A new approach to the preparation of porous polymer monoliths with enhanced coverage of pore surface with gold nanoparticles has been developed. First, a generic poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith was reacted with cystamine followed by the cleavage of its disulfide bonds with tris(2-carboxylethyl)phosphine which liberated the desired thiol groups. Dispersions of gold nanoparticles with sizes varying from 5 to 40 nm were then pumped through the functionalized monoliths. The materials were then analyzed using both energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. We found that the quantity of attached gold was dependent on the size of nanoparticles, with the maximum attachment of more than 60 wt% being achieved with 40 nm nanoparticles. Scanning electron micrographs of the cross sections of all the monoliths revealed the formation of a non-aggregated, homogenous monolayer of nanoparticles. The surface of the bound gold was functionalized with 1-octanethiol and 1-octadecanethiol, and these monolithic columns were used successfully for the separations of proteins in reversed phase mode. The best separations were obtained using monoliths modified with 15, 20, and 30 nm nanoparticles since these sizes produced the most dense coverage of pore surface with gold.
The development of transgenic technologies in monkeys is important for creating valuable animal models of human physiology so that the etiology of diseases can be studied and potential therapies for their amelioration may be developed. However, the efficiency of producing transgenic primate animals is presently very low, and there are few reports of success. We have developed an improved methodology for the production of transgenic rhesus monkeys, making use of a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-based vector that encodes EGFP and a protocol for infection of early-cleavagestage embryos. We show that infection does not alter embryo development. Moreover, the timing of infection, either before or during embryonic genome activation, has no observable effect on the level and stability of transgene expression. Of 70 embryos injected with concentrated virus at the one-to two-cell stage or the four-to eight-cell stage and showing fluorescence, 30 were transferred to surrogate mothers. One transgenic fetus was obtained from a fraternal triple pregnancy. Four infant monkeys were produced from four singleton pregnancies, of which two expressed EGFP throughout the whole body. These results demonstrate the usefulness of SIV-based lentiviral vectors for the generation of transgenic monkeys and improve the efficiency of transgenic technology in nonhuman primates. lentiviral vector | transgenesis
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