Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
cyanovirin - N
An antiviral lectin from the cyanobacterium
Nostoc ellipsosporum
that neutralizes
virus infectivity by binding to specifi c high - mannose - type oligosaccharides in HIV -
1 or infl uenza A.
d
defensin
Member of a family of multifunctional host-defense peptides represented in ver-
tebrates by three subfamilies called
α
- ,
β
- , and
θ
- defensins.
dendrimer
Repeatedly branched molecule; the term comes from the Greek
dendron
(
) =
tree. Synonymous terms are arborols and cascade-molecules. Hence, a glycoden-
drimer is a dendrimer containing multiple copies of carbohydrates. A dendron is
a partial fragment of a dendrimer, it is referred to as a wedge of the dendrimer.
δ
ε
ν
δ
ρ
o
ν
density functional theory (DFT)
A quantum mechanical theory, used to calculate electronic properties of atoms
and molecules.
docking
A computational technique to accommodate ligand molecules within a receptor's
binding site. The binding affi nity can be thus predicted and sets of ligand mole-
cules scored accordingly.
dolichol
Generic name for terpenoids, lipids with 13-24 repeats of isoprene units termi-
nated by an alcohol group. Dolichol can be phosphorylated, and is then involved
in initial steps of
N
- glycosylation.
dystroglycan
A two-subunit glycoprotein component of mammalian cell membranes acting as
a transmembrane 'bridge' between the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix;
the glycosylation of dystroglycan, especially its
O
- mannosylation, is defective in
some congenital muscular dystrophies.
e
electron - density map
Three-dimensional representation of the electron clouds of a molecule based on
X - ray diffraction data (
see
Fig. 13.4). A 2Fo-Fc map shows the position where the
model is and where the model should be built.
β
- elimination
A method for release of glycans, especially
O
- linked oligosaccharides, from glyco-
proteins, involving use of an alkaline solution such as sodium hydroxide and,
