Publications by authors named "Ray Mernaugh"

Enzyme-catalyzed chemical reactions produce heat. We developed an enclosed, capillary-perfused nanocalorimeter platform for thermometric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TELISA). We used catalase as enzymes to model the thermal characteristics of the micromachined calorimeter.

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Advances in microfabrication allow for highly sensitive calorimeters with dramatically reduced volume, decreased response time and increased energy resolution. These calorimeters hold the potential for designs of ELISA platforms competitive with fluorescent and chemiluminescent technologies. We have developed a new assay platform using conventional ELISA reagents to produce a thermal signal quantifiable using calorimetry.

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Increased levels of reactive isolevuglandins (IsoLGs) are associated with vascular inflammation and hypertension, two important factors affect heart failure (HF) development. The role of IsoLGs in HF development is unknown. Here we studied the role of IsoLG scavenger 2-hydroxybenzylamine (2-HOBA) in transverse aortic constriction (TAC) induced heart failure.

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Biobank development and integration with clinical data from electronic medical record (EMR) databases have enabled recent strides in genomic research and personalized medicine. BioVU, Vanderbilt's DNA biorepository linked to de-identified clinical EMRs, has proven fruitful in its capacity to extensively appeal to numerous areas of biomedical and clinical research, supporting the discovery of genotype-phenotype interactions. Expanding on experiences in BioVU creation and development, we have recently embarked on a parallel effort to collect plasma in addition to DNA from blood specimens leftover after routine clinical testing at Vanderbilt.

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Survival of patients with lung cancer could be significantly prolonged should the disease be diagnosed early. Growing evidence indicates that the immune response in the form of autoantibodies to developing cancer is present before clinical presentation. We used a phage-displayed antibody library to select for recombinant scFvs that specifically bind to lung cancer-associated IgM autoantibodies.

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Herceptin/Trastuzumab is a humanized IgG1κ light chain antibody used to treat some forms of breast cancer. A phage-displayed recombinant antibody library was used to obtain a single chain fragment variable (scFv, designated 2B4) to a linear synthetic peptide representing Herceptin's heavy chain CDR3. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and piezoimmunosensor/quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) assays were used to characterize 2B4-binding activity to both native and heat denatured Herceptin.

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Recombinant scfv antibodies specific for CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 P450 enzymes were combined with targeted imaging mass spectrometry to simultaneously detect the P450 enzymes present in archived, paraffin-embedded, human breast cancer tissue sections. By using CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 specific scfv, each coupled to a unique reporter molecule (i.e.

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Inexpensive, noninvasive immunoassays can be used to quickly detect disease in humans. Immunoassay sensitivity and specificity are decidedly dependent upon high-affinity, antigen-specific antibodies. Antibodies are produced biologically.

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Therapeutic antibodies are antigenically similar to human antibodies and are difficult to detect in assays of human serum samples without the use of the therapeutic antibody's complementary antigen. Herein for the first time, we established a platform to detect Herceptin in solutions by using a small (<2.2 kDa), inexpensive, highly stable human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) mimotope-derived synthetic peptide immobilized on the surface of a Au quartz electrode.

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BACKGROUND: Hereditary pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH) is usually caused by mutations in BMPR2. Mutations are found throughout the gene, and common molecular consequences of different types of mutation are not known. Knowledge of common molecular consequences would provide insight into molecular etiology of disease.

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Background: Multiplex immunoassays offer many advantages over singleplex assays for the analysis of multiple analytes in a single sample. We sought to validate a specific multiplex cytokine immunoassay (Human 9-plex cytokine array on the Searchlight® platform by Thermoscientific) prior to use in a large clinical study.

Methods: We compared spike and recovery of recombinant proteins on the Searchlight® platform to singleplex immunoassays purchased from R&D Systems, measured identical patient samples on the two different platforms, and measured identical patient samples on different days to measure intra- and inter-assay variability.

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A label free immunosensor for detection of Fc receptors expressed on cell surface was developed and characterized using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) transducer. Taking advantage of the characteristics of single chain fragment variable (scFv) recombinant antibody and the multivalency of an antibody, the engineered recombinant scFv was immobilized onto preformed functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) template surface. The monomeric scFv can bind with the CH1 region of any rabbit IgG to form a highly oriented IgG layer with its Fc portion pointing toward a solution phase.

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Fundamental research has been carried out to define optimal "green" synthesis conditions for the production of titania (TiO(2)) and silver (Ag) nanocomposites (TANCs) ranging from 12.7-22.8 nm in diameter.

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An environmental-friendly procedure for manufacturing silver (Ag) and titania (TiO(2)) nanocomposites in an aqueous solution is presented. This green synthetic approach results in the successful production of nanomaterials with high dispersion and crystallinity. The colloidal suspensions of the nanocomposites composed of metal and ceramic (Ag-TiO(2)) were found to be extremely stable over a prolonged time period.

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Like many signaling pathways in development, the Notch receptor pathway plays an important role in cancer pathobiology when it is dysregulated. Potential ligand-binding sites within the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like repeats of Notch1 have been identified, but the ligand-binding domains in Notch3, which is implicated in lung cancer, are not known. In screening a library of 155 peptides representing all 34 EGF-like repeats in Notch3, we discovered two distinct ligand-binding regions involving the 7-10 and 21-22 repeats that are distinct from the putative ligand-binding domain of Notch1.

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HER2 is a transmembrane oncoprotein encoded by the HER2/neu gene and is overexpressed in approximately 20 to 25% of invasive breast cancers. It can be therapeutically targeted by trastuzumab, a humanized IgG1 kappa light chain monoclonal antibody. Although trastuzumab is currently considered one of the most effective treatments in oncology, a significant number of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer do not benefit from it.

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To gain insight into the mechanism by which angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT(2)) regulates carcinogen-induced lung tumorigenesis, we have newly developed anti-AT(2) single chain variable fragment (ScFv) antibodies using a rodent phage-displayed recombinant antibody library with various peptide fragments of the receptor protein, and investigated the expression of the AT(2) receptor protein. The specificity of the antibodies was verified using AT(2) over-expressing COS-7 cells and AT(2) naturally expressing PC12W cells. In control wild type mouse lung, a stronger immunoreactivity was observed in bronchial epithelial cells.

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Little is known about early carcinogen-induced protein alterations in mammary epithelium. Detection of early alterations would enhance our understanding of early-stage carcinogenesis. Here, normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) were exposed to dietary and environmental carcinogens [2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5b]pyridine (PhIP), 4-aminobiphenyl (ABP), benzo[a]pyrene, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin] individually or in combination.

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The allergic inflammation occurring in asthma is believed to be accompanied by the production of free radicals. To investigate the role of free radicals and the cells affected we turned to a murine model of allergic inflammation produced by sensitization to ovalbumin with subsequent aerosol challenge. We examined oxidant stress by measuring and localizing the sensitive and specific marker of lipid peroxidation, the F2-isoprostanes.

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Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been used in determining kinetics and thermodynamics of biological interaction in the past decades. One difficulty encountered in this technology is the need for a proper regeneration, which means the removal of analytes from the bound complexes to regenerate the activity of the ligands. Regeneration is not always practical since the harsh regeneration reagents may destroy the bioactivity of the ligands.

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The protocols herein describe colony-lift and fluorescent immunoassays that were used to identify bacterial colonies that produced single-chain fragment variable (ScFv) recombinant antibodies reactive with zero-state silver. A large (approx 2.9-billion member) phage-displayed antibody library was panned against zero valent silver.

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Two attractive features of ELISA are the specificity of antibody-antigen recognition and the sensitivity achieved by enzymatic amplification. This report describes the development of a non-enzymatic molecular recognition platform adaptable to point-of-care clinical settings and field detection of biohazardous materials. This filament-antibody recognition assay (FARA) is based on circumferential bands of antibody probes coupled to a 120 microm diameter polyester filament.

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In this paper, we describe a novel nonlabeled biosensor with high diagnostic potential for rapid and sensitive detection of antigens in complex biological samples. The biosensor comprises a piezoimmunosensor (PZ) displaying a specially constructed recombinant antibody on its surface. The recombinant single-chain fragment variable (scFv) antibody contained a cysteine within the linker amino acid sequence used to join the scFv variable heavy and light chains.

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The BabA adhesin of Helicobacter pylori is an outer membrane protein that binds to the fucosylated Lewis b histo-blood group antigen on the surface of gastric epithelial cells. We screened a phage-displayed ScFv (single-chain fragment variable) recombinant antibody library for antibodies reactive with a recombinant BabA fragment and identified two such antibodies. Each antibody recognized an approximately 75-kDa protein present in wild-type H.

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