An ultrahigh resolution structure of TEM-1 beta-lactamase suggests a role for Glu166 as the general base in acylation

Although TEM-1 beta-lactamase is among the best studied enzymes, its acylation mechanism remains controversial. To investigate this problem, the structure of TEM-1 in complex with an acylation transition-state analogue was determined at ultrahigh resolution (0.85 A) by X-ray crystallography. The quality of the data was such as to allow for refinement to an R-factor of 9.1% and an R(free) of 11.2%. In the resulting structure, the electron density features were clear enough to differentiate between single and double bonds in carboxylate groups, to identify multiple conformations that are occupied by residues and loops, and to assign 70% of the protons in the protein. Unexpectedly, even at pH 8.0 where the protein was crystallized, the active site residue Glu166 is clearly protonated. This supports the hypothesis that Glu166 is the general base in the acylation half of the reaction cycle. This structure suggests that Glu166 acts through the catalytic water to activate Ser70 for nucleophilic attack on the beta-lactam ring of the substrate. The hydrolytic mechanism of class A beta-lactamases, such as TEM-1, appears to be symmetrical, as are the serine proteases. Apart from its mechanistic implications, this atomic resolution structure affords an unusually detailed view of the structure, dynamics, and hydrogen-bonding networks of TEM-1, which may be useful for the design of inhibitors against this key antibiotic resistance target.     

pH-Sensitive gold nanoparticle catalysts for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols

Gold nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized by carboxylate modified polyvinylpyrrolidone have been prepared and fully characterized. The gold NPs efficiently catalyze the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol in water at ambient temperature and are easily separated from the reaction mixture by lowering the pH of the solution, causing the NPs to precipitate. The mechanism of the precipitation process has been studied. Due to the efficiency of this process, the NPs may be reused as catalysts by readjusting their pH.     

Reactions of pyrazolylborate-zinc-hydroxide complexes related to beta-lactamase activity

Simple beta-lactams and their hydrolysis products, the beta-amino acids, react with TpZn-OH under deprotonation. The latter become semibidentate carboxylate ligands with a NH...O hydrogen bond, and the former become N-bound beta-lactamide ligands. Likewise the antibiotic derivatives 6-aminopenicillanic acid and 7-aminocephalosporanic acid are incorporated as carboxylate ligands. beta-Lactams bearing nitrophenyl or acyl substituents at the nitrogen atoms are opened hydrolytically by TpZn-OH, and the resulting N-substituted beta-amino acids are attached to zinc by their carboxylate functions. Only with trifluoroacetyl as the N-substituent does the hydrolytic cleavage occur at the external amide bond, yielding the free beta-lactam and TpZn-trifluoroacetate. The kinetic investigation of the opening reactions has shown them to be of second order like all other TpZn-OH-induced hydrolytic cleavages, thereby supporting the four-center mechanism for the monozinc beta-lactamases.     

Hydrogen liberation from the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane at room temperature by using a novel ruthenium nanocatalyst

Herein we report the discovery of an in situ generated, highly active nanocatalyst for the room temperature dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane in water. The new catalyst system consisting of ruthenium(0) nanoparticles stabilized by the hydrogenphosphate anion can readily and reproducibly be formed under in situ conditions from the dimethylamine-borane reduction of a ruthenium(III) precatalyst in tetrabutylammonium dihydrogenphosphate solution at 25 ± 0.1 °C. These new water dispersible ruthenium nanoparticles were characterized by using a combination of advanced analytical techniques. The results show the formation of well-dispersed ruthenium(0) nanoparticles of 2.9 ± 0.9 nm size stabilized by the hydrogenphosphate anion in aqueous solution. The resulting ruthenium(0) nanoparticles act as a highly active catalyst in the generation of 3.0 equiv. of H(2) from the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane with an initial TOF value of 500 h(-1) at 25 ± 0.1 °C. Moreover, they provide exceptional catalytic lifetime (TTO = 11,600) in the same reaction at room temperature. The work reported here also includes the following results; (i) monitoring the formation kinetics of the in situ generated ruthenium nanoparticles, by using the hydrogen generation from the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane as a catalytic reporter reaction, shows that sigmoidal kinetics of catalyst formation and concomitant dehydrogenation fits well to the two-step, slow nucleation and then autocatalytic surface growth mechanism, A → B (rate constant k(1)) and A + B → 2B (rate constant k(2)), in which A is RuCl(3)·3H(2)O and B is the growing, catalytically active Ru(0)(n) nanoclusters. (ii) Hg(0) poisoning coupled with activity measurements after solution infiltration demonstrates that the in situ generated ruthenium(0) nanoparticles act as a kinetically competent heterogeneous catalyst in hydrogen generation from the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane. (iii) A compilation of kinetic data depending on the temperature and catalyst concentration is used to determine the dependency of reaction rate on catalyst concentration and the activation energy of the reaction, respectively.     

Size tunable synthesis of cysteine-capped CdS nanoparticles by gamma-irradiation

Highly water soluble and biocompatible L-cysteine-capped CdS nanoparticles having narrow size distribution were synthesized for the first time by gamma-irradiation technique without using any additional stabilizer. FTIR study shows that CdS nanoparticles are capped through mercapto-group of cysteine amino acid while its free amino and carboxylate groups make it amenable to bio-conjugation. Size and luminescence of the nanoparticles can be well controlled by varying the parameters like radiation dose, pH and concentration of cysteine. The observed results suggest that pH 7 can be optimum for the synthesis of L-cysteine-capped CdS nanoparticles. CdS nanoparticles synthesized with molar ratio of Cd(2+):cysteine, 1:60 at pH 7 were found to be most luminescent. All nanoparticles formed lie in the size quantization regime and exhibit good crystallinity. Remarkable improvement in stability and luminescence was achieved on changing pH of as-prepared nanoparticles from 7 to 11.     

双Schiff碱过渡金属配合物在胶束溶液中催化BNPP水解的研究

双Schiff碱过渡金属配合物和胶束形成的金属胶束作为模拟磷酸二酯水解酶用于催化BNPP水解，探讨了催化作用机理；提出了一种金属胶束催化BNPP水解的动力学数学模型。研究表明，本文所用的金属胶束在适当酸度、温度、介质的条件下对催化BNPP水解具有较高的活性。     

Surface modification of silica nanoparticles to reduce aggregation and nonspecific binding

In this article, a systematic study of the design and development of surface-modification schemes for silica nanoparticles is presented. The nanoparticle surface design involves an optimum balance of the use of inert and active surface functional groups to achieve minimal nanoparticle aggregation and reduce nanoparticle nonspecific binding. Silica nanoparticles were prepared in a water-in-oil microemulsion and subsequently surface modified via cohydrolysis with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and various organosilane reagents. Nanoparticles with different functional groups, including carboxylate, amine, amine/phosphonate, poly(ethylene glycol), octadecyl, and carboxylate/octadecyl groups, were produced. Aggregation studies using SEM, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential analysis indicate that severe aggregation among amine-modified silica nanoparticles can be reduced by adding inert functional groups, such as methyl phosphonate, to the surface. To determine the effect of various surface-modification schemes on nanoparticle nonspecific binding, the interaction between functionalized silica nanoparticles and a DNA chip was also studied using confocal imaging/fluorescence microscopy. Dye-doped silica nanoparticles functionalized with octadecyl and carboxylate groups showed minimal nonspecific binding. Using these surface-modification schemes, fluorescent dye-doped silica nanoparticles can be more readily conjugated with biomolecules and used as highly fluorescent, sensitive, and reproducible labels in bioanalytical applications.     

Size-controlled synthesis of monodispersed silver nanoparticles capped by long-chain alkyl carboxylates from silver carboxylate and tertiary amine

Monodispersed silver nanoparticles capped by long-chain alkyl carboxylates were prepared by the reaction of silver carboxylate with tertiary amine at 80 degrees C for 2 h. This approach is a unique, size-controlled synthetic method for the large-scale preparation of silver nanoparticles. Long-chain alkyl carboxylate derived from a precursor acts as a stabilizer to avoid the aggregation of silver nanoparticles and to control particle size. In addition, amine plays an important role both as a reagent to form a thermally unstable, amine-coordinated intermediate, bis(amine)silver(I) carboxylate, and as a mild reducing agent for the intermediate to produce nanoparticles at a low temperature. The silver core and carboxylate-capping ligand of silver nanoparticles were characterized by various techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, optical absorption spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, gas chromatograph mass spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. The diameter of the nanoparticles can be strongly influenced by the alkyl chain length and the structure of the carboxylate. The average diameters of the silver nanoparticles were controlled to less than 5 nm in the case of silver carboxylate with a single alkyl chain length of 13 or 17 carbon atoms. On the contrary, the average diameters of silver nanoparticles became large and polydisperse in the case of silver carboxylate with a chain length of 7 carbon atoms or a branched chain. In comparing triethylamine with trioctylamine, there was no obvious effect to regulate the size distribution of the nanoparticles because they could not function as a capping ligand of the nanoparticles due to their weak coordination to silver. In addition, the heat treatment of silver nanoparticles in solution rather than in the solid state was effective for the growth of particles while maintaining narrow size distributions.     

Reversible Self-Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles Based on Co-Functionalization with Zwitterionic and Cationic Binding Motifs**

We report a pH- and temperature-controlled reversible self-assembly of Au-nanoparticles (AuNPs) in water, based on their surface modification with cationic guanidiniocarbonyl pyrrole (GCP) and zwitterionic guanidiniocarbonyl pyrrole carboxylate (GCPZ) binding motifs. When both binding motifs are installed in a carefully balanced ratio, the resulting functionalized AuNPs self-assemble at pH 1, pH 7 and pH 13, whereas they disassemble at pH 3 and pH 11. Further disassembly can be achieved at elevated temperatures at pH 1 and pH 13. Thus, we were able to prepare functionalized nanoparticles that can be assembled/disassembled in seven alternating regimes, simply controlled by pH and temperature.     

Self-assembly of pH-sensitive random copolymers: poly(styrene-co-4-vinylpyridine)

A series of pH-sensitive random copolymers, poly(styrene-co-4-vinylpyridine) (PSVP), with molecular weight about 10,000 and 4-vinylpyridine molar contents of 19-53%, were conveniently synthesized by free radical polymerization. The copolymers experience the formation, swell, and dissociation of multichain nanoparticles when the pH of the aqueous solutions/dispersions changes from 5.1 to 1.0. The nanoparticles have hydrodynamic diameters around 100 nm, a spherical shape, and a relatively uniform structure in a pH range of about 5-3 and a multicore structure at lower pH. The random distribution of the building units causes some of the hydrophilic units, protonated 4-vinylpyridine groups, to be trapped inside the nanoparticles. So the hydrophobicity of the nanoparticles is tunable by changing the 4-vinylpyridine content in the copolymers. For the copolymers with higher 4-vinylpyridine molar content, the pH range in which the multichain nanoparticles form shifts to higher values, the multichain nanoparticles dissociate, and the copolymers form single-chain hydrophobic domains at low pH.     

Prefunctionalized Porous Organic Polymers: Effective Supports of Surface Palladium Nanoparticles for the Enhancement of Catalytic Performances in Dehalogenation

Three porous organic polymers (POPs) containing H, COOMe, and COO^? groups at 2,6‐bis(1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)pyridyl (BTP) units (i.e., POP‐1, POP‐2, and POP‐3, respectively) were prepared for the immobilization of metal nanoparticles (NPs). The ultrafine palladium NPs are uniformly encapsulated in the interior pores of POP‐1, whereas uniform‐ and dual‐distributed palladium NPs are located on the external surface of POP‐2 and POP‐3, respectively. The presence of carboxylate groups not only endows POP‐3 an outstanding dispersibility in H₂O/EtOH, but also enables the palladium NPs at the surface to show the highest catalytic activity, stability, and recyclability in dehalogenation reactions of chlorobenzene at 25 °C. The palladium NPs on the external surface are effectively stabilized by the functionalized POPs containing BTP units and carboxylate groups, which provides a new insight for highly efficient catalytic systems based on surface metal NPs of porous materials.     

Smart polymer nanoparticles designed for environmentally compliant coatings

We describe the synthesis, characterization, and film-forming properties of two-component nanoparticles that undergo a reversible morphology transformation in water as a function of pH. The particles consist of a high molecular weight acrylate copolymer and an acid-rich oligomer designed to be miscible with the polymer when its -COOH groups are protonated. Attaching a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) pair to components inside the nanoparticles enabled us to assess morphology at the molecular level. By inspecting changes in the donor fluorescence decay profile at different pH values, we established miscibility of the components in acidic solution but with charge-induced phase separation when the oligomers were neutralized to their carboxylate form. Complementary titration experiments revealed that the nanoparticles adopt a core-shell structure when the acid groups are deprotonated. We studied the effect of the acid-rich oligomer on the diffusion rate of the high molecular weight polymers following film formation. Our results show that the carboxylated oligomer enhanced the rate of diffusive mixing between high molecular weight molecules by more than 2 orders of magnitude. FRET measurements carried out on partially dried films using a low-resolution microscope showed that the carboxylate oligomer shell can delay coalescence for ca. 30 min after passage of the drying front. This delay is expected to help with increasing the 'open time' of latex paints, a desirable property of solvent-based paints that remains difficult to achieve with (environmentally compliant) waterborne paints. Use of ammonia as a volatile base resulted in synergistic effects: initial retardation of coalescence followed by acceleration of diffusive mixing as the ammonium salts dissociated and ammonia evaporated from the film.     

Hydrolytic Stability of Films of Aromatic Polyimides and Composites on Their Basis,Filled with Carbon Nanocones

Variation of the mechanical and thermal characteristics of poly(4,4′-oxydiphenylenepyromellitimide) and poly{1,3-bis(3′,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)benzene [4,4′-bis)4′-N-phenoxydiphenylsulfone]imide} films and nanocomposites based on these polyimides and filled by carbon nanocones/disks in the course of hydrolysis in an alkaline solutions was studied. The goal of the study was to obtain systematic information about the influence exerted by carbon nanoparticles introduced into polyimide films with varied chemical structure on the stability of the resulting film materials against a prolonged action of active hydrolyzing media. It was shown that the hydrolytic stability of the materials under study is largely determined by the molecular packing density. Introduction of nanoparticles into the polymers under study may result in that the concentration in the material of the excess free volume localized at polymer–filler interfaces increases. This, in turn, causes a decrease in the hydrolytic stability of the nanocomposite film as compared with unfilled films of the matrix polyimide. The opportunity was considered of raising the hydrolytic stability of the polyimide and nanocomposite material by making higher the average packing density.     

Size control synthesis of polymer-stabilized water-soluble platinum oxide nanoparticles

A series of narrowly distributed nanoparticles with different sizes of platinum oxide stabilized by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were synthesized by hydrolytic decomposition of platinum chloride. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis, TEM, and XPS examination. Studies on the parameters influencing the size of the as-synthesized platinum oxide nanoparticles were carried out. The pH of the solution was demonstrated to be the main factor affecting the particle diameter. The particles size also decreased with the increasing molar ratio of stabilizer (PVP):PtCl(4). The influence of the concentration of sodium acetate on the rate of hydrolytic decomposition and the condensation reaction was studied. It was found that increasing the concentration of sodium acetate increased the rate of the condensation reaction nearly linearly.     

Role of hydrolytic degradation of polylactide drug carriers in developing micro- and nanoscale polylactide-based drug dosage forms

The present analytical survey explores different aspects of hydrolytic degradation of drug dosage forms (DF) based on polylactides, homopolymers of lactic acid (PLA) and copolymers of lactic and glycolic acids (PLGA). The study includes various scientific data from multiple sources describing the effect of the PLGA nanocarrier hydrolytic degradation rate on the profile of drug release from the DFs intended for intravenous and intramuscular administration, including micro- and nanoparticles, and implants. The following aspects are explored in the review: design of experiments aimed at studying the hydrolytic degradation kinetics of PLGA carriers; commonly employed analytical methods; interpretation of the mechanism of PLGA-based DF hydrolytic degradation; factors that influence the hydrolytic degradation rate of PLGA drug carriers as part of DFs; interrelation between the processes of polymer carrier hydrolytic degradation and drug substance release from the PLGA-based DFs.

     

Multidentate-protected colloidal gold nanocrystals: pH control of cooperative precipitation and surface layer shedding

Colloidal gold nanocrystals (AuNCs) with broad size tunability and unusual pH-sensitive properties have been synthesized using multidentate polymer ligands. Because they contain both carboxylic functional groups and sterically hindered aliphatic chains, the multidentate ligands can not only reduce gold precursors but also stabilize gold nanoclusters during nucleation and growth. The "as-synthesized" AuNCs are protected by an inner coordinating layer and an outer polymer layer and are soluble in water and polar solvents. When the solution pH is lowered by just 0.6 units (from 4.85 to 4.25), the particles undergo a dramatic cooperative transition from being soluble to insoluble, allowing rapid isolation, purification, and redispersion of the multidentate-protected AuNCs. A surprising finding is that when a portion of the surface carboxylate groups are neutralized by protonation, the particles irreversibly shed their outer polymer layer and become soluble in nonpolar organic solvents. Furthermore, the multidentate polymer coatings are permeable to small organic molecules, in contrast to the tightly packed self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols on gold. These insights are important in regard to the design of "smart" imaging and therapeutic nanoparticles that are activated by small pH changes in the tumor interstitial space or endocytic organelles.     

Intramolecular reaction and intramolecular catalysisd̊ II. Mechanism of intramolecular catalysis in hydrolysis of 2-(2'-benzimidazolyl)phenyl acetate by benzimidazolyl group

As a model for acetyl-α-chymotrypsin, 2-(2'-benzimidazolyl)phenyl acetate was synthesized in a good yield and its hydrolytic kinetics has been studied in buffer solutions at 45'C within a wide pH range (0.65–8.80). The measured pseudo-first-order rate constants (k_obs) at different pH values conform well with the data derived from the proposed theoretical model. It is shown that in an acidic solution of medium strength (pH = 2.0–3.0), the ester is hydrolyzed via intramolecular general acid catalysis by benzimidazolium cation; while at pH values near neutrality (pH = 5.5–7.0), this ester is hydrolyzed via intramolecular general base catalysis by neutral benzimidazole. These findings are discussed and the activation parameters of the hydrolysis reaction were also determined.     

pH-dependent optical properties of a poly(phenylene ethynylene) conjugated polyampholyte

A poly(phenylene ethynylene) conjugated polymer (PPE-NMe(3)(+)-COO(-)) containing tetraalkylammonium groups and carboxylate groups has been synthesized by Sonogashira coupling. Due to the presence of the strong cationic and weak anionic pendant units, the polymer undergoes a pH-induced transition from cationic polyelectrolyte to polyampholyte due to deprotonation of the carboxylic acid units in basic solution. Studies of the pH dependence of the polymers' optical properties reveal changes in absorption oscillator strength and fluorescence quantum efficiency that are triggered by the transition from cationic polyelectrolyte to polyampholyte nature. Stern-Volmer fluorescence quenching of PPE-NMe(3)(+)-COO(-) with a negatively charged quencher 1,4,5,8-naphthalenediimide-N,N-bis(methylsulfonate) (NDS) shows that the polymer fluorescence quenching is amplified at low pH where the polymer is a polycation, whereas the quenching efficiency is considerably less at high pH.     

The hydrolytic degradation of a segmented glycolide-trimethylene carbonate copolymer (Maxon™)

The hydrolytic degradation of a segmented copolymer constituted by glycolide and trimethylene carbonate units (Maxon™) has been investigated by means of ¹H NMR spectroscopy and calorimetry. Degradation experiments have been performed either under a pH 7.4 buffered solution or in distilled water at temperatures of 37 and 50 °C. At both temperatures, the degradation proceeds through two main stages where an increase in the degree of crystallinity occurs in the first place. NMR peaks associated with glycolyl end units and appearing progressively can be well distinguished. Their chemical shifts coincide with those observed in the hydrolytic degradation of polyglycolide threads, which was also assayed for comparative purposes. Glycolide rings are also produced in a significant amount during the bulk degradation of Maxon. They are partially retained in the polymer, which may be a consequence of an intramolecular cyclization of the terminal hydroxyl groups.Thermal degradation in the presence of a transesterification catalyst has also been investigated and the changes in the polymer microstructure evaluated through the NMR analyses of signals were sensitive to the chemical sequence.     

A 2-Tyr-1-carboxylate Mononuclear Iron Center Forms the Active Site of a Paracoccus Dimethylformamidase

N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) is an extensively used organic solvent but is also a potent pollutant. Certain bacterial species from genera such as Paracoccus, Pseudomonas, and Alcaligenes have evolved to use DMF as a sole carbon and nitrogen source for growth via degradation by a dimethylformamidase (DMFase). We show that DMFase from Paracoccus sp. strain DMF is a halophilic and thermostable enzyme comprising a multimeric complex of the α₂β₂ or (α₂β₂)₂ type. One of the three domains of the large subunit and the small subunit are hitherto undescribed protein folds of unknown evolutionary origin. The active site consists of a mononuclear iron coordinated by two Tyr side-chain phenolates and one carboxylate from Glu. The Fe³⁺ ion in the active site catalyzes the hydrolytic cleavage of the amide bond in DMF. Kinetic characterization reveals that the enzyme shows cooperativity between subunits, and mutagenesis and structural data provide clues to the catalytic mechanism.