Issue 7, 2015

Development of peptoid-based ligands for the removal of cadmium from biological media

Abstract

Cadmium poisoning poses a serious health concern due to cadmium's increasing industrial use, yet there is currently no recommended treatment. The selective coordination of cadmium in a biological environment—i.e. in the presence of serum ions, small molecules, and proteins—is a difficult task. To address this challenge, a combinatorial library of peptoid-based ligands has been evaluated to identify structures that selectively bind to cadmium in human serum with minimal chelation of essential metal ions. Eighteen unique ligands were identified in this screening procedure, and the binding affinity of each was measured using metal titrations monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy. To evaluate the significance of each chelating moiety, sequence rearrangements and substitutions were examined. Analysis of a metal–ligand complex by NMR spectroscopy highlighted the importance of particular residues. Depletion experiments were performed in serum mimetics and human serum with exogenously added cadmium. These depletion experiments were used to compare and demonstrate the ability of these peptoids to remove cadmium from blood-like mixtures. In one of these depletion experiments, the peptoid sequence was able to deplete the cadmium to a level comparable to the reported acute toxicity limit. Evaluation of the metal selectivity in buffered solution and in human serum was performed to verify minimal off-target binding. These studies highlight a screening platform for the identification of metal–ligands that are capable of binding in a complex environment. They additionally demonstrate the potential utility of biologically-compatible ligands for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning.

Graphical abstract: Development of peptoid-based ligands for the removal of cadmium from biological media

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
23 Feb 2015
Accepted
28 Apr 2015
First published
14 May 2015
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2015,6, 4042-4048

Author version available

Development of peptoid-based ligands for the removal of cadmium from biological media

A. S. Knight, E. Y. Zhou and M. B. Francis, Chem. Sci., 2015, 6, 4042 DOI: 10.1039/C5SC00676G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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