Characterisation of combinatorial libraries of mucin-2 antigen peptides by high-resolution mass spectrometry

An epitope motif, TX(1)TX(2)T, of mucin-2 glycoprotein was identified by means of a mucin-2-specific monoclonal antibody, mAb 994, raised against a synthetic mucin-derived 15-mer peptide conjugate. For determination of the epitope sequence recognised with highest affinity by mAb 994, a combinatorial approach was applied using the portioning-mixing technique excluding Cys. Antibody binding of libraries was most profound when Gln was at the X(1) position. Analytical characterisation of the TQTX(2)T library was conducted by amino acid analysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and electrospray ionisation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (ESI-FTICR) mass spectrometric methods. Control libraries were prepared by mixing 19 individual peptides corresponding to the TQTX(2)T sequence. Thus, mixtures of 6, 10 and 19 pentapeptides were analysed and compared with the combinatorial mixture. MALDI-TOFMS was able to detect only partially the components in the 6- and 10-member mixtures, but failed to characterise a more complex 19-member mixture. In contrast, ESI-FTICRMS resolved all mixtures of higher complexity and provided direct identification at monoisotopic resolution, such as for a peptide library containing 'isobaric' lysine and glutamine (Delta m = 0.0364 Da). The results of this study suggest that ESI-FTICRMS is a powerful tool for characterisation of combinatorial peptide libraries of higher complexity.     

Bestimmung von Tellur in Mikrogrammengen mit Hilfe der Simultankomparationsmethode

Zusammenfassung Ein Verfahren zur Bestimmung von Tellurspuren mit Hilfe der Simultankomparationsmethode wurde ausgearbeitet, das auf der Bichromat-Ferriin-Reaktion beruht. Ferriin wird von Tellur(IV) reduziert; dieser Prozeß wird von Bichromat induziert. Bei diesem Verfahren werden die Tellurspuren durch Natriumhypophosphitreduktion mit Arsen oder Selen als Träger abgeschieden, der Metallniederschlag wird mit Salpetersäure zu Tellur(IV) oxydiert, die zu untersuchenden Proben und die Standardreihe gleichzeitig gestartet und verglichen. Mit dieser Methode kann Tellur auch in Mikrogrammengen mit einem Fehler von weniger als ±10% bestimmt werden. Störend wirken nur die Pt-Metalle und Au(III).

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Determination of tellurium in microgram amounts with the aid of the simultaneous comparation method

Summary A procedure has been worked out for the determination of traces of tellurium with the aid of the simultaneous comparation method, and based on the bichromate-ferriin reaction. Ferriin is reduced by tellurium(IV); this process is induced by bichromate. In this procedure the traces of tellurium are precipitated by means of sodium hypophosphite-reduction with arsenic or selenium as carriers. The metal precipitate is oxidized to tellurium(IV) with nitric acid; the samples under investigation and the standard series are started at the same time and compared. By means of this method it is possible to determine tellurium, even in microgram amounts, with an error of less than ± 10%. Only the platinum metals and gold(III) interfere.

     

Thermodynamic characterization of different actin isoforms

Summary The thermodynamic properties of the cardiac and skeletal a-actin isoforms were studied to characterize the molecular bases of the functional differences between them with the method of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermal properties of the actin filaments were described in the presence of calcium and magnesium ions as well. Based on the calculated free energy changes the α-cardiac actin filaments appeared to be more stable in its physiologically more relevant, magnesium saturated form. The magnesium saturated form of the α-cardiac actin filaments seemed to be more stable compared to the calcium saturated form of it. The enthalpy and entropy changes could differentiate between the α-cardiac and α-skeletal actin isoforms and between the calcium and magnesium saturated cardiac actin isoforms as well. Our results can demonstrate that the few differences between the amino acid sequences of the α-actin isoforms have an influence on the thermal properties and maybe on the function of these proteins as well.     

Synthesis and transformation of novel cyclic β-amino acid derivatives from (+)-3-carene

The regio- and stereoselective addition of chlorosulfonyl isocyanate to (+)-3-carene 1 resulted in β-lactam 2, which was converted to N-Boc-β-amino acid 4, β-amino ester 7, and carboxamide derivatives 18 and 20 via N-Boc activation and mild ring opening. The corresponding β-amino ester 7 was transformed to 2-thioxopyrimidin-4-one 11 and 2,4-pyrimidinedione 13. LAH reduction of 5 and 7 resulted in amino alcohols 6 and 8. The reaction of 8 with phenyl isothiocyanate, followed by cyclisation, furnished 1,3-oxazine 15.     

Morphology transformation of thermosensitive metronidazol by spray freeze-drying

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Spray freeze-drying (SFD) is an effective method for reducing the size of thermosensitive organic substances that are sparingly soluble in water....     

Effects of Sucrose Palmitate on the Physico-Chemical and Mucoadhesive Properties of Buccal Films

In our current research, sucrose palmitate (SP) was applied as a possible permeation enhancer for buccal use. This route of administration is a novelty as there is no literature on the use of SP in buccal mucoadhesive films. Films containing SP were prepared at different temperatures, with different concentrations of SP and different lengths of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) chains. The mechanical, structural, and in vitro mucoadhesive properties of films containing SP were investigated. Tensile strength and mucoadhesive force were measured with a device and software developed in our Institute. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD) were applied for the structure analysis of the films. Mucoadhesive work was calculated in two ways: from the measured contact angle and compared with direct mucoadhesive work, which measured mucoadhesive force, which is direct mucoadhesion work. These results correlate linearly with a correlation coefficient of 0.98. It is also novel because it is a new method for the determination of mucoadhesive work.     

The kinetics of homogeneous nucleation of silver nanoparticles stabilized by polymers

The formation of Ag nanoparticles synthesized by homogeneous nucleation, stabilized by polymers (PVA and PVP) was monitored by UV–Vis spectrophotometry and transmission electron microscopy. Our aim was to differentiate between the two main phases of particle formation, i.e. nucleation and growth and to characterize their rates with the help of appropriate kinetic equations. Time resolved spectrophotometric measurements revealed that particle formation is an autocatalytic process: a slow, continuous nucleation phase (3–5 min) is followed by a rapid, autocatalytic growth phase where the maximal particle size is 5–7 nm. By freezing the reaction mixture, the process of particle growth can be followed from 5 to 40 min on TEM pictures. The first order rate constants were calculated and they are strongly depend on the polymer concentration. If the growing particles are attached by PEI to the surface of a solid support, the formation of silver nanoparticles can also be followed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and we can control the particle growth on mica surface. The cross section analysis of the pictures show, that the particle growing process can be also monitored at solid–liquid interface.     

A wavelet-based adaptive method for determining eigenstates of electronic systems

The possibilities for reducing the necessary computation power in wavelet-based electronic structure calculations are studied. The expansion of the expectation values of energy operators, the integrals of basis functions are mostly system-independent, consequently it is not necessary to compute them in each calculations. Fixed building blocks, such as a parameterized expansion of the nuclear and electron–electron cusp can reduce the amount of necessary calculation. An algorithm for local expansion refinement is also given. It is possible to determine the significant expansion coefficients of a high resolution level without solving the Schrödinger equation using only lower resolution results.     

Identification of Iridoids,Flavonoids and Triterpenes from the Methanolic Extract of Melampyrum bihariense A. Kern. and the Antioxidant Activity of the Extract

Melampyrum bihariense A. Kern. (Scrophulariaceae), a plant species used in traditional medicine for the treatment of rheumatic disorders and skin infections, was investigated with regard to its antioxidant activity and identification of its bioactive chemical constituents. The crude methanolic extract of the aerial parts of M. bihariense was examined by the spectrophotometric DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ferric reducing antioxidant power methods. The free radical scavenging capacity (SC₅₀) of the extract was found by the DPPH method to be 27.10 mg mL^?1, and the ferric reducing ability equivalent to ascorbic acid at 50 mg mL^?1 was 0.709 μg mL^?1. The chemical composition of this highly effective in the methanolic extract was analysed, and the main compounds were isolated through solvent–solvent partition, and multiple chromatographic separations, including column chromatography, vacuum liquid chromatography, centrifugal planar chromatography and preparative thin-layer chromatography. The structures were established by one- and two-dimensional NMR and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The iridoids aucubin (1), 8-epi-loganin (2) and mussaenoside (3), the flavones apigenin and luteolin and the triterpene acids ursolic acid and oleanolic acid were identified; components 2, 3, ursolic acid and oleanolic acid for the first time in this species. The present study reveals that M. bihariense exerts antioxidant activity, and the iridoids, flavonoids and triterpene acids may be the main bioactive constituents of its methanolic extract.