Tessa Lühmann

University of Wuerzburg | JMU · Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry

Driving macrophage (M) polarization into the M2 phenotype provides potential against inflammatory diseases. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) leverages polarization into the M2-M phenotype but its systemic use is constrained by dose-limiting toxicity. Consequently, we developed IL-4 decorated surfaces aiming at sustained and localized activity. IL-4 muteins wer...

The bio-orthogonal copper (I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) has been widely used to modify azide or alkyne bearing monosaccharides present on metabolic glyco-engineered mammalian cells. Here, we present a systematic study to elucidate the design space for cytotoxic effects of the copper catalyst on NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and on HEK 293...

Soluble nanotransporters for drugs can be profiled for targeted delivery particularly to maximize the efficacy of highly potent drugs while minimizing off target effects. This article outlines on the use of biological carrier molecules with a focus on albumin, various drug linkers for site specific release of the drug payload from the nanotransport...

Background Genetic code expansion has developed into an elegant tool to incorporate unnatural amino acids (uAA) at predefined sites in the protein backbone in response to an amber codon. However, recombinant production and yield of uAA comprising proteins are challenged due to the additional translation machinery required for uAA incorporation. Re...

Vascular endothelial growth factor A-165 (VEGF-A165) positively modulates neointimal hyperplasia, lumen stenosis, and neovascularization. One challenge for the use of VEGF-A165 for potential therapy is its short serum half-life. Therefore, we are designing VEGF-A165 bioconjugates carrying polyethylene glycol (PEG). The purity of the recombinantly e...

Cytokines are regulated in acute and chronic inflammation, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and myocardial infarction (MI). However, the dynamic windows within which cytokine activity/inhibition is desirable in RA and MI change timely and locally during the disease. Therefore, traditional, static delivery regimens are unlikely to meet the idiosy...

In recent years, a novel treatment method for cancer emerged, which is based on the starvation of tumors of amino acids like arginine. The deprivation of arginine in serum is based on enzymatic degradation and can be realized by arginine deaminases like the L-amino acid oxidase found in the ink toxin of the sea hare Aplysia punctata . Previously is...

The incorporation of photoswitches into the molecular structure of peptides and proteins enables their dynamic photocontrol in complex biological systems. Here, a perfluorinated azobenzene derivative triggered by amber light was site‐specifically conjugated to cysteines in a helical peptide by perfluoroarylation chemistry. In response to the photoi...

Influenza A viruses (IAV), including the pandemic 2009 (pdm09) H1N1 or avian influenza H5N1 virus, may advance into more pathogenic, potentially antiviral drug-resistant strains (including loss of susceptibility against oseltamivir). Such IAV strains fuel the risk of future global outbreaks, to which this study responds by re-engineering Interferon...

Conjugation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to biologics is a successful strategy to favorably impact the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of the resulting bioconjugate. We compare bioconjugates synthesized by strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) using PEG and linear polyglycerol (LPG) of about 20 kDa or 40 kDa, respectively, with an azid...

Intraoperative bleeding and postoperative bleeding are major surgical complications. Tissue sealants, hemostats, and adhesives provide the armamentarium for establishing hemostatic balance, including the tissue sealant fibrin. Fibrin sealants combine advantages including instantaneous effect, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. However, several...

3D printing of biomaterials enables spatial control of drug incorporation during automated manufacturing. This study links bioresponsive release of the anabolic biologic, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in response to matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) to 3D printing using the block copolymer of poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) and thermoresponsive pol...

3D printing of biomaterials enables spatial control of drug incorporation during automated manufacturing. This study links bioresponsive release of the anabolic biologic, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in response to matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) to 3D printing using the block copolymer of poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) and thermoresponsive pol...

Conjugation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to biologics is a successful strategy to favorably impact the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of the resulting bioconjugate. We compare bioconjugates synthesized by strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) using PEG and linear polyglycerol (LPG) of about 20 kDa or 40 kDa, respectively, with an azid...

Interferons (IFN) are immunomodulating, antiviral and antiproliferative cytokines for treatment of multiple indications, including cancer, hepatitis, and autoimmune disease. The first IFNs were discovered in 1957, first approved in 1986, and are nowadays listed in the WHO model list of essential Medicines. Three classes of IFNs are known; IFN–α2a a...

Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is a potentially interesting anti-inflammatory therapeutic, which is rapidly excreted. Therefore, serum half-life extension by polymer conjugation is desirable, which may be done by PEGylation. Here, we use PEtOx as an alternative to PEG for bioconjugate engineering. We genetically extended murine IL-4 (mIL-4) with the d-domain...

In this study, a novel approach to create arbitrarily shaped 3D hydrogel objects is presented, wherein freeform two-photon polymerization (2PP) is enabled by the combination of a photosensitive hydrogel and an intrinsic support matrix. This way, topologies without physical contact such as a highly porous 3D network of concatenated rings were realiz...

Polymer conjugation to biologics is of key interest to the pharmaceutical industry for the development of potent and long acting biotherapeutics, with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) being the gold standard. Within the last years, unwanted PEG-related side effects (immunological reactions, antibody formation) arose, therefore creating several attempts...

Hydrogels are key components in bioink formulations to ensure printability and stability in biofabrication. In this study, a well‐known Diels‐Alder two‐step post‐polymerization modification approach is introduced into thermogelling diblock copolymers, comprising poly(2‐methyl‐2‐oxazoline) and thermoresponsive poly(2‐n‐propyl‐2‐oxazine). The diblock...

Hydrogels are key components in bioink formulations to ensure printability and stability in biofabrication. In this study a well-known post-polymerization modification approach is introduced into thermogelling diblock copolymers, comprising poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) and thermoresponsive poly(2-n-propyl-2-oxazine). While the thermogelling and shear...

Metabolic glycoengineering enables a directed modification of cell surfaces by introducing target molecules to surface proteins displaying new features. Biochemical pathways involving glycans differ in dependence on the cell type; therefore, this technique should be tailored for the best results. We characterized metabolic glycoengineering in telom...

This article provides guidance toward a platform technology for monitoring enzyme activity within the extracellular matrix (ECM) assessed by quantifying reporters secreted into the cell culture supernatant and analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry. The reporters are enzymatically and covalently bound to the ECM by transglutaminases (TG) using the pe...

Overcoming the intestinal epithelium barrier is an important challenge for orally administered drugs, specifically for those that elicit poor water solubility and permeability, and several efforts have been developed to address this challenge. Nanosized drug delivery systems constitute one of these attempts to enhance the penetration and permeation...

Reporting matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity directly from the extracellular matrix (ECM) may provide critical insights to better characterize 2D and 3D cell culture model systems of inflammatory diseases and potentially leverage in vivo diagnosis. In this proof of concept study, we designed MMP-sensors, which were covalently linked onto the E...

Anti-inflammatory cytokines are a promising class of therapeutics for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but their use is currently limited by a rapid clearance and systemic toxicity. Interleukin-4 is a small cytokine with potential for RA therapy. To increase its pharmacokinetic features, we engineered a murine IL4 conjugate by incorporating...

Bioprinting has emerged as a valuable three-dimensional (3D) biomanufacturing method to fabricate complex hierarchical cell-containing constructs. Spanning from basic research to clinical translation, sterile starting materials are crucial. In this study, we present pharmacopeia compendial sterilization methods for the commonly used bioink componen...

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) is a small 18 kDa protein with clinical potential for ischemic heart disease, wound healing, and spinal cord injury. However, the therapeutic potential of systemic FGF-2 administration is challenged by its fast elimination. Therefore, we deployed genetic codon expansion to integrate an azide functionality to the F...

Metabolic glycoengineering allows insertion of non-natural monosaccharides into glycan structures during biosynthesis thereby enabling extracellular matrices (ECM), cell surfaces or tissues for decoration with functional cues with ultimate spatial control while deploying aqueous and toxicologically benign coupling chemistries. In this work, we disc...

PEGylation of protein-ligands, the attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers to a therapeutic protein, increases therapeutics' half-life but frequently comes at the cost of reduced bioactivity. We are now presenting a bioinspired strategy leading out of this dilemma. To this end, we selected a position within insulin-like growth factor I (IG...

Different therapeutic strategies for the treatment of non-healing long bone defects have been intensively investigated. Currently used treatments present several limitations that have led to the use of biomaterials in combination with osteogenic growth factors, such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Commonly used absorption or encapsulation me...

Cell derived matrices (CDMs) emerged as an attractive biomaterial in regenerative medicine. Here we present a strategy for site-specific decoration of CDMs with bioactive molecules deploying metabolic glycoengineering. NIH-3T3 fibroblasts were cultured in the presence of a tetra acetylated azide bearing monosaccharide to metabolically incorporate t...

IGF-I is an inducer of skeletal muscle hypertrophy and blocks skeletal muscle atrophy rendering it an interesting therapeutic option for the treatment of severe burn injury for which localized treatment options are particularly interesting. For that, the therapeutic was redesigned via amber codon expression leading to a propargyl-L-lysine (plk) mod...

Emerging strategies targeting site-specific protein modifications allow for unprecedented selectivity, fast kinetics and mild reaction conditions with high yield. These advances open exciting novel possibilities for the effective bioorthogonal decoration of biomaterials with therapeutic proteins. Site-specificity is particularly important to the th...

Our ability of screening broad communities for clinically asymptomatic diseases critically drives population health. Sensory chewing gums are presented targeting the tongue as 24/7 detector allowing diagnosis by “anyone, anywhere, anytime”. The chewing gum contains peptide sensors consisting of a protease cleavable linker in between a bitter substa...

Poor water solubility of drugs fuels complex formulations and jeopardizes patient access to medication. Simplifying these complexities we systematically synthesized a library of 36 sterically demanding counterions and mapped the pharmaceutical design space for amorphous ionic liquid strategies for Selurampanel, a poorly water soluble drug used agai...

Biocompatible polymers that form thermoreversible supramolecular hydrogels have gained great interest in biomaterials research and tissue engineering. When favorable rheological properties are achieved at the same time, they are particularly promising candidates as material that allow for the printing of cells, so-called bioinks. We synthesized a n...

Diseases in the ocular posterior segment are a leading cause of blindness. The surgical skills required to treat them are at the limits of human manipulation ability, and involve the risk of permanent retinal damage. Instrument tethering and design limit accessibility within the eye. Wireless microrobots suturelessly injected into the posterior seg...

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), an important paracrine growth factor, binds electrostatically with low micromolar affinity to heparan sulfates present on extracellular matrix proteins. A single molecular analysis served as a basis to decipher the nanomechanical mechanism of the interaction between FGF-2 and the heparan sulfate surrogate, hepari...

Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) is a potent modulator of cell growth and regulation, with improper FGF-2 signaling being involved in impaired responses to injury or even cancer. Therefore, the exploitation of FGF-2 as a therapeutic drives the prerequisite for effective insight into drug disposition kinetics. In this article, we present an (111)I...

The regenerative potential of bone is strongly impaired in pathological conditions, such as nonunion fractures. To support bone regeneration various scaffolds have been developed in the past, which have been functionalized with osteogenic growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). However, most of them required supra-physiological l...

Purpose: The inhibition of myostatin - a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF-β) family - drives regeneration of functional skeletal muscle tissue. We developed a bioresponsive drug delivery system (DDS) linking release of a myostatin inhibitor (MI) to inflammatory flares of myositis to provide self-regulated MI concentration gradients wi...

Three water-soluble tetracationic quadrupolar chromophores comprising two three-coordinate boron π-acceptor groups bridged by thiophene-containing moieties were synthesised for biological imaging applications. Compound 3 containing the bulkier 5-(3,5-Me2 C6 H2 )-2,2'-(C4 H2 S)2 -5'-(3,5-Me2 C6 H2 ) bridge is stable over a long period of time, exhib...

We report a novel atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique with dual actuation capabilities using both piezo and magnetic bead actuation for advanced single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments. The experiments are performed by manipulating magnetic microbeads using an electromagnet against a stationary cantilever. Magnetic actuation has been dem...

The 67th Mosbacher Kolloquium of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) with the topic “Protein Design–From First Principles to Biomedical Application” took place from March 31 to April 2 in Mosbach, Germany. Highlights of the colloquium are presented here.

Metal-organic framework/polymer (MOF-polymer) mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) have been prepared by embedding the luminescent lanthanide (Ln) MOFs 3∞[Sr0.9Eu0.1Im2] and 2∞[Tb2Cl6(bipy)3]·2bipy (Im- = imidazolate, bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine) into polysulfone (PSF, Ultrasonî S) and Matrimidî polymer films. The successful embedding of the Sr and Eu MOFs has...

H2 relaxin is a pleiotropic peptide hormone with clinical potential. Here we report on the reaction and use of hexafluorobenzene as an intramolecular disulfide replacement between Cys10 and Cys15 in the A-chain of H2 relaxin. Using flow-based Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis methodology we were able to obtain high-quality H2 relaxin fragments tha...

Studying the function and malfunction of genes and proteins associated with inherited forms of peripheral neuropathies has provided multiple clues to our understanding of myelinated nerves in health and disease. Here, we have generated a mouse model for the peripheral neuropathy Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 4H by constitutively disrupting the m...

Despite the tremendous progress in the transplantation medicine over the past decade, graft rejection and inflammations still remains a major problem. Cytokines and growth hormones offer a possibility to reduce inflammations, but they have the major drawback of many unwanted side effects by also inhibiting favourable functions of enzymes. To preve...

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. CL causes enormous suffering in many countries worldwide. There is no licensed vaccine against CL, and the chemotherapy options show limited efficacy and high toxicity. Localization of the parasites inside host cells is a...

Author Summary Peripheral nerves consist mainly of axons and Schwann cells, which form myelin sheaths around axons. Peripheral neuropathies primarily affect axons, their myelin, or both. Etiologies are multiple: they can be inherited, autoimmune, infectious, metabolic (e.g., diabetes), or be due to tumors or toxic agents. However, the pathogenesis...

Presentation of therapeutic proteins on material surfaces is challenged by random immobilization chemistries through lysine or cysteine residues, typically leading to heterogeneous product outcome. Pharmaceutical quality standards warrant a controlled process ideally through site specific conjugation. Therefore, we deployed genetic codon expansion...

This review summarises recent developments in the application of natural and semi-synthetic polymers for the delivery of sensitive drugs. Peptides, proteins and nucleic acids are drugs of increasing relevance potentially offering treatment options in indications with high unmet medical need. However, these drugs are characterised by high molecular...

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is a strong anabolic peptide with promising therapeutic value in muscle wasting diseases such as sarcopenia. We report a pulmonary IGF-I delivery system deploying silk-fibroin (SF) as carrier and in comparison to trehalose. Both IGF-I delivery systems were characterized regarding IGF-I integrity, IGF-I release p...

A poorly water soluble acidic active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was transformed into an ionic liquid (IL) aiming at faster and higher oral availability in comparison to a prodrug. API preparations were characterized in solid state by single crystal and powder diffraction, NMR, DSC, IR and in solution by NMR and ESI-MS. Dissolution and precipit...

Deploying the therapeutic potential of carbon monoxide (CO) in various gastrointestinal diseases is challenged by inappropriate oral delivery modes. It is for this challenge, that we developed an easy to use tablet referred to as oral carbon monoxide release system (OCORS) providing precise, controlled, tunable and targeted CO delivery for the trea...

Silk-fibroin (SF) has an excellent biocompatibility and its remarkable structure translates into exciting mechanical properties rendering this biomaterial particularly fascinating for biomedical application. To further boost the material’s biological/preclinical impact, SF is decorated with biologics, typically by carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide...

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been the most frequently reported and commercially used polymer for surface coatings to convey nonfouling properties. PEGylated surfaces are known to exhibit limited chemical stability, particularly due to oxidative degradation, which limits long-term applications. In view of excellent anti-adhesive properties in the...

To clear pathogens from host tissues or biomaterial surfaces, phagocytes have to break the adhesive bacteria-substrate interactions. Here we analysed the mechanobiological process that enables macrophages to lift-off and phagocytose surface-bound Escherichia coli (E. coli). In this opsonin-independent process, macrophage filopodia hold on to the E....

For successful peripheral nerve regeneration, a complex interplay of growth factors, topographical guidance structure by cells and extracellular matrix proteins, are needed. Aligned fibrous biomaterials with a wide variety in fiber diameter have been used successfully to support neuronal guidance. To better understand the importance of size of the...

Injectable insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) is therapeutically deployed for severe IGF-I deficiency and clinically explored for various other indications such as muscle wasting disease. In the present study, liquid IGF-I formulations for pulmonal application were screened with regard to buffer type (acetate, citrate, histidine, and succinate),...

This work presents the fabrication and controlled actuation of swimming microrobots made of a magnetic polymer composite (MPC) consisting of 11-nm-diameter magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles and photocurable resin (SU-8). Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is used to fabricate the magnetic microstructures. The material properties and the cytotoxicity of...

The surface properties of electrodeposited poly(pyrrole) (Ppy) doped with sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate (NaDBS) are modified by two methods: addition of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) during the electrodeposition and through redox cycling post electrodeposition. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to ascertain PEG incorporation and to an...

A wirelessly controlled magnetic microrobot has been proposed to diagnose and treat pathologies in the posterior segment of the human eye. The robot consists of a magnetic CoNi platform with a conformal coating of functional polymers. Electrodeposition has been the preferred method to fabricate and to functionalize the microrobot. Poly(pyrrole), a...

Studying the function and malfunction of genes and proteins associated with inherited forms of peripheral neuropathies has provided multiple clues to our understanding of myelinated nerves in health and disease. Here, we have generated a mouse model for the peripheral neuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4H by constitutively disrupting the m...

While bioengineers ask how the shape of diagnostic and therapeutic particles impacts their pharmacological efficiency, biodistribution, and toxicity, microbiologists suggested that morphological adaptations enable pathogens to perhaps evade the immune response. Here, a shape-dependent process is described that limits phagocytosis of filamentous Esc...

Porous nanostructures of polypyrrole (Ppy) were fabricated using colloidal lithography and electrochemical techniques for potential applications in drug delivery. A sequential fabrication method was developed and optimized to maximize the coverage of the Ppy nanostructures and to obtain a homogeneous layer over the substrate. This was realized by m...

The synthesis of a porous polysulfone (PSU) coating for use in drug delivery applications is presented. PSU can serve as a functional surface coating for drug delivery vehicles, such as intraocular biomicrorobots. The coatings can be applied using spin coating or dip coating. The porosity is introduced by selectively dissolving calcium carbonate na...

Electrospinning allows for the preparation of unique matrices with nano- to micrometer sized fibers using diverse materials and numerous fabrication techniques. A variety of post-spinning modification techniques add to the large repertoire and enable development of tailored drug delivery systems. Herein we provide an overview on current development...

Osteoporosis represents a major public health burden especially considering the aging populations worldwide. Drug targeting will be important to better meet these challenges and direct the full therapeutic potential of therapeutics to their intended site of action. This review has been organized in modules, such that scientists working in the field...

We present the state-of-the-art and future strategies for magnetic materials and functional coatings for biomedical microrobots. Coatings for sensing chemicals and for drug-delivery as well as ways of implementing them are being investigated. Two examples related to intraocular microrobots are shown in this work: a luminescence polymer-dye composit...

Preliminary results concerning impregnation of polypyrrole (Ppy) films with rhodamine B (Rh-B) are presented. The films are envisioned to be functional surface coatings on biomicrorobots for controlled drug delivery. The polypyrrole films were obtained on gold substrates by anodic oxidation of pyrrole in aqueous solutions containing sodium dodecylb...

Dicer is responsible for the generation of mature micro-RNAs (miRNAs) and loading them into RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). RISC functions as a probe that targets mRNAs leading to translational suppression and mRNA degradation. Schwann cells (SCs) in the peripheral nervous system undergo remarkable differentiation both in morphology and gene...

Concentration gradients of soluble and matrix-bound guidance cues in the extracellular matrix direct cell growth in native tissues and are of great interest for design of biomedical scaffolds and on implant surfaces. The focus of this review is to demonstrate the importance of gradient guidance for cells as it would be desirable to direct cell grow...

Concentration gradients of matrix-bound guidance cues in the extracellular matrix direct cell growth in native tissues and are of great interest for the design of biomedical scaffolds and on implant surfaces. This study describes effects of covalently immobilized gradients of the 6th Ig-like domain of cell adhesion molecule L1 (TG-L1Ig6) within 3D-...

How can we understand the contribution of individual parts or segments to complex structures? A typical strategy to answer this question is simulation of a segmental replacement followed by realization and investigation of the resulting effect in structure-activity studies. For proteins, this problem is commonly addressed by site-directed mutagenes...

Polycationic molecules form condensates with DNA and are used for gene therapy as an alternative to viral vectors. As clinical efficacy corresponds to cellular uptake, intracellular stability of the condensates, and bioavailability of the DNA, it is crucial to analyze uptake mechanisms and trafficking pathways. Here, a detailed study of uptake, sta...

Local and controlled DNA release is a critical issue in current gene therapy. As viral gene delivery systems are associated with severe security problems, nonviral gene delivery vehicles were developed. Here, DNA-nanoparticles using grafted copolymers of PLL and PEG to increase their biocompatibility and stealth properties were systematically studi...

of a paper presented at MC 2007, 33rd DGE Conference in Saarbrücken, Germany, September 2 – September 7, 2007