Amelogenin-guided Crystal Growth on Fluoroapatite Glass-ceramics

2004 ◽  
Vol 83 (9) ◽  
pp. 698-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Habelitz ◽  
A. Kullar ◽  
S.J. Marshall ◽  
P.K. DenBesten ◽  
M. Balooch ◽  
...  

The formation of aligned fibrous apatite crystals in enamel is predominantly attributed to the involvement of amelogenin proteins. We developed a model to study interactions of matrix proteins with apatite mineral in vitro and tested the hypothesis that amelogenin solubility affects the ability to induce protein-guided mineralization. Crystal growth experiments were performed on fluoroapatite (FAP) glass-ceramics in mineralizing solutions containing recombinant full-length amelogenin (rH174) at different concentrations. Using atomic force microscopy, we observed that mineral precipitated randomly on the substrate, but also formed thin layers (height, 10 nm) on FAP within 24 hrs. This growth pattern was unaffected when 0.4 mg/mL of rH174 was added. In contrast, crystals grew on FAP at a rate up to 20 times higher, at 1.6 mg/mL protein. Furthermore, nanospheres and mineral bound specifically to FAP and aligned in strings approximately parallel to the c-axis of FAP, leading us to the conclusion that amelogenin proteins indeed control direction and rate of growth of apatite in enamel.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Prakash ◽  
Travis Lantz ◽  
Krupal P. Jethava ◽  
Gaurav Chopra

Amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients primarily consists of amyloid beta 1-42 (Ab42). Commercially, Ab42 is synthetized using peptide synthesizers. We describe a robust methodology for expression of recombinant human Ab(M1-42) in Rosetta(DE3)pLysS and BL21(DE3)pLysS competent E. coli with refined and rapid analytical purification techniques. The peptide is isolated and purified from the transformed cells using an optimized set-up for reverse-phase HPLC protocol, using commonly available C18 columns, yielding high amounts of peptide (~15-20 mg per 1 L culture) in a short time. The recombinant Ab(M1-42) forms characteristic aggregates similar to synthetic Ab42 aggregates as verified by western blots and atomic force microscopy to warrant future biological use. Our rapid, refined, and robust technique to purify human Ab(M1-42) can be used to synthesize chemical probes for several downstream in vitro and in vivo assays to facilitate AD research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 1857-1872
Author(s):  
Alberto M. Muñoz ◽  
Manuel J. Fragoso-Vázquez ◽  
Berenice P. Martel ◽  
Alma Chávez-Blanco ◽  
Alfonso Dueñas-González ◽  
...  

Background: Our research group has developed some Valproic Acid (VPA) derivatives employed as anti-proliferative compounds targeting the HDAC8 enzyme. However, some of these compounds are poorly soluble in water. Objective: Employed the four generations of Polyamidoamine (G4 PAMAM) dendrimers as drug carriers of these compounds to increase their water solubility for further in vitro evaluation. Methods: VPA derivatives were subjected to Docking and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to evaluate their affinity on G4 PAMAM. Then, HPLC-UV/VIS, 1H NMR, MALDI-TOF and atomic force microscopy were employed to establish the formation of the drug-G4 PAMAM complexes. Results: The docking results showed that the amide groups of VPA derivatives make polar interactions with G4 PAMAM, whereas MD simulations corroborated the stability of the complexes. HPLC UV/VIS experiments showed an increase in the drug water solubility which was found to be directly proportional to the amount of G4 PAMAM. 1H NMR showed a disappearance of the proton amine group signals, correlating with docking results. MALDI-TOF and atomic force microscopy suggested the drug-G4 PAMAM dendrimer complexes formation. Discussion: In vitro studies showed that G4 PAMAM has toxicity in the micromolar concentration in MDAMB- 231, MCF7, and 3T3-L1 cell lines. VPA CF-G4 PAMAM dendrimer complex showed anti-proliferative properties in the micromolar concentration in MCF-7 and 3T3-L1, and in the milimolar concentration in MDAMB- 231, whereas VPA MF-G4 PAMAM dendrimer complex didn’t show effects on the three cell lines employed. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that G4 PAMAM dendrimers are capableof transporting poorly watersoluble aryl-VPA derivate compounds to increase its cytotoxic activity against neoplastic cell lines.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fajar Inggit Pambudi ◽  
Michael William Anderson ◽  
Martin Attfield

Atomic force microscopy has been used to determine the surface crystal growth of two isostructural metal-organic frameworks, [Zn2(ndc)2(dabco)] (ndc = 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylate, dabco = 4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) (1) and [Cu2(ndc)2(dabco)] (2) from...


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrada Serafim ◽  
Romain Mallet ◽  
Florence Pascaretti-Grizon ◽  
Izabela-Cristina Stancu ◽  
Daniel Chappard

Scaffolds of nonresorbable biomaterials can represent an interesting alternative for replacing large bone defects in some particular clinical cases with massive bone loss. Poly(styrene) microfibers were prepared by a dry spinning method. They were partially melted to provide 3D porous scaffolds. The quality of the material was assessed by Raman spectroscopy. Surface roughness was determined by atomic force microscopy and vertical interference microscopy. Saos-2 osteoblast-like cells were seeded on the surface of the fibers and left to proliferate. Cell morphology, evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, revealed that they can spread and elongate on the rough microfiber surface. Porous 3D scaffolds made of nonresorbable poly(styrene) fibers are cytocompatible biomaterials mimicking allogenic bone trabeculae and allowing the growth and development of osteoblast-like cellsin vitro.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-17
Author(s):  
Zhuola Zhuola ◽  
Steve Barrett ◽  
Yalda Ashraf Kharaz ◽  
Riaz Akhtar

The mechanical properties of ocular tissues, such as the sclera, have a major impact on healthy eye function, and are governed by the properties and composition of the microstructural components. For example, biomechanical degradation associated with myopia occurs alongside a reduction of proteoglycans (PGs). In this study, the role of PG degradation in the nanomechanical properties of the porcine sclera is explored. In-vitro enzymatic degradation of PGs was conducted with α-amylase and chondroitinase ABC enzymes. Collagen fibril morphology and nanomechanical stiffness were measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The elastic modulus of the tissue was reduced in all enzyme-treated samples relative to controls. In addition, collagen fibril organization was disrupted by PG depletion. Our data demonstrate that PGs play an important role in determining not only the mechanical properties at these length scales, but also collagen fibril arrangement.


2001 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 1503-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. I. Kiselyova ◽  
I. V. Yaminsky ◽  
E. M. Karger ◽  
O. Yu. Frolova ◽  
Y. L. Dorokhov ◽  
...  

The structure of complexes formed in vitro by tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-coded movement protein (MP) with TMV RNA and short (890 nt) synthetic RNA transcripts was visualized by atomic force microscopy on a mica surface. MP molecules were found to be distributed along the chain of RNA and the structure of MP–RNA complexes depended on the molar MP:RNA ratios at which the complexes were formed. A rise in the molar MP:TMV RNA ratio from 20:1 to 60–100:1 resulted in an increase in the density of the MP packaging on TMV RNA and structural conversion of complexes from RNase-sensitive ‘beads-on-a-string’ into a ‘thick string’ form that was partly resistant to RNase. The ‘thick string’-type RNase-resistant complexes were also produced by short synthetic RNA transcripts at different MP:RNA ratios. The ‘thick string’ complexes are suggested to represent clusters of MP molecules cooperatively bound to discrete regions of TMV RNA and separated by protein-free RNA segments.


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