3 research outputs found
Manipulation of Biomolecular Interactions with Molecular Glues and Their Biomedical Applications
Caged Molecular Glues as Photoactivatable Tags for Nuclear Translocation of Guests in Living Cells
We
developed dendritic caged molecular glues (<sup>Caged</sup>Glue-R)
as tags for nucleus-targeted drug delivery, whose multiple guanidinium
ion (Gu<sup>+</sup>) pendants are protected by an anionic photocleavable
unit (butyrate-substituted nitroveratryloxycarbonyl; <sup>BA</sup>NVOC). Negatively charged <sup>Caged</sup>Glue-R hardly binds to
anionic biomolecules because of their electrostatic repulsion. However,
upon exposure of <sup>Caged</sup>Glue-R to UV light or near-infrared
(NIR) light, the <sup>BA</sup>NVOC groups of <sup>Caged</sup>Glue-R
are rapidly detached to yield an uncaged molecular glue (<sup>Uncaged</sup>Glue-R) that carries multiple Gu<sup>+</sup> pendants. Because Gu<sup>+</sup> forms a salt bridge with PO<sub>4</sub><sup>–</sup>, <sup>Uncaged</sup>Glue-R tightly adheres to anionic biomolecules
such as DNA and phospholipids in cell membranes by a multivalent salt-bridge
formation. When tagged with <sup>Caged</sup>Glue-R, guests can be
taken up into living cells via endocytosis and hide in endosomes.
However, when the <sup>Caged</sup>Glue-R tag is photochemically uncaged
to form <sup>Uncaged</sup>Glue-R, the guests escape from the endosome
and migrate into the cytoplasm followed by the cell nucleus. We demonstrated
that quantum dots (QDs) tagged with <sup>Caged</sup>Glue-R can be
delivered efficiently to cell nuclei eventually by irradiation with
light