The treating invasive candidiasis associated with growing numbers of immunocompromised patients remains a major challenge complicated by increasing drug resistance. (YM) medium (Becton Dickinson Sparks MD) containing 0.3% yeast extract 0.3% malt extract 0.5% peptone and 1.0% glucose. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) metabolic and uptake tests had been done in RPMI medium (buffered by MOPS pH-7.2). Synthesis of HK Peptides The biopolymer core facility at the University of Maryland synthesized the branched HK peptides on a Ranin Voyager solid phase synthesizer (PTI Tucson AZ) as previously described [11]. If the peptide purity was less than 95% then the peptides were further purified on an HPLC column with System Gold operating software by using a Dynamax 21-4 × 250 mm C-18 reversed phase preparative column with a binary solvent system. Further analyses of the peptides were performed with a Voyager MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy (Applied Biosystems Foster City CA) and amino acid analysis (AAA Laboratory Service Boring OR). PEG-cRGD conjugates of HK peptides The above HK peptides were then modified with the PEG and the cRGD targeting ligand as follows. cRGD with a sequence cyclo (Arg-Gly-Asp-D-Phe-Lys) was obtained from Peptides International (Louisville KY). Targeting ligand cRGD was conjugated to the bHK peptide through a PEG molecule. Ligand targeted bHK peptide conjugates were synthesized in a two-step procedure as described previously with the polyethyleneimine Ivabradine HCl (Procoralan) polymer [18]. In the first step cRGD was conjugated to a 5-KD molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG) by using a heterobifunctional PEG maleimide-PEG-succinimidyl carboxylmethyl (SCM) obtained from Creative PEG Works (Salem NC). Molar equivalents of maleimide-PEG-SCM and cRGD were reacted in the presence of 1.5 equivalents of N N-diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The response was finished in 1 h and the merchandise was precipitated with dried out ether. The ensuing conjugate was seen as a mass spectrometry. In the next step the Mal-PEG-cRGD was reacted with bHK peptide in DMSO at 4:1 molar ratio and in presence of 2 equivalents of DIPEA. The reaction mixture was stirred at room heat for 24 h and the product was dialyzed in 25-KD MWCO dialysis tubing against 0.05% TFA/water for 48 h and MPL was lyophilized and characterized by amino acid analysis. Solid-phase αvβ3 binding assay The binding of cRGD H2K4b-PEG-cRGD Ivabradine HCl (Procoralan) and H3K(H)4b-PEG-cRGD to αvβ3 integrin was decided using a solid-phase competitive binding assay [19]. The cRGDfK(biotin-PEG-PEG)] peptide (Peptides International) together with the HK Ivabradine HCl (Procoralan) or control peptides was used to detect binding to αvβ3 integrin. Microtiter 96 vinyl assay plates (Corning NY) were coated overnight at room heat with 100 μl/well of a solution of purified human integrin αvβ3 in Triton X-100 (Millipore Billerica MA) at a concentration of 100 ng/ml in coating buffer (1 × TBS pH 7.4 2 mM MgCl2 1.5 mM MgCl2) overnight at room temperature. The plates were then washed three times with binding buffer (0.1% Tween-20 1 BSA in coating buffer). The wells were blocked for 1 h with 250 μl of blocking buffer (3% BSA in binding buffer). The plates were washed three times with binding buffer. After blocking 50 μl of the competitors (peptide concentrations range from 1 × 10?4 to 0.5 mM) was first added into wells and then 50 μl of c[RGDfK(biotin-PEG-PEG)] peptide were added into the wells with or without pre-added competitors. The plate was gently mixed and incubated for 1 h at 37°C. After washing away the unbound competitors and c[RGDfK(biotin-PEG-PEG)] peptide the bound c[RGDfK(biotin-PEG-PEG)] peptide was detected with avidin-HRP (horseradish peroxidase) and TMB (3 3 5 5 substrate with absorbance readings at 450 nm by using a microplate reader. Background reading was subtracted from all measurements. The wells without competitors were used as control (100% binding). Antifungal activity of bHKP and conjugates Turbidity Antifungal efficacy Ivabradine HCl (Procoralan) of bHK peptides was determined by measuring the viability of the cells (see next section) or by determining the growth of yeast cells in 96-well microtiter plates. Yeast cells were diluted between 2.5 × 103 and 5 × 103 cells/ml in RPMI1640-MOPS medium; 55 μl of the cell suspension were then added to each well of a 96-well plate made up of 45 μl of bHK peptides with final concentrations of 0.1 1 2 5 10 15 20 and 25 μM. Peptide-free controls were also included. The microtiter plates were then incubated at room heat or 37°C for.