Journal articles

The concepts of rational design and solid phase combinatorial chemistry were used to develop affinity adsorbents for glycoproteins. A detailed assessment of protein-carbohydrate interactions was used to identify key residues that determine monosaccharide specificity, which were subsequently exploited as the basis for the synthesis of a library of glycoprotein binding ligands. The ligands were synthesised using solid phase combinatorial chemistry and were assessed for their sugar-binding ability with the glycoenzymes, glucose oxidase and RNase B.

A range of biomimetic analogues of the nicotinamide nucleotide coenzymes NAD(P)(H) have been developed based on the structure of a triazine dye template. These biomimetic redox coenzymes are relatively straightforward and inexpensive to synthesise and display NAD+-like activity with different dehydrogenases, despite their apparently minimal structural similarity to the native coenzyme NAD+.

We have previously shown that a range of nicotinamide containing 'biomimetic coenzymes' function as active analogues of NAD+ in the oxidation of alcohols by horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (HLADH), despite their apparently astonishing lack of structural similarity to the natural coenzyme. The simplest structure as yet shown to exhibit activity is the biomimetic coenzyme CL4. To investigate the effect of the structure of this truncated artificial coenzyme on its activity, a range of close structural analogues of CL4 were designed, synthesized and characterized.

New opportunities for biosensors are now appearing in clinical and genetic diagnostics, genomics, environmental protection, food processing and safety, drug discovery and bioprocess monitoring. Concerns about the cost, stability and selectivity of previous sensor technologies are being addressed by developing new recognition systems and their integration into transducers, micro- and nanofabricated devices, array technologies and novel magnetic, acoustic and optical transduction systems.

A simple diffusion method for the distribution of ultrafine silver bromide grains in precoated gelatin and customized polymeric films for holographic recording has been developed. The method involves two steps: immersion of the pre-formed film in a solution of a silver salt, followed by agitation of the film in a solution of a bromide salt containing sensitizing dye. Repetition of the operation on the same film with different sensitizing dyes in the bromide bath enables the production of film with a panchromatic response.

Two decades of research into biosensors has been accelerated recently by the commercial potential offered by biotechnology. New developments in biosensor technology in which a biologically sensitive material is immobilized in intimate contact with a suitable potentiometric, amperometric, optical or other transducer are described. It is expected that some of these devices will be commercialized in 1984. © 1984.

Simple solid-phase optoelectronic sensors for penicillin, urea, and glucose are described. Triphenylmethane dyes such as bromcresol green and bromthymol blue were derivatized with glutathione and co-immobilized with appropriate enzymes to a transparent membrane sandwiched between a red-light-emitting diode and a silicon photodiode with integral amplifier.

The fractionation of blood plasma yields a number of therapeutic proteins which together constitute a billion dollar world-wide market. Conventional plasma fractionation procedures are being replaced by more sophisticated chromatographic techniques. The application of genetic engineering and these new downstream processing techniques is likely to lead to improved products of higher purity and stability, with less likelihood of contamination by viruses and at lower cost per therapeutic dose. © 1985.