CHED 817 |
| Many periplasmic binding proteins in bacteria undergo conformational changes in response to the presence of a target analyte and thus act as stimuli-responsive molecular machines. In this work, the development of glucose-sensitive hydrogels was pursued by the integration of a dimer of the glucose binding protein (GBPd) within a polyacrylamide hydrogel network. The integration of GBPd within the hydrogel causes a change in the volume of the hydrogel in response to glucose. The presence of glucose should result in a shrunken hydrogel while removal of glucose should result in a swollen hydrogel. This has been shown previously using the monomer of GBP, however greater response is expected when using the dimer. To that end, GBPd was expressed, purified, and integrated into the hydrogel material. Preliminary results suggest the extent of cross-linking within the hydrogel should be reduced to allow for volume changes in the material upon analyte binding. Glucose-responsive hydrogels should find applications in high-throughput screening, responsive drug delivery, as well as in a variety of microfluidic systems and bioMEMS devices. |
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Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Biochemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |