电子探针定量分析的标准样品——几种多元氧化物单晶

在很高的温度和适宜的生长条件下,分别采用熔盐籽晶法和高温引上法生长了高质量的YAP、NAB、KTP、LN、BBO、SBN等多元氧化物单晶,它们具有优良的物理化学性能,严格的化学比,固定的组成与结构以及较好的化学均匀性和电子束轰击下的稳定性。广泛地用于激光和非线性光学领域。我们选用这些晶体为原材料研制电子探针定量分析的标准样品。经过测量和标定,这些单晶标样符合中华人民共和国国家标准GB 4930-85(电子探针显微分析标准样品通用技术条件)的规定。含有稀土元素的标样如NAB和YAP能发出绿色荧光,是电子显微术中理想的阴极发光材料。     

Studies on mass production of transformed Panax ginseng hairy roots in bioreactor

The growth properties of Panax ginseng hairy roots transformed by Agrobacterium rhizogenes were compared between flask and aerated column or stirred bioreactor. In flask cultures, sucrose, initially 30 g/L, was nearly exhausted after 45 d of culture. The pH of the medium dropped from 5.5 to 4.96 after 10 d, but afterward it gradually increased to 6.4. After 45 d, hairy roots grew about 16-folds. The growth rate of hairy roots in air-bubble column or stirred bioreactor cultures was 1.13 (1.11) to 1.23 (1.20) g fresh wt (dry wt)/(g of cells·d), respectively. For both bioreactors, growth was about three times as high as in the flask cultivation.     

CHIP-mediated hyperubiquitylation of tau promotes its self-assembly into the insoluble tau filaments

The tau protein is a highly soluble and natively unfolded protein. Under pathological conditions, tau undergoes multiple post-translational modifications (PTMs) and conformational changes to form insoluble filaments, which are the proteinaceous signatures of tauopathies. To dissect the crosstalk among tau PTMs during the aggregation process, we phosphorylated and ubiquitylated recombinant tau in vitro using GSK3β and CHIP, respectively. The resulting phospho–ub-tau contained conventional polyubiquitin chains with lysine 48 linkages, sufficient for proteasomal degradation, whereas unphosphorylated ub-tau species retained only one–three ubiquitin moieties. Mass-spectrometric analysis of in vitro reconstituted phospho–ub-tau revealed seven additional ubiquitylation sites, some of which are known to stabilize tau protofilament stacking in the human brain with tauopathy. When the ubiquitylation reaction was prolonged, phospho–ub-tau transformed into insoluble hyperubiquitylated tau species featuring fibrillar morphology and in vitro seeding activity. We developed a small-molecule inhibitor of CHIP through biophysical screening; this effectively suppressed tau ubiquitylation in vitro and delayed its aggregation in cultured cells including primary cultured neurons. Our biochemical findings point to a “multiple-hit model,” where sequential events of tau phosphorylation and hyperubiquitylation function as a key driver of the fibrillization process, thus indicating that targeting tau ubiquitylation may be an effective strategy to alleviate the course of tauopathies.

Multiple-hit model for tau aggregation, where sequential events of tau phosphorylation and hyperubiquitylation function as a key driver of the fibrillization process.     

Microwave synthesis,characterization and catalytic properties of titanium-incorporated ZSM-5 zeolite

Titanium-incorporated ZSM-5 zeolites (Si/Al = 50–200 and Si/Ti = 70) were successfully synthesized in a one-step sol-gel process under microwave irradiation. The characteristics of Ti-ZSM-5 zeolites were investigated using X-ray power diffraction, UV/Vis-DRS, FT-IR spectroscopy and solid-state ²⁷Al-NMR to monitor the physico-chemical properties. Simultaneously, the acidic properties were characterized by the NH₃-TPD profile. The characterization results revealed that the Ti⁴⁺ and Al³⁺ ions were well incorporated into the framework of Ti-ZSM-5 zeolite. The prepared zeolite was moderately active but selective in the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether.     

Structural basis for inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatases by Keggin compounds phosphomolybdate and phosphotungstate

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) constitute a family of receptor-like, and cytoplasmic enzymes, which catalyze the dephosphorylation of phosphotyrosine residues in a variety of receptors and signaling molecules. Together with protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), PTPs are critically involved in regulating many cellular signaling processes. In this study, diverse compounds were screened for PTP inhibition and selectively screened for inhibitors with the end product inhibition properties. Among phosphate analogues and their derivatives for PTP inhibition, Keggin compounds phosphomolybdate (PM) and phosphotungstate (PT) strongly inhibited both PTP-1B and SHP-1, with K(i) values of 0.06-1.2 micromM in the presence of EDTA. Unlike the vanadium compounds, inhibition potencies of PM and PT were not significantly affected by EDTA. PM and PT were potent, competitive inhibitors for PTPs, but relatively poor inhibitors of Ser/Thr phosphatase. Interestingly, PM and PT did not inhibit alkaline phosphatase at all. The crystal structure of PTP-1B in complex with PM, at 2.0 A resolution, reveals that MoO(3), derived from PM by hydrolysis, binds at the active site. The molybdenium atom of the inhibitor is coordinated with six ligands: three oxo-ligands, two apical water molecules and a S atom of the catalytic cysteine residue. In support of the crystallographic finding, we observed that molybdenium oxides (MoO(3), MoO(2), and MoO(2)Cl(2)) inhibited PTP-1B with IC(50) in the range 5-15 micromM.     

Visible light active platinum-ion-doped TiO2 photocatalyst

Platinum-ion-doped TiO2 (Pt(ion)-TiO2) was synthesized by a sol-gel method, and its visible light photocatalytic activities were successfully demonstrated for the oxidative and reductive degradation of chlorinated organic compounds. Pt(ion)-TiO2 exhibited a yellow-brown color, and its band gap was lower than that of undoped TiO2 by about 0.2 eV. The flat band potential of Pt(ion)-TiO2 was positively shifted by 50 mV compared with that of undoped TiO2. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses showed that the Pt ions substituted in the TiO2 lattice were present mainly in the Pt(IV) state with some Pt(II) on the sample surface. Pt(ion)-TiO2 exhibited higher photocatalytic activities than undoped TiO2 under UV irradiation as well. The visible light activity of Pt(ion)-TiO2 was strongly affected by the calcination temperature and the concentration of Pt ion dopant, which were optimal at 673 K and 0.5 atom %, respectively. Under visible irradiation, Pt(ion)-TiO2 degraded dichloroacetate and 4-chlorophenol through an oxidative path and trichloroacetate via a reductive path. The activity of Pt(ion)-TiO2 was not reduced when used repeatedly under visible light. However, visible-light-illuminated Pt(ion)-TiO2 could not degrade substrates such as tetramethylammonium and trichloroethylene, which are degraded with UV-illuminated TiO2. The characteristics and reactivities of Pt(ion)-TiO2 as a new visible light photocatalyst were investigated in various ways and discussed in detail.