Instrumentation in Action
Publication Highlights
Tess Puopole, a Ph.D. student from Dr. Navindra Seeram’s lab in the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, recently published a paper on investigating cannabinoids as P2X purinoreceptor 4 (P2X4) ligands using Biacore T200 surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at CRCF.
The Biacore T200 is a state-of-the-art SPR instrume
nt that utilizes label-free technology to monitor a variety of molecular interactions. It is particularly useful for characterizing interactions between biomolecules, offering tools for kinetic and affinity analyses, as well as direct binding and inhibition assays. Notably, this Biacore T200 at CRCF is the only SPR instrument available in the state of Rhode Island!
Published in Heliyon, an all-science, open access journal from the Cell Press family, the paper introduces a binding screening platform that utilizes SPR to efficiently evaluate cannabinoids. The study employed known P2X4 antagonists, BX430 and 5-BDBD, as probes, identifying CBD and CBV as competitive binders with 5-BDBD on P2X4, while other cannabinoids displayed non-competitive binding.
This research provides the first insight into the binding behavior of cannabinoids on P2X4, highlighting their potential as modulators of this receptor. These findings may have significant implications for the development of Cannabis-derived therapies targeting neuroimmune, neurodegenerative, and pain-related conditions.
