Crystallization of Arthrobacter sp. strain 1C N-(1-D-carboxyethyl)-L-norvaline dehydrogenase and its complex with NAD+

The novel NAD+-linked opine dehydrogenase from a soil isolate Arthrobacter sp. strain 1C belongs to an enzyme superfamily whose members exhibit quite diverse substrate specificites. Crystals of this opine dehydrogenase, obtained in the presence or absence of co-factor and substrates, have been shown to diffract to beyond 1.8 ? resolution. X-ray precession photographs have established that the crystals belong to space group P21212, with cell parameters a = 104.9, b = 80.0, c = 45.5 ? and a single subunit in the asymmetric unit. The elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of this enzyme will provide a structural framework for this novel class of dehydrogenases to enable a comparison to be made with other enzyme families and also as the basis for mutagenesis experiments directed towards the production of natural and synthetic opine-type compounds containing two chiral centres.     

Plant hormones. X. The constitution of phaseic acid; a relative of abscisic acid from Phaseolus multiflorus. An interpretation of the mass spectrum of phaseic acid and a probable structure

After a detailed examination and interpretation of the MS of phaseic acid and methyl phaseate structure (I) is preferred for this putative relative of abscisic acid from Phaseolus multiflorus. Two facts, more difficult to reconcile with this structure are an abnormally large long-range coupling and the apparent inability of phaseic acid to undergo an alkali-induced β-elimination of the epoxide oxygen to the γ- hydroxy-β-unsaturated ketone. Attempted one step conversion of methyl phaseate into methyl abscisate produced a complex but apparently identical reaction mixture to that obtained from methyl abscisate when treated under the same conditions.     

Rapid synthesis of acyl transfer auxiliaries for cysteine-free native glycopeptide ligation

[reaction: see text] Rapid, facile routes to the TFA-cleavable 4,5,6-trimethoxy-2-mercaptobenzyl and 1-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-mercaptoethyl classes of auxiliaries for cysteine-free native chemical ligation are described. Rapid synthesis, coupled with mild cleavage conditions will undoubtedly broaden the utility of such auxiliaries, particularly where chemically fragile peptide modifications such as glycosylation are present.     

Optimisation of chemical protein cleavage for erythropoietin semi-synthesis using native chemical ligation

Selective protein cleavage at methionine residues is a useful method for the production of bacterially derived protein fragments containing an N-terminal cysteine residue required for native chemical ligation. Here we describe an optimised procedure for cyanogen bromide-mediated protein cleavage, and ligation of the resulting fragments to afford biologically active proteins.     

Facile preparative route to alkanethiolate-coated Au38 nanoparticles: postsynthesis core size evolution

A facile preparative route to alkanethiolate (Cn) Au38 nanoparticles, where n = 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, is described. Subnanometer-sized nanoparticles are initially produced by a modified Brust synthesis, which undergo core-size evolution upon removal of reaction impurities that have served as additional protecting layers. C4-C12 Au38 nanoparticles are prepared in approximately 300 mg quantities by the selective removal of reaction impurities with dimethyl sulfoxide. The prepared nanoparticles are 1.1-1.2 nm in core size, and all exhibit optical and electrochemical characteristics of Au38 nanoparticles. Voltammetry of these Au38 nanoparticles reveals that the energy gap between the first one-electron oxidation and the first reduction is rather insensitive to the ligand employed. By contrast, the energy gaps between the first and second oxidations and between the second and third oxidations are ligand-dependent; both substantially increase with ligand thickness. The charging energetics of alkanethiolate-coated Au38 nanoparticles can thus be described as a sum of electron addition energies and the discrete electronic energy levels of the Au38 core.     

A labeled substrate approach to discovery of biocatalytic reactions: a proof of concept transformation with N-methylindole

Biocatalysis has become an important method in the pharmaceutical industry for the incorporation of new functionality in small molecules. Currently this method is limited in the types of reactions that can be carried out and no strategy exists to systematically screen for new biocatalyzed reactions. This study involves the development of a medium throughput screen to identify and optimize new reactions using a series of marine-derived bacterial cell lines, which were screened against several (13)C labeled organic substrates. The reactions were analyzed using (13)C NMR as the primary screening tool. We describe the discovery of a bacterial catalyzed indole oxidation reaction in which complete conversion of (13)C labeled N-methyl indole to 3-hydroxyindole was observed. In addition, the sensitivity of this reaction to dO(2) levels can be exploited to oxidize to either 3-hydroxyindole or 2-oxoindole. This new platform sets up an important tool for the discovery of new organic transformations using an extensive library of marine bacteria.     

Recent developments in the science and technology of high modulus flexible polymers

Recent progress in basic science and technological innovation is described for three areas of research in the IRC at Leeds University; melt spun high modulus polyethylene fibres, hydrostatic extrusion and die drawing.