Visualization of membrane loss during the shrinkage of giant vesicles under electropulsation

We study the effect of permeabilizing electric fields applied to two different types of giant unilamellar vesicles, the first formed from EggPC lipids and the second formed from DOPC lipids. Experiments on vesicles of both lipid types show a decrease in vesicle radius which is interpreted as being due to lipid loss during the permeabilization process. We show that the decrease in size can be qualitatively explained as a loss of lipid area which is proportional to the area of the vesicle which is permeabilized. Three possible mechanisms responsible for lipid loss were directly observed: pore formation, vesicle formation and tubule formation.Comment: Final published versio

Electrically addressable vesicles: Tools for dielectrophoresis metrology

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has emerged as an important tool for the manipulation of bioparticles ranging from the submicron to the tens of microns in size. Here we show the use of phospholipid vesicle electroformation techniques to develop a new class of test particles with specifically engineered electrical propserties to enable identifiable dielectrophoretic responses in microfabricated systems. These electrically addressable vesicles (EAVs) enable the creation of electrically distinct populations of test particles for DEP. EAVs offer control of both their inner aqueous core and outer membrane properties; by encapsulating solutions of different electrolyte strength inside the vesicle and by incorporating functionalized phospholipids containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) brushes attached to their hydrophilic headgroup in the vesicle membrane, we demonstrate control of the vesicles’ electrical polarizabilities. This combined with the ability to encode information about the properties of the vesicle in its fluorescence signature forms the first steps toward the development of EAV populations as metrology tools for any DEP-based microsystem.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant RR199652)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant EB005753)Merck/CSBi (Fellowship)Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research Fun

Studying the role of negatively charged membranes on the mode of action of Esc 1b (1-18)

FAPESPCNPqCAPESUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biofis, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biofis, Sao Paulo, BrazilFAPESPCNPqCAPESWeb of Scienc

A potential generic downstream process using Cibracon Blue resin at very high loading capacity produces a highly purified monoclonal antibody preparation from cell culture harvest

The use of a dye-ligand chromatography for the purification of monoclonal antibody (MAb) from cell culture and other feed streams has been largely overlooked in large scale production. Cibracon Blue dye (CB), a polycyclic anionic ligand, interacts with protein through a specific interaction between the dye, acting as a mimic of NAD+ and NADP+, or through non-specific electrostatic, hydrophobic, and other forces. In this paper, a CB resin was used to effectively and efficiently separate an IgG4 MAb from host and process impurities following the capture of the MAb on a Protein-A (PA) column. The CB unit operation, challenged at ≤180 g MAb/L of resin with the PA eluate, reduced BSA (1-2 log), host cell protein (HCP; 2-3 log), MAb oligomer (31-85%), fragment (from ∼0.8% to <0.1%), and other undesired MAb species. Purity, as measured by non-reducing (NR) SDS-PAGE, was improved 33-85%, to 92-99.5% overall (>99% by reducing SDS-PAGE). A facile three column scalable production scheme, employing CB as the second column in the process was used to generate highly purified MAb from cell culture harvest derived from two media of very different compositions. Free CB dye was ≤1 ng/mg in MAb preparations purified through the three column process and then concentrated and buffer exchanged into the appropriate buffer using tangential flow filtration (TFF). © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Gene Transfection Mediated by Catiomers Requires Free Highly Charged Polymer Chains To Overcome Intracellular Barriers

The prospective use of the block copolymers poly­(ethylene oxide)₁₁₃-<i>b</i>-poly­[2-(diethylamino)­ethyl methacrylate]₅₀ (PEO₁₁₃-<i>b</i>-PDEA₅₀) and poly­[oligo­(ethylene glycol)­methyl ether methacrylate]₇₀-<i>b</i>-poly­[oligo­(ethylene glycol)­methyl ether methacrylate₁₀-<i>co</i>-2-(diethylamino)­ethyl methacrylate₄₇-<i>co</i>-2-(diisopropylamino)­ethyl methacrylate₄₇] (POEGMA₇₀-<i>b</i>-P­(OEGMA₁₀-<i>co</i>-DEA₄₇-<i>co</i>-DPA₄₇)) as nonviral gene vectors was evaluated. The polymers are able to properly condense DNA into nanosized particles (<i>R</i>_H ≈ 75 nm), which are marginally cytotoxic and can be uptaken by cells. However, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression assays evidenced that DNA delivery is essentially negligible meaning that intracellular trafficking hampers efficient gene release. Subsequently, we demonstrate that cellular uptake and particularly the quantity of GFP-positive cells are substantially enhanced when the block copolymer polyplexes are produced and further supplemented by BPEI chains (branched polyethylenimine). The dynamic light scattering/electrophoretic light scattering/isothermal titration calorimetry data suggest that such a strategy allows the adsorption of BPEI onto the surface of the polyplexes, and this phenomenon is responsible for increasing the size and surface charge of the assemblies. Nevertheless, most of the BPEI chains remain freely diffusing in the systems. The biological assays confirmed that cellular uptake is enhanced in the presence of BPEI and principally, the free highly charged polymer chains play the central role in intracellular trafficking and gene transfection. These investigations pointed out that the transfection efficiency versus cytotoxicity issue can be balanced by a mixture of BPEI and less cytotoxic agents such as for instance the proposed block copolymers