The interaction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with gold colloids and surfaces was studied using zeta-potential and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements, respectively, to determine the surface charge and coverage. The combination of these two measurements suggests that BSA binding to gold nanoparticles and gold surfaces occurs by an electrostatic mechanism when citrate is present. The binding of BSA to bare gold is nearly two times greater than the binding of BSA to a citrate-coated gold surface, suggesting that protein spreading (denaturation) on the surface may occur followed by secondary protein binding. On the other hand, binding to citrate-coated gold surfaces can be fit to a Langmuir isotherm model to obtain a maximum surface coverage of (3.7 +/- 0.2) x 10(12) molecules/cm(2) and a binding constant of 1.0 +/- 0.3 microM(-1). The zeta-potential measurements show that the stabilization of colloids by BSA has a significant contribution from a steric mechanism because the colloids are stable, even at their isoelectric point (pI approximately 4.6). To be consistent with the observed phenomena, the electrostatic interactions between BSA and citrate must consist of salt-bridges, for example, of the carboxylate-ammonium type, between the citrate and the lysine on the protein surface. The data support the role of strong electrostatic binding but do not exclude contributions from steric or hydrophobic interactions with the surface adlayer.

The ability of peptide-modified gold nanoparticles to target the nucleus of HepG2 cells was explored. Five peptide/nanoparticle complexes were investigated, particles modified with (1) the nuclear localization signal (NLS) from the SV 40 virus; (2) the adenovirus NLS; (3) the adenovirus receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME) peptide; (4) one long peptide containing the adenovirus RME and NLS; and (5) the adenovirus RME and NLS peptides attached to the nanoparticle as separate pieces. Gold nanoparticles were used because they are easy to identify using video-enhanced color differential interference contrast microscopy, and they are excellent scaffolds from which to build multifunctional nuclear targeting vectors. For example, particles modified solely with NLS peptides were not able to target the nucleus of HepG2 cells from outside the plasma membrane, because they either could not enter the cell or were trapped in endosomes. The combination of NLS/RME particles (4) and (5) did reach the nucleus; however, nuclear targeting was more efficient when the two signals were attached to nanoparticles as separate short pieces versus one long peptide. These studies highlight the challenges associated with nuclear targeting and the potential advantages of designing multifunctional nanostructured materials as tools for intracellular diagnostics and therapeutic delivery.

Gold nanoparticles modified with nuclear localization peptides were synthesized and evaluated for their subcellular distribution in HeLa human cervical epithelium cells, 3T3/NIH murine fibroblastoma cells, and HepG2 human hepatocarcinoma cells. Video-enhanced color differential interference contrast microscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicated that transport of nanoparticles into the cytoplasm and nucleus depends on peptide sequence and cell line. Recently, the ability of certain peptides, called protein transduction domains (PTDs), to transclocate cell and nuclear membranes in a receptor- and temperature-independent manner has been questioned (see for example, Lundberg, M.; Wikstrom, S.; Johansson, M. (2003) Mol. Ther. 8, 143-150). We have evaluated the cellular trajectory of gold nanoparticles carrying the PTD from HIV Tat protein. Our observations were that (1) the conjugates did not enter the nucleus of 3T3/NIH or HepG2 cells, and (2) cellular uptake of Tat PTD peptide-gold nanoparticle conjugates was temperature dependent, suggesting an endosomal pathway of uptake. Gold nanoparticles modified with the adenovirus nuclear localization signal and the integrin binding domain also entered cells via an energy-dependent mechanism, but in contrast to the Tat PTD, these signals triggered nuclear uptake of nanoparticles in HeLa and HepG2 cell lines.

Gold nanoparticles have shown great promise as therapeutics, therapeutic delivery vectors, and intracellular imaging agents. For many biomedical applications, selective cell and nuclear targeting are desirable, and these remain a significant practical challenge in the use of nanoparticles in vivo. This challenge is being addressed by the incorporation of cell-targeting peptides or antibodies onto the nanoparticle surface, modifications that frequently compromise nanoparticle stability in high ionic strength biological media. We describe herein the assembly of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and mixed peptide/PEG monolayers on gold nanoparticle surfaces. The stability of the resulting bioconjugates in high ionic strength media was characterized as a function of nanoparticle size, PEG length, and monolayer composition. In total, three different thiol-modified PEGs (average molecular weight (MW), 900, 1500, and 5000 g mol-1), four particle diameters (10, 20, 30, and 60 nm), and two cell-targeting peptides were explored. We found that nanoparticle stability increased with increasing PEG length, decreasing nanoparticle diameter, and increasing PEG mole fraction. The order of assembly also played a role in nanoparticle stability. Mixed monolayers prepared via the sequential addition of PEG followed by peptide were more stable than particles prepared via simultaneous co-adsorption. Finally, the ability of nanoparticles modified with mixed PEG/RME (RME = receptor-mediated endocytosis) peptide monolayers to target the cytoplasm of HeLa cells was quantified using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Although it was anticipated that the MW 5000 g mol-1 PEG would sterically block peptides from access to the cell membrane compared to the MW 900 PEG, nanoparticles modified with mixed peptide/PEG 5000 monolayers were internalized as efficiently as nanoparticles containing mixed peptide/PEG 900 monolayers. These studies can provide useful cues in the assembly of stable peptide/gold nanoparticle bioconjugates capable of being internalized into cells.

The interest in plasmonic technologies surrounds many emergent optoelectronic applications, such as plasmon lasers, transistors, sensors and information storage. Although plasmonic materials for ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared wavelengths have been found, the mid-infrared range remains a challenge to address: few known systems can achieve subwavelength optical confinement with low loss in this range. With a combination of experiments and ab initio modelling, here we demonstrate an extreme peak of electron mobility in Dy-doped CdO that is achieved through accurate 'defect equilibrium engineering'. In so doing, we create a tunable plasmon host that satisfies the criteria for mid-infrared spectrum plasmonics, and overcomes the losses seen in conventional plasmonic materials. In particular, extrinsic doping pins the CdO Fermi level above the conduction band minimum and it increases the formation energy of native oxygen vacancies, thus reducing their populations by several orders of magnitude. The substitutional lattice strain induced by Dy doping is sufficiently small, allowing mobility values around 500 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for carrier densities above 10(20) cm(-3). Our work shows that CdO:Dy is a model system for intrinsic and extrinsic manipulation of defects affecting electrical, optical and thermal properties, that oxide conductors are ideal candidates for plasmonic devices and that the defect engineering approach for property optimization is generally applicable to other conducting metal oxides.

Ultrafast time-resolved resonance Raman spectra of carbonmonoxy hemoglobin (Hb), nitroxy Hb, and deoxy Hb are compared to determine excited state decay mechanisms for both ligated and unligated hemes. Transient absorption and Raman data provide evidence for a sequential photophysical relaxation pathway common to both ligated and unligated forms of Hb* (photolyzed heme), in which the excited state 1Q decays sequentially: 1Q-->Hb*I-->Hb*II-->Hb ground state. Consistent with the observed kinetics, the lifetimes of these states are <50 fs, approximately 300 fs, and approximately 3 ps for 1Q, Hb*I, and Hb*II, respectively. The transient absorption data support the hypothesis that the Hb*I state results from an ultrafast iron-to-porphyrin ring charge transfer process. The Hb*II state arises from porphyrin ring-to-iron back charge transfer to produce a porphyrin ground state configuration a nonequilibrium iron d-orbital population. Equatorial d-pi* back-bonding of the heme iron to the porphyrin during the lifetime of the Hb*II state accounts for the time-resolved resonance Raman shifts on the approximately 3 ps time scale. The proposed photophysical pathway suggests that iron-to-ring charge transfer is the key event in the mechanism of photolysis of diatomic ligands following a porphyrin ring pi-pi* transition.

The dehaloperoxidase (DHP) from the terebellid polychaete Amphitrite ornata is an enzyme that converts para-halogenated phenols to the corresponding quinones in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Its enzymatic activity is similar to that of heme peroxidases such as horseradish peroxidase, yet it has the structural characteristics of the globin family of proteins, the main functions of which are oxygen transport and storage. In order to investigate the dual function of this hemoglobin peroxidase, the enzyme was expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant protein in its wild-type form and as a mutant protein in which Cys73 was replaced by a serine residue (C73S). Both the wild-type and mutant proteins were crystallized and their structures were determined at 100 K to a resolution of 1.62 A. The structure of the wild-type protein demonstrated that it was in the metaquo form, with the heme iron in the ferric oxidation state and the bound water lying 2.2 A from the heme iron. The structure of the C73S mutant protein was shown to contain a ferrous heme iron with a bound oxygen molecule. The bent bonding geometry of the Fe-O(1)-O(2) adduct results in a hydrogen bond of length 2.8 A between the second O atom, O(2), of molecular oxygen and N(2) of the distal histidine residue (His55) in both subunits contained within the asymmetric unit. This hydrogen-bonding interaction between His55 and the bound diatomic oxygen molecule provides new insight into the catalytic activation of H(2)O(2), which is essential for peroxidase activity.

Dehaloperoxidase (DHP) from the terebellid polychaete Amphitrite ornata is a bifunctional enzyme that possesses both hemoglobin and peroxidase activities. Of the two DHP isoenzymes identified to date, much of the recent focus has been on DHP A, whereas very little is known pertaining to the activity, substrate specificity, mechanism of function, or spectroscopic properties of DHP B. Herein, we report the recombinant expression and purification of DHP B, as well as the details of our investigations into its catalytic cycle using biochemical assays, stopped-flow UVvisible, resonance Raman and rapid-freeze-quench electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies, and spectroelectrochemistry. Our experimental design reveals mechanistic insights and kinetic descriptions of the dehaloperoxidase mechanism which have not been previously reported for isoenzyme A. Namely, we demonstrate a novel reaction pathway in which the products of the oxidative dehalogenation of trihalophenols (dihaloquinones) are themselves capable of inducing formation of oxyferrous DHP B, and an updated catalytic cycle for DHP is proposed. We further demonstrate that unlike the traditional monofunctional peroxidases, the oxyferrous state in DHP is a peroxidase competent starting species, which suggests that the ferric oxidation state may not be an obligatory starting point for the enzyme. The data presented herein provide a link between the peroxidase and oxygen transport activities which furthers our understanding of how this bifunctional enzyme is able to unite its two inherent functions in one system. Figure SD1); UVvisible spectra of the (tri)halophenol complexes of DHP B ( Figure SD2); UV-visible spectroscopic monitoring of the oxidative dehalogenation of trihalophenols as catalyzed by DHP B in the presence of hydrogen peroxide ( Figure SD3); dependence of k obs for the reaction between ferric DHP B with hydrogen peroxide (2.5 -25 equivalents) at pH 7 yielding Compound ES ( Figure SD4); stopped-flow UV-visible spectroscopic monitoring of ( Figure SD5), and DCQ product formation and TCP co-substrate loss for ( Figure SD6), the double-mixing reaction between preformed DHP B Compound ES and TCP at pH 7; stopped-flow UV-visible spectroscopic monitoring of ( Figure SD7), and DCQ product formation and TCP co-substrate loss for ( Figure SD8), the doublemixing reaction between ferric DHP B pre-incubated with TCP for 500 ms prior to its reaction with a 10-fold excess of H 2 O 2 (in situ generated Compound ES) at pH 7; stopped-flow UV-visible spectroscopic monitoring of the double-mixing reaction between ferric DHP B pre-incubated with a 7-fold molar excess of DCQ for 500 ms prior to its reaction with a 2.5-fold excess of H 2 O 2 (in situ generated Compound ES) ( Figure SD9); stopped-flow UV-visible spectroscopic monitoring of the reaction between ferric DHP B and a 7-fold excess of DCQ at pH 7 ( Figure SD10); reduction of Compound RH yielding Compound P 426 ( Figure SD11), reduction of Compound RH yielding oxyferrous DHP B ( Figure SD12). This m...