Application of Solution Protein Chemistry to Biotechnology, Roger L. Lundblad, CRC Press, New York, 2009, 456 pp., ISBN: 9781420073416
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The contributions of classical chemistry to biotechnology are sometimes forgotten, and its advances are less recognized than
those of recombinant DNA technology for the production of therapeutic proteins. The hard work of thousands of scientists and
researchers in the solution chemistry of proteins has quietly supported the evolution of biotechnology. Many advances in biotechnology
were based on well-established principles of classical organic and inorganic chemistry. In Application of Solution Protein Chemistry to Biotechnology, Roger L. Lundblad provides a practical review of classical chemistry with specific examples of its most important accomplishments
as they relate to biotechnology.
The first two chapters provide an in-depth review of the methods and approaches used to chemically modify proteins. The author
also discusses the role that solution chemistry has played as an effective tool for studying protein structure and function.
Lundblad reminds us that proteins are particularly challenging to modify in a controlled fashion because they are heteropolymers
made up of multiple combinations of 20 amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Because of amino acids' complex higher-order structure,
modifying them yields less predictable results and is a more empirical process than that for modifying simple organic polymers.
Still, Lundblad points out that some basic rules of the road have been revealed. For example, "in general, changes that result
in charge reversal [after the chemical modification of proteins] cause conformational changes."
For one interested in the development and manufacture of therapeutic proteins, protein stabilization, and protein-degradation
pathways, the first two chapters are valuable for their broad overview of how chemical reagents can modify specific amino
acids on proteins. These chapters provide the reader with a thorough review of the chemical modification of protein amino
and carboxyl groups, csystine, tyrosine, methionine, tryptophan, arginine, and histidine residues. They also consider posttranslational
modifications such as protein glycation.
The chapters also help the reader understand and control unwanted protein modifications, which result from analogous chemical
reactions in vivo and during the production processes for recombinant proteins. Understanding these common chemical reactions is critical to
the biotechnology industry because it must establish carefully controlled commercial production processes and avoid unwanted
chemical modifications.
In the remaining chapters, Lundblad takes what he refers to as a "broad view" of the practical advances and contributions
of classical chemistry to biotechnology. The chapters include a discussion of protein-surface immobilization, the production
of protein conjugates, hydrogels, biogels, protein-based glues and adhesives, tissue soldering, drug delivery, and the chemical
modification of proteins for therapeutic purposes.
Chapter four describes the important role that protein conjugates play in biotechnology. Lundblad reviews a large body of
work that includes PEGylation and mineral-affinity labeling with thiol-labile disulfide linkages, as well as directed C-terminal
and N-terminal conjugation. He describes several practical approaches to conjugating toxins, radioisotopes, and carbohydrates.
Chemical conjugation is proving to be an important tool to enhance the potency or pharmacokinetic properties of protein therapeutics.
One of the most interesting examples is the growing use of antibody–toxin conjugates in cancer therapy. As Lundblad points
out, antibody–toxin conjugates can use hydrazone, disulfide, or other chemical linkages. Well-controlled chemical methods
now generate tailor-made antibody–toxin conjugates. The chemical approaches allow toxins such as doxorubicin to be delivered
efficiently to a tumor cell, where they can be released in the oxidizing intercellular environment of the lysosome. Various
toxin-conjugated antibodies are proving to be more efficacious than their nonconjugated counterparts and are being adopted
as effective cancer treatments.
Application of Solution Protein Chemistry to Biotechnology educates the reader about the important role that classical organic and inorganic solution protein chemistry has played in
biotechnology to date. In the preface, Lundblad states specifically that much of the information provided is not available
in electronic format and thus is not easily accessible to researchers in this field. The book is written for scientists and
researchers who study protein-solution chemistry and want to understand and use previous advances. Much of the information
provided may help those interested in the field save time and avoid "reinventing the wheel," as Lundblad puts it.
The book itself is well researched; it contains more than 200 pages of valuable references, including a comprehensive index.
The chapters are filled with detailed and useful summary tables and figures that include cogent descriptions of relevant chemical
reactions. Educators will find useful information for lectures that require modern source material on this subject. Inventors
or researchers exploring new directions in protein-solution chemistry to advance biotechnology will find that the carefully
selected references and summary tables provide a solid starting point.
David Vetterlein, PhD, is the founder and principal consultant of Alliance BioProcess Consulting, 9620 146th Pl. SE, Snohomish, WA 98296, tel. 360.863.2937,
alliancebio@yahoo.com
