Product Information
Biotin-maleimide is a cross-linking agent that can be used to attach biotin to other molecules. It has been shown to inhibit the growth of human leukemia cells, and has been suggested as a potential treatment for cancer. Biotin-maleimide binds to dna binding proteins, which may cause changes to gene expression and protein synthesis. Biotin-maleimide also inhibits HIV infection by binding to the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120, preventing it from attaching to host cells. X-ray crystal structures have shown that this agent binds in a cavity on the gp120 surface near the fusion peptide (residues 323-334). Biotin-maleimide has also been shown to bind albumin in human serum, which may alter its function. Disulfide bonds are important for stabilizing proteins and can be used as an indicator of protein activity. Streptavidin is an enzyme that can bind biotin with high specificity and
