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Polypeptides with known repeating sequences of amino acids. Comparison of several methods used for the synthesis of poly‐γ‐ D ‐ and L ‐glutamylglycine and investigation of its serological reaction with antianthrax immune serum
Author(s) -
Kovacs J.,
Schmit G. N.,
Ghatak U. R.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.1968.360060606
Subject(s) - carbodiimide , chemistry , antiserum , polymer , succinic anhydride , polymerization , precipitation , amino acid , organic chemistry , chromatography , stereochemistry , antibody , biochemistry , immunology , physics , meteorology , biology
To make a comparison of some of the various polymerization methods, poly‐γ‐ D ‐and L ‐glutamylglycine were synthesized through the mixed anhydride, carbodiimide, and pentachlorophenyl active ester methods. This last method proved to be best, on the basis of weight‐average molecular weights ( M̄ w ). A detailed study was also carried out to determine the optimum conditions for this method. The M̄ w , values of the polymers were determined by the sedimentation equilibrium method; it was found that the pentachlorophenyl active ester gave M̄ w values of up to 11, 500 but the mixed anhydride and carbodiimide methods gave M̄ w , values of only about 1000. Tests with rabbit antianthrax immune serum showed that neither D ‐ nor L ‐isomer precipitated with the antiserum, but that, both were able to inhibit the precipitation of the antiserum by anthrax polypeptide. In addition, the D ‐polymer gave more inhibition than the L , which would indicate a specificity of the antibody for D ‐glutamic acid residues.