Thermodynamic study of transthyretin association (wild‐type and senile forms) with heparan sulfate proteoglycan: pH effect and implication of the reactive histidine residue

The tetramer destabilization of transthyretin into monomers and its fibrillation are phenomena leading to amyloid deposition. Heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) has been found in all amyloid deposits. A chromatographic approach was developed to compare binding parameters between wild‐type transthyretin (wtTTR) and an amyloidogenic transthyretin (sTTR). Results showed a greater affinity of sTTR for HSPG at pH 7.4 compared with wtTTR owing to the monomeric form of sTTR. Analysis of the thermodynamic parameters showed that van der Waals interactions were involved at the complex interface for both transthyretin forms. For sTTR, results from the plot representing the number of protons exchanged vs pH showed that the binding mechanism was pH‐dependent with a critical value at a pH 6.5. This observation was due to the protonation of a histidine residue as an imidazolium cation, which was not accessible when TTR was in its tetrameric structure. At pH >6.5, dehydration at the binding interface and several contacts between nonpolar groups of sTTR and HSPG were also coupled to binding for an optimal hydrogen‐bond network. At pH <6.5, the protonation of the His residue from sTTR monomer when pH decreased broke the hydrogen‐bond network, leading to its destabilization and thus producing slight conformational changes in the sTTR monomer structure. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

pH控制硫酸锰骨架的演化及其晶体结构

在DMF/H2O/CH3OH的混合体系中,反应温度为170℃,Mn SO4·4H2O盐溶液在p H=5和7的条件下,加热72小时,最终得到了结构不同的硫酸锰骨架[Mn2(SO4)3]·(H3O)2(1)和[Mn3(SO4)2(OH)2(H2O)2](2)。化合物结构通过单晶X-射线和红外光谱所表征,相应的晶胞参数:化合物1,立方晶系,空间群:P213,a=10.2009(12),V=1061.49(37)3,Goo F=1.158,Flack parameter 0.02(2),R1=0.0186(I2sigma);化合物2,四方晶系,空间群:Pbcm,a=7.3214(15),b=9.984(2),c=13.291(3),V=971.5(4)3,Goo F=1.063,R1=0.0227(I2sigma);单晶X射线分析显示化合物1是一个三维单手性硫酸锰骨架,化合物2是一个非手性羟基硫酸锰骨架。实验结果说明,p H值对硫酸锰骨架的改变起重要作用。     

超临界水中硫酸钠结晶动力学的分子动力学模拟

在超临界水反应器中，硫酸钠是易造成堵塞的一种常见无机盐，研究其结晶动力学对于防盐沉积反应器的设计具有重要意义.本文采用LAMMPS分子动力学模拟软件研究硫酸钠在超临界水中的微观结晶过程，其中水分子采用SPC/E模型，离子-离子、离子-水分子相互作用采用Coulumb和Lennard-Jones联合势能函数.结果表明：水对离子的静电屏蔽作用随温度升高而增强、随密度减小而减弱；增大超临界水的温度和密度有利于离子扩散，进而促进离子相互碰撞、成核；在模拟的超临界水参数范围内，其成核速率的数量级为10²⁹cm^-3·s^-1，生长速率为(19.8~25.8) m·s^-1.     

Effectively promoted catalytic activity by adjusting calcination temperature of Ce-Fe-Ox catalyst for NH3-SCR

A series of Ce-Fe-O_x catalysts prepared by the different calcination temperatures (marked as CF-X, where X represented calcination temperature) were used to the selectivity catalytic reduction of NO_x by NH₃. The results explained the relationship between calcination temperature and the sulfate species over Ce-Fe-O_x, and then investigated the surface acidity and catalytic performance. The large amounts of sulfate species were formed over CF-450 and CF-550 while it was decomposed with further the increasing of calcination temperature, which resulted in the loss of surface acidity, causing a decrease in the catalytic activity over Ce-Fe-O_x. Thereby, the CF-450 catalyst showed the best catalytic activity and over 90% NO_x conversion was obtained at 244–450 °C. Besides, the favored pore structure, more Fe³⁺ active species, higher Ce³⁺ concentration and the abundance of chemical adsorbed oxygen species, as well as the surface acid sites, would together contribute to the excellent catalytic activity of CF-450 catalyst.     

添加CaSO4·2H2O为晶种制备磷石膏半水硫酸钙晶须

以固体废弃物磷石膏为原料,在传统常压醇水热法的基础上添加CaSO₄·2H₂O为晶种制备半水硫酸钙晶须。采用单因素试验法探究了晶种含量、丙三醇含量和磷石膏质量分数对晶须结构和形貌的影响,确定晶须的最佳制备工艺条件。采用SEM和XRD对样品进行表征分析,实验结果表明:添加CaSO₄·2H₂O晶种制备晶须的长径比(49.29)比只添加丙三醇的样品的长径比(30.99)提高了近60%;当丙三醇与水的体积比(V)为1、晶种含量为1%、磷石膏质量分数为5%时制备的晶须的平均直径为0.65 μm,长径比达到了62.15,晶须的尺寸均匀。这说明添加1%CaSO₄·2H₂O晶种、V为1的丙三醇和质量分数为5%的磷石膏在常压下能制备出高长径比和尺寸均匀的半水硫酸钙晶须。     

Evidence for Multiple Binding Modes in the Initial Contact Between SARS-CoV-2 Spike S1 Protein and Cell Surface Glycans**

Infection of host cells by SARS-CoV-2 begins with recognition by the virus S (spike) protein of cell surface heparan sulfate (HS), tethering the virus to the extracellular matrix environment, and causing the subunit S1-RBD to undergo a conformational change into the ‘open’ conformation. These two events promote the binding of S1-RBD to the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, a preliminary step toward viral-cell membrane fusion. Combining ligand-based NMR spectroscopy with molecular dynamics, oligosaccharide analogues were used to explore the interactions between S1-RBD of SARS CoV-2 and HS, revealing several low-specificity binding modes and previously unidentified potential sites for the binding of extended HS polysaccharide chains. The evidence for multiple binding modes also suggest that highly specific inhibitors will not be optimal against protein S but, rather, diverse HS-based structures, characterized by high affinity and including multi-valent compounds, may be required.     

Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Essential Amino Acids from Nitric Oxide Using Atomically Dispersed Fe on N-doped Carbon

How to transfer industrial exhaust gases of nitrogen oxides into high-values product is significantly important and challenging. Herein, we demonstrate an innovative method for artificial synthesis of essential α-amino acids from nitric oxide (NO) by reacting with α-keto acids through electrocatalytic process with atomically dispersed Fe supported on N-doped carbon matrix (AD-Fe/NC) as the catalyst. A yield of valine with 32.1 μmol mg_cat⁻¹ is delivered at −0.6 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, corresponding a selectivity of 11.3 %. In situ X-ray absorption fine structure and synchrotron radiation infrared spectroscopy analyses show that NO as nitrogen source converted to hydroxylamine that promptly nucleophilic attacked on the electrophilic carbon center of α-keto acid to form oxime and subsequent reductive hydrogenation occurred on the way to amino acid. Over 6 kinds of α-amino acids have been successfully synthesized and gaseous nitrogen source can be also replaced by liquid nitrogen source (NO₃⁻). Our findings not only provide a creative method for converting nitrogen oxides into high-valued products, which is of epoch-making significance towards artificial synthesis of amino acids, but also benefit in deploying near-zero-emission technologies for global environmental and economic development.     

Direct C−C Double Bond Cleavage of Alkenes Enabled by Highly Dispersed Cobalt Catalyst and Hydroxylamine

The utilization of a single-atom catalyst to break C−C bonds merges the merits of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and presents an intriguing pathway for obtaining high-value-added products. Herein, a mild, selective, and sustainable oxidative cleavage of alkene to form oxime ether or nitrile was achieved by using atomically dispersed cobalt catalyst and hydroxylamine. Diversified substrate patterns, including symmetrical and unsymmetrical alkenes, di- and tri-substituted alkenes, and late-stage functionalization of complex alkenes were demonstrated. The reaction was successfully scaled up and demonstrated good performance in recycling experiments. The hot filtration test, catalyst poisoning and radical scavenger experiment, time kinetics, and studies on the reaction intermediate collectively pointed to a radical mechanism with cobalt/acid/O₂ promoted C−C bond cleavage as the key step.     

硫酸肼比浊法测定微量硒

依据硒(Ⅳ)在以甘油为稳定剂,盐酸为反应介质的条件下,被过量硫酸肼还原,使体系形成稳定悬浊液的原理,建立了比浊法测定硒的方法。探讨了盐酸用量、甘油用量、反应温度和反应时间以及硫酸肼用量等5个关键因素的影响,确定了最佳测定条件。实验结果表明:大量的共存物质不干扰测定。在选定的实验条件下,线性方程为:ΔA750nm=12.725ρ+0.0076,在2.0×10-4~3.2×10-2mg·m L-1范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(R2)=0.9911,方法的检出限为1.2×10-4mg·m L-1。方法用于测定强化营养盐中总硒,回收率在97.0~103.5%之间,RSD为1.8%。