Improved disc SDS‐PAGE for extraction of low molecular weight proteins from serum

The low molecular weight proteins can provide a lot of valuable information of biomarkers. To study these proteins, the high abundance and high molecular weight proteins must be removed prior to analysis. In this work, a simple and inexpensive disc SDS‐PAGE to extract low molecular weight proteins from human serum and cutoff proteins larger than 30 kDa was developed. Some experimental conditions were examined. The experimental results obtained by plate SDS‐PAGE and MALDI‐TOF MS showed that the molecular weight of extracted proteins was about in the range from 0.3 to 28 kDa. Some experiments, including precipitation of proteins in organic solvents, SPE and cytochrome C test, were carried out and the experimental results demonstrated successful recovery of proteins/peptides with molecular weight from several hundreds of dalton to about 30 kDa. The experimental results obtained by plate SDS‐PAGE indicated the repeatability was satisfactory.     

An Extracellular Matrix‐Mimicking Hydrogel for Full Thickness Wound Healing in Diabetic Mice

An extracellular matrix‐mimicking hydrogel is developed consisting of a hyaluronan‐derived component with anti‐inflammatory activity, and a gelatin‐derived component offering adhesion sites for cell anchorage. The in situ‐forming hyaluronan‐gelatin (HA‐GEL) hydrogel displays a sponge‐like microporous morphology. Also, HA‐GEL shows a rapid swelling pattern reaching maximum weight swelling ratio within 10 min, while at the equilibrium state, fully swollen hydrogels display an exceedingly high water content with ≈2000% of the dry gel weight. Under typical 2D cell culture conditions, murine 3T3 fibroblasts adhere to, and proliferate on top of the HA‐GEL substrates, which demonstrate that HA‐GEL provides a favorable microenvironment for cell survival, adhesion, and proliferation. In vivo healing study further demonstrates HA‐GEL as a viable and effective treatment option to improve the healing outcome of full thickness wounds in diabetic mice by effectively depleting the inflammatory chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 in the wound bed.     

Plasma‐Activated Substrate with a Tropoelastin Anchor for the Maintenance and Delivery of Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells

Conventional wound therapy utilizes wound coverage to prevent infection, trauma, and fluid and thermal loss. However, this approach is often inadequate for large and/or chronic wounds, which require active intervention via therapeutic cells to promote healing. To address this need, a patch which delivers multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) is developed. Medical‐grade polyurethane (PU) films are modified using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII), which creates a radical‐rich layer capable of rapidly and covalently attaching biomolecules. It is demonstrated that a short treatment duration of 400 s maximizes surface activation and wettability, minimizes reduction in gas permeability, and preserves the hydrolytic resistance of the PU film. The reactivity of PIII‐treated PU is utilized to immobilize the extracellular matrix protein tropoelastin in a functional conformation that stably withstands medical‐grade ethylene oxide sterilization. The PIII‐treated tropoelastin‐functionalized patch significantly promotes MAPC adhesion and proliferation over standard PU, while fully maintaining cell phenotype. Topical application of the MAPC‐seeded patch transfers cells to a human skin model, while undelivered MAPCs repopulate the patch surface for subsequent cell transfer. The potential of this new wound patch as a reservoir for the sustained delivery of therapeutic MAPCs and cell‐secreted factors for large and/or non‐healing wounds is indicated in the findings.     

5‐Methoxytryptophan‐dependent inhibition of oral squamous cell carcinoma metastasis

The metastatic status of oral cancer is highly associated with the overall survival rate of patients. Previous studies have revealed that the endogenous tryptophan metabolite 5‐methoxytryptophan (5‐MTP) can downregulate cyclooxygenase‐2 expression; suppress tumor proliferation, migration, and invasion; and reduce the tumor size. To improve the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of 5‐MTP in the tumorigenesis of oral cancer, we conducted a comparative wound healing and transwell invasion assays. Our results revealed that 5‐MTP reduce oral cancer cell migration and invasion ability. In addition, the results of an in vivo assay demonstrated that the growth of primary tumors was significantly inhibited by 5‐MTP in OC3 oral cancer cells and in invasive OC3‐I5 oral cancer cells. Moreover, enlarged spleens were observed in OC3‐I5‐implanted severe combined immunodeficiency mice although 5‐MTP can inhibit spleen enlargement. Through comparative proteomics, we identified 32 differentially regulated protein spots by using 2D‐DIGE/MALDI‐TOF MS analyses. Some of the differentially regulated proteins such as amadillo‐repeat‐containing X‐linked protein 1, phosphoglycerate kinase 1, tropomyosin alpha‐1, and tropomyosin alpha‐4 may be associated with the 5‐MTP‐dependent inhibition of oral cancer growth and metastasis. We conclude that 5‐MTP plays a crucial role in inhibiting in vitro and in vivo cancer invasion and metastasis.     

Wound healing improvement by curcumin‐loaded electrospun nanofibers and BFP‐MSCs as a bioactive dressing

Wound healing, one of the most complex processes of the body involving the cooperation of several important biomolecules and pathways, is one of the major therapeutic and economic issues in regenerative medicine. The present study aimed to introduce a novel electrospun curcumin (Cur)‐incorporated chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol/carbopol/polycaprolactone nanofibrous composite for concurrent delivery of the buccal fat pad‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BFP‐MSCs) and Cur to a full‐thickness wound on the mouse model. Scaffolds were characterized structurally using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence microscopy imaging and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, and toxicity of the scaffolds was also evaluated after BFP‐MSC seeding by SEM imaging and 3‐(4,5 dimethyiazol‐2‐1)‐2‐5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Then, its influence on the wound‐healing process was investigated as a wound dressing for a full‐thickness skin defect in mouse model. Results demonstrated that the designed composite scaffolds have the capability for cell seeding and support their growth and proliferation. Macroscopic and histopathological characteristics were evaluated at the end of the 7 and 14 days after surgery, and their results showed that our designed scaffold groups accelerated the wound‐healing process compared with the control group. Among those, scaffold/Cur, scaffold/Cur/BFP‐MSC and scaffold/BFP‐MSC groups demonstrated more wound repair efficacy. These results indicated that the combined grafts can be used to improve the wound‐healing process, and therefore, the electrospun nanofibers presented in this study, Cur and BFP‐MSC together, were demonstrated to have promising potential for wound‐dressing applications.     

MALDI analysis of proteins after extraction from dissolvable ethylene glycol diacrylate cross‐linked polyacrylamide gels

Although the extraction of intact proteins from polyacrylamide gels followed by mass spectrometric molecular mass determination has been shown to be efficient, there is room for alternative approaches. Our study evaluates ethylene glycol diacrylate, a cleavable cross‐linking agent used for a new type of dissolvable gels. It attains an ester linkage that can be hydrolyzed in alkali conditions. The separation performance of the new gel system was tested by 1D and 2D SDS‐PAGE using the outer chloroplast envelope of Pisum sativum as well as a soluble protein fraction of human lymphocytes, respectively. Gel spot staining (CBB), dissolving, and extracting were conducted using a custom‐developed workflow. It includes protein extraction with an ammonia–SDS buffer followed by methanol treatment to remove acrylamide filaments. Necessary purification for MALDI‐TOF analysis was implemented using methanol–chloroform precipitation and perfusion HPLC. Both cleaning procedures were applied to several standard proteins of different molecular weight as well as ‘real’ biological samples (8–75 kDa). The protein amounts, which had to be loaded on the gel to detect a peak in MALDI‐TOF MS, were in the range of 0.1 to 5 μg, and the required amount increased with increasing mass.     

肾上皮细胞损伤使草酸钙晶体黏附增强的分子机制

研究了非洲绿猴肾上皮细胞(Vero)在损伤前后与一水合草酸钙(COM)和二水合草酸钙(COD)晶体的黏附作用及其引起的细胞反应,探讨了肾结石形成机理.COM和COD晶体与损伤细胞的黏附加重了细胞的过氧化损伤程度,导致损伤细胞的活力进一步降低,乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)释放量和活性氧(ROS)进一步增加,坏死细胞数量进一步增多,细胞体积缩小,并出现凋亡小体.COM晶体对细胞的损伤能力显著大于COD晶体.扫描电子显微镜(SEM)观测结果表明,损伤组Vero与COM微晶的黏附作用显著强于对照组,且能促进COM微晶的聚集.共聚焦显微镜观测结果表明,Vero损伤后,其表面表达的晶体黏附分子透明质酸(HA)显著增加,HA分子是促进微晶黏附的重要原因.细胞表面草酸钙的黏附量和晶体聚集程度与细胞的损伤程度成正相关.本文结果从分子和细胞水平上提示,细胞损伤是导致草酸钙肾结石形成的重要因素.     

Controlled Bimodal Molecular‐Weight‐Distribution Polymers: Facile Synthesis by RAFT Polymerization

The RAFT agents RAFT‐1 and RAFT‐2 were used for RAFT polymerization to synthesize well‐defined bimodal molecular‐weight‐distribution (MWD) polymers. The system showed excellent controllability and “living” characteristics toward both the higher‐ and lower‐molecular‐weight fractions. It is important that bimodal higher‐molecular‐weight (HMW) polymers and block copolymers with both well‐controlled molecular weight (MW) and MWD could be prepared easily due to the “living” features of RAFT polymerization. The strategy realized a mixture of higher/lower‐molecular‐weight polymers at the molecular level but also preserved the features of living radical polymerization (LRP) of the RAFT polymerization.     

High‐resolution MALDI‐TOF MS study on analysis of low‐molecular‐weight products from photo‐oxidation of poly(3‐hexylthiophene)

High‐resolution matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (TOF MS) was used for the analysis of the low‐molecular‐weight products from the photo‐oxidation of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) in solution and thin film. Eight new peak series were observed in the low‐mass range of the mass spectra of the products degraded in solution, and the formulas of the eight components were determined from the accurate mass. From SEC/MALDI‐TOF MS, two components were identified as the degraded products, and the other six components were derived from the fragmentation of the degraded products during the MALDI process. A mechanism for the formation of these components was proposed on the basis of the results of MALDI‐TOF MS. For the thin film degradation, a part of products in the solution degradation were observed, which supports that the oxidation of P3HT in solution and thin film proceeded in the same mechanism. This study shows that high‐resolution MALDI‐TOF MS is effective for the analysis of the low‐molecular‐weight products from P3HT photo‐oxidation and expected to be feasible for the degradation analyses of other polymers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Injectable Enzyme‐Based Hydrogel Matrix with Precisely Oxidative Stress Defense for Promoting Dermal Repair of Burn Wound

Burn wound healing remains a challenging health problem worldwide due to the lack of efficient and precise therapy. Inherent oxidative stress following burn injury is importantly responsible for prolonged inflammation, fibrotic scar, and multiple organ failure. Herein, a bioinspired antioxidative defense system coupling with in situ forming hydrogel, namely, multiresponsive injectable catechol‐Fe³⁺ coordination hydrogel (MICH) matrix, is engineered to promote burn‐wound dermal repair by inhibiting tissue oxidative stress. This MICH matrix serves as the special traits of “Fe‐superoxide dismutases,” small molecular antioxidant (vitamin E), and extracellular matrix (ECM) in alleviating cellular oxidative damage, which demonstrates precise scavenging on reactive oxygen species (ROS) of different cellular locations, blocking lipid peroxidation and cell apoptosis. In in vivo burn‐wound treatment, this MICH promptly integrates with injured surrounding tissue to provide hydration microenvironment and physicochemical ECM for burn wounds. Importantly, the MICH matrix suppresses tissue ROS production, reducing the inflammatory response, prompting re‐epithelization and neoangiogenesis during wound healing. Meanwhile, the remodeling skin treated with MICH matrix demonstrates low collagen deposition and normal dermal collagen architecture. Overall, the MICH prevents burn wound progression and enhances skin regeneration, which might be a promising biomaterial for burn‐wound care and other disease therapy induced by oxidative stress.     

Secreted proteome of the murine multipotent hematopoietic progenitor cell line DKmix

Administration of the multipotent hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) line DKmix improved cardiac function after myocardial infarction and accelerated dermal wound healing due to paracrine mechanisms. The aim of this study was to analyse the secreted proteins of DKmix cells in order to identify the responsible paracrine factors and assess their relevance to the wide spectrum of therapeutic effects. A mass spectrometry (MS)‐based approach was used to identify secreted proteins of DKmix cells. Serum free culture supernatants of DKmix‐conditioned medium were collected and the proteins present were separated, digested by trypsin and the resulting peptides were then analyzed by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐TOF/TOF) MS. Overall 95 different proteins were identified. Among them, secretory proteins galectin‐3 and gelsolin were identified. These proteins are known to stimulate cell migration and influence wound healing and cardiac remodelling. The remaining proteins originate from intracellular compartments like cytoplasm (69%), nucleus (12%), mitochondria (4%), and cytoplasmic membrane (3%) indicating permeable or leaky DKmix cells in the conditioned medium. Additionally, a sandwich immunoassay was used to detect and quantify cytokines and chemokines. Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), interleukin‐13 (IL‐13), monocyte‐chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1), monocyte‐chemoattractant protein‐3 (MCP‐3), monocyte‐chemoattractant protein‐1α (MIP‐1α) and monocyte‐chemoattractant protein‐1β (MIP‐1β) were detected in low concentrations. This study identified a subset of proteins present in the DKmix‐conditioned medium that act as paracrine modulators of tissue repair. Moreover, it suggests that DKmix‐derived conditioned medium might have therapeutic potency by promoting tissue regeneration. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of nano‐electrospray gas‐phase electrophoretic mobility macromolecular analysis and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization linear time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry for the characterization of the recombinant coagulation glycoprotein von Willebrand factor

Von Willebrand factor (VWF), an adhesive glycoprotein with an approximate molecular weight (MW) of the monomer of 260 kDa, circulates in human blood plasma as a series of multimers ranging in size up to 20.000 kDa; thus the determination of the accurate MW of the monomer is of great importance and due to its high MW quite challenging. In this study accurate MW determination of intact recombinant VWF monomer (rVWF) was performed with GEMMA (gas‐phase electrophoretic mobility macromolecular analysis) and MALDI TOF MS (matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization linear time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry). Three rVWF preparations with differing buffer systems and glycoprotein concentrations were analyzed. First investigations directed towards heterogeneity determination by means of capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE)‐on‐the‐chip with a laser‐induced fluorescence detector revealed two compounds (MW of 277 kDa (migration time 44.3 s) and 341 kDa (migration time 49.5 s)) present in each sample to varying extents, namely mature and pro‐rVWF. MALDI MS analysis in the linear positive ion mode allowed the detection of mature rVWF with an exact MW of 256.1 kDa (±0.8%) and pro‐rVWF with a MW of 349.8 kDa (±0.8%). Two samples containing pro‐rVWF in very minor concentration resulted in GEMMA detection of the mature rVWF with a MW of 227.4 kDa (±2.5%), derived from the measured globular size of 10.9 nm. For one sample containing both rVWF species in almost equal concentrations no differentiation of the two species was possible with GEMMA. Due to its lower resolution only a peak representing a mixture of both species at 11.8 nm could be observed, yielding a MW of 298.8 kDa (±1.6%). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wound Healing Attributes of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers Prepared with Multi‐l‐arginyl‐poly‐l‐aspartate Pairing with Hyaluronic Acid and γ‐Polyglutamic Acid

Biodegradable multi‐l ‐arginyl‐poly‐l ‐aspartate (MAPA), more commonly cyanophycin, prepared with recombinant Escherichia coli contains a polyaspartate backbone with lysine and arginine as side chains. Two assemblies of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) are fabricated at three different concentration ratios of insoluble MAPA (iMAPA) with hyaluronic acid (iMAPA/HA) and with γ‐polyglutamic acid (iMAPA/γ‐PGA), respectively, utilizing a layer‐by‐layer approach. Both films with iMAPA and its counterpart, HA or γ‐PGA, as the terminal layer are prepared to assess the effect on film roughness, cell growth, and cell migration. iMAPA incorporation is higher for a higher concentration of the anionic polymer due to better charge interaction. The iMAPA/HA films when compared to iMAPA/γ‐PGA multilayers show least roughness. The growth rates of L929 fibroblast cells on the PEMs are similar to those on glass substrate, with no supplementary effect of the terminal layer. However, the migration rates of L929 cells increase for all PEMs. γ‐PGA incorporated films impart 50% enhancement to the cell migration after 12 h of culture as compared to the untreated glass, and the smooth films containing HA display a maximum 82% improvement. The results present the use of iMAPA to construct a new layer‐by‐layer system of polyelectrolyte biopolymers with a potential application in wound dressing.     

Enzymatic Extraction of Bioactive and Self‐Assembling Wool Keratin for Biomedical Applications

Keratin is widely recognized as a high‐quality renewable protein resource for biomedical applications. Despite their extensive existence, keratin resources such as feathers, wool, and hair exhibit high stability and mechanical properties because of their high disulfide bond content. Consequently, keratin extraction is challenging and its application is greatly hindered. In this work, a biological extraction strategy is proposed for the preparation of bioactive keratin and the fabrication of self‐assembled keratin hydrogels (KHs). Based on moderate and controlled hydrolysis by keratinase, keratin with a high molecular weight of approximately 45 and 28 kDa that retain its intrinsic bioactivities is obtained. The keratin products show excellent ability to promote cell growth and migration and are conferred with significant antioxidant ability because of their intrinsically high cysteine content. In addition, without the presence of any cross‐linking agent, the extracted keratin can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels. The KHs exhibit a porous network structure and 3D culture ability, showing potential in promoting wound healing. This enzyme‐driven keratin extraction strategy opens up a new approach for the preparation of keratin that can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels for biomedical engineering.     

The basic research on physiological property of functionalized hyaluronan—I. Effect of hyaluronan and sulfated hyaluronan on cell proliferation of human epidermal keratinocytes

Hyaluronan (HA) is one of the polysaccharides that is found widely in connective tissue of mammals, and it has no sulfate group and high molecular weight in comparison with other glycosaminoglycans. Glycosaminoglycans are deeply concerned with the manifestation of biofunctions not only by their physical properties but also by physiological ones. In this study, sulfated HA (S‐HA) with various degrees of sulfate substitution and high molecular weight will be synthesized in order to give HA new biological functions. Moreover, the effect of HA and S‐HA on cell proliferation of human epidermal keratinocytes in vitro will be discussed. HA did not affect lag phase, but growth rate (metabolic turnover) of the cell in a logarithmic growth phase which was controlled by the molecular weight of HA. S‐HA stimulated the cell proliferation in the low concentration region under 1 μg/ml. While it inhibited the cell proliferation in the high concentration region over 10 μg/ml. It strongly suppressed the cell proliferation in the logarithmic growth metaphase. These facts were considered to be caused by the change of the cell‐matrix and/or cell–cell interactions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differences in electrophoretic behavior between linear and branched PEG‐conjugated proteins

The objective of this study was to characterize the differences in electrophoretic behavior between linear and branched PEG‐conjugated proteins. Human growth hormone and alpha‐lactalbumin modified by linear or branched PEGs with molecular weight of 10 kDa were analyzed by SEC, MALDI‐TOF MS, SDS‐PAGE, and microchip CGE (MCGE). Chromatographic and mass spectrometric differences between the linear and branched PEG‐proteins on SEC and MALDI‐TOF MS were small, but their electrophoretic behaviors on SDS‐PAGE and MCGE were significantly different. In particular, MCGE showed significant differences in the peak width and the migration times of linear and branched PEG‐proteins, in which the branched PEG‐proteins exhibited a narrower peak and longer migration time than the linear PEG‐proteins. This phenomenon may explain the longer circulation half‐life for the branched PEG‐proteins observed in previously reported in vivo studies. Consequently, this study indicates that MCGE may be a valuable tool for differentiating linear and branched PEG‐proteins.     

Radical polymerization of diallylamine compounds: From quantum chemical modeling to controllable synthesis of high‐molecular‐weight polymers

We investigated the possibility to obtain high‐molecular‐weight (HMW) polymers from the monomers of the diallylamine (DAA) series using quantum chemical and experimental methods. Such monomers are known to polymerize into oligomeric products due to the reaction of the degradative chain transfer to the monomer. We studied potential energy profiles of the chain propagation and competing chain transfer reactions, viz., the free radical double bond addition and α‐hydrogen radical abstraction, respectively, for a number of polymerization processes. Calculations were carried in the framework of the polarized continuum solvent model utilizing the procedure based on the semiempirical MNDO‐PM3 background. It was found that the necessary condition for decreasing competitiveness of the chain transfer to the monomer is the availability of monomer molecules in only protonated form in the polymerizing system. Using these results, we developed the strategy for obtaining HMW polymers based on said monomers. We synthesized a monomer system (the equimolar salt of N,N‐diallyl‐N‐methylamine and trifluoroacetic acid) that fully corresponds to such requirements. Novel HMW polymers were then synthesized by radical polymerization of this salt at soft conditions. We established that chain termination is controlled by the bimolecular mechanism. We showed that the degradative chain transfer transforms into the effective chain transfer. The mechanisms of the observed phenomena are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Hypericin and hypocrellin induced apoptosis in human mucosal carcinoma cells.

Potent photosensitizers hypocrellin A (HA), hypocrellin B (HB) and hypericin (HY) are lipid-soluble perylquinone derivatives of the genus Hypericum and have a strong photodynamic effect on tumors and viruses. However, the mechanisms of tumor cell death induced by HA, HB and HY are still unclear. Moreover, no reports have mentioned cell apoptosis induced by HA, HB and HY in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and other mucosal cells. In this study, we attempt to clarify the photodynamic effects of HA, HB and HY compounds in poorly differentiated (CNE2) and moderately differentiated (TW0-1) human NPC cells as well as human mucosal colon and bladder cells. Using these cell lines we investigated few hallmarks of apoptotic commitments in a drug dose dependent manner. Tumor cells photo-activated with HA, HB and HY showed cell size shrinkage and an increase in the sub-diploid DNA content. A loss of membrane phospholipid asymmetry associated with apoptosis was induced by all tumor cell lines as evidenced by the externalization of phosphatidylserine. Under apoptotic conditions, Western blot analysis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, a caspases substrate, showed the classical cleavage pattern (116 to 85 kDa) associated with apoptosis in HA, HB and HY-treated cell lysates. In addition, 85 kDa cleaved product was blocked by the tetrapepdide caspase inhibitors such as DEVD-CHO or z-VAD-fmk. Both inhibitors protect tumor cells from apoptosis. These results demonstrate that tumor cell death induced by HA, HB and HY is mediated by caspase proteases. This study also identifies HB as a more potent and promising photosensitizer for the treatment of mucosal cancer cells.     

Refolding and simultaneous purification of recombinant human proinsulin from inclusion bodies on protein‐folding liquid‐chromatography columns

Protein‐folding liquid chromatography (PFLC) is an effective and scalable method for protein renaturation with simultaneous purification. However, it has been a challenge to fully refold inclusion bodies in a PFLC column. In this work, refolding with simultaneous purification of recombinant human proinsulin (rhPI) from inclusion bodies from Escherichia coli were investigated using the surface of stationary phases in immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) and high‐performance size‐exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). The results indicated that both the ligand structure on the surface of the stationary phase and the composition of the mobile phase (elution buffer) influenced refolding of rhPI. Under optimized chromatographic conditions, the mass recoveries of IMAC column and HPSEC column were 77.8 and 56.8% with purifies of 97.6 and 93.7%, respectively. These results also indicated that the IMAC column fails to refold rhPI, and the HPSEC column enables efficient refolding of rhPI with a low‐urea gradient‐elution method. The refolded rhPI was characterized by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The molecular weight of the converted human insulin was further confirmed with SDS–18% PAGE, Matrix‐Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF‐MS) and the biological activity assay by HP‐RPLC. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of catalyst‐transfer condensation polymerization for synthesis of poly(p‐phenylenevinylene)

Kumada‐Tamao coupling polymerization of 1,4‐dialkoxy‐2‐bromo‐5‐(2‐chloromagnesiovinyl)benzene ( 1 ) and 1,4‐dialkoxy‐2‐(2‐bromovinyl)‐5‐chloromagnesiobenzene ( 2 ) with a Ni catalyst and Suzuki‐Miyaura coupling polymerization of 2‐{2‐[(2,5‐dialkoxy‐4‐iodophenyl)]vinyl}‐4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolane ( 3 ), its bromo counterpart 4 , and 2,5‐dialkoxy‐4‐(2‐bromovinyl)phenylboronic acid ( 5 ) with a Pd initiator were investigated under catalyst‐transfer condensation polymerization conditions for the synthesis of well‐defined poly(p‐phenylenevinylene) (PPV). The Kumada‐Tamao polymerization of vinyl Grignard‐type monomer 1 with Ni(dppp)Cl₂ at room temperature did not proceed, whereas aryl Grignard‐type monomer 2 afforded oligomers of low molecular weight. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐TOF) mass spectra of the polymer obtained from 2 implied that the Grignard end group reacted with tetrahydrofuran to terminate polymerization. On the other hand, Suzuki‐Miyaura polymerization of vinyl boronic acid ester type monomers 3 and 4 and phenylboronic acid type monomer 5 with a Pd initiator and aqueous KOH at ?20 °C to room temperature yielded the corresponding PPV with high molecular weight within a few minutes. However, the molecular weight distribution was broad, and MALDI‐TOF mass spectra showed the peaks of polymers bearing no initiator unit at the chain end, as well as those of polymers with the initiator unit. These results indicated that intermolecular chain transfer of the Pd catalyst occurred. Dehalogenation and disproportionation of the growing end also took place as side reactions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2643‐2653