Siderophores, such as enterobactin (Ent), are small molecules that can be selectively imported into bacteria along with iron by cognate transporters. Siderophore conjugates are thus a promising strategy for delivering functional reagents into bacteria. In this work, we present an easy-to-perform, one-pot chemoenzymatic synthesis of functionalized monoglucosylated enterobactin (MGE). When functionalized MGE is conjugated to a rhodamine fluorophore, which affords RhB-Glc-Ent, it can selectively label Gram-negative bacteria that utilize Ent, including some E. coli strains and P. aeruginosa. V. cholerae, a bacterium that utilizes linearized Ent, can also be weakly targeted. Moreover, the targeting is effective under iron-limiting but not iron-rich conditions. Our results suggest that the RhB-Glc-Ent probe is sensitive not only to the bacterial strain but also to the iron condition in the environment.

Linker design is crucial to the success of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). In this work, we developed a modular linker format for attaching molecular cargos to antibodies based on strand pairing between complementary oligonucleotides. We prepared antibody–oligonucleotide conjugates (AOCs) by attaching 18-mer oligonucleotides to an anti-HER2 antibody through thiol-maleimide chemistry, a method generally applicable to any immunoglobulin with interchain disulfide bridges. The hybridization of drug-bearing complementary oligonucleotides to our AOCs was rapid, stoichiometric, and sequence-specific. AOCs loaded with cytotoxic payloads were able to selectively target HER2-overexpressing cell lines such as SK-BR-3 and N87, with in vitro potencies similar to that of the marketed ADC Kadcyla (T-DM1). Our results demonstrated the potential of utilizing AOCs as a highly versatile and modular platform, where a panel of well-characterized AOCs bearing DNA, RNA, or various nucleic acid analogs, such as peptide nucleic acids, could be easily paired with any cargo of choice for a wide range of diagnostic or therapeutic applications.

Two systems of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), noncleavable H32-DM1 and cleavable H32-VCMMAE, were developed by using different linkers and drugs attached to the anti-HER2 antibody H32, which is capable of cell internalization. Activated functional groups, including an N-hydroxysuccinimidyl (NHS) ester and a maleimide, were utilized to make the ADCs. Mass spectrometry, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and in vitro cell assays were performed to analyze and optimize the ADCs. Several H32-VCMMAE ADCs were established with higher DARs and greater synthetic yields without compromising potency. The anticancer efficacy of H32-DM1 was 2-to 8-fold greater than that of Kadcyla ®. The efficacy of H32-VCMMAE was in turn better than that of H32-DM1. The anticancer efficacy of these ADCs against N87, SK-BR-3 and BT474 cells was in the following order: H32-VCMMAE series > H32-DM1 series > Kadcyla ®. The optimal DAR for H32-VCMMAE was found to be 6.6, with desirable attributes including good cell penetration, a releasable payload in cancer cells, and high potency. Our results demonstrated the potential of H32-VCMMAE as a good ADC candidate.

Siderophores,s uch as enterobactin (Ent), are small molecules that can be selectively imported into bacteria along with iron by cognate transporters.S iderophore conjugates are thus apromising strategy for delivering functional reagents into bacteria. In this work, we present an easy-to-perform, one-pot chemoenzymatic synthesis of functionalizedm onoglucosylated enterobactin (MGE). When functionalizedM GE is conjugated to ar hodamine fluorophore,w hich affords RhB-Glc-Ent, it can selectively label Gram-negative bacteria that utilize Ent, including some E. coli strains and P. aeruginosa. V. cholerae,abacterium that utilizes linearized Ent, can also be weakly targeted. Moreover,the targeting is effective under ironlimiting but not iron-rich conditions.O ur results suggest that the RhB-Glc-Ent probe is sensitive not only to the bacterial strain but also to the iron condition in the environment.Supportinginformation and the ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under: http://dx.