Thermal denaturation of ribonuclease T1 a DSC study

The thermal denaturation of microbial Ribonuclease T1 (RNAase T1) as a function ofpH, was studied by means of DSC microcalorimetry. The midpoint denaturation temperatures, enthalpy changes and heat capacity changes of Ribonuclease T1 were compared with those obtained for pancreatic Ribonuclease A (RNAase A). It was found that the microbial T1 protein undergoes a more complex conformational transition than the simple two-state transition shown by Ribonuclease A. The hypothesis of the presence of a molten globule form is discussed. The conformational stability of RNAase T1 is lower than that of RNAase A at highpH values. Indeed, the maximum stability of RNAase T1 occurs atpH 5, whereas that of RNAase A occurs atpH 8. AtpH=3.7 an irreversible aggregation phenomenon was indicated by the existence of a reproducible exothermic peak. The conformational transition of RNAase T1 is reversible in the range ofpH 4.5–7.0, whereas it becomes irreversible atpH8.0 as for RNAase A.This work was financed by the National Research Council (C.N.R.-Rome) and by Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research.     

Late‐Stage Isotopic Carbon Labeling of Pharmaceutically Relevant Cyclic Ureas Directly from CO2

A robust, click‐chemistry‐inspired procedure for radiolabeling of cyclic ureas was developed. This protocol, suitable for all carbon isotopes (¹¹C, ¹³C, ¹⁴C), is based on the direct functionalization of carbon dioxide: the universal building block for carbon radiolabeling. The strategy is operationally simple and reproducible in different radiochemistry centers, exhibits remarkably wide substrate scope with short reaction times, and demonstrates superior reactivity as compared to previously reported systems. With this procedure, a variety of pharmaceuticals and an unprotected peptide were labeled with high radiochemical efficiency.     

Sol–gel synthesis and thermal behavior of bioactive ferrous citrate–silica hybrid materials

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Imbalance of the iron level in the body causes several diseases. In particular, the low level of iron, during pregnancy, is responsible for the iron...     

Thermodynamic characterisation of RNAase a in the presence of urea and GuHCl

It is presented a study concerning the influence of guanidinium chloride (GuHCl) and urea on thermal stability of Bovine Pancreatic Ribonuclease A (RNAase A) at differentpH values. As expected, at increasing the denaturant concentration, the protein thermostability decreases. This is shown by a decrease of both the thermodynamic parameters, temperature and heat effect, characterising the denaturation process. In order to analyse the calorimetric curves we adopt a statistical thermodynamic approach. The individual one-dimensional DSC profiles have been expanded into another dimension by varying the GuHCl concentration, so that a heat capacity surface is defined for eachpH. By means of the ICARUS program, developed in our laboratory, we accomplish a two dimensional deconvolution of the experimental data linking the binding equilibrium to the denaturation process. This analysis provides a well founded and complete statistical thermodynamic characterisation of denaturation process of RNAase A in the presence of GuHCl and allows to calculate the thermodynamic parameters associated to the binding of denaturant molecule.     

Interactions between aminoacids and alcohols in water at 25 °C

The enthalpies of dilution of ternary aqueous solutions containing an alcohol (ethanol,n-propanol,n-butanol or tert-butanol) and an aminoacid or a peptide (glycine, glycyl-glycine or glycyl-glycyl-glycine), were measured at 25 °C. The results were used to calculate pair cross interaction parameters between solutes. The coefficients of virial expansion of the excess enthalpies are compared with those referring to solutions containing the same alcohols and other structure-breaking solutes (urea, thiourea and biuret). The enthalpic pair parameter for the systems glycine-alcohols shows the same trend, as reported in the literature, for similar structure-breaking solutes, with a maximum in the cross coefficients when reported versus the self pair interaction coefficients of alcohols. The results are interpreted in terms of a prevailing release of water from the cospheres of alcohols.

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Zusammenfassung Die Verdünnungsenthalpien ternärer wässeriger Lösungen, die einen Alkohol (Ethanol,n-Propanol,n-Butanol odertert-Bulanol) und eine Aminosäure oder ein Peptid (Glycin, Glycil-glycin oder Glycyl-glycyl-glycin) enthalten, wurden bei 25 °C gemessen. Die erhaltenen Werte wurden zur Berechnung der Parameter der zwischen den Molekülen der verschiedenartigen gelösten Stoffe auftretenden Wechselwirkungen herangezogen. Die Koeffizienten der Virialentwicklung der Überschussenthalpien werden mit denen verglichen, die sich auf die gleichen Alkohole und andere strukturbrechende gelöste Stoffe (Harnstoff, Thioharnstoff und Biuret) enthaltenden Lösungen beziehen. Die Enthalpieparameter der Systeme Glycin-Alkohole zeigen den in der Literatur für ähnliche strukturbrechende gelöste Stoffe mitgeteilten Trend nämlich ein Maximum in der Kurve, die beim Auftragen der Koeffizienten der Wechselwirkung zwischen verschiedenartigen Molekülen gegen die Koeffizienten der Wechselwirkung zwischen den Alkoholmolekülen erhalten wird. Die Ergebnisse werden unter Annahme eines bevorzugten Austritts von Wasser aus der Kosphäre der Alkohole interpretiert.

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This work is financially supported by the Italian Ministry of Public Education and by the Italian National Research Council.     

The electrochemical synthesis ofO-ethylxanthato- andN,N′-dimethyldithiocarbamato-complexes of oxovanadium(IV), manganese (III), zinc(II), silver(I) and cadmium(II)

Summary A direct electrochemical synthetic method has been developed to effect the one-step preparation of metal xanthates and dithiocarbamates by the oxidation of the metal in an organic solution of the dixanthogen or thiuram disulphide. Results are reported for the metals: oxovanadium(IV), manganese(III), zinc(II), silver(I) and cadmium(II).     

Heavy metal biosorption by bacterial cells

Microbial biomass provides available ligand groups on which metal ions bind by different mechanisms. Biosorption of these elements from aqueous solutions represents a remediation technology suitable for the treatment of metal-contaminated effluents. The purpose of the present investigation was the assessment of the capability of Brevibacterium sp. cells to remove bivalent ions, when present alone or in pairs, from aqueous solutions, using immobilized polyacrylamide cells of the microorganism in a flow-through system. The biosorption capacity of Brevibacterium cells was studied for lead, cadmium and copper. The metal cell binding capacity followed the order Cu > Pb > Cd, based on estimated q_max. These values, expressed as mmol metal/g dry weight cells, were 0.54 for Cu, 0.36 for Pb and 0.14 for Cd. Polyacrylamide-gel immobilized cells were effective in Pb, Cu and Cd removal. Lead removal was not affected by the presence of Cd and Cu; lead instead inhibited Cd and Cu removal. The desorption of the metal, by fluxing a chelating solution, restored the metal binding capacity of the cells, thus affording the multiple use of the same biomass in the remediation treatment. Received: 31 July 1997 / Revised: 22 December 1997 / Accepted: 30 December 1997     

Thermal stability and crystallization phenomena of low cost Ti-based bulk metallic glass

The thermal stability, kinetics of crystallization, and glass forming ability of a Ti₄₈Ni₃₂Cu₈Si₈Sn₄ bulk amorphous alloy have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry using both isothermal and non-isothermal experiments. The activation energy, frequency factor, and reaction rate for the crystallization cascade were determined via the Kissinger method. X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that crystallization starts with the primary precipitation of Ti(Ni,Cu), followed by the nucleation of Cu₃Ti from the amorphous precursor. The kinetics of nucleation of the primary crystalline phase was also investigated using the Johnson–Mehl-Avrami method and the Avrami exponent, n, was determined. This new alloy possesses a significantly larger supercooled liquid region than any other non beryllium- or non rare earth – containing titanium-based bulk metallic glass to date.