Reflectin Proteins Bind and Reorganize Synthetic Phospholipid Vesicles.

The reflectin proteins have been extensively studied for their role in reflectance in cephalopods. In the recently evolved Loliginid squids, these proteins and the structural color they regulate are dynamically tunable, enhancing their effectiveness for camouflage and communication. In these species, the reflectins are found in highest concentrations within the structurally tunable, membrane enclosed, periodically stacked lamellae of subcellular Bragg reflectors and in the intracellular vesicles of specialized skin cells known as iridocytes and leuocophores, respectively.

DNA Nunchucks: Nanoinstrumentation for Single-Molecule Measurement of Stiffness and Bending.

Bending of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) has important applications in biology and engineering, but measurement of DNA bend angles is notoriously difficult and rarely dynamic. Here we introduce a nanoscale instrument that makes dynamic measurement of the bend in short dsDNAs easy enough to be routine. The instrument works by embedding the ends of a dsDNA in stiff, fluorescently labeled DNA nanotubes, thereby mechanically magnifying their orientations.

Heparin octasaccharide decoy liposomes inhibit replication of multiple viruses.

Heparan sulfate (HS) is a ubiquitous glycosaminoglycan that serves as a cellular attachment site for a number of significant human pathogens, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human parainfluenza virus 3 (hPIV3), and herpes simplex virus (HSV). Decoy receptors can target pathogens by binding to the receptor pocket on viral attachment proteins, acting as 'molecular sinks' and preventing the pathogen from binding to susceptible host cells. Decoy receptors functionalized with HS could bind to pathogens and prevent infection, so we generated decoy liposomes displaying HS-octasaccharide (HS-octa).