Comments on the size of the adsorbed phase in porous adsorbents

An alternative to the conventional ‘pore filling model’ for describing Gibbsian surface excess (GSE) isotherm from a liquid mixture on a porous adsorbent is proposed where the adsorbed phase volume is treated as a variable. The new model is tested using GSE isotherm data on various micro and mesoporous adsorbents. The adsorbed phase volume is found to be system specific but always less than the adsorbent pore volume, irrespective of the pore size.     

A Biomimetic Nanoparticle to “Lure and Kill” Phospholipase A2

Inhibition of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) has long been considered for treating various diseases associated with an elevated PLA2 activity. However, safe and effective PLA2 inhibitors remain unavailable. Herein, we report a biomimetic nanoparticle design that enables a “lure and kill” mechanism designed for PLA2 inhibition (denoted “L&K-NP”). The L&K-NPs are made of polymeric cores wrapped with modified red blood cell membrane with two inserted key components: melittin and oleyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (OOPC). Melittin acts as a PLA2 attractant that works together with the membrane lipids to “lure” in-coming PLA2 for attack. Meanwhile, OOPC acts as inhibitor that “kills” PLA2 upon enzymatic attack. Both compounds are integrated into the L&K-NP structure, which voids toxicity associated with free molecules. In the study, L&K-NPs effectively inhibit PLA2-induced hemolysis. In mice administered with a lethal dose of venomous PLA2, L&K-NPs also inhibit hemolysis and confer a significant survival benefit. Furthermore, L&K-NPs show no obvious toxicity in mice. and the design provides a platform technology for a safe and effective anti-PLA2 approach.     

Numerical simulation of rapid pressurization and depressurization of a zeolite column using nitrogen

The required durations of pressurization and depressurization steps of a rapid pressure swing adsorption process are primarily governed by adsorbent particle size, adsorption kinetics, column pressure drop, column length to diameter ratio, and the valve constant of the gas inlet and outlet control valve attached to the adsorbent column. A numerical model study of the influence of these variables for an adiabatic LiX zeolite column is presented using pure N₂ as an adsorbate gas. An adsorbent particle size range of 200–350 μm was found to minimize (<1 s) the times required for the pressurization and depressurization steps.     

Nano‐Conjugate Fluorescence Probe for the Discrimination of Phosphate and Pyrophosphate

We describe a pyrophosphate (PPi) probe that is based on a fluorescent dicarboxylate‐substituted poly(para‐phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) and 10 nm cobalt–iron spinel nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous media. The spinel NPs efficiently quench the fluorescence of the PPE at a concentration of 20–30 pmol. Addition of phosphate anions to the PPE–NP construct displaces the quenched PPE to give rise to a fluorescent response; we found that PPi and phosphate (Pi) have significantly different binding affinities for the self‐assembled materials. We can discern >40 nM PPi in the presence of 0.1 mM Pi at pH 7, which suggests that these assemblies may be useful in bio‐analytical applications. This displacement assay was used to effectively determine the ability of pyrophosphatase to hydrolyze PPi to Pi.     

Development of 7TM receptor-ligand complex models using ligand-biased, semi-empirical helix-bundle repacking in torsion space: application to the agonist interaction of the human dopamine D2 receptor

Prediction of 3D structures of membrane proteins, and of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in particular, is motivated by their importance in biological systems and the difficulties associated with experimental structure determination. In the present study, a novel method for the prediction of 3D structures of the membrane-embedded region of helical membrane proteins is presented. A large pool of candidate models are produced by repacking of the helices of a homology model using Monte Carlo sampling in torsion space, followed by ranking based on their geometric and ligand-binding properties. The trajectory is directed by weak initial restraints to orient helices towards the original model to improve computation efficiency, and by a ligand to guide the receptor towards a chosen conformational state. The method was validated by construction of the β₁ adrenergic receptor model in complex with (S)-cyanopindolol using bovine rhodopsin as template. In addition, models of the dopamine D₂ receptor were produced with the selective and rigid agonist (R)-N-propylapomorphine ((R)-NPA) present. A second quality assessment was implemented by evaluating the results from docking of a library of 29 ligands with known activity, which further discriminated between receptor models. Agonist binding and recognition by the dopamine D₂ receptor is interpreted using the 3D structure model resulting from the approach. This method has a potential for modeling of all types of helical transmembrane proteins for which a structural template with sequence homology sufficient for homology modeling is not available or is in an incorrect conformational state, but for which sufficient empirical information is accessible.