Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Analytical Chemistry

Microfluidic Device Mimics Golgi Organelle

Chip with multiple reservoirs for different enzymes functions just like the little-understood cellular component in carrying out glycosylations

by Celia Henry Arnaud
July 20, 2009 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 87, Issue 29

[+]Enlarge
Credit: J. Am. Chem. Soc.
This digital microfluidic device (14 x 17 mm), made up of enzyme-containing square reservoirs connected by a series of electrodes (small squares) to move droplets, mimics a Golgi organelle.
Credit: J. Am. Chem. Soc.
This digital microfluidic device (14 x 17 mm), made up of enzyme-containing square reservoirs connected by a series of electrodes (small squares) to move droplets, mimics a Golgi organelle.

A research team led by Robert J. Linhardt of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has created a microfluidic prototype of an artificial Golgi organelle that mimics part of the little-understood cellular component’s role in the posttranslational protein glycosylation process (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja903038d). The researchers are using the droplet-based digital device to study the enzymatic modification of the polysaccharide heparan sulfate immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles. In cells, this glycosylation process involves a series of enzymes, including N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase; C5 epimerase; and 2-, 6-, and 3-O-sulfotransferases (OSTs). Linhardt’s team is focusing on one part of the series, using D-glucosaminyl 3-OST to generate heparan sulfate with increased affinity for antithrombin III, an anticoagulation protein. The researchers suggest that the device, which has multiple reservoirs for holding different enzymes, could provide a platform for high-throughput synthesis of glycosaminoglycans for biological and pharmacological applications and for designing biosynthetic versions of the anticoagulant heparin.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.