Characterizing affinity epitopes between prion protein and β-amyloid using an epitope mapping immunoassay

Cellular prion protein, a membrane protein, is expressed in all mammals. Prion protein is also found in human blood as an anchorless protein, and this protein form is one of the many potential sources of misfolded prion protein replication during transmission. Many studies have suggested that β-amyloid_1–42 oligomer causes neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer''s disease, which is mediated by the prion protein that acts as a receptor and regulates the hippocampal potentiation. The prevention of the binding of these proteins has been proposed as a possible preventative treatment for Alzheimer''s disease; therefore, a greater understanding of the binding hot-spots between the two molecules is necessary. In this study, the epitope mapping immunoassay was employed to characterize binding epitopes within the prion protein and complementary epitopes in β-amyloid. Residues 23–39 and 93–119 in the prion protein were involved in binding to β-amyloid_1–40 and _1–42, and monomers of this protein interacted with prion protein residues 93–113 and 123–166. Furthermore, β-amyloid antibodies against the C-terminus detected bound β-amyloid_1–42 at residues 23–40, 104–122 and 159–175. β-Amyloid epitopes necessary for the interaction with prion protein were not determined. In conclusion, charged clusters and hydrophobic regions of the prion protein were involved in binding to β-amyloid_1–40 and _1–42. The 3D structure appears to be necessary for β-amyloid to interact with prion protein. In the future, these binding sites may be utilized for 3D structure modeling, as well as for the pharmaceutical intervention of Alzheimer''s disease.     

Construction of conformal mappings by generalized polarization tensors

We present a new systematic method to compute the Riemann mapping from the outside of the unit disc to the outside of a simply connected domain. We derive explicit relations between the coefficients of the Riemann mapping and the generalized polarization tensors associated with the domain. Because the generalized polarization tensors can be computed numerically, we are able to compute the coefficients of the Riemann mapping using these relations. Effectiveness of the method is validated by numerical examples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of monoclonal antibody by a novel CE‐UV/MALDI‐MS interface

mAbs are highly complex proteins that present a wide range of microheterogeneity that requires multiple analytical methods for full structure assessment and quality control. As a consequence, the characterization of mAbs on different levels is particularly product‐ and time‐consuming. CE‐MS couplings, especially to MALDI, appear really attractive methods for the characterization of biological samples. In this work, we report the last instrumental development and performance of the first totally automated off‐line CE‐UV/MALDI‐MS/MS. This interface is based on the removal of the original UV cell of the CE apparatus, modification of the spotting device geometry, and creation of an integrated delivery matrix system. The performance of the method was evaluated with separation of five intact proteins and a tryptic digest mixture of nine proteins. Intact protein application shows the acquisition of electropherograms with high resolution and high repeatability. In the peptide mapping approach, a total number of 154 unique identified peptides were characterized using MS/MS spectra corresponding to average sequence coverage of 64.1%. Comparison with NanoLC/MALDI‐MS/MS showed complementarity at the peptide level with an increase of 42% when using CE/MALDI‐MS coupling. Finally, this work represents the first analysis of intact mAb charge variants by CZE using an MS detection. Moreover, using a peptide mapping approach CE‐UV/MALDI‐MS/MS fragmentation allowed 100% sequence coverage of the light chain and 92% of the heavy chain, and the separation of four major glycosylated peptides and their structural characterization.     

石墨烯嵌锂的拉曼成像

锂离子电池由于具有高能量密度,高循环寿命,低自放电率的优势,成为当前使用最为广泛的储能器件。层状材料是极为常用的负极材料,其微观嵌锂行为的研究对提高电池的能量密度和循环寿命有重要意义。本工作发展了一种新的平板微电池结构,可用于研究锂离子在各类二维层状纳米材料中的嵌锂行为。我们用机械剥离的单片少层石墨烯为正极,热蒸镀的锂金属为负极,构成石墨烯电池,用恒电压放电的方法进行嵌锂测试。采用拉曼成像技术收集石墨烯G峰信号的空间分布,实现对锂的嵌入过程的显微观测。发现了锂在石墨烯中沿层间扩散迁移,以及石墨烯断层对锂扩散的阻碍作用。这些结果有助于理解放电时锂在石墨烯电极中扩散过程,并且这项研究开发的平板微电池结构可用于多种材料的电化学过程中的微观过程表征,同时可实现与光学、电学、电子显微学等多种表征手段的兼容,具有较好的应用前景。     

In-bone protein digestion followed by LC-MS/MS peptide analysis as a new way towards the routine proteomic characterization of human maxillary and mandibular bone tissue in oral surgery

Proteomic characterization of alveolar bones in oral surgery represents an analytical challenge due to their insoluble character. The implementation of a straightforward technique could lead to the routine use of proteomics in this field. This work thus developed a simple technique for the characterization of bone tissue for human maxillary and mandibular bones. It is based on the direct in-bone tryptic digestion of proteins in both healthy and pathological human maxillary and mandibular bone samples. The released peptides were then identified by the LC-MS/MS. Using this approach, a total of 1120 proteins were identified in the maxillary bone and 1151 proteins in the mandibular bone. The subsequent partial least squares–discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) of protein data made it possible to reach 100% discrimination between the samples of healthy alveolar bones and those of the bone tissue surrounding the inflammatory focus. These results indicate that the in-bone protein digestion followed by the LC-MS/MS and subsequent statistical analysis can provide a deeper insight into the field of oral surgery at the molecular level. Furthermore, it could also have a diagnostic potential in the differentiation between the proteomic patterns of healthy and pathological alveolar bone tissue. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD026775.     

Chemical depth profiling and 3D reconstruction of III–V heterostructures selectively grown on non‐planar Si substrates by MOCVD

The chemical characterization of novel 3D architectures with nanometre‐scale dimensions is extremely challenging. The chemical composition of InGaAs/AlAs quantum wells selectively grown in SiO₂ trenches, 100–300 nm wide, is studied. Combining high lateral resolution 3D ToF‐SIMS analysis and Auger measurements, the chemical composition of individual trenches was obtained confirming the uniformity of these III–V heterostructures. These results correlate well with an average approach using SIMS depth profiling. The effects of ion beam orientation on the surface topography of confined structures were highlighted. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Washing off intensification of cotton and wool fabrics by ultrasounds

Wet textile washing processes were set up for wool and cotton fabrics to evaluate the potential of ultrasound transducers (US) in improving dirt removal. The samples were contaminated with an emulsion of carbon soot in vegetable oil and aged for three hours in fan oven. Before washing, the fabrics were soaked for 3 min in a standard detergent solution and subsequently washed in a water bath. The dirt removal was evaluated through colorimetric measurements. The total color differences ΔE of the samples were measured with respect to an uncontaminated fabric, before and after each washing cycle. The percentage of ΔE variation obtained was calculated and correlated to the dirt removal. The results showed that the US transducers enhanced the dirt removal and temperature was the parameter most influencing the US efficiency on the cleaning process. Better results were obtained at a lower process temperature.     

空间遥感测绘光学系统研究综述

将遥感技术应用到测绘当中是现代地质测绘技术的发展趋势,随着光学载荷分辨率的不断提高,遥感测绘已经成为社会发展和国民经济发展的重要保障。光学载荷决定了测绘空间遥感器的分辨率、测绘精度、卫星平台体积与重量,是遥感器的核心部分。本文对高成像质量透射光学系统、同轴三反光学系统、离轴三反系统等常用的空间遥感测绘光学系统的结构形式和光学性能分别进行了介绍,并对处于研发阶段的新型空间反射光学系统的结构形式和光学性能进行了展望。分析认为,根据不同的应用环境和技术指标,合理选用不同种类的遥感测绘光学系统,可以最大程度利用平台资源,满足遥感测绘需求。     

主被动光学图像融合技术研究

本文应用扫描式激光成像雷达获取试验数据并实现对激光数据的三维成像处理,给出了基于目标特征的激光雷达图像与被动光学图像的数据融合方法,实现了激光图像和光学图像间的三维融合。试验结果表明,本文所提出的基于目标特征的两种不同质图像间的融合方法是可行的,融合后的图像具有丰富的光谱信息和三维立体信息。     

Qualitative spectroscopic characterization of the matrix–silane coupling agent interface across metal fibre reinforced ion exchange resin composite membranes

The characterization of novel metal reinforced electro-dialysis ion exchange membranes, for water desalination, by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy mapping is presented in this paper. The surface of the porous stainless steel fibre meshes was treated in order to enhance the amount of surface oxide groups and increase the material hydrophilicity. Then, the metal membranes were functionalized through a sol–gel reaction with silane coupling agents to enhance the affinity with the ion exchange resins and avoid premature metal oxidation due to redox reactions at the metal–polymer interface. Polished cross sections of the composite membranes embedded into an epoxy resin revealed interfaces between metallic frameworks and the silane layer at the interface with the ion exchange material. The morphology of the metal–polymer interface was investigated with scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy. Fourier transform infrared mapping of the interfaces was performed using the attenuated total reflectance mode on the polished cross-sections at the Australian Synchrotron. The nature of the interface between the metal framework and the ion exchange resin was shown to be homogeneous and the coating thickness was found to be around 1 μm determined by Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy mapping. The impact of the coating on the properties of the membranes and their potential for water desalination by electro-dialysis are also discussed.