Study of the disulfide reduction of denatured proteins by liquid chromatography coupled with on-line cold-vapor-generation atomic-fluorescence spectrometry (LC–CVGAFS)

Hydrophobic-interaction chromatography coupled on-line with chemical-vapor-generation atomic-fluorescence spectrometry (HIC–CVGAFS), optimized recently for the analysis of thiol-containing proteins under denaturing conditions, has been used to study the chemical reduction of denatured proteins. Four proteins chosen as models (human serum albumin (HSA), bovine serum albumin (BSA), -lactalbumin (-Lac) from bovine milk, and lysozyme from chicken egg (Lys)) were denatured with urea and reduced with dithiothreitol (DTT), with selenol as catalyst. The method is based on derivatization of the –SH groups of proteins with p-hydroxymercurybenzoate (PHMB), followed by HIC separation and post-column on-line reaction of the derivatized reduced, denatured proteins with bromine generated in situ. Hg^II, derived from rapid conversion of uncomplexed and protein-complexed PHMB, is selectively detected by AFS in an Ar/H₂ miniaturized flame after sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) reduction to Hg°. The yield of the reduction was studied as a function of reductant concentration, reduction time (t_red), and urea concentration. Results showed that the optimum values for DTT and selenol concentrations and for t_red were between 1 and 100 mmol L^–1 and between 1 and 20 min, respectively, depending on the protein studied. The percentage disulfide bond reduction increases as the urea concentration used for protein denaturation increases, giving a single-step sigmoid increment for single-domain, low-MW proteins (-Lac and Lys), and a two-step sigmoid increment for multi-domain, high MW proteins (HSA and BSA). The shapes of plots of percentage reduced disulfide against urea concentration are characteristic of each protein and are correlated with the location of S–S in the protein. Under the adopted conditions complete protein denaturation is the conditio sine qua non for obtaining 100% S–S reduction. The detection limit for denatured, reduced proteins examined under the optimized conditions was found to be in the range 1–5×10^–12 mol L^–1 (10–30 pg), depending on the protein considered.     

Quantum-chemical gas-phase calculations on the protonation forms oftrans- andcis-urocanic acid

The neutral, cationic, and anionic structures of both prototropic tautomers oftrans- andcis-urocanic acid [(E)- and (Z)-3-(1H-imidazol-4(5)-yl)propenoic acid, respectively] were studied by using semiempirical andab initio gas-phase calculations. Potential energy surfaces of the structures were calculated by using the semiempirical AM1 method, and the geometries corresponding to global minima on these surfaces were optimized up to the MP2/6-31G^* level of theory. The calculated protonation forms of each urocanic acid isomer have a planar molecular structure due to a delocalized -electron system, and all of them prefer thes-trans conformation with respect to the bond between the imidazole and the propenoic acid moieties. Thecis-urocanic acid structures are stabilized by an intramolecular hydrogen bond. The chargedcis-urocanic acid isomers have a lower molecular energy than the correspondingtrans-isomers, whereas the neutral molecules have, after inclusion of thermodynamic corrections, approximately the same energy. The cationic urocanic acid structures have about 2500 kJ mol^–1 lower energy than the anionic ones and about 1000 kJ mol^–1 lower energy than the neutral ones. The nonzwitterionic forms of the neutral urocanic acid isomers have about 200 kJ mol^–1 lower energy than the zwitterionic ones. These energy differences are explained by the proton affinities of the imidazole and the propenoic acid moieties of the urocanic acid structures.     

Analysis of reduced glutathione using a reaction with 2,4′-dichloro-1-(naphthyl-4-ethoxy)-s-triazine (EDTN)

A fluorescent adduct was formed between 2,4-dichloro-l-(naphthyl-4-ethoxy)-s-triazine (EDTN) and reduced glutathione in a reaction at 37 °C and pH 9.2. This reaction was used as the basis of an assay for reduced glutathione. The fluorescence was examined at an excitation wavelength of 319 nm and an emission wavelength of 425 nm after extraction of residual unreacted EDTN with methylene dichloride and subsequent dilution of the aqueous phase with ethanol containing 0.01 percent Triton X-100. The reaction rate was low at pH 7 but was accelerated by addition of preparations containing the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase. The adduct gave a discrete peak using isocratic elution with HPLC on a Nova-pak C₁₈ 3 m reverse phase column and a solvent system of methanol: 0.1 M phosphate buffer pH 6.3 (4060). An analytical concentration range of 24 to 240 M reduced glutathione was obtained with an ultraviolet detection system but the concentration range was 7.5 to 75 M when a fluorescence detection system was used. Adducts of other mercapturic acid pathway thiol compounds were not formed at 37 °C under the conditions used and hence did not interfere in the assay. They were formed by heating EDTN and the respective thiol compound at 60 °C for 30 min and they clearly separated from the reduced glutathione compound on HPLC analysis. A strong reaction was observed with digitonin while solutions of tyrosine, at 10 mM concentration, also reacted but these reactants are unlikely to interfere with reduced glutathione analysis in biological systems. When adduct formation was used to estimate reduced glutathione concentrations in some mammalian and plant tissues the reaction using 2,4-dichloro-l-(naphthyl-4-ethoxy)-s-triazine and HPLC separation gave the same results as ano-phthaldialdehyde assay for liver and muscle but the HPLC method gave slightly lower values for other mammalian and plant tissues. The differences were attributed to other material in the tissue extracts which was fluorescing at the same wavelengths as the reduced glutathione adduct.     

Antioxidant Study and Assignments of NMR Spectral Data for 3′,4′,7-Trihydroxyflavanone 3′,7-Di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (Butrin) and Its Hydrolyzed Product

The NMR spectral data including high resolution ¹H, ¹³C and 2D NMR for butrin, 3,4,7-trihydroxyflavanone 3,7-di-O--D-glucopyranoside, isolated from flowers of Butea monosperma, are reported here for the first time. Butrin was hydrolyzed using b-glucosidase to butin in high yield. They were subjected to free radical scavenging test using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) spectrophotometric assay. At a dose of 4 × 10^-8 mol of tested compounds, the percentage of reduced DPPH for butin was 14.5% while no reduction was observed for butrin (0%).     

Development of a direct radioimmunoassay for serum progesterone

A direct radioimmunoassay for the measurement of progesterone in human serum is described. Progesterone 11-hemisuccinate was conjugated to tyrosine methyl ester (TME) by the mix anhydride method and then iodinated using chloramine-T. The radiochemical purity of different batches of¹²⁵I-progesterone was greater than 95% and showed 70–75% binding with excess antibody. Progesterone 11-hemisuccinate was coupled with BSA and injected to rabits. Antisera collected after three booster injections and having aK value of 1·10⁹1/M was selected for the assay. Significant reduction in binding with antibody was seen when hormone free serum was used in the assay system. Various blocking agents were tried to reduce the serum effects and none of them were found satisfactory. From a series of optimization experiments, an assay was developed without the use of blocking agents. This assay used a much higher concentration of antibody along with lower amount of serum sample (50 l). The optimized assay has a sensitivity of 0.5 nj/ml and a working range of 0.5 to 100 ng/ml. Serum samples were analyzed analysis showed good correlation between the results obtained from the present system and the DPC kit. (Y=0.93X+0.5,r=0.93, forn=25).     

Analysis of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> meso</Emphasis>-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid in human urine by capillary electrophoresis using direct injection

meso-2,3-Dimercaptosuccinic acid (meso-DMSA) is an effective chelating agent for the treatment of lead poisoning. We have developed a capillary electrophoresis (CE) method to monitor the urinary excretion of meso-DMSA in human beings. The urine sample was directly injected for analysis in CE without the requirement of solid-phase extraction (SPE). The meso-DMSA was detected in 20 mM borate buffer (pH 8.3) using a 60-cm length bare fused-silica capillary (75-m ID, 52.5-cm effective length). The meso-DMSA can be extensively biotransformed during metabolism, and no meso-DMSA in urine samples was found in our studies. Any metabolized meso-DMSA can be successfully converted to free meso-DMSA by chemical reduction with dithiothreitol (DTT). In addition, samples were also treated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to transchelate any meso-DMSA that is coordinated with metal ions present in the urine samples. The total amount of meso-DMSA present as these chemical forms was quantified after chemical reduction and addition of EDTA. The detection limit of meso-DMSA was about 50 M, the RSD of peak area and migration time of meso-DMSA were 4–8% and less than 1%, respectively.     

Trans-cis Photoisomerization of 1-Methyl-4-(4′-hydroxystyryl)pyridinium in inclusion complexes ofβ-cyclodextrin and its derivatives

The effects of -cyclodextrin (-CyD), heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl)--cyclodextrin (DMCyD) and heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)--cyclodextrin (TMCyD) ontrans-cis photoisomerization of 1-ethyl-4-(4-hydroxystyryl)pyridinium (POH) have been studied in aqueous solutions. The ratio of [cis]/[trans] for POH in the photostationary state at pH 8.54 was remarkably reduced by the presence of CyD or DMCyD. The reduction of the [cis]/[trans] ratio in the photostationary state was explained in terms of the shift of the equilibrium of POH ₊ ^trans PO _trans + H^– toward PO _trans formation. The binding constants of CyD and DMCyD for PO _trans were 2.00- and 1.36-fold larger than those for POH ₊ ^trans , respectively. The binding constants of TMCyD for both species are much smaller than those of CyD and DMCyD. This result indicates that PO _trans , which has a betain structure, forms stable complexes with CyD and DMCyD with its hydrophobic parts inside and the charged parts outside the CyD cavities.     

Femtosecond dynamics of relaxation of photoexcited meso-tetraferrocenylporphyrin in the nonprotonated and diprotonated forms (Fc4PH2 and Fc4PH42+)

The relaxation of the Q¹(—*) excited state of the nonprotonated Fc₄PH₂ and diprotonated Fc₄PH₄ ²⁺ forms of meso-tetraferrocenylporphyrin was studied by femtosecond laser absorption spectroscopy. Transition from the Q¹(—*) state to the charge-transfer state was shown to occur within 208±10 fs for Fc₄PH₂ and 9±3 ps for Fc₄PH₄ ²⁺. A fast vibrational relaxation with a characteristic time of 120—140 fs was found for both forms. The relaxation time of Fc⁺—P^– charge-transfer state for Fc₄PH₂ was 17±4 ps.     

Influence of o-benzoquinone nature on initiation of radical polymerization by the o-benzoquinone—tert-amine system

o-Benzoquinones initiate radical polymerization of methacrylates under visible light irradiation in the presence of tertiary amines. Spectral sensitivity of the initiating system coincides with absorption bands of o-benzoquinone attributed to the S(*) (_max 400 nm) and S(n*) (_max 600 nm) transitions. The amine radicals (Am^·) initiating polymerization are generated by the photoreduction of Q in the presence of AmH from the triplet radical pair ³(QH^·, Am^·). The yield of Am^· depends on the difference between the volumes of substituents in the 3 and 6 positions of the quinoid ring and is maximal for symmetrically substituted o-benzoquinones. For a series of derivatives of symmetrical 3,6-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone, the rate of photopolymerization of ,-bis(methacryloyloxyethyleneoxycarbonyloxy)ethyleneoxyethylene (OCM-2) in the presence of N,N-dimethylaniline is determined by the free energy (G _e) of electron transfer from the amine to photoexcited o-benzoquinone. The G _e value includes the energies of oxidation of the amines and reduction of the o-quinones and the energy of the 00 transition of the triplet excited state of o-benzoquinones, which are equal to their redox potentials. The photopolymerization rate is maximal for G _e 0.     

Determination of the thiol redox state of organisms: new oxidative stress indicators

This study describes a new methodology by which the concentrations of non-protein (NP) thiols glutathione (GSH), cysteine (CSH), N-acetylcysteine (AcCSH), and protein (P) thiols (PSH), as well as the contribution of these components to symmetric and mixed disulfides (NPSSR, NPSSC, NPSSCAc, PSSR, PSSC, PSSCAc, PSSP) can reliably be measured. The methodology consists of a strict sequence of methods which are applied to every sample. Free thiols at any given state of the procedure are measured by Ellmans assay, the CSH fraction is measured by its unique response in the ninhydrin assay, AcCSH is selectively measured with ninhydrin after enzymatic deacylation, proteins are separated from non-protein thiols/disulfides by precipitation with trichloroacetic or perchloric acid, disulfides are reduced into free thiols with borohydride, mixed disulfides between a protein and a non-protein component are measured by extracting the non-protein thiol from the protein pellet after borohydride treatment, and protein thiols/disulfides are measured after resolubilization of the protein pellet.When this method was applied to animal and fungal tissue, new molecular indicators of the thiol redox state of living cells were identified. The findings of the present study clearly show that the new parameters are very sensitive indicators of redox state, while at the same time the traditional parameters GSH and GSSG often remain constant even upon dramatic changes in the overall redox state of biological tissue. Therefore, unbiased assessment of the redox state also requires explicit measurement of its most sensitive thiol indicators.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Kinetics of oxidation of glycine and valine by chloramine-T in hydrochloric acid medium

The kinetics of oxidation of glycine and valine by chloramine-T in hydrochloric acid medium has been studied. The rate of disappearance of chloramine-T shows a first order dependence on both chloramine-T and the amino acid, and an inverse first order with respect to [H⁺]. The solvent isotope effect was studied using heavy water. The kinetic parameters,E _a ,Arrhenius factorA, H and S and G have been calculated. A rate law in agreement with experimental results has been derived. A mechanism is proposed.

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Über die Kinetik der Oxidation von Glycin und Valin mit Chloramin-T in salzsaurem Medium

Zusammenfassung Die Kinetik der Oxidation von Glycin und Valin mit Chloramin-T in Salzsäure wurde untersucht. Die Geschwindigkeitskonstante des Wegreagierens von Chloramin-T zeigt eine Abhängigkeit erster Ordnung sowohl von Chloramin-T als auch von der Aminosäure und ist invers erster Ordnung bezüglich [H⁺]. Der Lösungsmittel-Isotopeneffekt wurde mit D₂O untersucht. Es wurden die kinetischen Parameter,E _a , derArrhenius-FaktorA, H , S und G , bestimmt. Ein Mechanismus, der in Übereinstimmung mit den experimentenllen Daten ist, wird vorgeschlagen.

     

Host-guest interactions in aqueous media withp-tert.-butylcalix[4]arene bearing polyoxyethylene chains

The interactions ofp-tert.-butylcalix[4]arene bearing polyoxyethylene chains (C3) with pyrene (Py), 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) andN-phenyl-naphthylamine (NPN) in aqueous solution were studied by absorption and fluorescence measurements. Absorption spectral changes and fluorescence enhancements reveal that C3, which has a hydrophobic cavity, can include organic molecules and ions in aqueous solution and form 11 host-guest complexes with ANS and NPN. C3 forms inclusion complexes with Py at different stoichiometries depending on the host: guest molar ratio. Binding constants of 2.2×10⁴, 2.0×10⁴ and 3.6×10⁵ dm³ mol^–1 were calculated for the C3Py, C3ANS and C3NPN complexes (11), respectively, based on the Benesi-Hildebrand equation.Author for correspondence.     

Preparation and Characterization of a Stable Semiquinone-Iron Complex

Summary. Dopamine oxidation by iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) was studied in the presence and absence of sodium thiosulfate in aqueous medium around pH 7 by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The pH changes from 6 to 8 indicate that the dopamine oxidation process has occurred producing an anionic semiquinone radical which appears after ca. 100 hours presenting bands at 309 and 337nm. It forms a stable compound with Fe(III) released by the iron oxide. The complex [CTA][Fe(SQ)₂(CAT)], where SQ=semiquinone, CAT=catecholate, and CTA=cetyltrimethylammonium cation, was isolated by precipitation with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and was characterized through EPR, Raman and IR spectroscopies. The EPR spectrum presented two intense bands, one with g=2.003 assigned to o-semiquinone and the other with g=4.274 characteristic for high spin Fe(III) approaching an octahedral symmetry. The most intense Raman resonance band occurs at 1360cm^–1 assigned to (C₁–C₂) and at 1575cm^–1 to (C–C)ring of the o-semiquinone. The O₂ dissolved in solution is mainly responsible for the dopamine oxidation when sodium thiosulfate is present. A thermal decomposition mechanism based on the thermogravimetric curves (TG) was proposed. These results suggest that iron can participate in the degenerative process of the dopaminergic nigral neurons. Its role seems to be its coordination with the dopamine oxidation products as o-semiquinone and catecholate which could damage neurons giving rise to parkinsonism.     

Effect of gamma-radiation on Methanosarcina hydrogenase containing transition metal ions

Tracer studies using⁶⁵Zn and⁵⁸Co showed that of the four forms ofMethanosarcina hydrogenases, the A form has about 15% of acid labile zinc, while the hydrogenase D has about 50% of cobalt of the total bound activity in the cell and the other two forms B and C have neither zinc nor cobalt. However, all hydrogenases are known to contain iron, sulfur and probably nickel in trace amounts. All air-oxidized forms of hydrogenases catalyze the reduction of methyl viologen after a finite incubation period. The reduction is revealed by an increase in the absorption peak at 602 nm. On -irradiation, all the four hydrogenases changed to more stable oxidized forms, as indicated by an increase in the optical absorption in the visible region at 405 nm. The irradiated samples showed a greater time lag before they could reduce methyl viologen, the time lag increasing with the -dose. The irradiated enzymes could be reactivated by flushing with H₂. The zinc-bearing hydrogenase A alone appeared to be immune to -radiation in its ability to reduce methyl viologen. This may be due to the zinc having no unpaired electrons to interact with -radiation or the primary radiolytic products.     

ESR spectra of γ-irradiated samples of iron(iii) binuclear complexes

-Irradiation of -oxo-bridged binuclear iron complexes Fe^III ₂OL _n in a glycerol or dimethylformamide matrix at 77 K affords unstable mixed-valence Fe^IIF^III forms resulting from the transfer of a mobile electron generated by the ionizing radiation. These nonequilibrium forms retain the ligand environment of the original complexes, and their ESR spectra at 77–200 K are characterized by an asymmetric signal with an axially anisotropicg-factor, which is in agreement with the spectra of the Fe^IIFe syu forms obtained by chemical reduction.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 869–871, April, 1996.     

An ab initio study of an oxidative mechanism that forms nitric oxide from theN-hydroxyguanidinium ion

The free-radical nitric oxide is now considered to play an important role in mammalian physiology and pathology. Enzymatic studies have shown that nitric oxide biosynthesis is initiated by an NADPH-dependentN-hydroxlation ofl-arginine, formingN -hydroxy-l-arginine as an intermediate. However, the subsequent enzymatic steps that generate nitric oxide fromN -hydroxy-l-arginine are unknown. We have used ab initio quantum chemical calculations to investigate a mechanism that forms nitric oxide fromN-hydroxyguanidine, used as a model forN -hydroxy-l-arginine. Our calculations indicate that mechanisms of nitric oxide formation involving nucleophilic attack by hydroperoxy anion at theN-hydroxyguanidine carbon are energetically feasible.     

S-Shaped composition dependence of excess thermodynamic quantities for cyclohexane mixtures with globular alkanes

Expansion coefficients , isothermal compressibilities, thermal pressure coefficients and heat capacities have been measured at 25°C for the cyclohexane+trans-decalin system. An S-shaped composition dependence, positivelnegative for highllow cyclohexane compositions is found for C _p ^E dV ^E /dT and the thermal expansion contribution to C _p ^E namely VT. The thermal motion contribution to C _p ^E , namely C _v is close to zero. The positive excursion of these mixing quantities at high cyclohexane content is anomalous. Correspondingly, the mixing quantity-VT deviates strongly in this region from the predicted equality with H ^E . The literature and this work show that all these excess quantities behave similarly for cyclohexane mixed with cyclooctane, methylcyclohexane and some highly branched alkanes. The unusual composition dependence of the thermodynamic quantities is consistent with order occurring when any large alkane molecule of globular shape is added to cyclohexane. This is speculatively associated with an interference by the globular alkane with the relatively free rotation of cyclohexane molecules.     

Determination and Differentiation of Two Seemingly Identical Medicinal Herbs by Capillary Electrophoresis with Electrochemical Detection

A high-performance capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (CE-ED) method has been employed for the determination of six bioactive ingredients in traditional Chinese herbs, Herba cepbalanoplosis segeti and Herba cirsii japonici. The effects of several factors such as the acidity and concentration of running buffer, the separation voltage, the applied potential and the injection time on CE-ED were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the six analytes could be well separated within 21 min in a 75 cm length capillary at the separation voltage of 15 kV in a 50 mmol L^–1 borax running buffer (pH 8.4). A 300 m diameter carbon disk electrode was used as the working electrode positioned carefully opposite the outlet of the capillary in a wall-jet configuration at potential of +950 mV (vs. SCE). Good linear relationship was established between peak current and concentration of analytes over two orders of magnitude with detection limits (S/N=3) ranged from 1.5×10^–7 to 6.0×10^–7 g mL^–1 for all six analytes. This proposed method has been successfully applied for the analysis of traditional Chinese herbs after a relatively simple extraction procedure, further on, for the differentiation of these above two seemingly identical herbs based on their electropherograms or characteristic electrochemical profiles.     

Simultaneous Determination of Nine Flavonoids in Dalbergia odorifera by LC

A rapid and accurate HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of nine major flavonoids, namely 3-hydroxymelanettin, melanettin, stevenin, butein, isoliquiritigenin, dalbergin, 2,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxybenzophenone, pinocembrin, 4-methoxydalbergione in Dalbergia odorifera. The samples were separated on an Aglient Zorbax SB-C₁₈ column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 m) with a gradient of acetonitrile and 1% aqueous acetic acid (/) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^–1 and detected at 350 nm. The complete separation was obtained within 30 min for the nine target flavonoids. All calibration curves showed good linearity (r² > 0.999) within test ranges. The repeatability was evaluated by intra- and inter-day assays and RSD values were less than 4.0%. The recoveries were between 92.0% and 104.5%. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of 32 commercial samples of D. odorifera.