A conjugação por polietilenoglicol (PEG) mascara a superfície das proteínas e aumenta o tamanho molecular do polipeptídio, reduzindo assim sua ultrafiltragem renal, impedindo a aproximação de células processadoras de antígenos ou anticorpos e reduzindo a degradação por enzimas proteolíticas. O PEG transfere para as moléculas suas propriedades físico-químicas e, conseqüentemente, modifica também a biodistribuição e a solubilidade de drogas peptídicas e não peptídicas. As soluções de proteínas são facilmente desnaturadas (muitas vezes irreversivelmente) pelo aparecimento de numerosos eventos que podem afetar a estabilidade das soluções, tais como: aquecimento, agitação, congelamento, mudanças no pH e exposição a interfaces ou agentes desnaturantes, resultando geralmente na perda da eficácia clínica e aumento do risco de efeitos colaterais adversos. A solução prática para o dilema da estabilidade da proteína é a remoção da água. A liofilização é o método mais comumente utilizado para a preparação de proteínas desidratadas, as quais, teoricamente, devem apresentar uma estabilidade adequada por um longo período de armazenagem em temperaturas ambientes. A proteína utilizada neste estudo foi a albumina sérica bovina (BSA), amplamente estudada no campo da bioquímica. Através da espectroscopia Raman associada com análise térmica por DSC, análise colorimétrica, e a determinação do teor de umidade, verificou-se que o congelamento rápido (30 °C/min.) favoreceu a manutenção da estrutura conformacional da proteína após a liofilização, porém aumentou o tempo de secagem primária em sete horas em relação ao congelamento lento (2,5 °C/min.). Após a modificação da albumina bovina por reação com o metoxi-PEG verificou-se que a BSA-PEG (1:0,25) apresentou um menor grau de alteração estrutural e conseqüentemente uma menor variação das características físico-químicas, além de otimizar as condições de liofilização e armazenamento da proteína quando comparada com a BSA-PEG (1:0,5) . / PEG conjugation masks the proteins surface and increases the molecular size of the polypeptide, thus reducing its renal ultrafiltration, preventing the approach of antibodies or antigen processing cells and reducing the degradation by proteolytic enzymes. The PEG conveys to molecules its physico-chemical properties and therefore modifies also biodistribution and solubility of peptide and non-peptide drugs. This property opens new techniques in biocatalysis and in pharmaceutical technology where many insoluble drugs are solubilized by PEG conjugation and thus more easily administered. Aqueous protein solutions are readily denatured (often irreversibly) by numerous stresses arising in solution, e.g., heating, agitation, freezing, pH changes, and exposure to interfaces or denaturants, usually resulting in lost of clinical efficacy and increase the risk of adverse side effects. Even if its physical stability is maintained, a protein can be degraded by chemical reactions (e.g., hydrolysis and deamidation), many of which are mediated by water. The practical solution to the protein stability dilemma is to remove the water. Lyophilization is most commonly used to prepare dehydrated proteins, which, theorecally, should have the desired long-term stability at ambient temperatures. The protein used in this study was the bovine serum albumin (BSA), largely studied in the biochemical field. Through Raman spectroscopy associated with thermal analysis using DSC, Colorimetric analysis and the determination of water content It was observed that the fast freezing (30 °C/min.) favored the maintenance of the conformational structure in the protein after lyophilization, however increased the primary drying in seven hours with regard to the slow freezing (2,5 °C/min.). After the modification of bovine serum albumin with methoxy-PEG it was observed that the BSA-PEG (1:0,25) showed a lower degree of structural alterations and consequently a lower variation on the physical-chemical characteristics, moreover optimized the conditions during the lyophilization process and storage of the protein when it was compared to BSA-PEG (1:0,5).

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2017-01-12T11:50:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Otavio Augusto Chaves.pdf: 6300833 bytes, checksum: 156947ce06fa4e3b0674f5eaeaa4ef06 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-12T11:50:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Otavio Augusto Chaves.pdf: 6300833 bytes, checksum: 156947ce06fa4e3b0674f5eaeaa4ef06 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-19 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / The interactions between human serum albumin (HSA) with 18-PF, BZL, MTZ and MZ and between bovine serum albumin (BSA) with t-DCTN, PF, LF-B, PIA and ?-lap were studied by spectroscopic techniques (molecular absorption in the UV-Vis region, circular dichroism, emission fluorescence in the steady state and temporal resolution) under physiological conditions. Theoretical calculations by molecular docking were performed to complement the experimental data and thus offer accurate to the results. The results obtained for the fluorescence quenching rate constant (kq) is greater than the diffusion rate constant in water (kdiff ? 5,00x109 L/mol), indicating that there is formation of complex between albumin and biologically active molecules in the ground state (for the sample PIA we confirmed this data with time resolved fluorescence experiments). For t-DCTN and LF-B beyond the static mechanism it was observed the presence of dynamic fluorescence quenching mechanism. Finally, for PF and PIA F?rster theory shows that the energy transfer between the fluorophore and the quenchers can occurs with high probability. The thermodynamic values for Gibbs? free energy are in accordance with the spontaneity of the association, for all the samples. Thermodynamic parameters ?H? and ?S? provided evidence of the main intermolecular interactions in the association. The samples 18-FP, t-DCTN, LF-B, PIA, ?-lap, BZL and MTZ interact with albumin by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. On the other hand, PF and MZ interact by hydrogen bonding and electrostatic forces. The number of binding sites shows that there is only one main cavity of the protein to the interaction. For 18-PF, PF and LF-B the binding is weak, for t-DCTN the binding is moderate and for PIA, ?-lap, BZL, MTZ and MZ the binding is strong. Circular dichroism results show that upon binding of samples with the albumin there are no significant perturbations on the secondary structure of the protein. Theoretical calculations by molecular docking are in full agreement with the spectroscopic results / As intera??es entre albumina s?rica humana (ASH) com 18-FP, BZL, MTZ e MZ e entre albumina s?rica bovina (ASB) com t-DCTN, PF, LF-B, PIA e ?-lap foram estudadas por t?cnicas espectrosc?picas (absor??o molecular no UV-Vis, dicro?smo circular, emiss?o de fluoresc?ncia no estado estacion?rio e com resolu??o temporal) sobre condi??es fisiol?gicas. C?lculos te?ricos por ancoramento molecular (do ingl?s molecular docking) foram executados para complementa??o dos dados experimentais e dessa forma obter resultados mais precisos. Os resultados obtidos para as constantes de velocidade de supress?o de fluoresc?ncia das albuminas (kq) s?o maiores do que a velocidade de difus?o em ?gua (kdiff ? 5,00x109 L/mols), indicando que h? forma??o de um complexo no estado fundamental entre as albuminas com as mol?culas biologicamente ativas (para amostra PIA tal dado foi confirmado com a fluoresc?ncia resolvida no tempo). Para as amostras t-DCTN e LF-B al?m do mecanismo est?tico foi observado ? presen?a do mecanismo din?mico e j? para as amostras PF e PIA o c?lculo de F?rster mostra alta probabilidade de ocorr?ncia de transfer?ncia de energia entre o fluor?foro e os supressores. Os valores termodin?micos de energia livre de Gibbs, calculados para todas as amostras est?o de acordo com a espontaneidade da associa??o. Par?metros termodin?micos de ?H? e ?S? forneceram ind?cios das principais intera??es intermoleculares na associa??o. As amostras 18-FP, t-DCTN, LF-B, PIA, ?-lap, BZL e MTZ associam com a albumina via liga??o de hidrog?nio e intera??es hidrof?bicas e j? PF e MZ por liga??o de hidrog?nio e intera??es eletrost?ticas. O n?mero de s?tios de liga??o para todas as amostras indicam que h? apenas uma principal cavidade da prote?na para a associa??o das mol?culas estudadas, sendo que essa associa??o ? moderada para 18-FP, PF e LF-B, fraca para t-DCTN e forte para PIA, ?-lap, BZL, MTZ e MZ. Estudos de dicro?smo circular demonstram que n?o h? perturba??es significativas na estrutura secund?ria da albumina com a associa??o. C?lculos te?ricos via ancoramento molecular est?o em total acordo com os resultados espectrosc?picos

Produtos de glicação avançada (AGE) são prevalentes no diabete melito e alteram o metabolismo de lípides e lipoproteínas. Neste estudo, avaliou-se a influência da albumina, isolada do soro de indivíduos controles (C, n =12) e de portadores de diabete melito tipo 1 (DM 1, n=13) e tipo 2 (DM 2, n=11), com controle glicêmico inadequado, sobre a remoção de colesterol de macrófagos, o acúmulo intracelular de lípides, o conteúdo do receptor de HDL, ABCA-1 e a captação seletiva de colesterol esterificado de HDL. Além disso, foi determinada a expressão diferencial de genes em macrófagos tratados com albumina C, DM 1 ou DM 2. A concentração plasmática de albumina glicada foi superior no grupo DM 1 e DM 2 em relação ao C e correlacionou-se positivamente com glicemia, hemoglobina glicada e frutosamina. Albumina sérica foi isolada por cromatografia para separação rápida de proteínas e purificada por extração alcoólica. Albumina DM 1 e DM 2 apresentaram maior conteúdo de carboximetil-lisina e apo A-I quando comparada à albumina C. Macrófagos enriquecidos com LDL acetilada e 14C-colesterol foram tratados com albumina C, DM 1 ou DM 2 e, a seguir, incubados na presença ou ausência de apo A-I, HDL3 ou HDL2 para determinação do efluxo de colesterol. Apesar de removerem maior quantidade de colesterol celular, as albumina DM 1 e DM 2 reduziram o efluxo de colesterol mediado por apo A-I (70% e 45%, respectivamente) e HDL2 (55% e 54%, respectivamente) em comparação à albumina C. Com HDL3, a queda no efluxo de colesterol só foi observada em macrófagos expostos à albumina DM 2 (55%). Macrófagos incubados apenas com albumina C, DM 1 ou DM 2 apresentaram conteúdo lipídico semelhante, evidenciado por coloração com Oil Red O. A adição de apo A-I, HDL3 ou HDL2 reduziu o conteúdo lipídico apenas nas células tratadas com albumina C, mas não com albumina DM 1 ou DM 2. A expressão de ABCA-1 foi diminuída 82% e 25% em macrófagos expostos, respectivamente, à albumina DM 1 e DM 2, em comparação às células tratadas com albumina C. As albuminas DM 1 e DM 2 reduziram a captação de 3H colesteril oleoil éter de HDL por células que superexpressam o receptor SR-BI. Estes resultados também foram obtidos com albumina humana modificada in vitro por glicação avançada. As albuminas isoladas dos pacientes diabéticos aumentaram a expressão de receptores envolvidos na captação de LDL modificadas e de proteínas que modulam vias da homeostase do colesterol. Os resultados deste estudo evidenciaram que a modificação in vivo da albumina por glicação avançada prejudica o transporte reverso de colesterol no diabete melito, por reduzir a expressão de ABCA-1 e a remoção de colesterol de macrófagos, bem como a captação seletiva de colesterol esterificado de HDL pelo SR-BI. Independentemente de variação na concentração e composição de HDL, a glicação da albumina pode contribuir para o acúmulo de lípides em macrófagos e gênese da aterosclerose no diabete melito / Advanced glycation end products are prevalent in diabetes mellitus and alter lipids and lipoprotein metabolism. In this study we analyzed the role of albumin, isolated from control individuals (C, n = 12) and uncontrolled type 1 (DM 1, n = 13) and type 2 (DM 2, n = 11) diabetes mellitus patients on macrophage cholesterol removal, intracellular lipid accumulation, expression of the HDL receptor protein level, ABCA-1and the uptake of esterified cholesterol from HDL. It was also investigated the differential gene expression in macrophages treated with C, DM 1 or DM 2 albumin. Glycated albumin was higher in DM 1 and DM 2 groups as compared to C and was positivetly correlated with glycemia, glycated hemoglobin and fructosamine. Serum albumin was isolated by fast protein liquid chromatography and alchoolic extraction. DM 1 and DM 2 albumin presented a higher amount of carboxymethyllysine and apo A-I as compared to C albumin. In order to determine cholesterol efflux acetylated LDL and 14C-cholesterol enriched J- 774 macrophages were treated with C, DM 1 or DM 2 albumin and then incubated in the absence or presence of apo A-I, HDL3 or HDL2. Although presenting a higher ability to remove cell cholesterol by itself, DM 1 and DM 2 albumin reduced cholesterol efflux mediated by apo A-I (70% e 45%, respectively) and by HDL2 (55% e 54%, respectively) as compared to C albumin. With HDL3 the reduction of the cholesterol efflux was only observed in macrophages treated with DM 2 albumin (55%) in comparison to C albumin. Macrophages incubated with C, DM 1 or DM 2 albumin alone presented similar amount of intracellular lipids as assessed by Oil Red O staining. The addition of apo A-I, HDL3 or HDL2 reduced the lipid content in cells treated with C albumin, but not in those exposed to DM 1 or DM 2 albumin. The expression of ABCA-1 was reduced 82% and 25% in macrophages treated, respectively, with DM 1 or DM 2 albumin, in comparison to C albumin. DM 1 and DM 2 albumin reduced the uptake of 3H colesteril oleoyl ether from HDL by SR-BI overexpressing cells. These findings also were obtained when cells were treated in vitro with human serum albumin submitted to advanced glycation. DM 1 and DM 2 albumin enhanced the expression of receptors involved in the uptake of modified LDL and cholesterol homeostasis. Our findings showed that the advanced glycation of albumin that takes place in diabetes mellitus impairs the reverse cholesterol transport efficiency by reducing the ABCA-1 expression and cholesterol exportation to HDL and also by diminishing the uptake of esterified cholesterol from HDL. Independently of changes in HDL composition and concentration, advanced glycated albumin contributes to cholesterol accumulation in macrophages and atherogenesis in diabetes mellitus

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) hold great promise in the fields of biology and medicine. The synthesis of functional MNPs with precisely controlled crystallographic, physicochemical, and magnetic properties on a large scale still remains the challenge today. This thesis reports the exploration of liquid-fed flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) in the synthesis of functional MNPs, their surface modifications, and potential bio-applications. Superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles, and silica-coated maghemite (SiO2/γ-Fe2O3) nanocomposites were synthesised using FSP. The size of γ-Fe2O3 was controllable from 6 to 53 nm, with morphology evolving from a disordered near-spherical shape to fully ordered 2-D hexagonal/octagonal platelet. The saturation magnetisation (Ms) increased from 21 to 74 emu/g with increasing particle size, up to 13 nm when Ms approached the bulk γ-Fe2O3 characteristics. In the case of SiO2/γ-Fe2O3, three distinct morphologies, namely the single segregated γ-Fe2O3 core- SiO2 shell, transitional mixed morphologies, and multi γ-Fe2O3 cores embedded in submicron SiO2 shell, were obtained. The core size, composite size, and morphology of γ- Fe2O3 were tunable by varying %SiO2 loading and the use of a quartz tube enclosure during flame synthesis. The magnetic behaviour correlated well with the crystal microstructure. Following the core particle design, protein adsorption-desorption behaviour on FSP-madeMNPs was studied. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption was found to follow the Langmuir isotherm, with high binding capacities (150−348 mg BSA/g particle) and fast association constants. Electrostatically governed BSA orientations were proposed for different particle-buffer systems. The adsorbed BSA was effectively recovered by pH-shift using K2HPO4. Subsequently, terminal amine, aldehyde, carboxylic, epoxy, mercapto and maleimide functionality were anchored onto the FSP-made γ-Fe2O3 particles. These versatile functional groups led to conjugation of active trypsin. The immobilised trypsin exhibited superior durability with >60% residual activity after one week, and excellent reusability for >5 cycles. The trypsin-conjugated MNPs are promising carriers in proteomics, demonstrating good substrate specificity with equivalent or better sequence coverage compared to free trypsin in insulin and BSA digestion. In another application, a refined silanisation procedure simultaneously reduced γ-Fe2O3 to Fe3O4, and generated thiol enriched surface for matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) conjugation. The highly active MMP-2-conjugated MNPs could potentially enhance the interstitial transport of macromolecule/nanoparticles in drug delivery.

Peripheral vascular diseases such as peripheral artery disease (PAD) and critical limb ischemia (CLI) are growing at an ever-increasing rate in the Western world due to an aging population and the incidence of type II diabetes. A growing economic burden continues because these diseases are common indicators of future heart attack or stroke. Common therapies are generally limited to pharmacologic agents or endovascular therapies which have had mixed results still ending in necrosis or limb loss. Therapeutic angiogenic strategies have become welcome options for patients suffering from PAD due to the restoration of blood flow in the extremities. Capillary sprouting and a return to normoxic tissue states are also demonstrated by the use of angiogenic cytokines in conjunction with bone marrow cell populations. To this point, it has been determined that spatial and temporal controlled release of growth factors from vehicles provides a greater therapeutic and angiogenic effect than growth factors delivered intramuscularly, intravenously, or intraarterialy due to rapid metabolization of the cytokine, and non-targeted release. Furthermore, bone marrow cells have been implicated to enhance angiogenesis in numerous ischemic diseases due to their ability to secrete angiogenic cytokines and their numerous cell fractions present which are implicated to promote mature vessel formation. Use of angiogenic peptides, in conjunction with bone marrow cells, has been hypothesized in EPC mobilization from the periphery and marrow tissues to facilitate neovessel formation. For this purpose, controlled release of angiogenic peptides basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was performed using tunable ionic gelatin hydrogels or fibrin scaffolds with ionic albumin microspheres. The proliferation of endothelial cell culture was determined to have an enhanced effect based on altering concentrations of growth factors and method of release: co-delivery versus sequential. Scaffolds with these angiogenic peptides were implanted in young balb/c mice that underwent unilateral hindlimb ischemia by ligation and excision of the femoral artery. Endpoints for hindlimb reperfusion and angiogenesis were determined by Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging and immunohistochemical staining for capillaries (CD-31) and smooth muscle cells (alpha-SMA). In addition to controlled release of angiogenic peptides, further studies combined the use of a fibrin co-delivery scaffold with FGF-2 and G-CSF with bone marrow stem cell transplantation to enhance vessel formation following CLI. Endpoints also included lipophilic vascular painting to evaluate the extent of angiogenesis and arteriogenesis in an ischemic hindlimb. Tissue engineering strategies utilizing bone marrow cells and angiogenic peptides demonstrate improved hindlimb blood flow compared to BM cells or cytokines alone, as well as enhanced angiogenesis based on immunohistochemical staining and vessel densities.

The sensitivity of biological studies performed between 190 and 650 nm is greatly reduced due to the autofluorescence of biomolecules and impurities in this region. Therefore, the enhanced signal-to-noise ratios encountered at longer wavelengths makes biological analysis within the near infrared (NIR) region from 650 nm to 1100 nm far more advantageous. This dissertation describes the noncovalent binding interactions of near-infrared (NIR) carbocyanine dyes with human serum albumin (HSA) and poly-L-lysine (PLL) using UV-Vis/NIR absorption spectroscopy, emission spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), and fluorescence detected circular dichroism (FDCD). The optical spectroscopy methods used in this work are described in detail in Chapter 1. The various applications of NIR dyes in protein analysis are introduced in Chapter 2. In general, the sensitivity of cyanines to the polarity of their local environment makes them quite suitable for protein labeling schemes. In aqueous media, cyanines have a high propensity for self-association. Yet in the hydrophobic binding sites of globular proteins, these aggregates often dissipate. Absorption and emission spectroscopy can be utilized to observe the differential spectral properties of monomer, intra-molecular and intermolecular aggregates. In Chapter 3, the photophysical properties of bis(cyanine) NIR dyes containing di-, tri-, and tetraethylene glycol linkers were each examined in the presence of HSA are discussed. Variations in chain length as well as probe flexibility were demonstrated through distinct differences in absorption and emission spectra. The observed changes in the spectral properties of the NIR dyes in the presence and absence of HSA were correlated to the physical parameters of the probes' local environment (i.e., protein binding sites and self-association). All three bis-cyanines examined exhibited enhanced fluorescence in the presence of HSA. The bis-cyanine dye containing the tri(ethylene glycol) spacer allowed for a complete overlap of the benzene rings, to form π-π interactions which were observed as intra-molecular H-aggregate bands. The dye exhibited no fluorescence in buffer, owing to the H-aggregation observed in the absorption data. In the presence of HSA, the intra-molecular dimers were disrupted and fluorescence was then detected. The "cut-on" fluorescence displayed by the dye in the presence of HSA made it ideal for noncovalent labeling applications. The utility of several NIR dyes for use as secondary structural probes was investigated in Chapter 4. NIR dyes were screened thoroughly using UV-Vis/NIR absorption spectroscopy dyes with spectral properties which were sensitive to protein secondary structure models of such as PLL in basic solution. Two NIR dyes were found to be quite sensitive to the structural features of uncharged α- and β-PLL. The chiral discrimination of these probes for basic protein secondary structures was also evaluated through CD measurements within the NIR probes' absorption bands.

El conocimiento de las interacciones entre célula/proteína/biomaterial es fundamental para la ingeniería de superficies debido a las numerosas aplicaciones biomédicas y biotecnológicas que se están desarrollando así como al éxito clínico que han alcanzado muchos implantes. La respuesta biológica final inducida por los implantes está fuertemente influenciada por las interacciones superficiales entre los componentes biológicos y el material sintético. Las propiedades físicas y químicas de la superficie de un biomaterial, en lugar de las propiedades en su masa, influyen directamente en la capa de proteínas que se adsorben sobre el biomaterial y, como consecuencia de ello, en la respuesta celular a la misma, tanto in vitro como in vivo.El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es profundizar en el conocimiento de las interacciones material-biosistema, con el énfasis en el descubrimiento de relaciones entre las propiedades superficiales de las superficies de titanio y su respuesta biológica in vitro.El titanio comercialmente puro (Ti c.p.) está siendo ampliamente utilizado con éxito durante muchos años como biomaterial para implantes en cirugía ósea. Su excelente biocompatibilidad se basa en sus adecuadas propiedades mecánicas y, con mayor importancia, en su excelente resistencia a la corrosión. Esta última se debe principalmente a la formación espontanea de una fina película de óxido de titanio que le confiere protección natural contra los ataques degradativos. La modificación de la topografía de la superficie del titanio ha sido objeto de investigación en el pasado con el fin de mejorar la osteointegración. El granallado de partículas es una de las tecnologías más utilizadas para conferir rugosidad a las superficies del titanio. La rugosidad óptima y el tipo de partículas abrasivas del granallado para una respuesta óptima in vitro e in vivo fue previamente determinada en nuestro laboratorio. Sin embargo, todavía están por determinar cuáles son las causas últimas que llevan al biomaterial a su exitosa respuesta biológica.En este trabajo se han estudiado superficies pulidas y rugosas de Ti c.p. obtenidas mediante el granallado con partículas abrasivas de diferente composición química(Al2O3 y SiC) y diferentes tamaños (212-300μm; 425-600μm; 1000-1400μm). La completa caracterización de las propiedades física y química de la superficie, incluyendo la rugosidad, la composición química, la mojabilidad/energía libre y la carga eléctrica de las superficies ensayadas ha llevado a una serie de relevantes conclusiones. Entre ellas, cabe destacar que a) la composición química de las partículas de granallado, así como el método de esterilización fueron los principales factores que influyeron en la mojabilidad y la energía libre superficial de las superficies de titanio estudiadas, b) el método de esterilización cambió en la energía superficial el carácter de donante de electrones de las superficies mediante el cambio de la cantidad y la naturaleza de las sustancias adsorbidas, y c) la composición química de las partículas de granallado no influyó en la carga eléctrica a pH fisiológico ni en el punto isoeléctrico de las superficies.Un segundo paso consistió en el uso de una microbalanza de cristal de cuarzo con monitorización de la energía de disipación, para el estudio de la cinética de adsorción (cantidad y conformación) y de los procesos de adsorción competitiva de tres proteínas de especial interés en los procesos de curación del hueso - la albúmina de suero bovino (BSA), el fibrinógeno (Fbg), y la fibronectina (Fn)- en sensores lisos recubiertos de TiO2. Se determinaron diferentes modelos de procesos de adsorción con una, dos o múltiples pasos distinguibles en función de las proteínas en solución. La capa adsorbida de BSA mostró los cambios más significativos en sus propiedades mecánicas, de conformación y de incorporación de agua hasta que se alcanzaron las condiciones estables de adsorción de proteínas. La BSA, la más pequeña de las proteínas ensayadas, desplazó la Fn y el Fbg cuando se ensayó en condiciones de la competencia por la adsorción, indicando su mayor afinidad por las superficies de TiO2. También se emplearon técnicas de marcaje fluorescente para el estudio de la adsorción proteica en superficies rugosas granalladas. En este estudio, por un parte, se pudo determinar que la cantidad de Fn y BSA adsorbidas en las superficies granalladas está directamente correlacionada con su energía superficial. Por otra parte, se visualizó la adsorción de fibronectina en solución sobre muestras granalladas rugosas de Ti. La Fn formó un patrón irregular de adsorción con una mayor cantidad de proteína adsorbida en los picos que en los valles de la topografía.También se evaluó la organización espacial de la matriz extracelular de los osteoblastos, ECM, sobre superficies de Ti lisas y rugosas por medio de la visualización de las fibrillas de Fn teñidas con marcador fluorescente. Las células osteoblásticas depositaron las fibrillas de Fn con un determinado patrón organizado dentro de la matriz total secretada. Aparecen como una película que cubre la parte superior de las diferentes superficies rugosas de titanio. Un resultado relevante es que el espesor de esta capa aumentó con la rugosidad de la topografía subyacente. Sin embargo no más de la mitad de la máxima distancia pico-valle se cubrió con la proteína secretada y/o reorganizada.Por último, teniendo en cuenta las diferencias en la organización de la ECM y laadsorción de Fn en las superficies ensayadas de Ti, se realizó un estudio de qRT-PCR para determinar la influencia de las propiedades superficiales del titanio, con y sin preadsorción de Fn, en la respuesta osteoblástica. La expresión génica de la subunidad 5 de la integrina celular, como marcador de la adhesión celular, se incrementó en las superficies granalladas con SiC en comparación con las granalladas con alúmina. Este resultado fue correlacionado con la mayor cantidad de Fn adsorbida debido a la mayor energía superficial de las superficies granalladas con SiC. El aumento de la rugosidad, así como la presencia de partículas de alúmina en las superficies rugosas incrementó la actividad de ALP y la expresión génica de ALP mRNA por los osteoblastos, y por lo tanto su diferenciación. / The understanding of cell/protein/biomaterial interactions is critical to the engineering of substrates for numerous biomedical and biotechnological applications and to the clinical success of implants. The final biological response induced by implants is strongly influenced by the biological-components/synthetic-material surface interactions. It is well accepted that the physical and chemical surface properties of a biomaterial rather than its bulk properties will influence the protein adlayer and then the cell response to it, both in vitro and in vivo.The aim of this PhD thesis is to gain an increased understanding of the materialbiosystem interactions, with an emphasis on establishing correlations between surface properties of titanium surfaces and its in vitro biological response.Commercially pure titanium (c.p. Ti) is being widely and successfully used implant biomaterial in bone surgery over many years. Its excellent biocompatibility is based in its appropriate mechanical properties and, more importantly, in its excellent corrosion resistance, which is mainly due to the presence of a naturally-occurring thin protective titanium oxide film. Modification of titanium surface topography has been a subject of research in the past with the purpose of improving its osseointegration. Grit blasting is one of the most used technologies to roughen titanium surfaces for this purpose. The optimal roughness and type of abrasive blasting-particles for a better in vitro and in vivo response was previously determined in our lab. However, which and how different relevant surface properties of the blasted titanium surfaces induce that optimal biological behavior is still poorly understood.Smooth/polished and rough c.p. Ti surfaces obtained by blasting with abrasiveparticles of different chemical composition (Al2O3 and SiC) and different sizes (212-300μm; 425-600μm; 1000-1400μm) were studied. The comprehensive characterization of physical and chemical surface properties, including roughness, chemical composition, wettability/free energy and electrical charge of the tested surfaces led to a series of relevant conclusions. Among them, it is worth noting that a) the chemical composition of the grit-blasting particles as well as the method of sterilization were found the main factors influencing wettability and surface free energy of the titanium surfaces; b) the sterilization method changed the electron donor character of the surfaces by changing the amount/nature of physisorbed substances on the surfaces, and c) the chemical composition of the blasting particles did not influence on the electrical charge at physiological pH and the isoelectric point of the surfaces.A second step consisted in the use of a quartz crystal microbalance with monitoring of the energy dissipation to study the adsorption kinetics (amount and conformation) and adsorption competition processes of three proteins of special interest in the healing processes of bone -bovine serum albumin (BSA), fibrinogen (Fbg), and fibronectin (Fn)-on smooth TiO2-coated sensors. Different patterns of adsorption with processes in one, two or multiple distinguishable steps were determined depending of the protein in solution. The BSA adlayers showed the most significant changes in their mechanical properties/conformation/incorporation of water until steady protein-adsorption conditions were reached. BSA, the smallest of the tested proteins, displaced Fn and Fbg when in competition for adsorption, which is an indication of its higher affinity for TiO2 surfaces. Fluorescent labelling techniques where used to study protein adsorption on blasted rough surfaces. Most significantly, the amount of Fn and BSA adsorbed on blasted surfaces was positively correlated with their surface energy. The adsorption of fibronectin from solution on shot-blasted rough titanium surfaces resulted in an irregular pattern of adsorption with a higher amount of protein adsorbed on peaks than on valleys of the topography.Further, the spatial organization of the osteoblast extracellular matrix, ECM, on smooth and rough Ti surfaces was evaluated by visualizing fluorescently-stained Fn-fibrils. Osteoblast-like cells deposited Fn- fibrils in a specific facet-like pattern that was organized within the secreted total matrix. It appeared as a film overlying the top of the different rough titanium surfaces. Interestingly, the thickness of this layer increased with the roughness of the underlying topography, but no more than half of the total maximum peak-to-alley distance was covered.Finally, taking into consideration the differences in ECM organization and Fn adsorption on the tested Ti surfaces a qRT-PCR study was carried out to elucidate the influence of titanium surface properties with and without Fn-precoatings on the osteoblast response. The expression of 5 integrin subunit gene, as a marker for cell adhesion, was increased in SiC-blasted surfaces compared to alumina-blasted surfaces. This was related to the higher amount of adhesive-protein Fn adsorbed caused by the higher surface energy of SiC-blasted surfaces. The increase of roughness as well as the presence of alumina particles on blasted surfaces increased ALP activity and ALP mRNA gene expression by osteoblasts, and so their differentiation.This research work contribute to increase our knowledge on the interactions taking place at the bio/non-bio interface between different biological components -water, proteins, cells- and materials of clinical relevance, such as rough titanium. Theintertwined effects of the different properties of the synthetic surfaces appear as a challenge to unravel the ultimate causes that determine the fate of cells on synthetic biomaterials.

Reliable analytical tools are important for time efficient and economical process development, production and batch release of pharmaceuticals. Therapeutics recovered from human plasma, called plasma protein products, involve a large pharmaceutical industry of plasma fractionation. In plasma fractionation of human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) and albumin (HSA) recommended analysis techniques are regulated by the European Pharmacopoeia and are including total protein concentration assays and zone electrophoresis for protein composition and purity. These techniques are robust, but more efficient techniques with higher resolution, specificity and less hands-on time are available. Surface plasmon resonance is an optical method to study biomolecular interactions label-free in real time. This technology was used in this master thesis to set up assays using Biacore systems for quantification of HSA and hIgG from all steps of chromatographic plasma fractionation as a tool for process development and in-process control. The analyses have simplified mass balance calculations to a high extent as they imply specific detection of the proteins compared with using total protein detection. The assays have a low hands-on time and are very simple to perform and the use of one master calibration curve during a full week decreases analysis time to a minimum. Quick, in-process control quantification of one sample is easily obtained within <10 minutes. For final QC of hIgG or for process development, an assay to quantify the distribution of the IgG subclasses (1-4) was set up on Biacore and showed significantly lower hands-on time compared with a commercial ELISA. All assays showed reliable quantification and identification performed in unattended runs with high precision, accuracy and sensitivity.

Combinatorial protein engineering, taking advantage of large libraries of protein variants and powerful selection technology, is a useful strategy for developing affinity proteins for applications in biotechnology and medicine. In this thesis, two small affinity proteins have been subjected to combinatorial protein engineering to improve or redirect the binding. In two of the projects, a three-helix protein domain based on staphylococcal protein A has been used as scaffold to generate so called Affibody molecules capable of binding to key proteins related to two diseases common among elderly people. In the first project, Affibody molecules were selected using phage display technology for binding to Ab-peptides, believed to play a crucial role in Alzheimer’s disease, in that they can oligomerize and contribute to the formation of neural plaques in the brain. The selected Affibody molecules were found to efficiently capture Ab from spiked human plasma when coupled to an affinity resin. The structure of the complex was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and demonstrated that the original helix 1 in the two Affibody molecules was unfolded upon binding, forming intermolecular b-sheets that stabilized the Ab peptide as buried in a tunnel-like cavity. Interestingly, the complex structure also revealed that the Affibody molecules were found to homo-dimerize via a disulfide bridge and bind monomeric Ab-peptide with a 2:1 stoichiometry. Furthermore, Affibody molecule-mediated inhibition of Ab fibrillation in vitro, suggested a potential of selected binders for future therapeutic applications. In the second project, two different selection systems were used to isolate Affibody molecules binding to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), which is involved in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Both selection systems, phage display and Gram-positive bacterial display, could successfully generate TNF-binding molecules, with equilibrium dissociation constants (KD) in the picomolar to nanomolar range. Initial characterization of the binding to TNF was evaluated by competitive binding studies between the Affibody molecules and clinically approved TNF antagonists (adaliumumab, infliximab and etanercept) and demonstrated overlapping binding sites with both adaliumumab and etanercept. Furthermore, linkers of different lengths were introduced between Affibody moieties, in dimeric and trimeric constructs that were evaluated for their ability to block the binding between TNF and a recombinant form of its receptor. In the dimeric constructs, a linker length of 20-40 amino acids seemed to have an advantage compared to shorter and longer linkers, and the tested trimeric construct could block the TNF binding at even lower concentration. The results provided valuable information for the design of future Affibody-based molecules that could be investigated in therapeutic or medical imaging applications. In the third project aiming to generate a protein domain with capacity to influence the pharmacokinetics of protein therapeutics, a natural serum albumin-binding domain (ABD) was subjected to an engineering effort aiming at improving the affinity to human serum albumin (HSA), a protein with an exceptional long half-life in serum (19 days). First-generation affinity improved ABD variants were selected using phage display technology from a constructed ABD library. After additional rational engineering of such first generation variants, one variant with a 10,000-fold improved affinity to HSA (KD ≈ 120 fM) was obtained. Furthermore, characterization of this molecule also demonstrated improved affinity to several other serum albumins. When used as a gene fusion partner, this affinity-maturated variant denoted ABD035, should have the potential to extend the half-life of biopharmaceuticals in humans, and several other animal species. / QC 20100722

In this thesis, a direct method of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique has been developed to measure the adhesion forces between BSA and two different surfaces: mica (a hydrophilic surface); and polystyrene (a hydrophobic surface); in PBS solution. We have shown possible to measure interactions between proteins and substrate surface directly without any modification to the substrate and the AFM tip; this means protein molecules can keep the natural elastic property within the force measurements. The average measured value of adhesion forces between BSA and mica is 0.036 ± 0.002 nN, and between BSA and polystyrene is 0.066 ± 0.003 nN. The polystyrene surface is more adhesive to BSA than the mica surface. This is consistent with previous research, which assessed that hydrophobic surfaces enhance protein adhesion but hydrophilic surfaces do not.