Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Sub-Department

College of Arts and Sciences

First Advisor

John J. Lavigne

Second Advisor

Caryn Outten

Abstract

Aberrant glycosylation takes place during the onset of cancer and throughout the progression of the disease allowing certain glycans to serve as biomarkers1. Boronic acid functionalized synthetic lectins (SLs) have been shown to bind selectively and crossreactively to certain glycoproteins through covalent yet reversible interactions between the boronic acids and 1,2- or 1,3-diols found on saccharides2. This project focuses on 1) data acquisition optimization of an existing SL array; 2) the identification, isolation, and characterization of new SLs that interact with proteins and glycoproteins targeting the prostate and prostate cancer; and 3) the utilization of new SLs in cross-reactive sensor arrays to distinguish between prostate cells with differing metastatic potential. This differentiation is based on the ability of the SLs to detect the subtle glycan changes in diseased cells. The results presented in this dissertation highlight the immense potential of SL arrays as tools in cancer diagnostics.

Rights

© 2017, Anna Veldkamp

Included in

Chemistry Commons

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