TY - JOUR A1 - Büchner, Dörthe A1 - John, Leonard A1 - Mertens, Monique A1 - Wessig, Pablo T1 - Detection of dsDNA with [1,3]Dioxolo[4,5-f]benzodioxol (DBD) Dyes JF - Chemistry - a European journal N2 - DBD fluorescent dyes have proven to be useful in numerous applications. To widen the range of biological applications, we propose three different types of DBD molecules that have been modified in such a way that DNA interaction becomes probable. After the successful synthesis of all three compounds, we tested their fluorescent properties and their DNA binding abilities. Two of the three probes exhibit an interaction with dsDNA with subsequent fluorescence enhancement. The determined binding constants of the two new DNA dyes are comparable to other minorgroove-binding dyes. Their large Stokes shifts and their long fluorescent lifetimes are outstanding features of these dyes. KW - DNA recognition KW - dyes/pigments KW - fluorescent probes KW - heterocycles KW - scatchard plot Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201804057 SN - 0947-6539 SN - 1521-3765 VL - 24 IS - 60 SP - 16183 EP - 16190 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haralampiev, Ivan A1 - Mertens, Monique A1 - Schwarzer, Roland A1 - Herrmann, Andreas A1 - Volkmer, Rudolf A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Mueller, Peter T1 - Recruitment of SH-Containing peptides to lipid and biological membranes through the use of a palmitic acid functionalized with a Maleimide Group JF - Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition N2 - This study presents a novel and easily applicable approach to recruit sulfhydryl-containing biomolecules to membranes by using a palmitic acid which is functionalized with a maleimide group. Notably, this strategy can also be employed with preformed (biological) membranes. The applicability of the assay is demonstrated by characterizing the binding of a Rhodamine-labeled peptide to lipid and cellular membranes using methods of fluorescence spectroscopy, lifetime measurement, and microscopy. Our approach offers new possibilities for preparing biologically active liposomes and manipulating living cells. KW - liposomes KW - maleimide KW - membranes KW - palmitic acid KW - palmitoylation KW - peptides Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201408089 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 54 IS - 1 SP - 323 EP - 326 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Haralampiev, Ivan A1 - Mertens, Monique A1 - Schwarzer, Roland A1 - Herrmann, Andreas A1 - Volkmer, Rudolf A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Müller, Peter T1 - A palmitic acid functionalized with a maleimide group is used to recruit SH-containing peptides to lipid and biological membranes T2 - The FEBS journal Y1 - 2015 SN - 1742-464X SN - 1742-4658 VL - 282 SP - 204 EP - 204 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hoang, Hoa T. A1 - Mertens, Monique A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Sellrie, Frank A1 - Schenk, Jörg A. A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe T1 - Antibody Binding at the Liposome-Water Interface BT - a FRET Investigation toward a Liposome-Based Assay JF - ACS Omega N2 - Different signal amplification strategies to improve the detection sensitivity of immunoassays have been applied which utilize enzymatic reactions, nanomaterials, or liposomes. The latter are very attractive materials for signal amplification because liposomes can be loaded with a large amount of signaling molecules, leading to a high sensitivity. In addition, liposomes can be used as a cell-like "bioscaffold" to directly test recognition schemes aiming at cell-related processes. This study demonstrates an easy and fast approach to link the novel hydrophobic optical probe based on [1,3]dioxolo[4,5-f]-[1,3]benzodioxole (DBD dye mm239) with tunable optical properties to hydrophilic recognition elements (e.g., antibodies) using liposomes for signal amplification and as carrier of the hydrophobic dye. The fluorescence properties of mm239 (e.g., long fluorescence lifetime, large Stokes shift, high photostability, and high quantum yield), its high hydrophobicity for efficient anchoring in liposomes, and a maleimide bioreactive group were applied in a unique combination to build a concept for the coupling of antibodies or other protein markers to liposomes (coupling to membranes can be envisaged). The concept further allowed us to avoid multiple dye labeling of the antibody. Here, anti-TAMRA-antibody (DC7-Ab) was attached to the liposomes. In proof-of-concept, steady-state as well as time-resolved fluorescence measurements (e.g., fluorescence depolarization) in combination with single molecule detection (fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, FCS) were used to analyze the binding interaction between DC7-Ab and liposomes as well as the binding of the antigen rhodamine 6G (R6G) to the antibody. Here, the Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between mm239 and R6G was monitored. In addition to ensemble FRET data, single-molecule FRET (PIE-FRET) experiments using pulsed interleaved excitation were used to characterize in detail the binding on a single-molecule level to avoid averaging out effects. KW - energy-transfer KW - immunoassay KW - complexes KW - probes Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.8b03016 SN - 2470-1343 VL - 3 IS - 12 SP - 18109 EP - 18116 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mertens, Monique A1 - Hilsch, Malte A1 - Haralampiev, Ivan A1 - Volkmer, Rudolf A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Müller, Peter T1 - Synthesis and characterization of a new Bifunctionalized, Fluorescent, and Amphiphilic molecule for recruiting SH-Containing molecules to membranes JF - ChemBioChem N2 - This study describes the synthesis and characterization of an amphiphilic construct intended to recruit SH-containing molecules to membranes. The construct consists of 1)an aliphatic chain to enable anchoring within membranes, 2)a maleimide moiety to react with the sulfhydryl group of a soluble (bio)molecule, and 3)a fluorescence moiety to allow the construct to be followed by fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy. It is shown that the construct can be incorporated into preformed membranes, thus allowing application of the approach with biological membranes. The close proximity between the fluorophore and the maleimide moiety within the construct causes fluorescence quenching. This allows monitoring of the reaction with SH-containing molecules by measurement of increases in fluorescence intensity and lifetime. Notably, the construct distributes into laterally ordered membrane domains of lipid vesicles, which is probably triggered by the length of its membrane anchor. The advantages of the new construct can be employed for several biological, biotechnological, and medicinal applications. KW - DBD dyes KW - fatty acids KW - liposomes KW - maleimide KW - membranes KW - palmitoylation Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.201800268 SN - 1439-4227 SN - 1439-7633 VL - 19 IS - 15 SP - 1643 EP - 1647 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meyners, Christian A1 - Mertens, Monique A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Meyer-Almes, Franz-Josef T1 - A Fluorescence-Lifetime-Based Binding Assay for Class IIa Histone Deacetylases JF - Chemistry - a European journal N2 - Class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) show extremely low enzymatic activity and no commonly accepted endogenous substrate is known today. Increasing evidence suggests that these enzymes exert their effect rather through molecular recognition of acetylated proteins and recruiting other proteins like HDAC3 to the desired target location. Accordingly, class IIa HDACs like bromodomains have been suggested to act as “Readers” of acetyl marks, whereas enzymatically active HDACs of class I or IIb are called “Erasers” to highlight their capability to remove acetyl groups from acetylated histones or other proteins. Small-molecule ligands of class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) have gained tremendous attention during the last decade and have been suggested as pharmaceutical targets in several indication areas such as cancer, Huntington's disease and muscular atrophy. Up to now, only enzyme activity assays with artificial chemically activated trifluoroacetylated substrates are in use for the identification and characterization of new active compounds against class IIa HDACs. Here, we describe the first binding assay for this class of HDAC enzymes that involves a simple mix-and-measure procedure and an extraordinarily robust fluorescence lifetime readout based on [1,3]dioxolo[4,5-f]benzodioxole-based ligand probes. The principle of the assay is generic and can also be transferred to class I HDAC8. KW - drug discovery KW - enzymes KW - fluorescent probes KW - high-throughput screening KW - hydrolases Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201605140 SN - 0947-6539 SN - 1521-3765 VL - 23 IS - 13 SP - 3107 EP - 3116 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwarze, Thomas A1 - Mertens, Monique A1 - Mueller, Peter A1 - Riemer, Janine A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - Holdt, Hans-Jürgen T1 - Highly K+-Selective Fluorescent Probes for Lifetime Sensing of K+ in Living Cells JF - Chemistry - a European journal N2 - The new K+-selective fluorescent probes 1 and 2 were obtained by Cu-I-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reactions of an alkyne-substituted [1,3]dioxolo[4,5-f][1,3]benzodioxole (DBD) ester fluorophore with azido-functionalized N-phenylaza-18-crown-6 ether and N-(o-isopropoxy) phenylaza-18-crown-6 ether, respectively. Probes 1 and 2 allow the detection of K+ in the presence of Na+ in water by fluorescence enhancement (2.2 for 1 at 2000mm K+ and 2.5 for 2 at 160mm K+). Fluorescence lifetime measurements in the absence and presence of K+ revealed bi-exponential decay kinetics with similar lifetimes, however with different proportions changing the averaged fluorescence decay times ((f(av))). For 1 a decrease of (f(av)) from 12.4 to 9.3ns and for 2 an increase from 17.8 to 21.8ns was observed. Variation of the substituent in ortho position of the aniline unit of the N-phenylaza-18-crown-6 host permits the modulation of the K-d value for a certain K+ concentration. For example, substitution of H in 1 by the isopropoxy group (2) decreased the K-d value from >300mm to 10mm. 2 was chosen for studying the efflux of K+ from human red blood cells (RBC). Upon addition of the Ca2+ ionophor ionomycin to a RBC suspension in a buffer containing Ca2+, the fluorescence of 2 slightly rose within 10min, however, after 120min a significant increase was observed. KW - electron transfer KW - fluorescence lifetime KW - fluorescent probes KW - living cells KW - potassium Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201704368 SN - 0947-6539 SN - 1521-3765 VL - 23 SP - 17186 EP - 17190 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wessig, Pablo A1 - John, Leonard A1 - Mertens, Monique T1 - Extending the Class of [1,3]-Dioxolo[4.5-f]benzodioxole (DBD) Fluorescent Dyes JF - European journal of organic chemistry N2 - Synthetic routes to a collection of new fluorescent dyes are described, which are based on the [1,3]-dioxolo[4.5-f]benzodioxole (DBD) core. By introducing different electron withdrawing groups in 4- and 8-position of the DBD moiety the emission wavelength could be adjusted over a large spectral range from blue to orange light. KW - Functional organic materials KW - Fluorescence KW - DBD dyes KW - Large Stokes shifts KW - Aryllithium compounds KW - Heterocycles Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.201800002 SN - 1434-193X SN - 1099-0690 VL - 2018 IS - 14 SP - 1674 EP - 1681 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER -