Aluminium(III) as a promoter of cellular oxidation

Aluminium has been known as a neurotoxic agent to experimental animals since the last century (Arch. Exp. Pharmacol. 40 (1897) 98). However, great interest arose in it bioinorganic chemistry as well biology when it was demonstrated to be the causative agent in pathologies related to the long-term dialysis treatment of uremic subjects with renal failure (Life Chem. 11 (1994) 197), and as a potential etiopathogenic cofactor for several neurodegenerative diseases. The inorganic biochemistry of aluminium is still largely to be discovered. In this review the pro-oxidative property of aluminium toward biological membrane will be presented and its implications in involvement in human pathology will be discussed in an interdisciplinary frame from the bioinorganic point of view.     

Die Kristallstruktur des l, 6-8, 13-Bis-oxido-[14]-annulens

Crystals of 1,6-8, 13-bis-oxido-[14]-annulene are monoclinic, a = 9,29, b = 9,74, c = 11,46 Å, β = 90,0°, space group P 2₁/c, with 4 molecules in the unit cell. The structure has been solved by direct methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares analysis of three-dimensional intensity data. The cis-configuration of the two oxygen bridges is confirmed, and the observed molecular parameters are in full accord with the aromatic properties of the molecule.     

Effect of core size on the partition of organic solutes in the monolayer of water-soluble nanoparticles: an ESR investigation

ESR spectroscopy has been used to study the interaction of para-pentylbenzyl hydroxyalkyl nitroxide with the monolayer of water-soluble protected gold clusters having a core diameter ranging from 1.6 to 5.3 nm. The solubilization of the nitroxide probe in the more hydrophobic environment of the monolayer strongly depends on the size of the gold core. In particular, the partition equilibrium constant increases as the nanoparticle diameter decreases. These results have been attributed to the different packing of the chains in the monolayer resulting from the different radius of curvature of the investigated nanoparticles. This represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first report demonstrating that the core size of metallic nanoparticles affects the solvating properties of the protective organic monolayer.     

Sequestration within biomolecular condensates inhibits Aβ-42 amyloid formation

Biomolecular condensates are emerging as an efficient strategy developed by cells to control biochemical reactions in space and time by locally modifying composition and environment. Yet, local increase in protein concentration within these compartments could promote aberrant aggregation events, including the nucleation and growth of amyloid fibrils. Understanding protein stability within the crowded and heterogeneous environment of biological condensates is therefore crucial, not only when the aggregation-prone protein is the scaffold element of the condensates but also when proteins are recruited as client molecules within the compartments. Here, we investigate the partitioning and aggregation kinetics of the amyloidogenic peptide Abeta42 (Aβ-42), the peptide strongly associated with Alzheimer''s disease, recruited into condensates based on low complexity domains (LCDs) derived from the DEAD-box proteins Laf1, Dbp1 and Ddx4, which are associated with biological membraneless organelles. We show that interactions between Aβ-42 and the scaffold proteins promote sequestration and local increase of the peptide concentration within the condensates. Yet, heterotypic interactions within the condensates inhibit the formation of amyloid fibrils. These results demonstrate that biomolecular condensates could sequester aggregation-prone proteins and prevent aberrant aggregation events, despite the local increase in their concentration. Biomolecular condensates could therefore work not only as hot-spots of protein aggregation but also as protective reservoirs, since the heterogenous composition of the condensates could prevent the formation of ordered fibrillar aggregates.

Biomolecular condensates sequester an aggregation-prone peptide and prevent its aggregation, showing that heterotypic interactions within the condensates can prevent the formation of amyloid fibrils, despite the local increase in concentration.     

Electronic spectral and photophysical properties of some p-phenylenevinylene oligomers in solution and thin films

A comprehensive photophysical and spectroscopic study of a new class of p-phenylenevinylene oligomers (PPV-trimers) possessing different alkyl and alkyloxy sidechain substituents and different end groups (aldehyde, CC, phenylene and anthracene units) was undertaken in solution at room temperature (293 K), low temperature (77 K) and in thin films. The study comprises absorption, emission and triplet–triplet absorption spectra, together with quantitative measurements of quantum yields (fluorescence, intersystem crossing, internal conversion and singlet oxygen formation) and lifetimes. The data allow the determination of rate constants for all decay processes. From these, several conclusions could be drawn. Changing from alkyl to alkyloxy substituents does not change fluorescence and internal conversion yields but decreases the (already small) intersystem crossing yield. The introduction of anthracene at the terminal ends of the PPV-trimers leads to the lowest fluorescence yield reported in this study. Of particular importance is the fact that the fluorescence quantum yields in films are of the same order of magnitude as those in solution, which suggests the potential for use of these oligomers for light-emitting device applications. With one of the alkyloxy derivatives, a more detailed study of the early part of the fluorescence decay was made, and it was found that upon excitation a fast conformational relaxation process of the initially excited oligomer occurs, leading to a more planar conjugation segment.     

Analysis of Colubroidea snake venoms by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry: evolutionary and toxinological implications

The evolution of the venomous function of snakes and the diversification of the toxins has been of tremendous research interest and considerable debate. It has become recently evident that the evolution of the toxins in the advanced snakes (Colubroidea) predated the evolution of the advanced, front-fanged delivery mechanisms. Historically, the venoms of snakes lacking front-fanged venom-delivery systems (conventionally grouped into the paraphyletic family Colubridae) have been largely neglected. In this study we used liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to analyze a large number of venoms from a wide array of species representing the major advanced snake clades Atractaspididae, Colubrinae, Elapidae, Homalopsinae, Natricinae, Psammophiinae, Pseudoxyrhophiinae, Xenodontinae, and Viperidae. We also present the first sequences of toxins from Azemiops feae as well as additional toxin sequences from the Colubrinae. The large body of data on molecular masses and retention times thus assembled demonstrates a hitherto unsuspected diversity of toxins in all lineages, having implications ranging from clinical management of envenomings to venom evolution to the use of isolated toxins as leads for drug design and development. Although definitive assignment of a toxin to a protein family can only be done through demonstrated structural studies such as N-terminal sequencing, the molecular mass data complemented by LC retention information, presented here, do permit formulation of reasonable hypotheses concerning snake venom evolution and potential clinical effects to a degree not possible till now, and some hypotheses of this kind are proposed here. The data will also be useful in biodiscovery.     

VISIBLE CHEMILUMINESCENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE REACTION BETWEEN METHEMOGLOBIN OR OXYHEMOGLOBIN WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

Abstract Visible chemiluminescence is emitted in the irreversible deactivation of hemoglobin or methemoglobin with excess H₂O₂. The emission takes place in two phases. The most intense one lasts a few seconds and is followed by a second phase of lower intensity that remains for longer periods. This second phase presents chaotic or sustained oscillations. Free radicals are implicated in the luminescent process since the emission can be reduced by free radical scavengers such as 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8,-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox) or ascorbic acid. These additives lead to a delay in reaching the maximum intensity, which can be related to their consumption, implying substantial recycling of the hemoprotein. Chemiluminescence is also observed in the oxidation of hemin by H₂O₂, suggesting a role for the heme group in the processes leading to the excited state production. The lower intensity observed in the presence of hemin can be related to the contribution of the globin chains.     

PHEMA hydrogels obtained by a novel low-heat curing procedure with a potential for in situ preparation

In this work, we report on poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) hydrogels obtained by a low heat curing reaction. These materials are suitable for in situ preparation and therefore endowed with a potential for several biomedical applications. The novel procedure adopted involves as the first step the synthesis of a soluble oligomeric PHEMA precursor containing polymerizable functions as side substituents. As the second step, the precursor is dissolved in equal amounts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and water, to form a viscous but still injectable syrup. A low temperature water soluble initiator is then added. The curing reaction starts promptly and is completed within few minutes. During the entire process the internal temperature never rises above 40 degrees C. Preliminary mechanical characterizations performed on the hydrogels in their water-swollen state and diffusion tests in absorption/desorption experiments clearly indicated that on all respects the novel hydrogels are comparable with conventional PHEMA hydrogels obtained according to literature from HEMA in the presence of divinyl crosslinkers. However, the much shorter curing time combined with the far lower curing temperature endow the new hydrogels with a higher potential in view of specific surgical requirements, and particularly for in situ preparation.     

Phase diagram of softly repulsive systems: the Gaussian and inverse-power-law potentials

We redraw, using state-of-the-art methods for free-energy calculations, the phase diagrams of two reference models for the liquid state: the Gaussian and inverse-power-law repulsive potentials. Notwithstanding the different behaviors of the two potentials for vanishing interparticle distances, their thermodynamic properties are similar in a range of densities and temperatures, being ruled by the competition between the body-centered-cubic (bcc) and face-centered-cubic (fcc) crystalline structures and the fluid phase. We confirm the existence of a reentrant bcc phase in the phase diagram of the Gaussian-core model, just above the triple point. We also trace the bcc-fcc coexistence line of the inverse-power-law model as a function of the power exponent n and relate the common features in the phase diagrams of such systems to the softness degree of the interaction.