"Non-covalent affinity materials for protein structure determination vi" by Minji Ha

Date of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

David H. Thompson

Committee Chair

David H. Thompson

Committee Member 1

Chengde Mao

Committee Member 2

Mingji Dai

Abstract

Single particle analysis (SPA) by cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) is one of the powerful tools for determining biological macromolecule structure, particularly when combined with computational methods or X-ray crystallography. However, the SPA is challenged by sample processing efficiency. In this work, polyrotaxane (PRTx) was designed and synthesized such that laterally and rotationally mobile lysine nitrolicacetic acid (Lys-NTA) modified α-cyclodextrins (α-CD) were threaded onto a polyethylene glycol (PEG) core. Polyrotaxanes threaded with amine modified α-CD were also designed and synthesized for stoichiometric control of His-tagged protein capture by PRTx. For higher efficiency of single particle analysis along a single strand of the polyrotaxane, gold nanoparticles were used to cross-link the polyrotaxanes into a network using an interfacial approach. The gold nanoparticle distribution in TEM images and the UV-Vis spectroscopic changes suggested that a polyrotaxane network was formed. In addition, to better control the ligands on the network and to make the reaction on the grid facile, α-CD was functionalized with mono-6-azido moieties prior to network formation. NMR evidence suggested that mono-6-azido CD (N3-α-CD) was successfully threaded onto 10K PEG to form a polyrotaxane. This polyrotaxane was combined with Lys-NTA via a bio-orthogonal copper-free click reaction with N3-α-CD to produce a polymer network for specific binding with his-tag T7 phage.

Share

COinS