Doxorubicin (DOX) and Pluronic-PAA interaction was investigated using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). DOX/polymer interaction is governed primarily by electrostatic interaction. The uptake of DOX results in the formation of insoluble polymer/DOX complex. Addition of salt weakens the interaction of drug and polymer by charge shielding effect between positive ionized amino group on DOX and oppositely charged polymer chains. However high drug-loading capacity in high salt condition implied that self-association property of DOX also play a role in the drug loading process. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Gaucher’s disease (GD) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder which is caused by a mutation in the gene encoding acid β-glucocerebrosidase (GBA, EC 3.2.1.45). Deficient activity in GBA leads to a wide variety of clinical phenotypes, including visceral symptoms such as hepatospenomegaly as well as neurological symptoms. Current enzyme replacement therapy is effective in treating visceral symptoms but cannot cross the blood-brain barrier to target neurological manifestations. Another drawback to current therapy is the high cost to patients due to present protein expression strategies. Recently, protein transduction domains, such as the synthetic PTD4 domain, have been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for drug delivery to the central nervous system. In the present study, we use an economical yeast expression system, Pichia pastoris, to produce a recombinant fusion protein GBA-PTD4, and semi-preparative hydrophobic interaction chromatography and gel filtration chromatography for purification. Results show that final preparations are near homogenous, with GBA-PTD4 accounting for approximately 76% of total protein and only one major contaminant. A cell line expressing GBA without a transduction domain was also created in anticipation of further cellular uptake studies. Future research will focus on large scale enzyme expression in fermentation systems and more direct purification methods such as immunoaffinity chromatography for better protein recovery. / Graduate

The hydrophobic interaction refers to a mutually attractive force experienced by hydrophobic surfaces or molecules across water. At the molecular scale, it drives the selfassembly of lipid vesicles and micelles and accelerates interfacial chemical reactions. At the macroscale, it confers upon numerous plants and insects the ability to repel water and is harnessed in practical applications, such as water-proofing and desalination. However, despite its ubiquity and significance, mechanistic insights into the hydrophobic interaction between macroscopic surfaces remain unclear. A significant body of experimental data on surface force measurements exists, which were obtained following this protocol: hydrophobic molecules (typically organosilanes) are physisorbed onto molecularly smooth mica films that are glued onto transparent rigid silica discs and driven towards each other while measuring forces and distances. We developed a protocol for functionalizing mica surfaces with perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS) to achieve robust, ultra-smooth hydrophobic surfaces. Then we investigated the consequences of nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) in water on the hydrophobic interaction. Whereas NQEs are known to influence physical and chemical properties of water, their impact on the hydrophobic interaction has remained largely unexplored. We find that the attractive forces between FDTS-coated mica surfaces were ~ 10% higher in light water (H2O) than in heavy water (D2O) even though macroscopic measurables, such as the interfacial tensions and contact angles are indistinguishable. This is the first-ever experimental demonstration of nuclear quantum effects at play in modulating hydrophobic surface forces. Towards practical applications, we investigated the partitioning of small, amphiphilic molecules onto our molecularly smooth FDTS-coated mica films. These scenarios are relevant in wastewater treatment, bioresource processing, fermenter broths, and food & beverage industries. Water-soluble short chain alcohols (ethanol) readily partitioned onto FDTS surfaces and remained attached onto the surface. The presence of alcohols was confirmed by surface force measurements, contact angle goniometry of water drops, and gas chromatography. We investigated protocols for characterizing fouled surfaces and cleaning them. These protocols were tested on realistic desalination membranes and proved effective. Thus, our findings could be used to develop robust protocols for characterizing membrane fouling and cleaning protocols in various separation processes.

Previous studies in Dr. Yang’s laboratory have established a grafting, design, and subdomain approach in order to investigate the properties behind Ca2+-binding sites located in Ca2+-binding proteins by employing engineered proteins. These approaches have not only enabled us to isolate Ca2+-binding sites and obtain their Ca2+-binding affinities, but also to investigate conformational changes and cooperativity effects upon Ca2+ binding. The focus of my thesis pertains to optimizing the expression and purification of engineered proteins with tailored functions. Proteins were expressed in E. coli using different cell strains, vectors, temperatures, and inducer concentrations. After rigorous expression optimization procedures, proteins were further purified using chromatographic and/or refolding techniques. Expression and purification optimization of proteins is essential for further analyses, since the techniques used for these studies require high protein concentrations and purity. Evaluated proteins had yields between 5-70 mg/L and purities of 80-90% as confirmed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis.

Tripeptidyl peptidase II (TPPII) is an exopeptidase which cleaves tripeptides from theN-terminus of peptides. The exact functional role of TPPII is still a matter of investigation. Itis believed that the enzyme is primarily involved in intracellular protein degradation, where itcooperates with the proteasome and other peptidases to degrade proteins into free aminoacids. These amino acids can subsequently be used in the production of new proteins. The aimof this work was to express murine wild type TPPII using E. coli and thereafter purify theenzyme from the bacterial lysate. Methods used for the purification included protein andnucleic acid precipitation, anion exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interactionchromatography and gel filtration. The presence of TPPII was determined using activityassay, western blot and SDS-PAGE. Despite the fact that some modification is still needed,the purification yielded a total of 34μg TPPII with a purity of approximately 60%. Thispurified enzyme can be used for future functional characterization.

Orientador: Cesar Costapinto Santana / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-27T02:38:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Veredas_Vinicius_M.pdf: 4752847 bytes, checksum: f01c509a2798835914e0489d2f75baac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2000 / Resumo: O crescente interesse e aplicações dos produtos biotecnológicos vem aumentando o desenvolvimento de novos processos de recuperação e purificação de proteínas. O soro de leite bovino, obtido da manufatura da caseína para a produção de queijo, é em sua maioria descartado em mananciais de água, causando sérios problemas ambientais devido a sua alta demanda biológica de oxigênio (DBO). As proteínas presentes no lactosoro apresentam um excelente valor nutritivo e farmacológico, porém, o seu uso no enriquecimento de produtos alimentícios é limitado devido a baixa concentração destas proteínas. As principais proteínas do lactosoro são: ~-Iactoglobulinas, a-Iactalbumina, albuminas de soro bovino, imunoglobulinas, lactoperoxidase, lactoferrina, lisozima e outras proteínas de menor proporção, que apresentam um alto valor agregado. A a-Iactalbumina atua no organismo estimulando os agentes do sistema imunológico por proporcionar a elevação de glutationa em vários órgãos e no sangue, resultando em benefícios para pacientes portadores de doenças degenerativas como os males de Parkinson e Alzheimer, câncer e AIDS. Neste trabalho foi estudado o processo de separação da a-Iactalbumina, através de técnicas cromatográficas empregando a metodologia de leito fixo e expandido. O leito expandido possibilita a redução nos custos do processo de purificação, eliminando etapas de separação necessárias quando o extrato apresenta material em suspensão, que é o caso dos lactosoros. Nos ensaios realizados foram estudados as melhores condições de adsorção da a-Iactalbumina visando a sua purificação empregando adsorventes de troca iônica e de interação hidrofóbica. Também foram realizados ensaios em sistemas de tanque agitados para a determinação das isotermas e cinéticas de adsorção. Neste trabalho obteve-se a a-Iactalbumina com uma pureza acima de 80% e apresentando um fator de purificação de 5 vezes utilizando as resinas de interação hidrofóbica com única etapa de purificação / Abstract: The interest and applications of biotechnology products has been increasing the development of new recovery and purification processes for proteins. The bovine milk serum, obtained from casein manufacture for cheese production, is mostly rejected into watercourse, causing problems to the environment due to its high biological oxygen demand (BOD). The proteins of milk serum have excellent nutritious and pharmaceutical value, h oweve r, its application for protein enrichment of food products is limited due to its low content in the milk serum. The main proteins of milk serum are: ~-Iactoglobulins, a-Iactalbumine, bovine serum albumine, immunoglobulins, lactoperoxidase, lactoferrin, lisozime and other lower content proteins which have a high aggregate value. The a-Iactalbumine acts in the human organism by stimulating the agents of the immunologycal system due to increasing on glutathione levei in several organs and blood, resulting in benefits for patients of some diseases like Parkinson and Alzheimer's iII, cancer and AIDS. It was studied in this work the separation processes of a-Iactalbumine, by chromatographic techniques making use of fixed and expanded bed methods. The expanded bed enables cost reduction on purification process by reducing separation steps used for removing suspended solids, as in case of milk serum extracts. In our experiments were studied the adsorption conditions of alactalbumine aiming at its purification by using ionic exchange and hydrophobic interaction adsorbents. Other experiments were accomplished at stirred tank systems for the determination of isotherms and adsorption kinetics. It was obtained, in this work, an a-Iactalbumine purity higher than 80%, with a five fold purification factor by using the hydrophobic interaction resins in a single purification ste / Mestrado / Desenvolvimento de Processos Biotecnologicos / Mestre em Engenharia Química

In frame work of this diploma thesis, monolithic stationary phases based on hydroxymethylmethacrylate were prepared in fused silica capillaries of 320 μm innerdiameter. Monolithic columns were synthesized by a simple procedure using a polymerization mixture, consisting of a monomer N-(hydroxymethyl) methacrylamide (HMMAA), a croslinking agent ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), porogenic solvents butane- 1,4-diol, propane-1-ol and an initiator α,α′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). Prepared HMMA monolithic columns were utilized for separation of mixtures of biologically active compounds, namely peptides with small number of amino acids. Mechanical strength and specific permeability were determined for selected monolithic columns. Keywords: HPLC, HILIC mechanism, hydroxymethyl methacrylate (HMMA) monolithic columns, amino acid, enkephalins.

Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is a common purification method for biological drug substances. For continuous monitoring the quality of the purification, a column performance test is carried out to test the packing of the resin. The packing integrity is commonly tested between runs by measuring the Hight Equivalent to a Theoretical Plate (HETP) by injecting a small volume of a tracer solution (spike) that gives a change in conductivity. The column performance test provides useful information regarding the packing quality that could be used for troubleshooting before a purification is performed since a well packed gel is essential for an effective purification. During this thesis project a screening of suitable test conditions for a HETP test for a HIC column was performed. The developed HETP test were then investigated if it could be combined with the storage of the resin or if the packing is affected by the test conditions. Factors such as spike volume, flow rate and the concentration of the elute and spike solution, were considered. 0.1 M NaOH elute and 0.15 M NaCl as spike solution gave the best result based on HETP and the asymmetry of the conductivity peak. A test purification with the new HETP test conditions compared with the old method were then carried out to verify that the quality of the purification is not affected. The purification showed promising result and implementation of a more convenient storage solution and HETP test would be possible without changing the product quality.

No description available.

Sample preparation is the most time-consuming and error-prone step in chemical analysis. Miniaturization and automation of the sample preparation equipment eliminating or reducing the use of hazardous organic solvents, online hyphenation of sample preparation with analytical instruments in a cost-effective way are important factors that need to be considered to design and implement innovative sample preparation techniques and strategies. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a simple, environmentally benign technique well suited for hyphenation with analytical instruments. However, poor coating stability is a significant drawback of SPME employing conventionally prepared coatings. This shortcoming arises from the lack of chemical bonding between the sorbent coating and the substrate. Introduction of sol-gel coatings in SPME greatly improved thermal stability and solvent stability in SPME, by providing direct chemical bonding between substrate and the sol-gel coating. In traditional fiber format of SPME (where the sorbent coating is placed on the outer surface of an end-segment of the fiber) the coating remains vulnerable to mechanical damage. Capillary microextraction (CME), the capillary format of SPME (also known as in-tube SPME), allows to overcome this shortcoming by securing the sorbent coating on inner walls of the capillary. This dissertation focuses on the development and systematic investigation of novel silica- and germania-based perfluorinated and non-fluorinated sol-gel sorbents in the form of CME surface coatings: their preparation, material characterization, CME performance evaluation, preconcentration and recovery of various analytes including environmental pollutants. This research established that germania-based sol-gel sorbents are characterized by superior microextraction performance than analogous silica-based sorbents. This enhanced performance provided by germania-based sol-gel sorbents may be explained based on thermogravimetric analysis suggests that higher carbon loading on germania-based sol-gel sorbents. Germania-based phenyl- (Ph), phenethyl- (PhE), octyl- (C8), octadecyl- (C18) and cyclohexenylethyl- (ChE) ligand-containing sol-gel sorbents were prepared and various pollutants with aromatic rings (such as aromatic ketones, aldehydes and polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons) were extracted and analyzed by CME-GC and CME-HPLC. It was observed that sol-gel sorbents containing aromatic ligands (PhE and Ph) provided superior microextraction performance for the analytes with aromatic ring(s) in their structure, than the sorbents with aliphatic ligands (C8 and C18). Investigation of sol-gel sorbents containing hydrophobic perfluorooctyl (PF-C8) and perfluorododecyl (PF-C12) ligands revealed that PF-C8 and PF-C12 sol-gel sorbents provided ~ 3 times higher microextraction efficiency (measure in terms of specific extraction, SE) than corresponding non-fluorinated counterparts, C8- and C12-, respectively. The synthesis and design of silica- and germania-based dual ligands sol-gel sorbents simultaneously providing superhydrophobicity and π-π interactions with analytes represent a significant accomplishment of this research. Such sorbents contained a PF-C12 and PhE ligands incorporated in sorbent chemical structure. In this case, perfluoro- group provided enhanced hydrophobic interaction and PhE group provided π-π interaction with the analytes. Combination of such interactions proved to be quite effective in the microextraction of alkylbenzenes and related compounds. Dual-ligand sol-gel sorbents with both equimolar and non-equimolar ligand concentrations were prepared. Experimentally it was established that sorbents with higher perfluorinated alkyl ligand concentrations had higher affinity for aliphatic hydrocarbons; however; when PhE concentration was higher, the dual-ligand sorbent showed enhanced affinity for aromatic compounds. The prepared sol-gel sorbents were characterized by less than 5% run-to-run RSD values, and also less than 5% capillary-to-capillary RSD values, which indicate that the sol-gel technique used in sorbent preparation was highly reproducible. The prepared sol-gel sorbents also showed that their performance does not deteriorate under aqueous saline matrix; therefore, it could be useful in the microextraction of pollutants from ocean water.