinity tag and fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). The DNA fragments were designed, cloned in Pet-21c expression vector and expressed in E. coli host as soluble protein. A solid-phase combinatorial library based on the Ugi reaction was synthesized: 64 affinity ligands displaying complementary functionalities towards the designed tag.

A novel affinity "tag-receptor" pair was developed as a generic platform for the purification of fusion proteins. The hexapeptide RKRKRK was selected as the affinity tag and fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). The DNA fragments were designed, cloned in Pet-21c expression vector and expressed in E. coli host as soluble protein. A solid-phase combinatorial library based on the Ugi reaction was synthesized: 64 affinity ligands displaying complementary functionalities towards the designed tag.

Here we report the fabrication and characterization of photonic structures in Nafion membranes sensitive to ammonia in the 0.19%-12.5% concentration range. The photonic structures were recorded by laser ablation of silver nanoparticles synthesized in situ by diffusion. The particles showed an average diameter of 17 nm with a narrow size distribution. After ablation, the nanoparticles generated a diffracting structure giving colorful reflections at defined peak wavelengths. The reflectivity at these wavelengths was directly proportional to concentration after ammonia exposure.

Tuneable optical sensors have been developed to sense chemical stimuli for a range of applications from bioprocess and environmental monitoring to medical diagnostics. Here, we present a porphyrin-functionalised optical sensor based on a holographic grating. The holographic sensor fulfils two key sensing functions simultaneously: it responds to external stimuli and serves as an optical transducer in the visible region of the spectrum. The sensor was fabricated via a 6 nanosecond-pulsed laser (350 mJ, λ = 532 nm) photochemical patterning process that enabled a facile fabrication.

Developing noninvasive and accurate diagnostics that are easily manufactured, robust, and reusable will provide monitoring of high-risk individuals in any clinical or point-of-care environment. We have developed a clinically relevant optical glucose nanosensor that can be reused at least 400 times without a compromise in accuracy. The use of a single 6 ns laser (λ = 532 nm, 200 mJ) pulse rapidly produced off-axis Bragg diffraction gratings consisting of ordered silver nanoparticles embedded within a phenylboronic acid-functionalized hydrogel.