| 1. |
- Barbosa, Simone C., et al.
(author)
-
The Importance of Cyclic Structure for Labaditin on Its Antimicrobial Activity Against Staphylococcus aureus
- 2016
-
In: Colloids and Surfaces B. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-7765 .- 1873-4367. ; 148, s. 453-459
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Antimicrobial resistance has reached alarming levels in many countries, thus leading to a search for new classes of antibiotics, such as antimicrobial peptides whose activity is exerted by interacting specifically with the microorganism membrane. In this study, we investigate the molecular-level mechanism of action for Labaditin (Lo), a 10-amino acid residue cyclic peptide from Jatropha multifida with known bactericidal activity againstStreptococcus mutans. We show that Lo is also effective against Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus) but this does not apply to its linear analogue (L1). Using polarization-modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), we observed with that the secondary structure of Lo was preserved upon interacting with Langmuir monolayers from a phospholipid mixture mimicking S. aureus membrane, in contrast to L1. This structure preservation for the rigid, cyclic Lo is key for the self-assembly of peptide nanotubes that induce pore formation in large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs), according to permeability assays and dynamic light scattering measurements. In summary, the comparison between Labaditin (Lo) and its linear analogue L1 allowed us to infer that the bactericidal activity of Lo is more related to its interaction with the membrane. It does not require specific metabolic targets, which makes cyclic peptides promising for antibiotics without bacteria resistance.
|
|
| 2. |
- Costa, Luciano da F, et al.
(author)
-
Analyzing and modeling real-world phenomena with complex networks: a survey of applications
- 2011
-
In: Advances in Physics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0001-8732 .- 1460-6976. ; 60:3, s. 329-412
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The success of new scientific areas can be assessed by their potential in contributing to new theoretical approaches and in applications to real-world problems. Complex networks have fared extremely well in both of these aspects, with their sound theoretical basis being developed over the years and with a variety of applications. In this survey, we analyze the applications of complex networks to real-world problems and data, with emphasis in representation, analysis and modeling. A diversity of phenomena are surveyed, which may be classified into no less than 11 areas, providing a clear indication of the impact of the field of complex networks.
|
|
| 3. |
- Graça, Juliana Santos, et al.
(author)
-
On the importance of controlling film architecture in detecting prostate specific antigen
- 2018
-
In: Applied Surface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-4332 .- 1873-5584. ; 434, s. 1175-1182
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Immunosensors made with nanostructured films are promising for detecting cancer biomarkers, even at early stages of the disease, but this requires control of film architecture to preserve the biological activity of immobilized antibodies. In this study, we used electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to detect Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) with immunosensors produced with layer-by-layer (LbL) films containing anti-PSA antibodies in two distinct film architectures. The antibodies were either adsorbed from solutions in which they were free, or from solutions where they were incorporated into liposomes of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl glycerol (DPPG). Incorporation into DPPG liposomes was confirmed with surface plasmon resonance experiments, while the importance of electrostatic interactions on the electrical response was highlighted using the Finite Difference Time-Domain Method (FDTD). The sensitivity of both architectures was sufficient to detect the threshold value to diagnose prostate cancer (ca. 4 ng mL−1). In contrast to expectation, the sensor with the antibodies incorporated into DPPG liposomes had lower sensitivity, though the range of concentrations amenable to detection increased, according to the fitting of the EIS data using the Langmuir-Freundlich adsorption model. The performance of the two film architectures was compared qualitatively by plotting the data with a multidimensional projection technique, which constitutes a generic approach for optimizing immunosensors and other types of sensors.
|
|
| 4. |
- Pavinatto, Adriana, et al.
(author)
-
Experimental evidence for the mode of action based on electrostatic and hydrophobic forces to explain interaction between chitosans and phospholipid Langmuir monolayers
- 2016
-
In: Colloids and Surfaces B. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-7765 .- 1873-4367. ; 145, s. 201-207
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The interaction between chitosans and Langmuir monolayers mimicking cell membranes has been explained with an empirical scheme based on electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, but so far this has been tested only for dimyristoyl phosphatidic acid (DMPA). In this paper, we show that the mode of action in such a scheme is also valid for dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC) and dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl glycerol (DPPG), whose monolayers were expanded and their compressibility modulus decreased by interacting with chitosans. In general, the effects were stronger for the negatively charged DPPG in comparison to DPPC, and for the low molecular weight chitosan (LMWChi) which was better able to penetrate into the hydrophobic chains than the high molecular weight chitosan (Chi). Penetration into the hydrophobic chains was confirmed with polarization-modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. A slight reduction in conformational order of the lipid chains induced by the chitosans was quantitatively estimated by measuring the ratio between the intensities of the methyl (r+) and methylene (d+) peaks in the SFG spectra for DPPG. The ratio decreased from 35.6 for the closely packed DPPG monolayer to 7.0 and 6.6 for monolayers containing Chi and LMWChi, respectively. Since in both cases there was a significant phospholipid monolayer expansion, the incorporation of chitosans led to chitosan-rich and lipid-rich condensed domains, which mantained conformational order for their hydrophobic tails. The stronger effects from LMWChi are ascribed to an easier access to the hydrophobic tails, as corroborated by measuring aggregation in solution with dynamic light scattering, where the hydrodynamic radius for LMWChi was close to half of that for Chi. Taken together, the results presented here confirm that the same mode of action applies to different phospholipids that are important constituents of mammalian (DPPC) and bacterial (DPPG) cell membranes.
|
|
| 5. |
- Thapa, Anshu, et al.
(author)
-
Carbon Nanotube Matrix for Highly Sensitive Biosensors To Detect Pancreatic Cancer Biomarker CA19-9
- 2017
-
In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 9:31, s. 25878-25886
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biosensors fabricated with nanomaterials promise faster, cheaper, and more efficient alternatives to traditional, often bulky devices for early cancer diagnosis. In this study, we fabricated a thin film sensing unit on interdigitated gold electrodes combining polyethyleneimine and carbon nanotubes in a layer by layer fashion, onto which antibodies anti-CA19-9 were adsorbed with a supporting layer of N-hydroxysuccini-mide and 1-ethyl-3 (3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide solution. By use of impedance spectroscopy, the pancreatic cancer biomarker CA19-9 was detected in a buffer with limit of detection of 0.35 U/mL. This high sensitivity allowed for distinction between samples of blood serum from patients with distinct probabilities to develop pancreatic cancer. The selectivity of the biosensor was confirmed in subsidiary experiments with HT-29 and SW-620 cell lines and possible interferents, e.g., p53 protein, ascorbic acid, and glucose, where significant changes in capacitance could only be measured with HT-29 that contained the CA19-9 biomarker. Chemisorption of CA19-9 molecules onto the layer of anti-CA19-9 antibodies was the mechanism responsible for sensing while electrostatic interactions drove the adsorption of carbon nanotubes, according to polarization modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). The adsorption behavior was successfully described by the Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm.
|
|
| 6. |
- Volpati, Diogo, et al.
(author)
-
Semifluorinated thiols in Langmuir monolayers : A study by nonlinear and linear vibrational spectroscopies
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0021-9797 .- 1095-7103. ; 460, s. 290-302
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A series of semifluorinated thiols of the general formula CmF2m+1CnH2nSH (abbr. FmHnSH) have been synthesized and characterized in Langmuir monolayers with surface pressure-area isotherms, complemented with polarization-modulated reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and sum-frequency generation (SFG) techniques. A comparative analysis was performed for compounds having the same length of fluorinated segment (F-10) and variable length of the hydrogenated part (H-6, H-10, H-12), and having identical hydrogenated segment (H-12) connected to a fluorinated moiety of different lengths (F-6, F-8, F10). For the sake of comparison, an alkanethiol (H18SH) was also examined, and F10H10COOH and F10H10OH molecules were used for helping the assignment of SFG spectra of CH stretches. SFG was applied to investigate the hydrocarbon chain and the terminal CF3 group, while PM-IRRAS was used to probe CF2 groups. The number of gauche defects in the hydrocarbon chain increased with the increasing length of the molecule, either by elongation of the hydrogenated or perflu-orinated part. SFG measurements recorded at three polarization combinations (ppp, ssp, sps) enabled us to estimate the tilt angle of the terminal CF3 group in semifluorinated thiol molecules as ranging from 35 to 45, which is consistent with nearly vertical fluorinated segments. Upon increasing the surface pressure, the fluorinated segment gets slightly more upright, but the hydrocarbon chain tilt increases while keeping the same average number of gauche defects. The extent of disorder in the hydrogenated segment may be controlled by varying the size of the fluorinated segment, and this could be exploited for designing functionalized surfaces with insertion of other molecules in the defect region.
|
|
| 7. |
- Volpati, Diogo, et al.
(author)
-
Vibrational spectroscopy for probing molecular-level interactions in organic films mimicking biointerfaces
- 2014
-
In: Advances in Colloid and Interface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0001-8686 .- 1873-3727. ; 207:Special Issue: Helmuth Möhwald Honorary Issue, s. 199-215
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Investigation into nanostructured organic films has served many purposes, including the design of functionalized surfaces that may be applied in biomedical devices and tissue engineering and for studying physiological processes depending on the interaction with cell membranes. Of particular relevance are Langmuir monolayers, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and layer-by-layer (LbL) films used to simulate biological interfaces. In this review, we shall focus on the use of vibrational spectroscopy methods to probe molecular-level interactions at biomimetic interfaces, with special emphasis on three surface-specific techniques, namely sum frequency generation (SFG), polarization-modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The two types of systems selected for exemplifying the potential of the methods are the cell membrane models and the functionalized surfaces with biomolecules. Examples will be given on how SFG and PM-IRRAS can be combined to determine the effects from biomolecules on cell membrane models, which include determination of the orientation and preservation of secondary structure. Crucial information for the action of biomolecules on model membranes has also been obtained with PM-IRRAS, as is the case of chitosan removing proteins from the membrane. SERS will be shown as promising for enabling detection limits down to the single-molecule level. The strengths and limitations of these methods will also be discussed, in addition to the prospects for the near future.
|
|
