Chemical conjugation of biomacromolecules: A mini-review

Abstract

Biological studies showed that assembles of biomolecules can dramatically change their physiological effectiveness. Covalent coupling of different types of biomolecules leads to novel biomacromolecules of different properties. Generally, bioconjugate chemistry opens a new dimension in biomedical and biotechnology research. In this review, some important chemical methods of bioconjugates preparation used in the practice are described. Proteins and saccharides modification methods and employment of linkers used to achieve new functionalities are discussed. Common bioconjugation methods are emphasized and novel methods from recent years are described. Except in chemistry, benefits and limits of the studied methods are outlined.

Comparison of EDC and DMTMM efficiency in glycoconjugate preparation

“…The amide bond formation in the synthesis of glycoconjugates represents a subject of our interest for a long time [2]. Since the natural proteins like albumins contain a high number of amino groups and carboxyl groups, this chemistry is feasible for the aim of this study.…”

Active Packaging Coatings

“…Active agents can be covalently linked directly to the polymer surface or by use of a crosslinker, which may either share a permanent covalent bond with both the polymeric substrate and the bioactive compound, or may promote covalent bond formation between the activated substrate and the bioactive compound without forming part of that link ("zero-length" crosslinkers) [22,25]. The covalent attachment between a polymeric surface and an active compound relies mainly on the formation of amide, ether, ester, and thioether bonds, created between the hydroxyl, amine, imine, carboxylic acid, and thiol groups the active compounds of interest may possess intrinsically (or are incorporated in their structure) and the functional groups created on the substrate [22,25,26]. A benefit to immobilization technologies is the potential versatility: once functional groups are introduced to the polymer surface, a range of bioactive agents (e.g., enzymes, peptides) can be immobilized through standard bioconjugation techniques.…”

Targeting Urokinase and the Transferrin Receptor with Novel, Anti-Mitotic N-Alkylisatin Cytotoxin Conjugates Causes Selective Cancer Cell Death and Reduces Tumor Growth

“…The linker must show a high degree of stability in circulation and exhibit efficient release of the active drug within the tumor cell to provide true selectivity. Common linkers used in LTT are reviewed in [2,[7][8]. Many LTTs currently under investigation are delivered to cancer cells via the endosomal/lysosomal pathway [9][10].…”