A Glycan Array‐Based Assay for the Identification and Characterization of Plant Glycosyltransferases

Growing plants with modified cell wall compositions is a promising strategy to improve resistance to pathogens, increase biomass digestibility, and tune other important properties. In order to alter biomass architecture, a detailed knowledge of cell wall structure and biosynthesis is a prerequisite. We report here a glycan array‐based assay for the high‐throughput identification and characterization of plant cell wall biosynthetic glycosyltransferases (GTs). We demonstrate that different heterologously expressed galactosyl‐, fucosyl‐, and xylosyltransferases can transfer azido‐functionalized sugar nucleotide donors to selected synthetic plant cell wall oligosaccharides on the array and that the transferred monosaccharides can be visualized “on chip” by a 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition reaction with an alkynyl‐modified dye. The opportunity to simultaneously screen thousands of combinations of putative GTs, nucleotide sugar donors, and oligosaccharide acceptors will dramatically accelerate plant cell wall biosynthesis research.     

A Palladium‐Nanoparticle and Silicon‐Nanowire‐Array Hybrid: A Platform for Catalytic Heterogeneous Reactions

We report the development of a silicon nanowire array‐stabilized palladium nanoparticle catalyst, SiNA‐Pd. Its use in the palladium‐catalyzed Mizoroki‐Heck reaction, the hydrogenation of an alkene, the hydrogenolysis of nitrobenzene, the hydrosilylation of an α,β‐unsaturated ketone, and the C‐H bond functionalization reactions of thiophenes and indoles achieved a quantitative production with high reusability. The catalytic activity reached several hundred‐mol ppb of palladium, reaching a TON of 2 000 000.     

A LecA Ligand Identified from a Galactoside‐Conjugate Array Inhibits Host Cell Invasion by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Lectin LecA is a virulence factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa involved in lung injury, mortality, and cellular invasion. Ligands competing with human glycoconjugates for LecA binding are thus promising candidates to counteract P. aeruginosa infections. We have identified a novel divalent ligand from a focused galactoside(Gal)‐conjugate array which binds to LecA with very high affinity (K_d=82 nM ). Crystal structures of LecA complexed with the ligand together with modeling studies confirmed its ability to chelate two binding sites of LecA. The ligand lowers cellular invasiveness of P. aeruginosa up to 90 % when applied in the range of 0.05–5 μM . Hence, this ligand might lead to the development of drugs against P. aeruginosa infection.     

N-TiO2/ZnO复合纳米管阵列的掺杂机理及其光催化活性

以ZnO纳米柱阵列为模板, 采用溶胶-凝胶法制备出TiO2/ZnO和N掺杂TiO2/ZnO的复合纳米管阵列. 扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和紫外-可见漫反射吸收光谱(UV-Vis)的结果表明: 两种阵列的纳米管均为六角形结构, 直径约为100 nm, 壁厚约为20 nm; 在N-TiO2/ZnO复合纳米管阵列中, 掺入的N离子主要是以N-Ox、N-C和N-N的形式化学吸附在纳米管表面, 仅有少量的N离子以取代式掺杂的方式占据TiO2晶格O的位置; 表面N物种形成的表面态能级和取代式掺杂导致带隙的窄化, 增强了纳米管阵列的光吸收效率, 促进了光生载流子的分离. 光催化实验结果表明, N离子的掺杂有利于N-TiO2/ZnO复合纳米管阵列光催化活性的提高.     

用于人血浆中蛋白质分离的在线阵列式二维常规柱液相色谱系统的建立

构建了一种在线阵列式二维常规柱液相色谱系统,并将其应用于分离血浆中的完整蛋白质。该系统以1根强阴离子交换柱作为第一维分离柱,8根阵列式反相色谱柱作为第二维分离柱。强阴离子交换柱分离的馏分通过十通阀被依次转移到第二维预柱上并得到保留富集,随后第二维流动相通过分流器同时将预柱上的蛋白质反冲至分析柱上进行分离。二维之间以及第二维阵列色谱柱之间均相互独立,从而可以提高系统分离的通量和总峰容量。采用该系统对血浆中的蛋白质进行了完整蛋白质水平上的分离。该系统具有高通量和高分辨率的特点,为血浆样品中高丰度蛋白质的去除以及血浆样品的深入研究提供了一种有效的手段。     

Separation of phthalates by cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography: Quantitation in perfumes

A new CE method has been developed for the simultaneous separation of a group of parent phthalates. Due to the neutral character of these compounds, the addition of several bile salts as surfactants (sodium cholate (SC), sodium deoxycholate (SDC), sodium taurodeoxycholate (STDC), sodium taurocholate (STC)) to the separation buffer was explored showing the high potential of SDC as pseudostationary phase. However, the resolution of all the phthalates was not achieved when employing only this bile salt as additive, being necessary the addition of neutral cyclodextrins (CD) and organic modifiers to the separation media. The optimized cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CD-MEKC) method consisted of the employ of a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 25 mM β-CD-100 mM SDC in a 100 mM borate buffer (pH 8.5) with a 10% (v/v) of acetonitrile, employing a voltage of 30 kV and a temperature of 25 °C. This separation medium enabled the total resolution of eight compounds and the partial resolution of two of the analytes, di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) (Rs ~ 0.8), in only 12 min. The analytical characteristics of the developed method were studied showing their suitability for the determination of these compounds in commercial perfumes. In all the analyzed perfumes the most common phthalate was diethyl phthalate (DEP) that appeared in ten of the fifteen analyzed products. Also dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diallyl phthalate (DAP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCP), and di-n-pentyl phthalate (DNPP) were found in some of the analyzed samples.     

Application of carbon-based nanomaterials in sample preparation: A review

In this paper, a broad overview on the applications of different carbon-based nanomaterials, including nanodiamonds, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon nanofibers, carbon nanocones-disks and nanohorns, as well as their functionalized forms, in sample preparation is provided. Particular attention has been paid to graphene because many papers regarding its application in this research field are becoming available. The distinctive properties, derivatization methods and application techniques of these materials were summarized and compared. According to their research status and perspective, these nanomaterials were classified in four groups (I: graphene and carbon nanotubes; II: carbon nanofibers; III: fullerenes; and IV: nanodiamonds, carbon nanocones/disks and carbon nanohorns) and characteristics and future trends of every group were discussed.     

BODIPY-based fluorometric sensor array for the highly sensitive identification of heavy-metal ions

A BODIPY(4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene)-based fluorometric sensor array has been developed for the highly sensitive detection of eight heavy-metal ions at micromolar concentration. The di-2-picolyamine (DPA) derivatives combine high affinities for a variety of heavy-metal ions with the capacity to perturb the fluorescence properties of BODIPY, making them perfectly suitable for the design of fluorometric sensor arrays for heavy-metal ions. 12 cross-reactive BODIPY fluorescent indicators provide facile identification of the heavy-metal ions using a standard chemometric approach (hierarchical clustering analysis); no misclassifications were found over 45 trials. Clear differentiation among heavy-metal ions as a function of concentration was also achieved, even down to 10⁻⁷ M. A semi-quantitative interpolation of the heavy-metal concentration is obtained by comparing the total Euclidean distance of the measurement with a set of known concentrations in the library.     

应用分割矩阵全局优化算法设计用于编码孔径成像的二维阵列

二维编码阵列是编码孔径成像的关键部件,它直接决定着再现的层析图像的质量。目前仍没有一种理想的二维阵列既具有较高的量子收集率,又具有良好的层析成像特性。采用一种新的方法———分割矩阵(DIRECT)全局优化算法,设计二维阵列,该算法适用于多变量“黑盒”问题的求解,并且具有比其他优化算法更快的收敛速度。其目的是设计一类自相关函数旁瓣最大值为1,同时具有最大填充率的二维编码阵列。理论分析及实验结果表明:用该算法搜索得到的二维阵列既具有较高的量子收集率,又具有良好的层析成像特性。     

Design and results for a 345 GHz sis focal plane array using planar technology

We describe a focal plane array using antenna elements and SIS junctions photo-etched on a quartz substrate. The etched antenna is of a new strip-line type in which a two-dimensional corrugated horn is phase-corrected with a strip-line lens. Good beam efficiency is indicated by the measured antenna patterns. A DSB receiver temperature of 225 K was obtained with a number of imperfections still present.