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A 'catch-and-release' receptor for the cholera toxin
Clare S Mahon1, Gemma C Wildsmith, Diksha Haksar
1School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. clare.mahon@york.ac.uk w.b.turnbull@leeds.ac.uk.
Faraday Discussions
|July 18, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed stimuli-responsive polymers that reversibly bind cholera toxin (CTB). Heating the material releases the captured toxin, enabling efficient isolation from complex mixtures.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Chemical Biology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Cholera toxin (CTB) detection and isolation are crucial for public health.
- Developing stimuli-responsive materials for biomolecule capture is an active research area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create a thermoresponsive polymer scaffold for capturing cholera toxin (CTB).
- To demonstrate the reversible capture and release of CTB using temperature-responsive polymer transitions.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized thermoresponsive polymers functionalized with GM1 oligosaccharide ligands.
- Investigated polymer-CTB complexation below and above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST).
- Utilized the polymer's coil-to-globule transition to modulate CTB binding affinity.
Main Results:
- Polymers exhibited nanomolar affinity for CTB below the LCST.
- Heating above the LCST induced a conformational change, reducing CTB accessibility and binding.
- Demonstrated reversible capture and release of CTB, facilitating its isolation.
Conclusions:
- Thermoresponsive polymers functionalized with carbohydrate ligands offer a controllable platform for CTB capture.
- The thermally-modulated binding provides a method for selective and reversible isolation of CTB.
- This approach has potential applications in diagnostics and purification of toxins.