10.1021/ac9017988
The research presents a novel strategy for identifying phosphorylated serine and threonine residues in phosphoproteins. The study introduces a new derivatization reagent, N-(4-bromobenzoyl)aminoethanethiol, which selectively reacts with R,γ-unsaturated ketones produced by β-elimination of phosphoryl groups from phosphorylated serine or threonine residues. This reagent contains a bromine atom, which imparts a characteristic isotopic pattern to the mass spectrum of the derivatized peptide, facilitating the identification of phosphorylated peptides. The method involves selective derivatization of phosphoproteins followed by double pseudoneutral loss extraction after nanoLC/ESI-MS/MS analysis. This approach allows for the effective detection of phosphorylated peptides even in complex mixtures, as demonstrated through the analysis of a mixture of various proteins including β-casein and bovine serum albumin. The study highlights the utility of this method in overcoming challenges associated with the low concentration and detection of phosphorylated peptides in complex biological samples.
10.7150/thno.34418
This study explores the development of small organic molecule-based nanoparticles for cancer treatment and imaging. The researchers designed a heptacyclic B, O-chelated BODIPY structure (Boca-BODIPY) with strong near-infrared (NIR) absorption through molecular engineering. Heavy atoms and alkyl chains were introduced to enhance its photothermal conversion efficiency and interaction with proteins. The Boca-BODIPY molecules were encapsulated in reduced bovine serum albumin (BSA) through self-assembly to improve their aqueous solubility and biocompatibility. The resulting BSA-Boca-BODIPY nanoparticles exhibited excellent biocompatibility, stability, and a high photothermal conversion efficiency of up to 58.7%. They significantly enhanced photoacoustic contrast in tumor regions and efficiently converted laser energy into hyperthermia for tumor ablation under photoacoustic imaging-guided photothermal therapy (PTT). The study demonstrates that molecular engineering is a promising approach to designing organic-molecule-based nanoparticles for cancer theranostics, with potential for future personalized medicine applications.