Anti-Fouling Properties of Phosphonium Ionic Liquid Coatings in the Marine Environment.

Biofouling is the buildup of marine organisms on a submerged material. This research tests the efficacy of phosphonium ion gels comprising phosphonium monomers ([P][AOT] and [P][AOT]) and free ionic liquid ([P][AOT], [P][AOT]) (10 to 50 wt%), varying copper(II) oxide biocide concentrations (0 to 2 wt%), and the docusate anion [AOT] for added hydrophobicity. The efficacy of these formulations was tested using a seachest simulator protected from light and tidal currents in New Zealand coastal waters over the summer and autumn periods.

Molecular basis of a redox switch: molecular dynamics simulations and surface plasmon resonance provide insight into reduced and oxidised angiotensinogen.

Angiotensinogen fine-tunes the tightly controlled activity of the renin-angiotensin system by modulating the release of angiotensin peptides that control blood pressure. One mechanism by which this modulation is achieved is via angiotensinogen's Cys18-Cys138 disulfide bond that acts as a redox switch. Molecular dynamics simulations of each redox state of angiotensinogen reveal subtle dynamic differences between the reduced and oxidised forms, particularly at the N-terminus.

DNA G-quadruplexes show strong interaction with DNA methyltransferases in vitro.

The DNA methyltransferase enzymes (DNMTs) catalyzing cytosine methylation do so at specific locations of the genome, although with some level of redundancy. The de novo methyltransferases DNMT3A and 3B play a vital role in methylating the genome of the developing embryo in regions devoid of methylation marks. The ability of DNMTs to colocalize at sites of DNA damage is suggestive that recognition of mispaired bases and unusual structures is inherent to the function of these proteins.

Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) reactive centre loop antibodies and surface plasmon resonance interrogate the proposed heat dependent "flip-flop" mechanism of human CBG.

Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) is the predominant carrier of cortisol in circulation and is a non-inhibitory member of the serpin superfamily of serine protease inhibitors. In the stressed or "S" conformation, CBG possesses an intact exposed reactive centre loop (RCL) that can be irreversibly cleaved by elastase released from activated human neutrophils whereupon it adopts a relaxed or "R" conformation. The latter conformation has decreased affinity for cortisol, allowing the release of the majority of cortisol at sites of inflammation.

A surface plasmon resonance assay for measurement of neuraminidase inhibition, sensitivity of wild-type influenza neuraminidase and its H274Y mutant to the antiviral drugs zanamivir and oseltamivir.

Antiviral resistance is currently monitored by a labelled enzymatic assay, which can give inconsistent results because of the short half-life of the labelled product, and variations in assay conditions. In this paper, we describe a competitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) inhibition assay for measuring the sensitivities of wild-type neuraminidase (WT NA) and the H274Y (histidine 274 tyrosine) NA mutant to antiviral drugs. The two NA isoforms were expressed in High-five™ (Trichoplusia ni) insect cells.

Development of a surface plasmon resonance assay to measure the binding affinity of wild-type influenza neuraminidase and its H274Y mutant to the antiviral drug zanamivir.

Influenza is one of the most common infections of the upper respiratory tract. Antiviral drugs that are currently used to treat influenza, such as oseltamivir and zanamivir, are neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors. However, the virus may develop resistance through single-point mutations of NA.

Insulin receptor-insulin interaction kinetics using multiplex surface plasmon resonance.

Type 2 diabetes affects millions of people worldwide, and measuring the kinetics of insulin receptor-insulin interactions is critical to improving our understanding of this disease. In this paper, we describe, for the first time, a rapid, real-time, multiplex surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay for studying the interaction between insulin and the insulin receptor ectodomain, isoform A (eIR-A). We used a scaffold approach in which anti-insulin receptor monoclonal antibody 83-7 (Abcam, Cambridge, UK) was first immobilized on the SPR sensorchip by amine coupling, followed by eIR-A capture.

A Gel Filtration-Based Method for the Purification of Infectious Rotavirus Particles for Environmental Research Applications.

This article describes a rapid method for purifying infectious rotavirus particles from cell culture for environmental research. The method is based on size-exclusion chromatography using TOSOH TSKgel G5000PWXL-CP with a TSKgel Size Exclusion G2500PWxl guard column, set up on an AKTA Explorer10. Four peaks were identified from the chromatogram and the corresponding fractions were collected and analysed by electron microscopy, 1-step quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and qNano measurement.