Site-Specific Conjugation of Bottlebrush Polymers to Therapeutic Protein via Bioorthogonal Chemistry. 2024

Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Tallahassee, Florida 32310, United States.

Achieving efficient and site-specific conjugation of therapeutic protein to polymer is crucial to augment their applicability in the realms of biomedicine by improving their stability and enzymatic activity. In this study, we exploited tetrazine bioorthogonal chemistry to achieve the site-specific conjugation of bottlebrush polymers to urate oxidase (UOX), a therapeutic protein for gout treatment. An azido-functionalized zwitterionic bottlebrush polymer (N3-ZBP) using a "grafting-from" strategy involving RAFT and ATRP methods was synthesized, and a trans-cyclooctene (TCO) moiety was introduced at the polymer end through the strain-promoted azide-alkyne click (SPAAC) reaction. The subsequent coupling between TCO-incorporated bottlebrush polymer and tetrazine-labeled UOX using a fast and safe bioorthogonal reaction, inverse electron demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA), led to the formation of UOX-ZBP conjugates with a 52% yield. Importantly, the enzymatic activity of UOX remained unaffected following polymer conjugation, suggesting a minimal change in the folded structure of UOX. Moreover, UOX-ZBP conjugates exhibited enhanced proteolytic resistance and reduced antibody binding, compared to UOX-wild type. Overall, the present findings reveal an efficient and straightforward route for synthesizing protein-bottlebrush polymer conjugates without compromising the enzymatic activity while substantially reducing proteolytic degradation and antibody binding.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011108 Polymers Compounds formed by the joining of smaller, usually repeating, units linked by covalent bonds. These compounds often form large macromolecules (e.g., BIOPOLYMERS; PLASTICS). Polymer
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000480 Alkynes Hydrocarbons with at least one triple bond in the linear portion, of the general formula Cn-H2n-2. Acetylenic Compounds,Alkyne,Acetylenes
D001386 Azides Organic or inorganic compounds that contain the -N3 group. Azide
D014503 Urate Oxidase An enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of urate and unidentified products. It is a copper protein. The initial products decompose to form allantoin. EC 1.7.3.3. Uricase,Oxidase, Urate
D057930 Click Chemistry Organic chemistry methodology that mimics the modular nature of various biosynthetic processes. It uses highly reliable and selective reactions designed to "click" i.e., rapidly join small modular units together in high yield, without offensive byproducts. In combination with COMBINATORIAL CHEMISTRY TECHNIQUES, it is used for the synthesis of new compounds and combinatorial libraries. Click Chemical Reactions,Click Chemical Techniques,Chemical Reaction, Click,Chemical Reactions, Click,Chemical Technique, Click,Chemical Techniques, Click,Chemistries, Click,Chemistry, Click,Click Chemical Reaction,Click Chemical Technique,Click Chemistries,Reaction, Click Chemical,Reactions, Click Chemical,Technique, Click Chemical,Techniques, Click Chemical
D061565 Cycloaddition Reaction Synthetic organic reactions that use reactions between unsaturated molecules to form cyclical products. Cycloaddition,Cycloaddition Reaction Techniques,Diels-Alder Reaction,Cycloaddition Reaction Technique,Cycloaddition Reactions,Diels Alder Reaction,Reaction Technique, Cycloaddition,Reaction Techniques, Cycloaddition,Reaction, Cycloaddition,Reaction, Diels-Alder,Reactions, Cycloaddition,Technique, Cycloaddition Reaction,Techniques, Cycloaddition Reaction
D034242 Cyclooctanes A group of compounds with an 8-carbon ring. They may be saturated or unsaturated. Benzocyclooctanes,Benzocyclooctenes,Cyclooctenes,Cyclooctodienes,Dibenzocyclooctanes

Related Publications

Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
March 2013, Chemical communications (Cambridge, England),
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
June 2018, Biomacromolecules,
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
November 2022, Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English),
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
November 2021, Bioconjugate chemistry,
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
June 2021, Biomacromolecules,
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
March 2020, Chemical science,
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
November 2012, Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry,
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
June 2019, Bioconjugate chemistry,
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
January 2016, Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences,
Biswajit Saha, and Jae Hun Lee, and Inchan Kwon, and Hoyong Chung
February 2015, Bioconjugate chemistry,
Copied contents to your clipboard!