International Postdoctoral Fellows Program: Specific Recognition of Proteins with Ligand Lipids Using a Fiber Optic Sensor

9301706博哈农奖是根据国际博士后研究员计划颁发的，该计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在已被证明卓越的外国中心进行为期3至12个月的研究。该项目的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，并提供了使用国外独特或互补的设施、专业知识和实验条件的机会。该奖项将支持托马斯·M·博哈农博士为期12个月的博士后研究访问，与赫尔穆特·林斯多夫博士在德国美因茨的约翰尼斯·古滕贝格大学合作。Bohanon博士和Ringsdorf博士将使用光纤传感器定量研究蛋白质与配体脂质的特异性识别。来自光纤的逝去波仅在距离光纤几十纳米的范围内激发荧光分子；光纤收集这种荧光的一部分。这项技术具有很高的选择性，而且用途非常广泛。他们将研究链霉亲和素与生物素的特异性结合，间隔物对结合的影响，以及将第二蛋白质层对接到链霉亲和素的可能性。他们还将研究抗荧光素IgG和Fab与荧光素脂类的特异性结合，以及间隔物对这种结合的影响，并进行动力学测量。最后，他们将使用石英晶体微天平进行相同的实验；这两种技术的结合将提供对其他方式无法实现的特定结合的洞察。***

9301706 Bohanon This award is under the International Postdoctoral Fellows Program, which enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twelve months of research at foreign centers of proven excellence. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support a twelve-month postdoctoral research visit by Dr. Thomas M. Bohanon to work with Dr. Helmut Ringsdorf at Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet in Mainz, Germany. Dr. Bohanon and Dr. Ringsdorf will quantitatively study the specific recognition of proteins with ligand lipids using a fiber optic sensor. An evanescent wave from the optical fiber excites fluorescent molecules only within tens of nanometers from the optical fiber; the optical fiber collects a fraction of this fluorescence. This technique is highly selective and very versatile. They will study the specific binding of streptavidin to biotin, the effect of spacers on the binding, and the possibility of docking a second protein layer to streptavidin. They also will study the specific binding of antiflourescyl IgG and Fab to fluorescein lipids, and the effects of spacers on this binding and perform kinetic measurements. Finally, they will perform the same experiments using a quartz crystal microbalance; the combination of these two techniques will provide insight into specific binding that could not otherwise be achieved. ***