Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Modified with Single‐Domain Antibodies for Rapid and Efficient Capture of Cells

Peripheral blood can provide valuable information on an individual’s immune status. Cell‐based assays typically target leukocytes and their products. Characterization of leukocytes from whole blood requires their separation from the far more numerous red blood cells. 1 Current methods to classify leukocytes, such as recovery on antibody‐coated beads or fluorescence‐activated cell sorting require long sample preparation times and relatively large sample volumes. 2 A simple method that enables the characterization of cells from a small peripheral whole blood sample could overcome limitations of current analytical techniques. We describe the development of a simple graphene oxide surface coated with single‐domain antibody fragments. This format allows quick and efficient capture of distinct WBC subpopulations from small samples (～30 μL) of whole blood in a geometry that does not require any specialized equipment such as cell sorters or microfluidic devices.     

Dissecting Cooperative Communications in a Protein with a High‐Throughput Single‐Molecule Scalpel

Miscued communication often leads to misfolding and aggregation of the proteins involved in many diseases. Owing to the ensemble average property of conventional techniques, detailed communication diagrams are difficult to obtain. Mechanical unfolding affords an unprecedented perspective on cooperative transitions by observing a protein along a trajectory defined by two mutated cysteine residues. Nevertheless, this approach requires tedious sample preparation at the risk of altering native protein conformations. To address these issues, we applied click chemistry to tether a protein to the two dsDNA handles through primary amines in lysine residues as well as at the N terminus. As a proof of concept, we used laser tweezers to mechanically unfold and refold calmodulin along 36 trajectories, maximally allowed by this strategy in a single batch of protein preparation. Without a priori knowledge of the particular residues to which the double‐stranded DNA handles attach, we used hierarchical cluster analysis to identify 20 major trajectories, according to the size and the pattern of unfolding transitions. We dissected the cooperativity into all‐or‐none and partially cooperative events, which represent strong and weak high‐order interactions in proteins, respectively. Although the overall cooperativity is higher within the N or C lobe than that between the lobes, the all‐or‐none cooperativity is anisotropic among different the unfolding trajectories and becomes relatively more predominant when the size of the protein segments increases. The average cooperativity for all‐or‐none transitions falls within the expected range observed by ensemble techniques, which supports the hypothesis that unfolding of a free protein can be reconstituted from individual trajectories.     

Dark‐Field‐Based Observation of Single‐Nanoparticle Dynamics on a Supported Lipid Bilayer for In Situ Analysis of Interacting Molecules and Nanoparticles

Observation of single plasmonic nanoparticles in reconstituted biological systems allows us to obtain snapshots of dynamic processes between molecules and nanoparticles with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution and single‐molecule/single‐particle‐level data acquisition. This Concept is intended to introduce nanoparticle‐tethered supported lipid bilayer platforms that allow for the dynamic confinement of nanoparticles on a two‐dimensional fluidic surface. The dark‐field‐based long‐term, stable, real‐time observation of freely diffusing plasmonic nanoparticles on a lipid bilayer enables one to extract a broad range of information about interparticle and molecular interactions throughout the entire reaction period. Herein, we highlight important developments in this context to provide ideas on how molecular interactions can be interpreted by monitoring dynamic behaviors and optical signals of laterally mobile nanoparticles.     

Forced Folding of a Disordered Protein Accesses an Alternative Folding Landscape

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are involved in diverse cellular functions. Many IDPs can interact with multiple binding partners, resulting in their folding into alternative ligand‐specific functional structures. For such multi‐structural IDPs, a key question is whether these multiple structures are fully encoded in the protein sequence, as is the case in many globular proteins. To answer this question, here we employed a combination of single‐molecule and ensemble techniques to compare ligand‐induced and osmolyte‐forced folding of α‐synuclein. Our results reveal context‐dependent modulation of the protein′s folding landscape, suggesting that the codes for the protein′s native folds are partially encoded in its primary sequence, and are completed only upon interaction with binding partners. Our findings suggest a critical role for cellular interactions in expanding the repertoire of folds and functions available to disordered proteins.     

Single‐Molecule Methods to Study Membrane Receptor Oligomerization

Membrane receptors control fundamental cellular processes. Binding of a specific ligand to a receptor initiates communication through the membrane and activation of signaling cascades. This activation process often leads to a spatial rearrangement of receptors in the membrane at the molecular level. Single‐molecule techniques contributed significantly to the understanding of receptor organization and rearrangement in membranes. Here, we review four prominent single‐molecule techniques that have been applied to membrane receptors, namely, stepwise photobleaching, Förster resonance energy transfer, sub‐diffraction localization microscopy and co‐tracking. We discuss the requirements, benefits and limitations of each technique, discuss target labeling, present a selection of applications and results and compare the different methodologies.     

气相色谱-单光子电离飞行时间质谱的联用及在柴油组分表征中的应用

建立了一种气相色谱(GC)与单光子电离-飞行时间质谱(SPI-TOF MS)联用(GC/SPI-TOF MS)的分析方法。首先,设计了一种双层套管的传输管用于连接GC与SPI-TOF MS,实现了GC与单光子电离离子源的无缝连接。在此基础上,以n-十五烷标准品和苯/甲苯/二甲苯的标准气为对象,对电离源的重要电压参数进行了优化,得到了纯净的分子离子峰,实现了对各类有机物的快速和准确定性。最后,将该方法用于分析柴油中的挥发性与半挥发性有机物,获得了柴油组分的二维GC×SPI-TOF MS谱图。不需要复杂的谱图解析和数据处理,根据谱图中离子的质荷比(m/z)归纳了柴油的主要成分,包括脂肪烃、芳香烃和含量很低的苯并吡咯等含氮化合物;根据色谱的保留时间将柴油中的同分异构体区分开来。结果表明GC/SPI-TOF MS法是一种简单、有效的分析方法,非常适于柴油及复杂环境样品等的分析表征。     

The development of an artificial organic networks toolkit for LabVIEW

Two of the most challenging problems that scientists and researchers face when they want to experiment with new cutting‐edge algorithms are the time‐consuming for encoding and the difficulties for linking them with other technologies and devices. In that sense, this article introduces the artificial organic networks toolkit for LabVIEW? (AON‐TL) from the implementation point of view. The toolkit is based on the framework provided by the artificial organic networks technique, giving it the potential to add new algorithms in the future based on this technique. Moreover, the toolkit inherits both the rapid prototyping and the easy‐to‐use characteristics of the LabVIEW? software (e.g., graphical programming, transparent usage of other softwares and devices, built‐in programming event‐driven for user interfaces), to make it simple for the end‐user. In fact, the article describes the global architecture of the toolkit, with particular emphasis in the software implementation of the so‐called artificial hydrocarbon networks algorithm. Lastly, the article includes two case studies for engineering purposes (i.e., sensor characterization) and chemistry applications (i.e., blood–brain barrier partitioning data model) to show the usage of the toolkit and the potential scalability of the artificial organic networks technique. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Deformation of single‐walled carbon nanotubes by interaction with graphene: A first‐principles study

The interaction between single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and graphene were studied with first‐principles calculations. Both SWNTs and single‐layer graphene (SLG) or double‐layer graphene (DLG) display more remarkable deformations with the increase of SWNT diameter, which implies a stronger interaction between SWNTs and graphene. Besides, in DLG, deformation of the upper‐layer graphene is less than in SLG. Zigzag SWNTs show stronger interactions with SLG than armchair SWNTs, whereas the order is reversed for DLG, which can be interpreted by the mechanical properties of SWNTs and graphene. Density of states and band structures were also studied, and it was found that the interaction between a SWNT and graphene is not strong enough to bring about obvious influence on the electronic structures of SWNTs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dividing a complex reaction involving a hypervalent iodine reagent into three limiting mechanisms by ab initio molecular dynamics

The electrophilic N‐trifluoromethylation of MeCN with a hypervalent iodine reagent to form a nitrilium ion, that is rapidly trapped by an azole nucleophile, is thought to occur via reductive elimination (RE). A recent study showed that, depending on the solvent representation, the S_N2 is favoured to a different extent over the RE. However, there is a discriminative solvent effect present, which calls for a statistical mechanics approach to fully account for the entropic contributions. In this study, we perform metadynamic simulations for two trifluoromethylation reactions (with N‐ and S‐nucleophiles), showing that the RE mechanism is always favoured in MeCN solution. These computations also indicate that a radical mechanism (single electron transfer) may play an important role. The computational protocol based on accelerated molecular dynamics for the exploration of the free energy surface is transferable and will be applied to similar reactions to investigate other electrophiles on the reagent. Based on the activation parameters determined, this approach also gives insight into the mechanistic details of the trifluoromethylation and shows that these commonly known mechanisms mark the limits within which the reaction proceeds. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Strong Direct Magnetic Coupling in a Dinuclear CoII Tetrazine Radical Single‐Molecule Magnet

The ligand‐centered radical complex [(CoTPMA)₂‐μ‐bmtz^.?](O₃SCF₃)₃ ? CH₃CN (bmtz=3,6‐bis(2′‐pyrimidyl)‐1,2,4,5‐tetrazine, TPMA=tris‐(2‐pyridylmethyl)amine) has been synthesized from the neutral bmtz precursor. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies have confirmed the presence of the ligand‐centered radical. The Co^II complex exhibits slow paramagnetic relaxation in an applied DC field with a barrier to spin reversal of 39 K. This behavior is a result of strong antiferromagnetic metal–radical coupling combined with positive axial and strong rhombic anisotropic contributions from the Co^II ions.