An Artificial Estrogen Receptor through Combinatorial Imprinting

Polymeric sorbents targeting endocrine‐disrupting estrogen active compounds (EAC) were prepared by terpolymer imprinting using 17β‐estradiol (E2) as template. From a group of eight functional monomers representing Brønsted acids, bases, hydrogen‐bond donors and acceptors, as well as π‐interacting monomers, a terpolymer library that comprises all possible binary combinations of the functional monomers was prepared. Binding tests revealed that imprinted polymers exhibit a markedly higher affinity for E2 compared to nonimprinted polymers (NIPs) or polymers prepared by using single functional monomers. A combination of methacrylic acid (MAA) and p‐vinylbenzoic acid offered a particularly promising lead polymer, displaying an imprinting factor of 17 versus 2.4 for a benchmark polymer prepared by using only MAA as functional monomer. The saturation capacities ascribed to imprinted sites were four to five times higher for this polymer compared to previously reported imprinted polymers. NMR titrations and molecular dynamics simulations corroborated these results, indicating an orthogonal preference of the two functional monomers with respect to the E2 3‐OH and 17‐OH groups. The optimized polymer exhibited a retentivity for EACs that correlates with their inhibitory effect on the natural receptor. By using the optimized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in a model water‐purification system, they were capable of completely removing ppb levels of a small group of EACs from water. This is in contrast to the performance of nonimprinted polymers and well‐established sorbents for water purification (e.g., active carbon), which still contained detectable amounts of the compounds after treatment.     

An Extracellular miRNA-Responsive Artificial Receptor via Dynamic DNA Nano-assembly for Biomarker-Driven Therapy

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in various diseases. However, there is currently a lack of molecular strategies that can effectively use disease-associated extracellular miRNAs as input signals to drive therapeutic functions. Herein, we present a modular and programmable miRNA-responsive chimeric DNA receptor (miRNA-CDR) capable of biomarker-driven therapy. By grafting a miRNA-responsive DNA nanodevice on a natural membrane receptor via aptamer anchoring, miRNA-CDR can sense extracellular miRNA levels and autonomously induce dimerization-mediated receptor activation via the complementary-mediated strand displacement reaction-induced dynamic DNA assembly. The sequence programmability of miRNA-CDR allows it to sense and respond to a user-defined miRNA with tunable sensitivity. Moreover, the miRNA-CDR is versatile and customizable to reprogram desirable signaling output via adapting a designated receptor, such as MET and FGFR1. Using a mouse model of drug-induced acute liver injury (DILI), we demonstrate the functionality of a designer miRNA-CDR in rewiring the recognition of the DILI-elevated miR-122 to promote MET signaling of hepatocytes for biomarker-driven in situ repair and liver function restoration. Our synthetic miRNA-CDR platform provides a novel molecular device enabling biomarker-driven therapeutic cellular response, potentially paving the way for improving the precision of cell therapy in regenerative medicine.     

有机阴离子的人工接受体的合成

报道以Ｄ－天冬酰胺为起始原料经９步反应合成旋光活性的（２Ｒ，８Ｒ）－二羟甲基－１，５，９－三氮双环〔４．４．０〕癸－９－烯盐酸盐，总产率为２５．４％．     

An Artificial Heme Enzyme for Cyclopropanation Reactions

An artificial heme enzyme was created through self‐assembly from hemin and the lactococcal multidrug resistance regulator (LmrR). The crystal structure shows the heme bound inside the hydrophobic pore of the protein, where it appears inaccessible for substrates. However, good catalytic activity and moderate enantioselectivity was observed in an abiological cyclopropanation reaction. We propose that the dynamic nature of the structure of the LmrR protein is key to the observed activity. This was supported by molecular dynamics simulations, which showed transient formation of opened conformations that allow the binding of substrates and the formation of pre‐catalytic structures.     

An Unusual Reaction of Dimethyl Azodicarboxylate with H-Dimethylphosphonate

When the commonly used phosphorus components of the cocktail of the classical Mitsunobo reaction are changed from triphenylphosphine and trialkylphosphite to H-dimethylphosphonate, the course of the reaction changes and leads to products arising from the involvement of the free radical reaction. This article presents the mass spectral characterization of the novel compounds along with the probable mechanism of their formation.     

生物质合成气一步法合成二甲醚的在线分析系统

建立了一套由生物质合成气一步法制取二甲醚的在线分析系统.针对生物质合成气一步法合成二甲醚特征,采用两台分别装有TCD和FID检测器的色谱仪分析反应产物.利用原料气中N2作为内标物,来确定TCD上检测到的永久性气体组分浓度;通过CH4作内标物,来确定FID上检测到的有机物组分浓度.TCD和FID之间通过CH4来关联,从而确定反应产物中主要组分的浓度.该系统在压力3 MPa,温度250℃,空速(流速与催化剂体积的比值)分别为1 000、2 000、3 000 h-1的条件下用C306和HZSM-5催化剂进行评价测试,发现系统分析效果好,重复性高,并且反应前后主产物碳平衡到达90%以上.     

Aspartate aminotransferase from cotton seeds

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - Using fractionation with ammonium sulfate and ion-exchange chromatography on CM- and DEAE-celluloses, two fractions with aspartate aminotransferase activity have...     

Aspartate aminotransferase from cotton seeds

Summary Using fractionation with ammonium sulfate and ion-exchange chromatography on CM- and DEAE-celluloses, two fractions with aspartate aminotransferase activity have been obtained from cotton seeds.Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances, Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 735–738, November–December, 1970.     

Dimethyl selenoxide

The title mol­ecule, C₂H₆OSe, has a trigonal–pyramidal structure analogous to that of its sulfur analog, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The Se—O distance in dimethyl selenoxide (DMSeO) is 1.6756 (16) Å [versus S—O of 1.531 (5) Å in DMSO], consistent with a highly polar σ bond. In the solid state, the mol­ecules of DMSeO are linked into centrosymmetric dimers formed by two C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. These dimers further aggregate into a ladder‐like supramolecular network via two additional inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions. As a result, each O atom of DMSeO acts as an acceptor of three hydrogen bonds.     

Cholesteric Molecular Tweezer Artificial Receptor for Rapid and Highly Selective Detection of Ag+ in Food Samples

Chiral cholesteric molecular tweezer 7a was synthesized, and its recognition properties for Ag⁺, Al³⁺, Ca²⁺ etc., were investigated by UV and fluorescence spectra. The results showed that in ethanol/Tris (1/1, v/v, pH 7.0) buffer solution, the host molecular tweezer 7a had a specific recognition ability for Ag⁺, the detection limit was up to 1 × 10⁻⁶ mol/L, and other metal ions had little effect on Ag⁺ recognition. At the same time, the naked-eye detection of Ag⁺ was realized by the light red color of the complex solution. Furthermore, the mechanism of recognition of Ag⁺ by molecular tweezer 7a was studied by a nuclear magnetic titration test and computer molecular simulation, and a rapid detection method of Ag⁺ using host molecular tweezer 7a was established. Through the determination of Ag⁺ in milk powder, quinoa and other food samples, it was proved that this novel method had a good application prospect for the detection of Ag⁺ in food.     

人工调控细胞表面受体聚集状态及功能

从利用物理刺激和生物大分子诱导两个方面综述了人工调控细胞表面受体聚集状态的策略.前者是利用相应的纳米材料在光、磁场、温度等物理刺激作用下实现人工调控受体聚集;后者则利用包括蛋白/多肽类分子、核酸在内的生物分子的自组装对其靶向识别的受体进行人工调控.系统介绍了相关研究领域取得的最新进展,并阐述和展望了该领域现存的挑战和发展方向.     

Anion-Anion Complexes Established between Aspartate Dimers

Stable dimers aspartate-aspartate have been studied in aqueous and gas phase through theoretical simulations. The polarizable continuum model (PCM) has been applied to simulate the effect of the hydration on monomers and complexes. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and the interacting quantum atoms (IQA) scheme has been used to inquire into if, in the aqueous phase, individual hydrogen bonds have attractive electrostatic components. In all cases a spontaneous formation of the complexes in the aqueous phase are observed, while in the gas phase a considerable energy barrier must be overcome (between 100.8 to 263.2 kJ mol⁻¹). The intermolecular distance at which this barrier is indicates when the hydrogen-bond interactions begin to take importance between the dimers and the corresponding molecular recognition among them. The IQA analysis shows that in aqueous phase, the hydrogen bonds N−H⋅⋅⋅O are mainly electrostatic in nature with a certain covalent character which increases linearly with the decrease of internuclear distances H⋅⋅⋅O. The H⋅⋅⋅H interactions observed are stabilizing and they are mainly quantum in nature.     

Aspartate: An interesting model for analyzing dipole-ion and ion pair interactions through its oppositely charged amine and acid groups

Anionic species of aspartic acid, Asp⁻, having a zwitterionic backbone and a deprotonated side chain, appears to be a good example for analyzing dipole-ion and ion pair interactions. Density functional theory calculations were herein performed to investigate the low energy conformers of Asp⁻ embedded in a dielectric continuum modeling an aqueous environment, through a scan of the potential energy as a function of the side chain (χ₁, χ₂) torsion angles. The most energetically favorable conformers having g⁺g⁻ and g⁻g⁺ side chain orientations are found to be stabilized by charge-enhanced intramolecular H-bonding involving the positively charged () and the two negatively charged (COO⁻) groups. These conformers were further used to analyze Asp⁻ + nW clusters (W: water, n = 1 or 3), and Asp⁻/Asp⁻ pair formation. COO⁻ groups were found to be the most attractive sites for hosting a water molecule (binding energy: −6.0 ± 1.5 kcal/mol), compared to groups (binding energy: −4.7 ± 1.1 kcal/mol). Energy separation between g⁺g⁻ and g⁻g⁺ conformers increases upon explicit hydration. Asp⁻/Asp⁻ ion pairs, stabilized by the interaction between the group of a partner and the COO⁻ group of the other, shows a quite constant binding energy (−8.1 ± 0.2 kcal/mol), whatever the pair type, and the relative orientation of the two interacting partners. This study suggests a first step to achieve a more realistic image of intermolecular interactions in aqueous environment, especially upon increasing concentration. It can also be considered as a preliminary attempt to assess the interactions of the Lys⁺…Asp⁻/Glu⁻ ion pairs stabilizing intra- and interchain interactions in proteins.     

A Watersoluble Sulfonatomethylated Calix[4]resorcinarene as Artificial Receptor of Metal Complexes

The binding of different sized and shaped metal complexes [Co(His)₂]ClO₄(1), [Co(en)₂C₂O₄]Cl (2) and [K18-crown-6]SCN (3)(en-ethylendiamine, His-L-histidynate-anion) with a new tetrasulfonatomethylcalix[4]resorcinarene([H₈X]Na4) was investigated in neutral and alkaline aqueous media by NMR and pH-metrictitration methods and compared with those of recently studied NMe₄Br (4). The resultsobtained indicate that the outer-sphere coordination of complexes 1–3 by[H₈X]^4- proceeds via the interaction of hydrophobic fragments of the guestswith both the negatively charged rim and the hydrophobic cavity as a -base. Thenature of binding does not change for cations 1, 2 and 4 on going from[H₈X]^4- in neutral to [H₄X]^8- in alkaline media, while the inclusionof 3 decreases on going from [H₈X]^4- to [H₄X]^8-.     

Enzyme Activity by Design: An Artificial Rhodium Hydroformylase for Linear Aldehydes

Artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) are hybrid catalysts that offer a unique opportunity to combine the superior performance of natural protein structures with the unnatural reactivity of transition‐metal catalytic centers. Therefore, they provide the prospect of highly selective and active catalytic chemical conversions for which natural enzymes are unavailable. Herein, we show how by rationally combining robust site‐specific phosphine bioconjugation methods and a lipid‐binding protein (SCP‐2L), an artificial rhodium hydroformylase was developed that displays remarkable activities and selectivities for the biphasic production of long‐chain linear aldehydes under benign aqueous conditions. Overall, this study demonstrates that judiciously chosen protein‐binding scaffolds can be adapted to obtain metalloenzymes that provide the reactivity of the introduced metal center combined with specifically intended product selectivity.