Fuyi Wang

A colorimetric sensor for determination of cysteine by carboxymethyl cellulose-functionalized gold nanoparticles

A simple and sensitive colorimetric method for cysteine detection was established based on the carboxymethyl cellulose-functionalized gold nanoparticles (CMC-AuNPs). The nanoparticles were directly synthesized with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose by a simple approach, which would protect particles against salt-induced aggregation. Then the CMC-AuNPs solution exhibited a high colorimetric selectivity to cysteine. The assay results indicated that the introduction of cysteine could induce the aggregation of the colloidal solutions at the presence of sodium chloride, displaying changes in color and in UV-vis absorption spectra. Thus an exceptionally simple, rapid method for detecting cysteine was obtained at the linear range of 10.0-100.0 microM with the relative coefficient of 0.997. The proposed method possessed the advantages of simplicity and sensitivity, and was applied to real urine sample detection. The results were satisfying and the proposed method was especially appropriate for detection of cysteine in biological samples.

Induced-fit recognition of DNA by organometallic complexes with dynamic stereogenic centers

Organometallic chemistry offers novel concepts in structural diversity and molecular recognition that can be used in drug design. Here, we consider DNA recognition by η6-arene Ru(II) anticancer complexes by an induced-fit mechanism. The stereochemistry of the dinuclear complex [((η6-biphenyl)RuCl(en))2-(CH2)6]2 + (3, en = ethylenediamine) was elucidated by studies of the half unit [(η6-biphenyl)RuCl(Et-en)]+ (2, where Et-en is Et(H)NCH2CH2NH2). The structures of the separated \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}R_{{\mathrm{Ru}}}^{*}R_{{\mathrm{N}}}^{*}\end{equation*}\end{document} and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}S_{{\mathrm{Ru}}}^{*}R_{{\mathrm{N}}}^{*}\end{equation*}\end{document} diastereomers of 2 were determined by x-ray crystallography; their slow interconversion in water (t½ ≈ 2 h, 298 K, pH 6.2) was observed by NMR spectroscopy. For 2 and 3 the \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}R_{{\mathrm{Ru}}}^{*}R_{{\mathrm{N}}}^{*}\end{equation*}\end{document} configurations are more stable than \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}S_{{\mathrm{Ru}}}^{*}R_{{\mathrm{N}}}^{*}\end{equation*}\end{document} (73:27). X-ray and NMR studies showed that reactions of 2 and 3 with 9-ethylguanine gave rise selectively to \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}S_{{\mathrm{Ru}}}^{*}R_{{\mathrm{N}}}^{*}\end{equation*}\end{document} diastereomers. Dynamic chiral recognition of guanine can lead to high diastereoselectivity of DNA binding. The dinuclear complex 3 induced a large unwinding (31°) of plasmid DNA, twice that of mononuclear 2 (14°), and effectively inhibited DNA-directed RNA synthesis in vitro. This dinuclear complex gave rise to interstrand cross-links on a 213-bp plasmid fragment with efficiency similar to bifunctional cisplatin, and to 1,3-GG interstrand and 1,2-GG and 1,3-GTG intrastrand cross-links on site-specifically ruthenated 20-mers. Complex 3 blocked intercalation of ethidium considerably more than mononuclear 2. The concept of induced-fit recognition of DNA by organometallic complexes containing dynamic stereogenic centers via dynamic epimerization, intercalation, and cross-linking may be useful in the design of anticancer drugs.

Half-sandwich arene ruthenium(II)–enzyme complex

The 1.6 [Angstrom] X-ray crystal structure of [(eta(6)-p-cymene)Ru(lysozyme)Cl(2)], the first of a half-sandwich complex of a protein, shows selective ruthenation of Nepsilon of the imidazole ring of His15.

The anticancer drug cisplatin can cross-link the interdomain zinc site on human albumin.

Cisplatin, cis-[Pt(Cl(2)(NH(3))(2)], can crosslink residues His67 of domain I and His247 of domain II in human albumin, occupying the major binding site for the essential metal zinc on the protein.

Arene Control over Thiolate to Sulfinate Oxidation in Albumin by Organometallic Ruthenium Anticancer Complexes

Interactions of organometallic ruthenium anticancer complexes [Ru(eta6-arene)Cl(en)][PF6] (arene=p-cymene (1) or biphenyl (2), en=ethylenediamine) with human serum albumin were investigated by means of mass spectrometry combined with trypsin digestion, specific sidechain modifications and computational modelling. Both complexes were shown to bind to surface histidine (His128, His247, His510) and methionine (Met298) residues in human albumin, but only the p-cymene complex can gain entry to the crevice containing the free cysteine thiolate (Cys34) and induce oxidation to sulfinate. The two complexes exhibit a similar coordination preference for histidine and methionine residues on the protein surface. His128 binding is favoured both kinetically and thermodynamically. At 310 K, six days of incubation of recombinant human albumin (rHA) with complex 1 (rHA:Ru 50:250 microM) led to about 18 % ruthenation of His128 in the protein. However, the extent of ruthenation of albumin by complex 2 was less than that by 1, due to the steric hindrance from the biphenyl ligand. These results imply that the arene ligand in the organometallic ruthenium anticancer complexes plays a crucial role in interactions with proteins.

Fluorescence light-up probe for parallel G-quadruplexes.

Putative G-quadruplex-forming sequences (PQS) are highly prevalent in human genome; however, the structures and functions of most PQSs in genome are poorly understood. Therefore, selective recognition of certain types of G-quadruplexes (G4s) is important for the study of G4s. A new light up fluorescent probe, BPBC composed of benzimidazole and carbazole moieties was designed and synthesized. BPBC possesses a crescent-shaped π-conjugated planar core that is slightly larger than the dimension of the G-quartet plane in G4s. This structure endows BPBC with excellent selectivity to parallel G4s. BPBC exhibits almost no fluorescence in the aqueous buffer condition, its fluorescence increases approximately 330-1800-fold in the presence of parallel G4s but only about 30-fold in the presence of single/double-stranded (ss/ds) DNA and 30-110-fold in the presence of antiparallel G4s. Binding studies indicate that the highly selective fluorescent response of BPBC arises from end-stack binding model to G-quartet.

Transferrin Serves As a Mediator to Deliver Organometallic Ruthenium(II) Anticancer Complexes into Cells

We report herein a systematic study on interactions of organometallic ruthenium(II) anticancer complex [(η(6)-arene)Ru(en)Cl](+) (arene = p-cymene (1) or biphenyl (2), en = ethylenediamine) with human transferrin (hTf) and the effects of the hTf-ligation on the bioavailability of these complexes with cisplatin as a reference. Incubated with a 5-fold excess of complex 1, 2, or cisplatin, 1 mol of diferric hTf (holo-hTf) attached 0.62 mol of 1, 1.01 mol of 2, or 2.14 mol of cisplatin. Mass spectrometry revealed that both ruthenium complexes coordinated to N-donors His242, His273, His578, and His606, whereas cisplatin bound to O donors Tyr136 and Tyr317 and S-donor Met256 in addition to His273 and His578 on the surface of both apo- and holo-hTf. Moreover, cisplatin could bind to Thr457 within the C-lobe iron binding cleft of apo-hTf. Neither ruthenium nor platinum binding interfered with the recognition of holo-hTf by the transferrin receptor (TfR). The ruthenated/platinated holo-hTf complexes could be internalized via TfR-mediated endocytosis at a similar rate to that of holo-hTf itself. Moreover, the binding to holo-hTf well preserved the bioavailability of the ruthenium complexes, and the hTf-bound 1 and 2 showed a similar cytotoxicity toward the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 to those of the complexes themselves. However, the conjugation with holo-hTf significantly reduced the cellular uptake of cisplatin and the amount of platinated DNA adducts formed intracellularly, leading to dramatic reduction of cisplatin cytotoxicity toward MCF-7. These findings suggest that hTf can serve as a mediator for the targeting delivery of Ru(arene) anticancer complexes while deactivating cisplatin.

Dicyanomethylene-Functionalized Squaraine as a Highly Selective Probe for Parallel G‑Quadruplexes

DNA sequences that can form G-quadruplexes (G4s) are highly prevalent in the genome. However, the structures and functions of most G4-forming sequences in the genome are poorly understood. Therefore, the development of molecular probes for G4 recognition in biological samples, especially probes with long wavelength, are important for the basic research of G4s. Squaraines dyes exhibit sharp and intense absorption and strong emission in the red to NIR region, but very few of them have been reported as probes for the recognition of nucleic acids. Here we report the interactions of two squaraine dyes, STS and CSTS, with different kinds of DNA. The dicyanomethylene-functionalized squaraine dye, CSTS, exhibits strong interaction with the parallel G4s, but no interaction with other DNA. In aqueous conditions, this interaction causes the transformation of CSTS from H-aggregates to monomers, which results in decline and growth of the absorption spectra of both forms. The parallel G4s enhance the fluorescence of both STS and CSTS, but the fluorescence enhancement of CSTS is much higher than that of STS. CSTS is demonstrated to bind to G4s through end-stacking model on G-quartet surface. The high selectivity of CSTS to parallel G4s is attributed to its V-shaped rigid planar π scaffold. The high selectivity, very low background fluorescence, large absorption coefficient, and high fluorescence quantum yield make CSTS hold great promise as a long-wavelength probe for parallel G4 detection in biological samples or in vivo.

Immobilization of trypsin via reactive polymer grafting from magnetic nanoparticles for microwave-assisted digestion

The effort to stabilize enzymes and improve their activity has generated great interest because of their wide application in proteomics research, bioenergy conversion, bioassays and so on. In this work, biocompatible reactive polymer, poly (glycidyl methacrylate), grafted from magnetic nanoparticles by atom transfer radical polymerization method, has been firstly proposed to immobilize enzymes for microwave-assisted digestion. Meanwhile, trypsin was chosen as a model enzyme. Resulting from the increased functionality, the immobilization amount of the enzyme on the magnetic nanoparticle surface has been greatly improved. Furthermore, the enzyme immobilized magnetic nanoparticles have exhibited excellent repeatability and stability. The influence of the polymer chain length on digestion efficiency has been investigated both at 37 °C and under microwave. It has been found that the digestion efficiency increases with the lengthened polymer brushes due to the increased immobilization amount. Utilizing cytochrome C as a model protein for digestion, the performance of this immobilized biocatalyst has been demonstrated and this digestion assisted with microwave could be completed within 15 s. This study offers insight into the design of polymer brushes on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles for high digestion efficiency in the future.

Copper binding promotes the interaction of cisplatin with human copper chaperone Atox1

Cu(I) binding promotes the platination of Atox1, although cisplatin binds to the copper coordination sites. In addition, Cu(I) binding enhances the competition of Atox1 with DTT in the reaction of cisplatin. These results indicate that cuprous ions could regulate the cellular trafficking of cisplatin.