Time resolved spectroscopy of triptophan polar solutions

Resolved time spectra and decay curves of triptophan in polar solvents have been obtained and examined using the previous results for indol and NMI in the same solvents. Triptophan time resolved fluorescence ant its decay curves were different when the sample was fluid (room temperature) and when it was “glassy” (low temperature). Decay curves depending on frequency were obtained in fluid solutions, meanwhile for “glassy” samples did not appear such dependence. The similar results previously obtained for indole and NMI, were interpreted assuming the reorientation of the solvent dipole moments as a time-depending phenomenum during fluorescence.     

FLUORESCENCE INVESTIGATIONS OF ALBUMIN FROM PATIENTS WITH FAMILIAL DYSALBUMINEMIC HYPERTHYROXINEMIA*

Familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia (FDH) is an autosomal dominant syndrome in which clinically euthyroid patients have elevated total thyroxine levels. These high serum thyroxine levels are traceable to altered binding of thyroxine to the patient's albumin. Albumin from FDH patients and normal volunteers have been purified. Reverse-phase and ion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on the FDH-human serum albumin (HSA) samples show a single band that comigrates with normal HSA. In both protein solutions the intrinsic fluorescence, upon 280 nm excitation, is predominantly due to the single tryptophan residue. The quantum yield of this intrinsic fluorescence in the FDH-HSA solutions is, however, reduced relative to that of HSA. Furthermore, the “average” lifetime value of the tryptophan emission in the FDH-HSA sample is less than that of normal HSA, consistent with its reduced quantum yield. The binding of thyroxine to both albumins effectively quenches the tryptophan emission probably via a nonradiative energy transfer mechanism. Time-resolved data suggest that the albumin from the dysalbuminemic patients is actually an approximately equimolar mixture of normal HSA and FDH-HSA indicative of heterologous expression. Quenching of the intrinsic HSA and FDH-HSA fluorescence by serial additions of thyroxine showed enhanced quenching of FDH-HSA relative to HSA at any T4 to albumin mole ratio, therefore supporting earlier reports of increased thyroxine affinity to FDH-HSA.     

An alternative view on the kinetics of optical stimulated luminescence decay

In this work, it was made similitude between radioactive decay and luminescence decay. An alternative approach related with the radioactive decay law of successive disintegrations from a composite radioactive material to describe the optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) decay curve was introduced. The modified radioactive decay law was applied to find the individual components of the different synthetic and experimental OSL decay curves. The suggested relation was named as “Active-OSL Approximation”. This work offers an alternative view on the kinetics of OSL decay.     

Extracting decay curves of the correlated fluorescence photons measured in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

We have developed a new method to extract the decay curves of the correlated fluorescence photons from the data of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy using time-correlated single photon counting. In this method, a two-dimensional correlation map of photon pairs is generated at an absolute delay time with reference to the excitation-emission delay of each photon. Using a dye-labeled DNA as an example, we have demonstrated that the decay curve of the correlated fluorescence photons is separated from the uncorrelated background signals simply by subtracting a two-dimensional correlation map at sufficiently long delay time without additional prior information.     

Synthesis,crystal structure,stability studies,DNA/albumin interactions,and antimicrobial activities of two Cu(II) complexes with amino acids and 5-nitro-1,10-phenanthroline

One-dimensional (1-D) coordination polymer and mononuclear copper(II) complexes, ([Cu(nphen)(asn)]ClO₄)_n (1) and [Cu(nphen)(gln)(H₂O)]ClO₄·H₂O (2) (nphen = 5-nitro-110-phenanthroline, asn = asparagine, gln = glutamine), have been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, ESI-MS, CHN analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. These binary and ternary complexes of copper(II) with nphen, asn, and gln have been investigated using potentiometric methods in 0.1 M KCl aqueous ionic media at 298.2 K. The protonation constants of the ligands and the stability constants of 1 and 2 have been calculated from the potentiometric data using the “BEST” software package. The potentiometric results have been analyzed using the “SPE” software package, and the distribution curves for the copper-containing species have been determined for the ternary systems. The CT-DNA-binding properties of these complexes have been investigated by thermal denaturation measurements and both absorption and emission spectroscopy. Further, the interaction of these complexes with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) has been investigated using absorption and emission spectroscopy. The thermodynamic parameters, free energy change (ΔG), enthalpy change (ΔH), and entropy change (ΔS) were calculated by the van’t Hoff equation and discussed. The distances between the serum albumins and 1 and 2 have been obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Conformational changes of serum albumins have been observed from synchronous fluorescence technique. The antimicrobial activity of the complexes has also been tested on some bacteria. The effect of different amino acids on the copper(II) complexes are discussed.     

LINKED-FUNCTION ANALYSIS OF FLUORESCENCE DECAY KINETICS: RESOLUTION OF SIDE-CHAIN ROTAMER POPULATIONS OF A SINGLE AROMATIC AMINO ACID IN SMALL POLYPEPTIDES

A linked-function approach to fluorescence decay data analysis is presented that permits complex systems to be resolved from a single decay curve. The method involves linking fluorescence decay parameters based on a relationship established by independent physical measurements. As an example, by correlating the fluorescence data with ¹H-NMR results, the complex fluorescence decay kinetics of tyrosine analogs and single tyrosyl residues in simple polypeptides can be explained by ground-state rotameric populations of the phenol ring about the Cα-Cβ bond.     

Microviscosity in poly(ethylene oxide)‐polypropylene oxide‐poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers probed by fluorescence depolarization kinetics

Triblock copolymers [poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and polypropylene oxide (PPO)], Pluronic F127 with 100 PEO blocks on each end, and 65 blocks of PPO in the center were examined in aqueous solution. The “sol” and “gel” phase diagram was determined as a function of concentration and temperature. For further study, the concentration was fixed at 20 wt %, and the temperature dependence of the dynamic viscosity differed from the temperature dependence of fluorescence emission spectra and the microviscosity probed by the fluorescence depolarization kinetics of rhodamine 123 dye, which was dissolved in the continuous hydrophilic phase. The depolarization measurements used single‐photon counting after two‐photon excitation with a Ti‐sapphire femtosecond laser. Although the viscoelastic modulus increased by an order of magnitude when the sol‐to‐gel transition was crossed, the microviscosity of the hydrophilic continuous medium showed only minor changes. At different temperatures the fluorescence lifetime was the same with a single‐exponential time constant, but the fluorescence depolarization displayed a double‐exponential decay. After comparison with fluorescence depolarization of the dye in PPO melt and PEO whose molecular weight and aqueous concentrations were varied, the relative proportions of faster and slower components of the fluorescence depolarization were tentatively attributed to varying ratios of the dye in free solution and associated with micelles. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 2883–2888, 2002     

Possibilities and limitations of the time-correlated single photon counting technique: a comparative study of correction methods for the wavelength dependence of the instrument response function

One of the principal reasons for poor fits in time-correlated single photon counting fluorescence decay measurements is the wavelength dependence of the instrument response function. Over the years several correction methods have been developed to account for or correct for this effect. The most recent and widely used procedures are critically compared in this paper. A comparison of the channel shift technique, the pseudoscatterer technique, the excitation pulse-shape mimic technique and the delta function convolution method demonstrates that the latter method is the superior one. This method requires the measurement of the fluorescence decay of a reference compound with single exponential decay kinetics under identical conditions as used for the sample. A modified functional form is used to describe the sample decay law. Since no experimental data are altered in any way, a correct residual analysis is possible. Simulations show that fluorescence lifetimes can be recovered accurately, as long as the reference decay time is sufficiently different from that of the sample. Biexponential decays can be resolved successfully when the two decay times are well separated and different from that of the reference. The difference between the standard normal variates of chi-square for single and double exponential fits can be used to distinguish between mono- and bi-exponential decays. The usefulness of the delta function convolution method is demonstrated by fluorescence decay measurements of a series of different samples with very short decay times. Fluorescence lifetimes as short as 10 ps could be resolved accurately and reliably.     

Kinetics of partly diffusion controlled reactions. I. Transient and apparent transient effect in fluorescence quenching

Analysis of decay curves of electronically excited molecules A* versus time in presence of quencher B leads to the determination of kinetic data for the reaction (i.e. for diffusion limited reactions, the experimental collisional distance σ′ greater than the true collisional distance σ) and the sum D of diffusion coefficients of both reactants). Experimental fluorescence steady state measurements (Stern-Volmer representation) are inconsistent with calculated curves using classical Smoluchowski's model with σ′and D. The difference between this has been interpreted by complex formation in the ground state between A and B. But, this assumption is unnecessary if we take into account a “static” quenching arising from B molecules located at distances between σ and σ′ from A*. A theoretical model based upon this principle is described; good agreement between the model and experimental results was obtained.     

Studies on components 1' (modified monomer) and 2 (dimer) formed during heat-treatment of bovine serum albumin

When the solution of bovine serum albumin at pH 9 is incubated at 65 °C, new components 1' (modified monomer), 2 (dimer) and 3 (probably trimer) are formed. The isoelectric focusing indicated that the isoelectric points of components 1', 2 and 3 were pH 5.9.The hydrogen ion titration curve for the native albumin had well known abnormal steepness at pH near 4, but that for component 1' had no abnormal steepness. The titration curve for component 1' located right side of that for the native albumin.Circular dichroism measurements indicated that some unfolding occurred, when the native albumin was changed to component 1'. The contents of-helix were 74 and 52 % for the native albumin and for component 1', respectively. The contents of -structure were 19 and 23 % for the native albumin and for component 1', respectively. The wavelength of maximum intensity of tryptophan fluorescence shifted to lower wavelength, when the native albumin was changed to component 1'. This suggests that tryptophan residue(s) is transferred to a more hydrophobic environment.The hydrogen ion titration curves, circular dichroism and fluorescence measurements, all supported the possibility that the component 2 is formed by the dimerization of component 1'. Further, it has been found that component 2' (dimer impurity in commercial bovine serum albumin preparations) is formed by the direct dimerization of native bovine serum albumin without conformational change.     

Protein–Incorporated Serum Total Antioxidant Capacity Measurement by a Modified CUPRAC (CUPRIC Reducing Antioxidant Capacity) Method

Due to inadequacies in analytical methodology of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) measurement, proteins are initially separated from the human serum matrix by precipitation and are left unmeasured, thereby causing an important “antioxidant gap.” The aim of this work is to measure the TAC of serum with the modified CUPric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC) method, and to identify the contribution of serum proteins, especially thiol-containing proteins, to TAC. CUPRAC results were statistically compared to those found by reference methods, namely ABTS (2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power), and Ellman thiols assay. The curves of absorbance vs thiol concentration, as well as of absorbance vs diluted serum (whole serum, trichloroacetic acid (TCA)?precipitated and redissolved serum protein solution, and TCA supernatant fractions) volume, of three distinct serum samples showed excellent linearity and low intercept values only with the modified CUPRAC method. The proposed method will help characterize the “antioxidant gap” of serum TAC originating from protein components which should not be neglected in future antioxidant measurements.     

Non-exponential fluorescence decay of gas phase acetaldehyde

Non-exponential fluorescence decay with “fast” and “slow” components was observed for acetaldehyde samples in the pressure range 25–400 m Torr using laser excitation at 320.0 nm. Both fluorescence lifetimes and quantum yields for the “slow” component were found to obey Stern-Volmer relationships. Above 5 Torr, lifetimes and yields become independent of pressure. These data are interpreted in terms of intermediate-type, singlet-triplet coupling and reversible intersystem crossing.     

Highly selective artificial gel antibodies for detection and quantification of biomarkers in clinical samples. I. Spectrophotometric approach to design the calibration curve for the quantification

High selectivity of a biomarker is a basic requirement when it is used for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of a disease. The artificial gel antibodies, which we synthesise by a molecular imprinting method, have this property not only for proteins, but also for bioparticles, such as viruses and bacteria. However, diagnosis of a disease requires not only that the biomarker can be “fished out” from a body fluid with high selectivity, but also that its concentration in the sample can rapidly be determined and preferably by a simple technique. This paper deals primarily with the development of a spectrophotometric method, which is so simple and fast that it can be used with advantage in a Doctor's Office. The development of this method was not straight‐forward. However, by modifications of the performance of these measurements we can now design standard curves in the form of a straight line, when we plot the true (not the recorded “apparent” absorption) against known protein concentrations. In an additional publication (see the following paper in this issue of JSS) we show an application of such a plot: determination of the concentration of albumin in serum and cerebrospinal fluid from patients with neurological disorders to investigate whether albumin is a biomarker for these diseases.     

新型长侧链双羧基功能单体N-(p-乙烯基苄基)-N,N-二[2-(3-羧基丙酰氧基)乙基]胺的合成及其对牛血清白蛋白印迹识别的应用

设计合成了一种新型功能单体N-(p-乙烯基苄基)-N,N-二[2-(3-羧基丙酰氧基)乙基]胺. 采用质子核磁共振、红外光谱及元素分析对单体分子的结构进行了表征, 利用荧光猝灭法和同步荧光法研究了单体与牛血清白蛋白的结合机理, 结果表明在pH 7.4离子强度为0.5 mol•L^－1条件下, 单体与牛血清白蛋白中的色氨酸残基形成稳定的复合物, 其结合比为2∶1, 表观结合常数K_A＝2.239×10¹¹ L²•mol^－2. 以该单体为功能单体, 牛血清白蛋白为模板分子, N,N'-亚甲基双丙烯酰胺为交联剂和多孔聚偏二氟乙烯膜为支持膜, 在水介质中制备了一个分子印迹聚合物复合膜. 渗透实验表明, 这个印迹复合膜对模板分子牛血清白蛋白的渗透量要远高于对照的人血清白蛋白和卵蛋白, 通过与非分子印迹膜对照也说明了此分子印迹复合膜对模板分子高的渗透选择性.     

Complex kinetics of a* state formation in the DMABN-ethanol system

Preliminary measurements of the time-resolved fluorescence of para-dimethylaminobenzonitrile/ethanol in cyclohexane are reported. The decay of the “normal” fluorescence is shown to be more complex than is predicted by any simple two-state kinetic scheme.     

PICOSECOND FLUORESCENCE STUDY OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC MUTANTS OF Chlamydomonas reinhardii: ORIGIN OF THE FLUORESCENCE DECAY KINETICS OF CHLOROPLASTS

Abstract— The fluorescence decay kinetics of photosynthetic mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardii which lack photosystem II (PS II), photosystem I (PS I), and both PS II and PS I have been measured. The PS II mutant strain8–36C exhibits fluorescence decay lifetime components of 53, 424 and 2197 ps. The fluorescence decay of a PS I mutant strain12–7 contains two major fluorescence decay components with lifetimes of 152 and 424 ps. The fluorescence decay of mutant strain C2, which lacks both PS II and PS I, is nearly single exponential with a lifetime of 2561 ± 222 ps. In simulations in which it is assumed that wild-type decays are a simple sum of the major decay components of the isolated parts of the photosynthetic unit as measured in the mutants, curves are obtained that fit the wild-type C. reinhardii fluorescence decay data when the absorption cross-sections of PS II and PS I are weighted approximately equally. The 89 ps lifetime component in the wild-type is an average of 53 and 152 ps components arising from excitation transfer to and trapping in PS I and PS II. The single step transfer time in PS I is estimated to be between 100 and 700 fs depending on assumptions about array size. We find that between two and four visits to the PS I reaction center are required before final trapping.     

Anthracene-appended Pyridine Amide: A Simple Sensor for Monocarboxylic Acids

Anthracene-appended receptor 1, which can function as an “on–off” fluorescence switch for monocarboxylic acids, has been designed and synthesized. The photophysical behavior of 1 has been examined by fluorescence, UV–vis and NMR spectroscopy.     

光谱法研究喜树碱与牛血清白蛋白的相互作用

采用多种光谱技术对喜树碱和牛血清白蛋白的相互作用进行了研究.结果表明喜树碱和牛血清白蛋白可形成基态复合物,引起牛血清白蛋白内源荧光猝灭.通过计算获得了二者在不同温度下的结合常数及结合位点数.根据喜树碱和牛血清白蛋白结合的热力学参数,确定了二者之间主要为疏水作用力.根据F(o)rster非辐射能量转移理论确定了喜树碱和牛血清白蛋白的作用距离.同步荧光光谱显示喜树碱主要与蛋白中色氨酸残基发生相互作用,改变其周围的局部构象.红外光谱提示喜树碱可引起蛋白的构象发生改变,α-螺旋二级结构减少.     

Interaction of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) succinamic acid dendrimers generation 4 with human serum albumin

Dendrimers, a relatively new group of highly branched three dimensional polymers, are intensively investigated to use them in biomedical and physicochemical sciences. Their specific architecture gives them the ability to interact with many different types of molecules. In our studies the interaction between PAMAM succinamic acid dendrimers generation 4 (PAMAM-SAH G4) and human serum albumin (HSA) was examined. Experiments showed that a single molecule of a HSA can bind approximately 6 particles of dendrimers. The fluorescence studies demonstrated that dendrimers lead to a decrease in protein fluorescence but changes in fluorescence anisotropy were not observed. Alterations in the spectrum of circular dichroism indicated changes in the secondary protein structure. The results clearly show that this generation of dendrimers possesses a strong ability to interact with human serum albumin.     

Differential Contribution of Albumin and Lipids to the Hydrophobic Extraction of Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate from Hemodialysis Tubing by Human Serum: Analysis by Gas Chromatography - Stable Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A method is presented which allows quantitative assignment of hydrophobic human serum components to the extraction of bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from medical tubing. Under optimized conditions (sample pH 5.5; fluid-fluid extraction with ethyl acetate + tert-butyl methyl ether 1 + 1 v/v; DEHP-ring-D4 as internal standard with ratios of endogenous (m/z = 149) and added deuterated DEHP (m/z = 153) adjusted to around 1.0; equilibration of added internal standard with the hydrophobic sample for 24 hours), a high precision can be achieved with an intra-assay coefficient of variation of 1.5% (n = 7) for sample DEHP quantification. Phthalate migration from hemodialysis tubing was quantified by use of a peristaltic pump and recirculation (200 minutes) of serum with different degrces of hypertriglyceridemia (range from 2.26 to 14.5 g/L) or solutions of human albumin (10 to 50 g/L). Only DEHP, but no other phthalates are detected in the extracts. There exist linear relations between DEHP extraction and triglyceride content (increase by 1.01 μg DEHP/g tubing material per g triglyceride/L serum) as well as between DEHP extraction and albumin content (0.59 μg DEHP/g tubing material per g albumin/L). Under physiological conditions, the total amount of albumin extracts 17.7-fold more DEHP than the total triglyceride amount in human serum. The suitability of the proposed method as a candidate reference method as well as consequences for dyslipidemic and hypalbuminemic patients on hemodialysis schemes are discussed.