The yjjN of E. coli codes for an l-galactonate dehydrogenase and can be used for quantification of l-galactonate and l-gulonate

Escherichia coli is able to utilize l-galactonate as a sole carbon source. A metabolic pathway for l-galactonate catabolism is described in E. coli, and it is known to be interconnected with d-galacturonate metabolism. The corresponding gene encoding the first enzyme in the l-galactonate pathway, l-galactonate-5-dehydrogenase, was suggested to be yjjN. However, l-galactonate dehydrogenase activity was never demonstrated with the yjjN gene product. Here, we show that YjjN is indeed an l-galactonate dehydrogenase having activity also for l-gulonate. The K _m and k _cat for l-galactonate were 19.5?±?0.6 mM and 0.51?±?0.03 s^?1, respectively. In addition, YjjN was applied for a quantitative detection of the both of these substances in a coupled assay. The detection limits for l-galactonate and l-gulonate were 1.65 and 10 μM, respectively.     

Cis-Cycloprolylprolin-Anion-ein konfigurationsstabiles Carbanion

The racemisation ofcyclo-(l-Pro?l-Pro) (2) with metal amides in liq. ammonia was examined. The K-kation causes more extensive racemisation than Na-kation, which in turn is more effective than Li⁺. This, the racemisation of2 int-butyl alcohol with K⁺C₆H₅O^? and the data gained from corresponding deuterated medium show that the racemisation of2 proceeds in two steps: in the first, the less stabletrans-cyclo-(l-Pro?d-Pro) (3) is formed, followed by the rapid conversion of3 to a mixture ofcyclo-(l-Pro?l-Pro) andcyclo-(d-Pro?d-Pro) in the second step.     

Partial Purification and Characterization of a Novel Extracellular Tyrosinase from Auricularia auricula

Extracellular tyrosinase from Auricularia auricula RF201 was purified in a three-step procedure involving ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-100, and DEAE-Sepharose column chromatography. The partially purified enzyme showed a single protein band of 12.6 kDa on SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH for tyrosinase activity was 7, and the enzyme was stable between pH 6 and 9. Tyrosinase has optimal activity at 40 °C and retained most of its activity between 4 and 50 °C. A. auricula tyrosinase could oxidize l-tyrosine, l-DOPA, catechol, and caffeic acid and displayed dark brown or peach color. However, the enzyme was unable to catalyze l-phenylalanine and ferulic acid. In comparison with other substrates, l-tyrosine displayed the highest affinity (K _m of 0.11 mM) and the maximal reaction velocity (V _max of 102.58 μmol/min). Tyrosinase activity was reduced in the presence of numerous tested compounds. Particularly SDS, it significantly inhibited enzyme activity. CuSO₄ and NaCl showed an activation effect on enzyme activity, with the maximum activation found in the presence of CuSO₄.     

Conformational changes of l-phenylalanine induced by near infrared radiation. ATR-FTIR studies

In our previous work the influence of water evaporation on Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra of l-phenylalanine (l-phe) in a function of pH (Olsztynska et al. Appl. Spectrosc. 60(9):1040, (14)) was studied. The presence of symmetric dimers of hydrogen-bonded amino acid was observed when simultaneously CO₂ ^? ionised and COOH unionised forms of the amino acid appear in the solution (near pK ₁). It is suggested that Near Infrared (NIR) radiation may induce partial protonation of CO₂ ^? groups at a neutral pH and formation the same type of dimers. The aim of this work was to study this hypothesis. Therefore, ATR-FTIR spectra of l-phe aqueous solution before and after NIR radiation (15?min., 700?C2,000?nm) were obtained as a continuation of our earlier studies. Spectral characteristic bands of l-phe were described. The vibrational spectroscopic study of l-phe showed that it undergoes photochemical reactions under NIR exposure. It has been found that the irradiation process indeed induces a protonation of polar groups of l-phe at neutral pH what leads to forming of neutral forms and as a consequence hydrogen bonded dimers ?CC=O···HOOC?C. Moreover, hydrophobic interactions strongly increase, what favours aggregation of l-phe molecules. The phenomenon is probably due to modifications of water structure around l-phe molecules. Intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds weaken which could favour aggregation and protonation of polar groups what induces also formation of symmetrical hydrogen bonds between protonated and deprotonated carboxylic groups.     

Enantioselective Separation and Determination of Carnosine in Rat Plasma by Fluorescence LC for Stereoselective Pharmacokinetic Studies

A sensitive fluorescence liquid chromatographic analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of carnosine enantiomers in rat plasma. The method was applied to pharmacokinetic studies. Chiral separation of carnosine enantiomers was achieved by pre-column derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde and the thiol N-acety-l-cysteine as derivating reagents. They were separated on an ODS column and detected by fluorescence detection (λ_ex = 350 nm, λ_em = 450 nm). γ-Aminobutyric acid was used as internal standard. The method was linear up to 6,000 ng mL^?1 for l-carnosine, 4,000 ng mL^?1 for d-carnosine. Low limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 40 ng mL^?1 for each isomer. The relative standard deviations obtained for intra- and inter-day precision were lower than 12% and the recoveries were higher than 75% for both enantiomers. The method was applied to a stereoselective study on the pharmacokinetics of carnosine after oral administration with a single dose (carnosine, 75 mg kg^?1 for each isomer) to a rat. The initial data indicated that l-carnosine had a larger value of the highest plasma concentration than d-carnosine (C _max 5,344 vs. 1,914 ng mL^?1), and that of l-carnosine had a lower value of AUC_(0?∞) and t _1/2(h) (AUC_(0?∞) 5,306 vs. 6,321 ng h mL^?1, t _1/2 1.43 vs. 3.37 h). Our results indicated that the pharmacokinetic of l-carnosine and d-carnosine revealed enantioselective properties significantly.     

Conductometric and fluorescence probe investigations of molecular interactions between dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide and dipeptides

The effect of five dipeptides (glycylglycine, glycyl-l-valine, glycyl-l-leucine, glycyl-l-glutamine, and l-alanyl-l-glutamine) on the micellar properties of catonic surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) has been investigated by electrical conductivity and fluorescence spectroscopy. From the conductivity data, the critical micellar concentration (c _cmc), counterion binding constant (β), and thermodynamic parameters of micellization (ΔG _m ^o , ΔH _m ^o and ΔS _m ^o ) have been calculated. The effect of dipeptides on the micellar properties of DTAB depends upon their nature and concentration as well as on temperature and has been used to study the interactions present in the micellar systems. Enthalpy–entropy compensation effect has also been observed. The pyrene fluorescence spectra were used as an index for the estimation of micropolarity of micellar produced by the interaction of DTAB with dipeptides and the aggregation behavior of DTAB. Comparison on the interactions between different types of surfactants and dipeptide showed that the order of the strength for these interactions is TX-100?相似文献   

Purification and Characterization of RNA Allied Extracellular Tyrosinase from Aspergillus Species

Production of l-DOPA, an anti-Parkinson’s drug, using biological sources is widely studied in which tyrosinase is known to play a vital role. Tyrosinase is an omnipresent type 3 copper enzyme participating in many essential biological functions. Understanding properties of tyrosinase is essential for developing useful tyrosinase-based applications. Hence, extracellular tyrosinase from Aspergillus flavus UWFP 570 was purified using ammonium sulphate precipitation and DEAE ion exchange chromatography up to 8.3-fold. Purified protein was a riboprotein in nature containing significant amount of RNA which was confirmed colorimetrically and by electrophoresis. Removal of RNA reduced the activity and altered the conformation of tyrosinase as suggested by spectroflurometric results. Optimum pH and temperature of this 140 kDa protein were 7 and 40 °C, respectively. Copper sulphate and magnesium chloride enhanced the activity whereas in contrast FeCl₃ inhibited the activity completely. Purified tyrosinase transformed l-tyrosine (5 mM) to l-DOPA within 5 h.     

Bifidobacterium longum l-Arabinose Isomerase—Overexpression in Lactococcus lactis, Purification, and Characterization

Bifidobacterium longum NRRL B-41409 l-arabinose isomerase (l-AI) was cloned and overexpressed in Lactococcus lactis using a phosphate-depletion-inducible expression system. The purified B. longum l-AI was characterized using d-galactose and l-arabinose as the substrates. The enzyme was active and stable at acidic pH with an optimum at pH 6.0?C6.5. The enzyme showed the highest activity at 55?°C during a 20-min incubation at pH 6.5. The K _m value was 120?mM for l-arabinose and 590?mM for d-galactose. The V _max was 42?U mg^?1 with l-arabinose and 7.7?U mg^?1 with d-galactose as the substrates. The enzyme had very low requirement for metal ions for catalytic activity, but it was stabilized by divalent metal ions (Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺). The enzyme bound the metal ions so tightly that they could not be fully removed from the active site by EDTA treatment. Using purified B. longum l-AI as the catalyst at 35?°C, equilibrium yields of 36?% d-tagatose and 11?% l-ribulose with 1.67?M d-galactose and l-arabinose, respectively, as the substrates were reached.     

Studies on enzymatic oxidation of 3′,4′-dihydroxy-l-phenylalanine to dopachrome using kinetic isotope effect methods

We report the studies on the mechanism of oxidation of 3′,4′-dihydroxy-l-phenylalanine (l-DOPA) to neurotoxic dopachrome catalyzed by enzyme horseradish peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) using the kinetic (KIE), and solvent (SIE), isotope effect methods. For kinetic studies two specifically deuterated isotopomers: [2′,5′,6′-²H₃]-l -DOPA was synthesized by the acid catalyzed isotopic exchange between native l-DOPA and heavy water, and [5′-²H]-l-DOPA was synthesized in two step reaction. The first step involved acid catalyzed isotopic exchange between l-tyrosine and deuterated water and resulting product [3′,5′-²H₂]-l-tyrosine was hydroxylated by enzyme tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1). The values of deuterium KIEs and SIE’s in the enzymatic oxidation of l-DOPA and its isotopomers are determined using non-competitive spectrophotometric method. The measured values were: KIE on V _max (1.1 and 2.2) and KIE on V _max/K _M (1.7 and 3.2) for [2′,5′,6′-²H₃]-l-DOPA and [5′-²H]-l-DOPA, respectively, while the corresponding values of SIE were: SIE on V _max (2.1, 2.4, and 2.1) and SIE on V _max/K _M (1.3. 1.6, and 1.1) for l-DOPA, [2′,5′,6′-²H₃]-l-DOPA, and [5′-²H]-l-DOPA, respectively. The size of KIE and SIE, typical for secondary isotope effects indicate that both the solvent and presence of deuterium at the 2′-, 5′, and 6′-positions of l-DOPA has the little impact on the enzymatic oxidation of this compound.     

Exploiting thermodynamic data to optimize the enantioseparation of underivatized amino acids in ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis

Stereoselective amino acid analysis has increasingly moved into the scope of interest of the scientific community. In this work, we report a study on the chiral separation of underivatized d,l-His by ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis (LECE), utilizing accurate ex ante calculations. This has been obtained by the addition to the background electrolytes (BGE) of NaClO₄ which renders the separations “all in solution processes”, allowing to accurately calculate in advance the concentrations of the species present in solution and to optimize the system performances. To this aim, the formation of ternary complexes of Cu²⁺ ion and l-lysine (l-Lys) or l-ornithine (l-Orn) with l- and d-histidine (His), and histamine (Hm) have been studied by potentiometry and calorimetry at 25 °C and with 0.1 mol dm^?3 (KNO₃) in aqueous solution. The ternary species [Cu(L)(l-His)H]⁺ and [Cu(L)(d-His)H]⁺ (where L?=?l-Lys or l-Orn) show a slight but still detectable stereoselectivity, and the determination of ΔH° and ΔS° values allowed the understanding of the factors which determine this phenomenon. The stereoselectivity showed by the protonated ternary species has been exploited to chirally separate d,l-His in LECE, by using the binary complexes of copper(II) with l-Lys or l-Orn as background electrolytes added with the appropriate amounts of NaClO₄.

Chiral resolution of l- and d-alanine and a racemic macrocyclic nickel(II) complex: synthesis and crystal structures

The reactions of a racemic four-coordinate Ni(II) complex [Ni(rac-L)](ClO₄)₂ with l- and d-alanine in acetonitrile/water gave two six-coordinate enantiomers formulated as [Ni(RR-L)(l-Ala)](ClO₄)·2CH₃CN (1) and [Ni(SS-L)(d-Ala)](ClO4) (2) (L = 5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclo-tetradecane, Ala^? = alanine anion), respectively. Evaporation from the remaining solutions gave two four-coordinate enantiomers characterized as [Ni(SS-L)](ClO₄)₂ (S-3) and [Ni(RR-L)](ClO₄)₂ (R-3), respectively. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of complexes 1 and 2 revealed that the Ni(II) atom has a distorted octahedral coordination geometry, being coordinated by four nitrogen atoms of L in a folded configuration, plus one carboxylate oxygen atom and one nitrogen atom of l- or d-Ala^? in mutually cis-positions. Complexes 1 and 2 are supramolecular stereoisomers, constructed via hydrogen bonding between [Ni(RR-L)(l-Ala)]⁺ or [Ni(SS-L)(d-Ala)]⁺ monomers to form 1D hydrogen-bonded zigzag chains. The homochiral natures of complexes 1 and 2 have been confirmed by CD spectroscopy.     

d- and l-amino acids in Antarctic lakes: assessment of a very sensitive HPLC-MS method

Amino acids represent a fraction of organic matter in marine and freshwater ecosystems, and a source of carbon, nitrogen and energy. l-Amino acids are the most common enantiomers in nature because these chiral forms are used during the biosynthesis of proteins and peptide. To the contrary, the occurrence of d-amino acids is usually linked to the presence of bacteria. We investigated the distribution of l- and d-amino acids in the lacustrine environment of Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica, in order to define their natural composition in this area and to individuate a possible relationship with primary production. A simultaneous chromatographic separation of 40 l- and d-amino acids was performed using a chiral stationary phase based on teicoplainin aglycone (chirobiotic tag). The chromatographic separation was coupled to two different mass spectrometers—an LTQ-Orbitrap XL (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and an API 4000 (ABSciex)—in order to investigate their quantitative performance. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry methods were evaluated through the estimation of their linear ranges, repeatability, accuracy and detection and quantification limits. The high-resolution mass spectrometer LTQ-Orbitrap XL presented detection limits between 0.4 and 7 μg?l ^?1, while the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer API 4000 achieved the best detection limits reported in the literature for the quantification of amino acids (between 4 and 200 ng?l ^?1). The most sensitive method, HPLC-API 4000, was applied to lake water samples. Figure

?     

Study on the intermolecular complexation behavior between p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene with l-tyrosine

The formation of the complexation behavior of host molecules water-soluble p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene (p-SCX4) with l-tyrosine (l-Tyr) guest molecule has been studied by spectrophotometric including fluorescence and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Experimental conditions including concentration of p-SCX4 and medium acidity were investigated in detail. The results showed that p-SCX4 forms 1:1 complexes with l-Tyr in water. Their stability constant determined by spectrofluorometric titration is 15761 L mol. Moreover, to obtain information about the binding mechanism of the interaction, ¹H NMR studies were carried out showing that the water-soluble p-SCX4 was found to be able to complex the aromatic l-Tyr, and the part of benzene ring of amino acid penetrated into the hydrophobic cavity of calix[4]arene and charged aliphatic chain of l-Tyr stick out of the cavity. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters for the complexation of p-SCX4 with l-Tyr were determined through Van’t Hoff analysis. The obtained data further confirmed the binding mode of p-SCX4 with l-Tyr. The related mechanism is proposed to explain the complexation processes.     

l-Ribose Production from l-Arabinose by Immobilized Recombinant Escherichia coli Co-expressing the l-Arabinose Isomerase and Mannose-6-Phosphate Isomerase Genes from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans

l-Ribose is an important precursor for antiviral agents, and thus its high-level production is urgently demanded. For this aim, immobilized recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing the l-arabinose isomerase and variant mannose-6-phosphate isomerase genes from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans were developed. The immobilized cells produced 99 g/l l-ribose from 300 g/l l-arabinose in 3 h at pH 7.5 and 60 °C in the presence of 1 mM Co²⁺, with a conversion yield of 33 % (w/w) and a productivity of 33 g/l/h. The immobilized cells in the packed-bed bioreactor at a dilution rate of 0.2 h^?1 produced an average of 100 g/l l-ribose with a conversion yield of 33 % and a productivity of 5.0 g/l/h for the first 12 days, and the operational half-life in the bioreactor was 28 days. Our study is first verification for l-ribose production by long-term operation and feasible for cost-effective commercialization. The immobilized cells in the present study also showed the highest conversion yield among processes from l-arabinose as the substrate.     

A Validated Chiral LC Method for the Enantiomeric Separation of Nateglinide and the Quantitative Determination of Its l-Enantiomer

A simple and accurate chiral liquid chromatographic method was developed for the enantiomeric purity determination of d-nateglinide and quantitative determination of l-nateglinide in bulk drug samples. Good resolution (R _s  > 6.0) between d-enantiomer and l-enantiomer of nateglinide were achieved with Chiralpak AD-H (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size) column using hexane and ethanol (90:10 v/v) as mobile phase at 25 °C temperature. Flow rate was kept as 1.0 mL min^?1 and elution was monitored at 210 nm. The effects of the mobile phase composition, the flow rate and the temperature on the chromatographic separation were investigated. Developed method is capable to detect (LOD) and quantitate (LOQ) l-nateglinide to the levels of 0.3 and 1.0 μg mL^?1 respectively, for 10 μL injection volume. The percentage RSD of the peak area of six replicate injections of l-nateglinide at LOQ concentration was 5.2. The percentage recoveries of l-nateglinide from d-nateglinide ranged from 97.9 to 99.7. The test solution and mobile phase was found to be stable up to 24 h after preparation. The developed method was validated with respect to LOD, LOQ, precision, linearity, accuracy, robustness and ruggedness.     

Activity and Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity Between Diketopiperazines Against Bacteria In Vitro

The aim of the present study was to determine the synergistic effects of diketopiperazines [cyclo-(l-Pro-l-Leu) (1), cyclo-(d-Pro-l-Leu) (2), and cyclo-(d-Pro-l-Tyr) (3)] purified from a Bacillus sp. N strain associated with entomopathogenic nematode Rhabditis (Oscheius) sp. on the growth of bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of the diketopiperazines was compared with that of the standard antibiotics. The synergistic antibacterial activities of the combination of diketopiperazines against pathogenic bacteria were assessed using the checkerboard assay and time?Ckill methods. The results of the present study showed that the combination effects of diketopiperazines were predominately synergistic (FIC index <0.5). Furthermore, time?Ckill study showed that the growth of the tested bacteria was completely attenuated with 4?C12?h of treatment with 50:50 ratios of diketopiperazines. These results suggest that the combination of diketopiperazines may be microbiologically beneficial. The three diketopiperazines are nontoxic to normal human cell line (L231 lung epithelial) up to 200?m???g/ml. The in vitro synergistic activity of cyclo-(l-Pro-l-Leu), cyclo-(d-Pro-l-Leu), and cyclo-(d-Pro-l-Tyr) against bacteria is reported here for the first time. These findings have potential implications in delaying the development of resistance as the antibacterial effect is achieved with lower concentrations of both drugs (diketopiperazines).     

pH-dependent complex formation of amino acids with β-cyclodextrin and quaternary ammonium β-cyclodextrin

Stability constants for the complexes of anionic, neutral (zwitterionic) and protonated forms of l- and d-enantiomers of eight amino acids with β-cyclodextrin and the positively charged quaternary ammonium β-cyclodextrin (QA-β-CD, DS?=?3.6?±?0.3) have been determined by spectrophotometric and pH-potentiometric methods. The highest stability constants have been obtained for the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. Except the dianion of tyrosine and QA-β-CD, values for the anions in the range of 80–120 have been found, the stability constants for the zwitterionic forms are much smaller and complex formation is negligible with the protonated species. In the case of the other amino acids the differences are less pronounced. The results are interpreted in terms of hydrogen bonding, steric effects and electrostatic interactions between the amino acid moiety and the rims of the cyclodextrins, in addition to the inclusion of the side chain, and are supported by ¹H and ¹³C NMR investigations on the systems containing l-phenylalanine and l-tyrosine. The differences between the complex formation constants of the l- and d-enantiomers do not exceed the limits of experimental error in most cases.     

Studies of the Rate Constant of l-DOPA Oxidation and Decarboxylation by HPLC

The objective of current investigation was to study the degradation behavior of l-DOPA under different conditions by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and to develop and validate a stability-indicating HPLC method. The developed RP-HPLC method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision and specificity. Oxidation was found to occur in alkaline and to some extent in thermal conditions, while the drug was stable when incubated at acidic conditions and under photolytic stress. The oxidation of l-DOPA was observed to follow first-order kinetics. The degradation rate constants and half-life were calculated. The cytotoxicity and enzymatic degradation of l-DOPA was examined using the human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells. The drug was rapidly decarboxylated by aromatic amino acid decarboxylase to dopamine. The conversion of l-DOPA to dopamine was dose- and time-dependent.     

LC–MS–MS Simultaneous Determination of l-Dopa and Its Prodrug l-Dopa n-Pentyl Ester Hydrochloride in Rat Plasma

A sensitive, simple and rapid LC–MS–MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of l-dopa and l-dopa n-pentyl ester hydrochloride in rat plasma in the present study. The analytes were separated on a C₁₈ column (5 μm, 2.1 × 150 mm) with a security guard C₁₈ column (5 μm, 4 × 20 mm) and a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer was applied for detection. The method was linear over the concentration ranges of 25–5,000 ng mL^?1 for l-dopa and 12.5–2,500 ng mL^?1 for l-dopa n-pentyl ester hydrochloride. Finally, the method was successfully applied to support the pharmacokinetic study.     

Carbohydrate recognition of symmetrical tripodal receptor type tris(2-aminoethyl)amine derivatives

Carbohydrate recognition of some bioactive symmetrical tripodal receptor type tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA) derivatives was investigated. In calorimetric experiments, the highest binding constant (Ka) of compound C (C₃₅H₄₉N₅O₄S) with methyl α-d-mannopyranoside was Ka = 858 M^?1 with 1:1 stoichiometry. Formation of hydrogen bonds in binding between symmetrical tripodal receptor type compound C and sugars was suggested by the large negative values of ?H° (=?34 to ?511 kJ mol^?1). In a comparison of each set of α- and β-anomers of some monosaccharides (methyl α/β-d-galactopyranoside, methyl α/β-d-glucopyranoside, and methyl α/β-l-fucopyranoside), compound C showed that the binding constant of β-anomer was larger than that of the corresponding α-anomer, indicating higher β-anomer selectivity. The calculated energy-minimized structure of the complex of compound C with guest methyl α-d-mannopyranoside is also presented. The experimental results obtained from this work indicated that symmetrical tripodal receptor type TAEA derivative C has a lectin-like carbohydrate recognition property.