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Membrane Activation: Selective Vesicle Fusion via Small Molecule Recognition

2006; American Chemical Society; Volume: 128; Issue: 45 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1021/ja0644576

1943-2984

Yun Gong, Yumei Luo, Dennis Bong,

Biochemical and Structural Characterization

We report herein the induction of selective vesicle fusion with biological recognition motifs not natively associated with lipid bilayer fusion, thus broadening the scope of recognition-guided membrane activation. Our system employs vancomycin glycopeptide, coupled to the antimicrobial peptide magainin, and D-Ala-D-Ala-OH dipeptide coupled to a phospholipid derivative, as surface-bound fusogens. Fusion was characterized by dynamic light scattering and FRET experiments with lipid bound fluorophores. We have demonstrated here that appropriately designed membrane anchored molecular recognition motifs have the biomimetic ability to activate specific membrane mergers; this principle has resonance with goals in targeted chemical delivery and nanoscale compartmentalized chemistry.