肽基超分子胶体

肽基超分子胶体是基于肽分子间超分子作用,自发形成且具有有序分子排布及规整结构,兼具传统胶体及超分子特性的组装体系。利用超分子弱相互作用构筑功能性胶体,不仅是人们对生命组装进程深入理解的有效手段,也是实现优异的超分子材料的重要途径。肽分子具有组成明确、性能可调、生物安全性高及可降解等优势,是超分子化学、胶体与界面化学领域重要的组装基元。基于肽的超分子自组装,能够实现多尺度、多功能的生物胶体的构筑,被广泛应用于医药、催化、能源等领域。如何通过对肽序列的设计及分子间作用力的调控,实现对胶体结构和功能的精确控制,是近年来研究的重要课题之一。从分子尺度研究和揭示超分子胶体的组装过程及物理化学机制,探究胶体结构与功能的关系,是实现超分子结构和功能化的重要内容。本文基于"分子间作用的调控"及"结构与功能的关系"两个基本科学问题,系统地综述了肽基超分子胶体的组装机制、结构与功能,以及研究现状。     

聚(ε-己内酯)-多肽共聚物胶束增强抗生素的抗菌活性

Bacterial infection is a major threat to human health, and can cause several diseases including gastroenteritis, influenza, tetanus, and tuberculosis. As conventional antibiotic treatment may cause various undesirable effects such as stomach disorder and bacterial resistance, it is necessary to improve the antibacterial efficiency of antibiotics. Here, we synthesized a peptide-based copolymer, poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(glutamic acid)-block-poly(lysine-stat-phenylalanine)[PCL₃₄-b-PGA₃₀-b-P(Lys₁₆-stat-Phe₁₂)] by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone and amino acid N-carboxyanhydride (NCA). Successful synthesis of the copolymer was verified by proton nuclear magnetic resonance and size exclusion chromatography. This copolymer can self-assemble into negatively charged micelles (-26.7 mV) under alkaline conditions by solvent switch method. The micelle structure was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, and revealed to have a diameter of ~42 nm. Antibiotics were loaded into micelles during the self-assembly process, and cell viability assay was conducted to evaluate its cytotoxicity with and without tobramycin. No obvious cytotoxicity was observed for both micelles when the concentration was lower than 300 μg·mL^-1. The antibiotic-loaded micelles demonstrated very low minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) (7.8 μg·mL^-1) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (18.2 μg·mL^-1), while the MICs of free tobramycin were 3.9 and 1.0 μg·mL^-1, respectively. The drug-loading content and efficiency of the micelles were 5.2% and 24.3%, respectively. Therefore, the MICs of the loaded tobramycin against E. coli and S. aureus were 0.4 and 0.9 μg·mL^-1, respectively, suggesting that the micelle could enhance the antibacterial activity of antibiotics. Tobramycin-loaded micelles demonstrated a sustained release characteristic, with 85% of the antibiotics released after 8 h. In bacteria-induced acidic microenvironment, the coil conformation of PGA blocks transforms and PGA blocks shrink toward the micelle core. Concomitantly, the carboxyl side chains are protonated in an acidic environment, increasing the hydrophobicity of this micelle. Antibiotics will be captured when reaching the outer core to slow down the releasing process. Furthermore, the poly(lysine-stat-phenylalanine) [P(Lys-stat-Phe)] coronas with broad spectrum intrinsic antibacterial activity can penetrate the bacterial cell membrane, leading to leakage of the cellular contents of the bacteria and ultimately their death. Due to the sustained release property of micelle and the intrinsic activity of the antibacterial peptide segments, this micelle can greatly enhance the antibacterial activity of antibiotics. Overall, this antibiotic-loaded micelle provides a novel approach for significantly reducing the antibiotics dosage and avoiding the associated health risks.     

利用X射线衍射和拉曼光谱法对KCl和NaCl混合溶液微观结构的研究

利用X射线衍射法和拉曼光谱法系统研究了25 ℃下, 0-26%质量分数浓度范围内KCl和NaCl混合溶液的结构。通过分析X射线衍射法所得的混合溶液的差值结构函数F(Q)以及差值对分布函数G(r)发现,混合溶液组分中的K⁺的水化层半径及其水化数均大于Na⁺,从而揭示出常温下NaCl在水中的溶解度大于KCl的原因。在拉曼光谱的研究中,观察到溶液中水分子的四面体氢键受破坏程度随KCl浓度的增加和NaCl浓度的减少,先增大后减小,并结合X射线衍射法的结果,推断混合溶液中Na⁺对水溶液中氢键结构的破坏程度比K⁺严重,且加入适量的K⁺会使Na⁺由结构缔造者转变为打破结构者,对水溶液结构的破坏增强。     

In vivo Self-assembled Peptide Nanoprobes for Disease Diagnosis

In vivo imaging is creating great opportunities for disease diagnosis as a research tool. Probes are usually used to observe physiological structures in vivo clearly. Recent progresses of nanoprobes are important for the generation of high resolution and high contrast images required by accurate and precision disease diagnosis. In vivo self-assembled peptide(SAP) nanoprobes are playing major roles in in vivo imaging by modularity of design, high imaging contrast, response to the location of the lesion, and long-time retention in the lesion. And the response to lesion and long-term retention in there can enhance imaging sensitivity and specificity of in vivo SAP nanoprobes. Therefore, in vivo SAP nanoprobes are simple ancillary contrast entities to optimize the imaging effect. In this review, the recent progress of in vivo SAP nanoprobes for in vivo imaging, from molecular design of peptides to biomedical and clinical applications including disease diagnosis and disease-related molecular imaging is systematically summarized. We evaluate their ability, including sensitivity and specificity to provide relevant information under preoperative and during surgery circumstances and critically their likelihood to be clinically translated. Finally, a brief outlook on remaining challenges and potential directions for future research in this area is presented.     

Ab initio analysis of the conformational changes of the prolyl-proline model peptide

For- -Pro- -Pro-NH₂ is an ab initio model of the prolyl-proline sequence unit present in numerous peptides and proteins. Cis–trans isomerization of the peptide linkage is a crucial step in accessing the active conformation of several proline containing macromolecules.

The present study focuses on the flexibility of the five-membered pyrrolidine ring, which is considered to help other conformational changes as well as cis–trans isomerization. Ring flexibility is characterized by the pseudorotational amplitude, A, and the phase angle, P. Calculations are carried out at the RHF/6-31+G(d) level of theory. The choice of method and level of theory is further supported by single point DFT calculations.

In the course of NMR structure determination of peptides or proteins, proline residues present in the sequences need special attention. Because of the lack of an amide hydrogen, sequential assignment of proline is rather complicated. Furthermore, in solution state, peptide cis–trans isomers are almost always present. Ab initio study on the For- -Pro- -Pro-NH₂ model is a useful tool to discover the structural characteristics of the prolyl-proline sequence unit.     

On the early history of field emission including attempts of tunneling spectroscopy

Field emission is certainly one of the oldest surface science techniques, its roots reaching back about 250 years to the time of enlightenment. An account of very early studies and of later work is given but mostly restricted to Leipzig and to pre-Müllerian investigations. Studies of field emission from metal tips were carried out in the 18th century by Johann Heinrich Winkler who used vacuum pumps built by Jacob Leupold, a famous Leipzig mechanic.

A short account of the career of Winkler will be given and his field emission experiments are illustrated.

Field emission was investigated again in Leipzig much later by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld who worked on the improvement of X-ray tubes. He coined the terms ‘autoelektronische Entladung’ of ‘Äona-Effekt’ in 1922, and developed degassing procedures which are very similar to modern ultra-high vacuum processing. A pre-quantum mechanical explanation of the field emission phenomena was undertaken by Walter Schottky. Cunradi (1926) tried to measure temperature changes during field emission.

Franz Rother, in a thesis (1914) suggested by Otto Wiener, dealt with the distance dependence of currents in vacuum between electrodes down to 20 nm. His habilitation in 1926 was an extension of his early work but now with field emission tips as a cathode. We might look at his measurements of the field emission characteristics in dependence on distance as a precursor to modern tunneling spectroscopy as well.     

Thermoelectric properties of perovskites: Sign change of the Seebeck coefficient and high temperature properties

The possibility to change the Seebeck coefficient sign has been evidenced in the LaCoO₃ perovskites. A small hole doping (Co³⁺/Co⁴⁺) will result in a large positive Seebeck coefficient, while a small electron doping (Co²⁺/Co³⁺) will give a large negative Seebeck coefficient at room temperature. This mechanism is shown to be efficient as well in 1D Ca₃Co₂O₆ deriving from hexagonal perovskites. By doping Ca₃Co₂O₆ with Ti⁴⁺, a mixed valency Co²⁺/Co³⁺ is introduced and the thermopower turns negative.

At high temperature, the Seebeck coefficients of LaCoO₃ and related compounds decrease to small values due to the spin state transition. The values converge towards a positive value, close to +20 μV/K at 800 K. This suggests that at high T, the Seebeck coefficients in the case of localized charges do not depend on the doping, but only on the spin and orbital degeneracies. On the other hand, in the case of metallic-like samples as electron-doped manganites, the properties can be described up to high T in terms of a single-band metal. Due to the linear variation of S as a function of T and the almost constant value of ρ, the ratio S²/ρ which is crucial for high temperature applications increases.     

Hydrolysis of amide bond in histidine-containing peptides promoted by chelated amino acid palladium(II) complexes: dependence of hydrolytic pathway on the coordination modes of the peptides

Hydrolytic reactions between cis-[Pd( -Ala-N,O)Cl₂]⁻ and cis-[Pd( -Ala-N,O)(H₂O)₂]⁺, in which -Ala is alanine coordinated through N and O atoms, and N-acetylated peptides -histidylglycine (MeCO-His-Gly), glycyl- -histidine (MeCO-Gly-His), glycylglycyl- -histidine (MeCO-Gly-Gly-His) and glycyl- -histidylglycine (MeCO-Gly-His-Gly) were studied by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. All reactions were carried out in the pH range 2.0–2.5 and two different temperatures, 22 and 60°C. In the reactions of these two palladium(II) complexes with MeCO-His-Gly, complete hydrolysis of the amide bond involving carboxylic group of histidine occurs in less than 24 h. The cleavage is regioselective. With peptides containing free a carboxylic group of histidine, MeCO-Gly-His and MeCO-Gly-Gly-His, palladium(II) complex promote the cleavage of the MeCO–Gly and Gly–Gly amide bonds. No cleavage of the Gly–His amide bond was observed. The mechanism of these hydrolytic reactions involves release of -Ala ligand and aquation of the palladium(II) complex chelated to the substrate through the imidazole N-3 atom and deprotonated nitrogen atom of the amide bond involving amino group of histidine. This aqua complex represents a catalytically active form different from the initially added catalytically inactive complex. In the reactions of palladium(II) complexes with tripeptide MeCO-Gly-His-Gly, two amide bonds, MeCO–Gly and His–Gly, were cleaved. The mechanism of the cleavage of these amide bonds is correlated with two different palladium(II)–substrate catalytically active forms. These findings contribute to the better understanding of selective cleavage of peptides and proteins and must be taken into consideration in designing new reagents for this purpose.     

分析化学的第二个春天

从研究分析化学的历史发展入手，以大量历史事实为根据，指出分析化学曾经历过两次重大变革。第一次变革(19世纪末至20世纪初)使分析化学从分析化学家的技艺发展为科学；第二次变革(20世纪70年代迄今)则使分析化学进入了分析化学家重新当家作主的、欣欣向荣的“第二个春天”。     

21世纪理论化学的挑战和机遇

本文是2002年7月在长春召开的第八届全国量子化学学术会议上的大会发言。内容如下:(1)20世纪的化学取得了辉煌的成就,应该获得社会的认同。(2)20世纪发明了七大技术,第一是合成化学技术。(3)21世纪的化学面临四大难题,期待我们去解决。(4)理论化学家应该深入交叉学科领域,拓展研究阵地。     

Solvent Extraction Techniques in the Study of Short-Lived Radionuclides

Durung the second half of the 20th century solvent extraction, i.e., the partition of a species between two immiscible phases, has become one of the major techniques for separation of short-lived radionuclides from complex nuclear reaction product mixtures. It is used in nuclear spectroscopy as well as to study chemical properties of the heaviest elements. Here three of the most successful techniques will be presented. Two of them are automatized batch techniques and the third one is fully continuous. Possible future developments will be discussed, especially with respect to continuous solvent extraction.     

Determination of bioactive diterpenoids from Andrographis paniculata by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

The present paper describes the development of a micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) method for simultaneous determination of andrographolide, deoxyandrographolide and neoandrographolide in ethanol extracts of Andrographis paniculata. Separations were carried out in a fused-silica capillary tube with UV detection at 214 nm. Good separation was achieved using a 20 mM borate buffer, containing 20 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate and 10 mM sodium cholate, adjusted to pH 8.3 at an operating voltage of 25 kV, temperature of 35°C and a hydrodynamic injection of 5 s. The method was validated with good correlation coefficients obtained (0.9986–0.9989) while relative standard deviation (RSD) of migration time was between 1.14 and 2.42. It is concluded that this method could be used for speedy and accurate qualitative and quantitative analysis of bioactive diterpenoids in andrographis herb and its derived products.     

Conformational properties of azapeptides

The conformation of several model compounds for azapeptides was systematically examined on the basis of ab initio MO theory at various approximation levels. The calculations show the azapeptide conformation essentially determined by the hydrazine and urea constituents along the sequence. This leads to a characteristic conformer pattern which excludes the possibility of β sheet conformations, but indicates a high potency for the formation of helix and β turn structures. The N atom may change between planar and pyramid structures. The peculiar conformation properties make azaamino acids an attractive tool for secondary structure design in peptides and proteins.     

干水：从概念提出到实际应用

通过对干水的发展史考证可知，20世纪中期，科学家研制出一种由二氧化硅颗粒包裹着水滴的干性粉末并将其命名为“干水（Dry Water）”，但在很长的一段时间内并没有引起人们的关注。至21世纪初，关于干水形成机理和制备技术的一系列研究相继展开。随后，干水巨大的潜在应用价值备受人们关注，其在化妆品、水合物储气、催化剂、灭火剂等众多领域的应用得到了一定程度的开发。干水相关技术的发展会使化学物质的利用方式不断创新。干水的相关知识和发展史改变了人们对水的认识，并会成为化学教科书和百科全书的重要内容。     

The next 25 years of surface physics

The 20th International Seminar on Surface Physics commemorates the last quarter of a century in surface physics and serves as the commencement of the next millennium. This article attempts to identify the guiding directions for the next 25 years of surface physics relevant to the field of condensed matter physics. The message is that Surface Science and specifically surface physics must undergo a Cultural Revolution from a technique-driven to science-driven discipline. There are tremendously exciting opportunities for surface physics but to take advantage of them will require a change in our culture and most importantly in the education of the next generation of surface scientist. Some of the opportunities that exist in complex highly correlated systems in reduced dimensionality will be presented to illustrate the pivotal role that surface physicists can play in contemporary Condensed Matter Physics.     

Sensory, physicochemical and microbiological quality of irradiated minimally processed cauliflower

Minimally processed cauliflower samples were irradiated, stored at 5 °C for 2 weeks and analyzed for sensory, physicochemical and microbiological qualities at 0th, 7th and 14th days. The data showed highest mean values of 7.93 and 7.57 for appearance and flavor, respectively, for 1.0 kGy treated samples. The D₁₀ values of contaminating microorganisms on cauliflower were 0.20 (Escherischia coli) and 0.24 kGy (Salmonella paratyphae A.) and the resulting 5D₁₀ value was 1.2 kGy. The study revealed that a dose of 1.5 kGy is enough for retention of quality and reduction of microbial load to 5D₁₀ values in cauliflower during 2 weeks storage at refrigerated temperature.     

On the distribution coefficient of nickel dimethylglyoximate between an aqueous solution and organic solvents

The distribution coefficients of nickel dimethylglyoximate between an aqueous solution and 6 inert solvents were determined at 20°. The distribution coefficients of the nickel chelate were quantitatively interpreted in terms of solubility parameters. The solubility parameter for the nickel chelate was evaluated to be 12.9, that for the aqueous solution to be 18.6, and the molar volume of the chelate to be 182 ml/mol.     

Creation of multiquantum coherences from equilibrium spin systems

Recently it has been suggested that zero quantum coherence in scalar coupled spin systems at thermal equilibrium can be created by a single non-selective pulse. In this note, it is shown that the proposed effect will be masked as a consequence of the failure of the conventional high-temperature approximation normally applied to the equilibrium spin density operator. For exacting experiments, its appears that the approximation (eq) ≈ 1-H /kT may not suffice.     

Free Energy Change of Micelle Formation for Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate from a Dispersed State in Solution to Complete Micelles along Its Aggregation Pathways Evaluated by Chemical Species Model Combined with Molecular Dynamics Calculations

Surfactant molecules, when dispersed in solution, have been shown to spontaneously form aggregates. Our previous studies on molecular dynamics(MD) calculations have shown that ionic sodium dodecyl sulfate molecules quickly aggregated even when the aggregation number is small. The aggregation rate, however, decreased for larger aggregation numbers. In addition, studies have shown that micelle formation was not completed even after a 100 ns-long MD run(Chem. Phys. Lett. 2016, 646, 36). Herein, we analyze the free energy change of micelle formation based on chemical species model combined with molecular dynamics calculations. First, the free energy landscape of the aggregation, ?G_(i+j)~+, where two aggregates with sizes i and j associate to form the(i + j)-mer, was investigated using the free energy of micelle formation of the i-mer, G_i~+, which was obtained through MD calculations. The calculated ?G_(i+j)~+ was negative for all the aggregations where the sum of DS ions in the two aggregates was 60 or less. From the viewpoint of chemical equilibrium, aggregation to the stable micelle is desired. Further, the free energy profile along possible aggregation pathways was investigated, starting from small aggregates and ending with the complete thermodynamically stable micelles in solution. The free energy profiles, G(l, k), of the aggregates at l-th aggregation path and k-th state were evaluated by the formation free energy ∑_in_i( l,k)G_i~+ and the free energy of mixing ∑_in_i( l,k)k_BTln( n_i( l,k)/n( l,k)), where ni(l, k) is the number of i-mer in the system at the l-th i aggregation path and k-th state, with n(l,k)= ∑_n_i( l,k). All the aggregation pathways were obtained from the initial i state of 12 pentamers to the stable micelle with i = 60. All the calculated G(l, k) values monotonically decreased with increasing k. This indicates that there are no free energy barriers along the pathways. Hence, the slowdown is not due to the thermodynamic stability of the aggregates, but rather the kinetics that inhibit the association of the fragments. The time required for a collision between aggregates, one of the kinetic factors, was evaluated using the fast passage time, t_(FPT). The calculated t_(FPT) was about 20 ns for the aggregates with N = 31. Therefore, if aggregation is a diffusion-controlled process, it should be completed within the 100 ns-simulation. However, aggregation does not occur due to the free energy barrier between the aggregates, that is, the repulsive force acting on them. This may be caused by electrostatic repulsions produced by the overlap of the electric double layers, which are formed by the negative charge of the hydrophilic groups and counter sodium ions on the surface of the aggregates.     

Cathodic corrosion: 21st century insights into a 19th century phenomenon

Cathodic corrosion is an enigmatic electrochemical process that etches metallic electrodes at potentials below 0 V versus the normal hydrogen electrode. Although this phenomenon was discovered in the late 1800s by Fritz Haber, it remained mostly unnoticed during the 20th century and only attracted increased attention in the past decade. This recent attention has generated marked improvements in both the fundamental knowledge and the applications of cathodic corrosion. Fundamental new insights were gained into the effects and possible reaction intermediates of cathodic corrosion. Complementing these insights, recent advances involve applications of cathodic corrosion for nanoparticle synthesis and electrocatalyst modification. Both these applied and fundamental advances will be discussed in this short review on cathodic corrosion.