Parabiosis in Mice: A Detailed Protocol

Parabiosis is a surgical union of two organisms allowing sharing of the blood circulation. Attaching the skin of two animals promotes formation of ...

Stanford University School of Medicine

A nanocomposite of poly(anilineboronic acid), a self-doped polyaniline, with ss-DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes (ss-DNA/SWNTs) was fabricated on a gold electrode by in situ electrochemical polymerization of 3-aminophenylboronic acid monomers in the presence of ssDNA/SWNTs. We used this nanocomposite to detect nanomolar concentrations of dopamine and found that the sensitivity increased 4 orders of magnitude compared to the detection at an electrode modified with only poly(anilineboronic acid). For the first time, this work reports the multiple functions of the ss-DNA/SWNTs in the fabrication and biosensor application of a self-doped polyaniline/ss-DNA/SWNT nanocomposite. First, the ss-DNA/SWNTs acted as effective molecular templates during polymerization of self-doped polyaniline so that not only was the polymerization speed increased but also the quality of the polymer was greatly improved. Second, they functioned as novel active stabilizers after the polymerization, significantly enhancing the stability of the film. Furthermore, the ss-DNA/SWNTs also acted as conductive polyanionic doping agents in the resulting polyaniline film, which showed enhanced conductivity and redox activity. Finally, the large surface area of carbon nanotubes greatly increased the density of the functional groups available for sensitive detection of the target analyte. We envision that polyaniline with other functional groups as well as other conducting polymers may be produced for different targeted applications by this approach.

Enhanced sensitivity for biosensors: multiple functions of DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes in self-doped polyaniline nanocomposites.

Dispersion of carbon nanotubes into solvents affects their surface chemistries, electronic structures, and subsequent functionalization. In this Communication, a water-soluble self-doped polyaniline nanocomposite was fabricated by in situ polymerization of the 3-aminophenylboronic acid monomers in the presence of single-stranded DNA dispersed- and functionalized-single-walled carbon nanotubes. For the first time, we found that the carbon nanotubes became novel active stabilizers owing to the DNA functionalization. The nanotubes reduced the polyaniline backbone from the unstable, degradable, fully oxidized pernigraniline state to the stable, conducting emeraldine state because of their reductive ability, which could improve the chemical stability of the self-doped polyaniline. Electrical measurements demonstrate that the conductivity of the nanocomposite was much higher than that of the pure self-doped polyaniline in both acidic and neutral solutions.

In situ fabrication of a water-soluble, self-doped polyaniline nanocomposite: the unique role of DNA functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Most of the current techniques for detection of dopamine exploit its ease of oxidation. However, the oxidative approaches suffer from a common problem. The products of dopamine oxidation can react with ascorbic acid present in samples and regenerate dopamine again, which severely limits the accuracy of detection. In this paper, we report a nonoxidative approach to electrochemically detect dopamine with high sensitivity and selectivity. This approach takes advantage of the high performance of our newly developed poly(anilineboronic acid)/carbon nanotube composite and the excellent permselectivity of the ion-exchange polymer Nafion. The binding of dopamine to the boronic acid groups of the polymer with large affinity affects the electrochemical properties of the polyaniline backbone, which act as the transduction mechanism of this nonoxidative dopamine sensor. The unique reduction capability and high conductivity of single-stranded DNA functionalized, single-walled carbon nanotubes greatly improved the electrochemical activity of the polymer in physiological buffer, and the large surface area of the carbon nanotubes largely increased the density of the boronic acid receptors. The high sensitivity along with the improved selectivity of this sensing approach is a significant step forward toward molecular diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

A nonoxidative sensor based on a self-doped polyaniline/carbon nanotube composite for sensitive and selective detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

The electrochemistry of a poly(anilineboronic acid)/carbon nanotube composite was studied in the presence of dopamine and ascorbic acid. To understand the binding affinity of dopamine and ascorbic acid to the boronic acid functional groups in the composite, the association constants between the diol groups in dopamine and ascorbic acid and the boronic acid were experimentally determined using a fluorescence-based binding assay. The results demonstrate that ascorbic acid could severely interfere with the detection of dopamine in nonoxidative boronic acid-binding approaches: Ascorbic acid was able to electrocatalytically reduce the fully oxidized polyaniline backbone during the electrochemical oxidation process; similarly to dopamine, ascorbic acid was also able to bind to the boronic acid groups through its planar diol group even though the binding affinity is much lower. The examination of the dopamine transduction mechanism and ascorbic acid interference mechanism in this nonoxidative approach will benefit the design of future boronic acid-based sensors.

Interference of ascorbic acid in the sensitive detection of dopamine by a nonoxidative sensing approach.

We have found that the polymerization process was 4,500 times faster when a self-doped polyaniline nanocomposite was fabricated using in situ polymerization in the presence of single-stranded DNA-dispersed and -functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (ssDNA-SWNTs). More importantly, the quality of the composite was significantly improved: fewer short oligomers were produced, and the self-doped polyaniline backbone had a longer conjugation length and existed in the more stable and conductive emeraldine state. The functionality of the boronic acid group in the composite and the highly improved electronic performance may lead to broad applications of the composite in flexible electronic devices. Blending of preformed polymer with carbon nanotubes is straightforward and widely used to fabricate nanocomposites. We demonstrate that this simple mixing approach might not fully and synergistically combine the merits of each individual component. Surprisingly, these advantages also cannot be obtained using in situ polymerization with preoxidized ssDNA-SWNTs, which is renowned as the "seed" method for production of conducting-polymer nanowires. The electronic structures of the carbon nanotubes and the monomer-nanotube interaction during polymerization greatly impact the kinetics of nanocomposite fabrication and the electronic performance of the resulting composites.

The electronic role of DNA-functionalized carbon nanotubes: efficacy for in situ polymerization of conducting polymer nanocomposites.

The flavoenzyme nitroalkane oxidase catalyzes the oxidation of primary and secondary nitroalkanes to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones plus nitrite. The structure of the enzyme shows that Ser171 forms a hydrogen bond to the flavin N5, suggesting that it plays a role in catalysis. Cys397 and Tyr398 were previously identified by chemical modification as potential active site residues. To more directly probe the roles of these residues, the S171A, S171V, S171T, C397S, and Y398F enzymes have been characterized with nitroethane as substrate. The C397S and Y398 enzymes were less stable than the wild-type enzyme, and the C397S enzyme routinely contained a substoichiometric amount of FAD. Analysis of the steady-state kinetic parameters for the mutant enzymes, including deuterium isotope effects, establishes that all of the mutations result in decreases in the rate constants for removal of the substrate proton by approximately 5-fold and decreases in the rate constant for product release of approximately 2-fold. Only the S171V and S171T mutations alter the rate constant for flavin oxidation. These results establish that these residues are not involved in catalysis, but rather are required for maintaining the protein structure.

Characterization of active site residues of nitroalkane oxidase.

The promise of pluripotent stem cells as a research and therapeutic tool is partly undermined by the technical challenges of generating and maintaining these cells in culture. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are exquisitely sensitive to culture conditions, and require constant signaling by growth factors and cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions to prevent apoptosis, senescence, and differentiation. Previous work from our laboratory demonstrated that overexpression of the prosurvival gene BCL2 in mouse embryonic stem cells overrode the requirement of serum factors and feeder cells to maintain mESCs in culture. To determine whether this prosurvival gene could similarly protect hESCs, we generated hESC lines that constitutively or inducibly express BCL2. We find that BCL2 overexpression significantly decreases dissociation-induced apoptosis, resulting in enhanced colony formation from sorted single cells, and enhanced embryoid body formation. In addition, BCL2-hESCs exhibit normal growth in the absence of serum, but require basic fibroblast growth factor to remain undifferentiated. Furthermore, they maintain their pluripotency markers, form teratomas in vivo, and differentiate into all three germ layers. Our data suggest that the BCL2 signaling pathway plays an important role in inhibiting hESC apoptosis, such that its overexpression in hESCs offers both a survival benefit in conditions of stress by resisting apoptosis and obviates the requirement for serum or a feeder layer for maintenance.

Overexpression of BCL2 enhances survival of human embryonic stem cells during stress and obviates the requirement for serum factors.

Enhanced survival of pluripotent stem cells under stressful conditions.

A goal of regenerative medicine is to identify cardiovascular progenitors from human ES cells (hESCs) that can functionally integrate into the human heart. Previous studies to evaluate the developmental potential of candidate hESC-derived progenitors have delivered these cells into murine and porcine cardiac tissue, with inconclusive evidence regarding the capacity of these human cells to physiologically engraft in xenotransplantation assays. Further, the potential of hESC-derived cardiovascular lineage cells to functionally couple to human myocardium remains untested and unknown. Here, we have prospectively identified a population of hESC-derived ROR2(+)/CD13(+)/KDR(+)/PDGFRÎ±(+) cells that give rise to cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro at a clonal level. We observed rare clusters of ROR2(+) cells and diffuse expression of KDR and PDGFRÎ± in first-trimester human fetal hearts. We then developed an in vivo transplantation model by transplanting second-trimester human fetal heart tissues s.c. into the ear pinna of a SCID mouse. ROR2(+)/CD13(+)/KDR(+)/PDGFRÎ±(+) cells were delivered into these functioning fetal heart tissues: in contrast to traditional murine heart models for cell transplantation, we show structural and functional integration of hESC-derived cardiovascular progenitors into human heart.

Article	Year
Enhanced sensitivity for biosensors: multiple functions of DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes in self-doped polyaniline nanocomposites. The journal of physical chemistry. B\| PubMed ID: 16913764	2006
In situ fabrication of a water-soluble, self-doped polyaniline nanocomposite: the unique role of DNA functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes. Journal of the American Chemical Society\| PubMed ID: 16967945	2006
A nonoxidative sensor based on a self-doped polyaniline/carbon nanotube composite for sensitive and selective detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Analytical chemistry\| PubMed ID: 17286387	2007
Interference of ascorbic acid in the sensitive detection of dopamine by a nonoxidative sensing approach. The journal of physical chemistry. B\| PubMed ID: 17914792	2007
The electronic role of DNA-functionalized carbon nanotubes: efficacy for in situ polymerization of conducting polymer nanocomposites. Journal of the American Chemical Society\| PubMed ID: 18517209	2008
Characterization of active site residues of nitroalkane oxidase. Bioorganic chemistry\| PubMed ID: 20056514	2010
Overexpression of BCL2 enhances survival of human embryonic stem cells during stress and obviates the requirement for serum factors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America\| PubMed ID: 21300885	2011
Enhanced survival of pluripotent stem cells under stressful conditions. Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.)\| PubMed ID: 21791974	2011
Prospective isolation of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiovascular progenitors that integrate into human fetal heart tissue. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America\| PubMed ID: 23391730	2013

Shah R. Ali

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