Molecular glue

Fibronectins are typical representatives of adhesive proteins. They are filamentous dimers consisting of two related peptide chains (each with a mass of 250 kDa) linked to each other by disulfide bonds. The fibronectin molecules are divided into different domains, which bind to cell-surface receptors, collagens, fibrin, and various proteoglycans. This is what gives fibronectins their molecular glue" characteristics. 

In the future, salt-binding receptors will be employed in various separation and sensing applications. The work described in this chapter demonstrates that ditopic receptors, with an ability to bind the salts as contact ion-pairs, have particularly attractive properties as extraction and transport agents. Another future direction is the utilization of salts as molecular glue to assemble complex supramolecular structures that have dynamic properties and the capability to behave as molecular machines. 

In essence we needed a molecular editing system a pair of molecular scissors that could cut the DNA text into manageable sections a kind of molecular glue pot that would allow us to manipulate those pieces and finally a molecular duplicating machine to amplify the pieces that we had cut out and isolated (pp. 87-88). 

Looking at all the reactions that took place for the formation of the complex C, the heterocycle A plays the role of a molecular glue, which is possible because it represents both a Lewis acid and a Lewis base. As a result of this dual role, A places the electrophile (the ketone) and the hydride donor (the BH3) in close proximity. In this way, the complex C makes possible a quasi-intramolecular reduction of the ketone. It takes place stereoselectively in such a way as the arrangement of the reaction partners in C suggests (Figure 10.26). As a bicyclic... 

The higher generation dendrimeric derivative proved more effective in its interaction with liposomes. This behaviour was attributed to multivalent effects, exhibited at a greater extent by this dendrimeric derivative. Under an equal concentration of functional moieties the reactivity is favoured when the groups are located in a smaller number of particles. Thus the dendrimeric materials act as molecular glue causing adhesion of liposomal particles. 

DNA is a marvelous material to create with. It acts as a molecular glue, as the fuel for molecular engines, and as a structural material in self-assembhng nanostructures. I is the flexibility of DNA to store data that is the key to its use the interactions that hold a nanostructure together are encoded within the base... 

The metal eenter(s) can play a structural role in the linear part of a dendrimer or a star compound in which it links together two components. Such systems are topologically linear and the metal is used as a convenient molecular glue ." ... 

Another demonstrated use for DNA is as a molecular glue to unite two surfaces. By attaching a short polynucleotide chain to surface 1, then bringing it into contact with a complimentary polynucleotide chain attached to surface 2, the resulting double helix will bind the two surfaces together (Figure 11.49) [101,102],... 

Aida and coworkers have reported dendrimeric structures that contain guanidinium groups (43) as molecular glue. These materials bind proteins without selectivity. 

Janknecht R, Hunter T (1996) Versatile molecular glue. Transcriptional control. Curr Biol 6 951-954 Janknecht R, Hunter T (1996) A growing coactivator network. Nature 383 22-23... 

---