Probing Bis‐FeIV MauG: Experimental Evidence for the Long‐Range Charge‐Resonance Model

The biosynthesis of tryptophan tryptophylquinone, a protein‐derived cofactor, involves a long‐range reaction mediated by a bis‐Fe^IV intermediate of a diheme enzyme, MauG. Recently, a unique charge‐resonance (CR) phenomenon was discovered in this intermediate, and a biological, long‐distance CR model was proposed. This model suggests that the chemical nature of the bis‐Fe^IV species is not as simple as it appears; rather, it is composed of a collection of resonance structures in a dynamic equilibrium. Here, we experimentally evaluated the proposed CR model by introducing small molecules to, and measuring the temperature dependence of, bis‐Fe^IV MauG. Spectroscopic evidence was presented to demonstrate that the selected compounds increase the decay rate of the bis‐Fe^IV species by disrupting the equilibrium of the resonance structures that constitutes the proposed CR model. The results support this new CR model and bring a fresh concept to the classical CR theory.     

高效液相色谱-同位素稀释质谱法定量分析人生长激素

建立了人生长激素( hGH)纯化分析和高效液相色谱( HPLC)与同位素稀释质谱( IDMS)联用高准确度绝对定量方法。采用快速蛋白液相色谱来分离纯化hGH,以傅里叶变换离子回旋共振质谱仪( FTICR-MS)准确地测定蛋白质的分子质量。纯化的hGH经酸水解后,采用KINETEX C18色谱柱为分析柱,以水(含0.1%三氟乙酸)和乙腈为流动相,等梯度分离,流速0.2 mL/min,温度40℃,采用电喷雾正离子模式进行电离,选择多反应监测模式进行检测,内标法定量分析。结果表明,FTICR-MS所测得的分子量实测值与理论值仅相差0.31 Da,脯氨酸、缬氨酸和苯丙氨酸在液相条件下5 min内达到基线分离,在最优条件下,hGH含量测定结果为186.80 mg/g,相对标准偏差为0.52%。利用本方法参加国际比对,比对结果与参考值等效一致。本方法具有简易、实用的特点,并且准确可靠,可作为hGH纯品标准物质的定值方法,为hGH的日常检测提供参考。     

定量核磁共振波谱法同时测定中药虎杖中白藜芦醇和虎杖苷的含量

建立了定量核磁共振波谱法同时测定虎杖中白藜芦醇和虎杖苷的方法。样品用80%乙醇和丙酮两次超声提取净化,再用定量核磁共振波谱法测定。考察了样品预处理和核磁共振实验条件对测定结果的影响,选择氘代二甲亚砜-重水(10∶1,V/V)为溶剂,用基准物质邻苯二甲酸氢钾标定的2,3,5-三碘苯甲酸为内标,选择脉冲延迟时间为5 s,采样次数为32次。定量峰为6.388~6.391(白藜芦醇:H-2,6,d,2H)和6.322~6.330(虎杖苷:H-4,t,1H)。结果表明,NMR测定的精密度均小于0.6%,线性相关系数(r)均大于0.999,白藜芦醇和虎杖苷的检出限分别为0.23和0.24 g/L,定量限分别为0.69和1.57 g/L,包括样品提取过程的回收率分别为97.7%~103.5%(RSD=2.4%)和94.5%~99.2%(RSD=1.6%),显示出定量核磁共振法在中药定量时的可靠性。实际测定4种虎杖饮片及配方颗粒样品中白藜芦醇和虎杖苷含量分别为3.57~5.69 mg/g和12.73~24.07 mg/g。     

Reversible Modulation of Surface Plasmons in Gold Nanoparticles Enabled by Surface Redox Chemistry

Switchable surface redox chemistry is demonstrated in gold@iron/iron oxide core–shell nanoparticles with ambient oxidation and plasmon‐mediated reduction to modulate the oxidation state of shell layers. The iron shell can be oxidized to iron oxide through ambient oxidation, leading to an enhancement and red‐shift of the gold surface plasmon resonance (SPR). This enhanced gold SPR can drive reduction of the iron oxide shell under broadband illumination to reversibly blue‐shift and significantly dampen gold SPR absorption. The observed phenomena provide a unique mechanism for controlling the plasmonic properties and surface chemistry of small metal nanoparticles.     

Synthesis and Evaluation of GdIII‐Based Magnetic Resonance Contrast Agents for Molecular Imaging of Prostate‐Specific Membrane Antigen

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is advantageous because it concurrently provides anatomic, functional, and molecular information. MR molecular imaging can combine the high spatial resolution of this established clinical modality with molecular profiling in vivo. However, as a result of the intrinsically low sensitivity of MR imaging, high local concentrations of biological targets are required to generate discernable MR contrast. We hypothesize that the prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA), an attractive target for imaging and therapy of prostate cancer, could serve as a suitable biomarker for MR‐based molecular imaging. We have synthesized three new high‐affinity, low‐molecular‐weight Gd^III‐based PSMA‐targeted contrast agents containing one to three Gd^III chelates per molecule. We evaluated the relaxometric properties of these agents in solution, in prostate cancer cells, and in an in vivo experimental model to demonstrate the feasibility of PSMA‐based MR molecular imaging.     

Octahedral and Cubic Gold Nanoframes with Platinum Framework

Herein, we report a general synthetic pathway to various shapes of three‐dimensional (3D) gold nanoframes (NFs) embedded with a Pt skeleton for structural rigidity. The synthetic route comprises three steps: site‐specific (edge and vertex) deposition of Pt, etching of inner Au, and regrowth of Au on the Pt framework. Site‐specific reduction of Pt on Au nanoparticles (NPs) led to the high‐quality of 3D Au NFs with good structural rigidity, which allowed the detailed characterization of the corresponding 3D metal NFs. The synthetic method described here will open new avenues toward many new kinds of 3D metal NFs.     

Molecularly engineered graphene surfaces for sensing applications: A review

Graphene is scientifically and commercially important because of its unique molecular structure which is monoatomic in thickness, rigorously two-dimensional and highly conjugated. Consequently, graphene exhibits exceptional electrical, optical, thermal and mechanical properties. Herein, we critically discuss the surface modification of graphene, the specific advantages that graphene-based materials can provide over other materials in sensor research and their related chemical and electrochemical properties. Furthermore, we describe the latest developments in the use of these materials for sensing technology, including chemical sensors and biosensors and their applications in security, environmental safety and diseases detection and diagnosis.     

Ratiometric fluorescence transduction by hybridization after isothermal amplification for determination of zeptomole quantities of oligonucleotide biomarkers with a paper-based platform and camera-based detection

Paper is a promising platform for the development of decentralized diagnostic assays owing to the low cost and ease of use of paper-based analytical devices (PADs). It can be challenging to detect on PADs very low concentrations of nucleic acid biomarkers of lengths as used in clinical assays. Herein we report the use of thermophilic helicase-dependent amplification (tHDA) in combination with a paper-based platform for fluorescence detection of probe-target hybridization. Paper substrates were patterned using wax printing. The cellulosic fibers were chemically derivatized with imidazole groups for the assembly of the transduction interface that consisted of immobilized quantum dot (QD)–probe oligonucleotide conjugates. Green-emitting QDs (gQDs) served as donors with Cy3 as the acceptor dye in a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based transduction method. After probe-target hybridization, a further hybridization event with a reporter sequence brought the Cy3 acceptor dye in close proximity to the surface of immobilized gQDs, triggering a FRET sensitized emission that served as an analytical signal. Ratiometric detection was evaluated using both an epifluorescence microscope and a low-cost iPad camera as detectors. Addition of the tHDA method for target amplification to produce sequences of ∼100 base length allowed for the detection of zmol quantities of nucleic acid targets using the two detection platforms. The ratiometric QD-FRET transduction method not only offered improved assay precision, but also lowered the limit of detection of the assay when compared with the non-ratiometric QD-FRET transduction method. The selectivity of the hybridization assays was demonstrated by the detection of single nucleotide polymorphism.     

Comprehensive characterization of natural organic matter by MALDI- and ESI-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Natural organic matter (NOM) is a complex and non-uniform mixture of organic compounds which plays an important role in environmental processes. Due to the complexity, it is challenging to obtain fully detailed structural information about NOM. Although Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for providing molecular information about NOM, multiple ionization methods are needed for comprehensive characterization of NOM at the molecular level considering the ionizing selectivity of different ionization methods. This paper reports the first use of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) method coupled with FT-ICR-MS for molecular characterization of NOM within a mass range of 200–800 Da. The mass spectral data obtained by MALDI were systematically compared with data generated by electrospray ionization (ESI). It showed that complementary molecular information about NOM which could not be detected by ESI, were provided by MALDI. More unsaturated and aromatic constituents of NOM with lower O/C ratio (O/C ratio < 0.5) were preferentially ionized in MALDI negative mode, whereas more polar constituents of NOM with higher O/C ratio were preferentially ionized in ESI negative mode. Molecular anions of NOM appearing at even m/z in MALDI negative ion mode were detected. The results show that NOM molecules with aromatic structures, moderate O/C ratio (0.7 > O/C ratio > 0.25) and lower H/C ratio were liable to form molecular anions at even m/z, whereas those with higher H/C ratio are more likely to form deprotonated ions at odd m/z. It is speculated that almost half of the NOM molecules identified by MALDI may be aromatic or condensed aromatic compounds with special groups which are liable to absorb electron from other molecules to generate free radical anions during MALDI ionization.     

Tutorial review on validation of liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry methods: Part I

This is the part I of a tutorial review intending to give an overview of the state of the art of method validation in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and discuss specific issues that arise with MS (and MS/MS) detection in LC (as opposed to the “conventional” detectors). The Part I briefly introduces the principles of operation of LC–MS (emphasizing the aspects important from the validation point of view, in particular the ionization process and ionization suppression/enhancement); reviews the main validation guideline documents and discusses in detail the following performance parameters: selectivity/specificity/identity, ruggedness/robustness, limit of detection, limit of quantification, decision limit and detection capability. With every method performance characteristic its essence and terminology are addressed, the current status of treating it is reviewed and recommendations are given, how to determine it, specifically in the case of LC–MS methods.