Study on interaction between antibiotics and Escherichia coli DH5α by microcalorimetric method

A microcalorimetric technique based on the bacterial heat output was applied to evaluate the influence of antibiotics PIP (Piperacillin Sodium) and composite preparation of PIP and SBT (Sulbactam Sodium) on the growth of E. coli DH5α. The power–time curves of the growth metabolism of E. coli DH5α were studied using a TAM Air Isothermal Microcalorimeter at 37°C. By analyzing the power–time curves, the parameters such as growth rate constants (k), inhibitory ratio (I), the maximum heat power (P _m) and the time of the maximum heat power (t _m) were obtained. The results show that different concentrations of antibiotics affect the growth metabolism of E. coli DH5α. The PIP in the concentration range of 0–0.05 μg mL^–1 has a stimulatory effect on the E. coli DH5α growth, while the PIP of higher concentrations (0.05 –0.25 μg mL^–1) can inhibit its growth. It seems that the composite preparation composed of PIP and SBT cannot improve the inhibitory effect on E. coli DH5α as compared with the PIP.     

Microcalorimetric Study of the Screening Specific Promoter Bacteria of Nutrient Drug

The power vs. time curves of the promoter bacteria of a nutrient drug were determined by using a 2277 Thermal Activity Monitor (Sweden). A new experimental model of bacterial growth were established. The growth rate constant, heat output and optimum concentration of specific promoter bacterial of nutrient drug were calculated.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于微量热法的板蓝根提取方法和活性部位挑选

应用TAM Air微量热系统, 采用微量热法, 考察不同提取方法的板蓝根水煎液及其化学萃取部位在37 ℃时, 对大肠杆菌生长代谢的影响. 结合中医药理论, 分析板蓝根水煎液及其化学萃取部分的药效作用及其差异, 挑选板蓝根药材最佳的提取方法和抑菌最强的活性部位, 并采用试管稀释法求出抑菌活性最强部位的最小抑菌浓度(MIC). 结果表明微量热法可用于常用中药——板蓝根的提取方法和活性部位的挑选, 为进一步研究中药的药性基础提供了一种新的、快速灵敏的技术和方法.     

Calorimetric study of the effect of protoberberine alkaloids in Coptis chinensis Franch on Staphylococcus aureus growth

The effects of five protoberberine alkaloids (PBAs) from rhizoma of Coptis chinensis Franch on Staphylococcus aureus growth were investigated by calorimetry. The power-time curves of S. aureus with and without PBA were measured in closed glass ampoules in a TAM Air isothermal calorimeter. And, the extent and duration of inhibitory effects on the metabolism were evaluated by growth rate constant (k), half inhibitory ratio (IC₅₀), maximum heat-output (P_max) and peak time (t_p). The obtained calorimetric data showed that the inhibitory action varied for different protoberberine alkaloid. The results also revealed that the sequence of antimicrobial activity of five PBAs was: berberine>coptisine>palmatine>epiberberine>jatrorrhizine. One explanation could be substitutions at several positions in the core structure of berberine possess different antimicrobial activity. In conclusion, it can be proposed that this technique should be as a useful analytical method for determining the bioactivity of PBAs.     

Antifungal evaluation of cholic acid and its derivatives on Candida albicans by microcalorimetry and chemometrics

In the last few years, several fungus infections caused by multidrug-resistant pathogenic agents have got tremendous emergence and prevalence. Screening for novel antifungal agents is in great demand, but traditional microbiological techniques are far from sufficient to meet that requirement. In this study, a non-invasive and non-destructive microcalorimetric method was performed to investigate the antifungal activities of cholic acid (CA) and its derivatives, glycocholic acid (GCA) and taurocholic acid (TCA) on the multiplying and non-multiplying metabolism of Candida albicans. Then, the heat-flow power-time curves of C. albicans growth affected by different concentrations of CA, GCA and TCA were studied by similarity analysis (SA), the quantitative thermokinetic parameters from these curves were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and principal component analysis (PCA). By comparing the values of two main parameters, P₂ (the heat-flow output power of the highest peak) and Q₂ (the heat output of the second exponential growth phase) of C. albicans, it could be found that CA had the strongest antifungal activity among the three steroid compounds, which might be used as a potential antifungal agent in the future. This study provided a useful method and idea of microcalorimetry with chemometrics to efficiently evaluate the antifungal activities of bile acid derivatives, giving some references for screening out new antifungal agents.However, it has to be stressed that all these experiments are carried out in vitro and they still require clinical validation.     

微量热法研究黄连及其主要组分配伍的抑菌作用

基于微量热法,研究黄连、黄连的主要组分小檗碱、药根碱、巴马汀及其配伍模拟方的抑菌作用.以HPLC法测定黄连中小檗碱、药根碱和巴马汀的含量,并根据其含量比值配伍模拟方;微量热法测定黄连、小檗碱、药根碱、巴马汀及其模拟方对痢疾杆菌的生长代谢曲线,得出相应的热动力学参数,并进行对应分析.结果表明黄连、小檗碱、药根碱、巴马汀及其模拟方对痢疾杆菌的生长代谢均有不同程度的抑制作用,黄连作用最强,单体生物碱作用弱,配伍模拟方作用增强,但并未显现明显协同作用,黄连的抑菌作用可能为多种活性成分的综合作用.     

Investigation of the influence of NaCl concentration on Halobacterium salinarum growth

Microcalorimetry was used to study the influence of NaCl concentration on Halobacterium salinarum growth. From the thermogenic curves and thermokinetic parameters of H. salinarum growth in different concentrations of NaCl, it was found that the optimum NaCl concentration for H. salinarum growth was not a wide range from 3.5 mol L^–1 to NaCl saturation (about 5.2 mol L^–1), as is generally acknowledged, but just around 230 g L^–1 (approximately 3.9 mol L^–1). And when external NaCl concentration was above 230 g L^–1, the growth metabolism of H. salinarum decreased constantly with the increasing of NaCl concentration. These have never been described before. Further investigation by transmission electron microscopy revealed that H. salinarum growing in approaching NaCl saturation underwent plasmolysis, which interpreted the novel finding of microcalorimetry perfectly. Our work shows that microcalorimetry may reveal more and newer details about microbial growth than the existing methods do. These details are significant to understand biological processes.     

Microcalorimetric investigation of the effect of berberine alkaloids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Coptis chinensis</Emphasis> Franch on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> growth

The inhibitory effects of three berberine alkaloids (BAs) from rhizome of Coptis chinensis Franch, a traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) herb, on Staphylococcus aureus growth were investigated by microcalorimetry. The power-time curves of S. aureus with and without BAs were acquired; meanwhile the extent and duration of inhibitory effects on the metabolism were evaluated by studying the growth rate constant (k), half inhibitory ratio (IC₅₀), maximum heat-output power (P _max), peak time of maximum heat-output power (t _p) and total heat production (Q _t). The value of k of S. aureus in the presence of the three BAs decreased with the increasing concentrations of BAs. Moreover, P _max was reduced and the value of t _p increased with increasing concentrations of the three drugs. The inhibitory activity varied with different drugs. The values of IC₅₀ of the three BAs are respectively, 101.4 μg/mL for berberine, 241.0 μg/mL for palmatine and 792.3 μg/mL for jateorrhizine. The sequence of antimicrobial activity of the three BAs is: berberine > palmatine > jateorrhizine. It is suggested that the functional group methylenedioxy or methoxyl at C2 on the phenyl ring could possibly improve antimicrobial activity more strongly than hydroxyl at C2 on the phenyl ring. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30625042)     

GpdA-promoter-controlled production of glucose oxidase by recombinant aspergillus niger using nonglucose carbon sources

The gpdA-promoter-controlled exocellular production of glucose oxidase (GOD) by recombinant Aspergillus niger NRRL-3 (GOD3-18) during growth on glucose and nonglucose carbon sources was investigated. Screening of various carbon substrates in shake-flask cultures revealed that exocellular GOD activities were not only obtained on glucose but also during growth on mannose, fructose, and xylose. The performance of A. niger NRRL-3 (GOD3-18) using glucose, fructose, or xylose as carbon substrate was compared in more detail in bioreactor cultures. These studies revealed that gpdA-promoter-controlled GOD synthesis was strictly coupled to cell growth. The gpdA-promoter was most active during growth on glucose. However, the unfavorable rapid GOD-catalyzed transformation of glucose into gluconic acid, a carbon source not supporting further cell growth and GOD production, resulted in low biomass yields and, therefore, reduced the advantageous properties of glucose. The total (endo- and exocellular) specific GOD activities were lowest when growth occurred on fructose (only a third of the activity that was obtained on glucose), whereas utilization of xylose resulted in total specific GOD activities nearly as high as reached during growth on glucose. Also, the portion of GOD excreted into the culture fluid reached similar high levels (≅ 90%) by using either glucose or xylose as substrate, whereas growth on fructose resulted in a more pelleted morphology with more than half the total GOD activity retained in the fungal biomass. Finally, growth on xylose resulted in the highest biomass yield and, consequently, the highest total volumetric GOD activity. These results show that xylose is the most favorable carbon substrate for gpdA-promoter-controlled production of exocellular GOD.     

Study on eruption of heat for Escherichia coli B aroused by lanthanum nitrate and its mechanism

Biological effect of rare-earth lanthanum nitrate on the growth of Escherichia coli B was studied using the calorimetric method. There were exceptional changes on the growth thermogenic curves for high concentrations of lanthanum nitrate. For example, the peak high, the total quantity of heat (Q) of cultures and the growth rate constants (k) are evidently increased when compared with normal E. coli B cultures. When the concentration of lanthanum nitrate was at 300 mg/L and 500 mg/L, and Q of the cultures reached 3.89 and 2.54 times of normal cultures, respectively. The survivability of cells and the biomass of the cultures were measured using biological methods and the results show that the growth and multiplication of cells were inhibited and that the biomass decreased at high concentration of lanthanum nitrate. These revealed that the inhibiting cells discharged more quantity of heat than the normal growing cells. We named this phenomenon as “eruption of heat”. It was suggested that the mechanism for the eruption of heat was that La³⁺ ion damages the outer cell membrane and increases its permeability and the proton-electron potential energy across the cell membrane was reduced or couldn’t even be initiated. Energy could not be translated into ATP effectively in the course of oxidative phosphorylation resulting in heat release. So, the growth of the cells was inhibited due to scarceness of energy ATP. __________ Translated from Acta Chimica Sinica, 2007, 65(10): 917–922 [译自: 化学学报]     

Qualitative and quantitative analyses of three bioactive compounds in different parts of Forsythia suspensa by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

A high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) analytical method was developed to simultaneously detect and quantify three main distinctive compounds (forsythiaside, rutin and forsythin) in different parts of Forsythia suspensa (F. suspensa), an herbal medicine. This was the first report on the quantification of bioactive constituents in different parts of F. suspensa by HPLC-ESI-MS analytical method. The calibration curves of the three compounds showed good linearity (R² > 0.9994). The method was reproducible with intra- and inter-day variation less than 1.35% and 2.00%, respectively. The recovery of the assay was in the range of 98.27–101.07%. The results indicated that the developed assay could be considered as a suitable quality control method for this commonly used herbal medicine.     

The complete closed coexistence curves for 2H,3H,6H,7H,8H-5,8-(Dimethylmethano)-5(R)-methylquinoxaline with water and with deuterium oxide

The complete closed solubility curves for 2H, 3H, 6H, 7H, 8H-5,8-(dimethylmethano)-5(R)-methylquinoxaline with water and with deuterium oxide have been determined. With water the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) was found to be 51.4°C and the critical solution temperature (CST) was found to be 215.0°C. With deuterium oxide the values were 40.4°C for the LSCT and 221.7°C for the CST. The deuterium oxide curve completely encompassed the water curve. Solution compositions at the critical temperatures were also determined.     

Composition and in vitro Antifungal Activity of Essential Oils of Erigeron canadensis and Myrtus communis from France

Essential oils of Erigeron canadensis L. and Myrtus communis L. were tested in vitro as growth inhibitors against phytopathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn, Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc. and Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. & Magn.) Briosi & Cav. Both showed weak fungicidal acitivity, except the essential oil of M. communis that exerted a 60% growth inhibition against R. Solani at a dose of 1600 ppm. Microscopic observation revealed that the essential oil of M. Communis caused morphological alterations of hyphae of all fungi at 1600 ppm, while, at the same dose, only the hyphal morphology of C. Lindemuthianum was affected by the essential oil of Er. Canadensis.     

Excess Molar Volumes of Binary Mixtures of Acetonitrile with n-Alkanols at 25°C

Molar excess volumes of acetonitrile with ten n-alkanols (from methanol to decanol) were determined from density measurements at 25°C and normal atmospheric pressure, using a vibrating-tube densimeter. V ^E for acetonitrile + methanol mixtures are negative over the entire range of mole fractions. The ethanol and propanol mixtures exhibit sigmoidal curves and positive values are obtained for all remaining mixtures. The results for V ^E were compared with those obtained using several theoretical models.     

Diffusion and Immobilization Mechanisms in Zeolites Studied by ZLC Chromatography

Zero Length Column chromatography was used to study mass transfer in zeolites involving coupled diffusion and immobilization mechanisms. A modeling based on Volterra integral equation technique was utilized to simulate sorption and desorption kinetic curves and compare results of the simulations with experimentally obtained curves. This approach was applied to analyze sorption kinetics in the model system: toluene/silicalite-1 (75°C–178°C). The system generally shows a non-Fickian behavior and can be described by diffusion coupled with immobilization.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Enthalpies of solution of Nal in aqueous isobutanol,sec-butanol,andtert-butanol mixtures

Enthalpies of solution of Nal in aqueous isobutanol,sec-butanol, andtert-butanol mixtures in the complete miscibility range of the alcohols have been measured. The standard enthalpy of solution vs. composition curves exhibit maximum in the water-rich region and a minimum in the non-aqueous region.     

Magnetische Messungen im Nahordnungsbereich vonHeusler-Phasen (Co,T)2 XY

Magnetic measurements onHeusler alloys (Co,T)₂ XY (field and temperature dependence) are performed around theCurie points (temperature range:T _C–50 toT _C+50). A method otherwise used to get rid of ferromagnetic impurities only ( _g versus 1/H plot) is applied to pure ferromagnets and yields completely new _g (extrap.) versusT curves with a maximumT _max> T _C. The method was applied to pure gadolinium first which has aCurie point within the accessible region of the susceptibility measuring device.

     

Catalysis of the hydrolysis of esters of phosphorus acids byn-decylammonium chloride /n-decylamine mixed micelles

The effect ofn-decylammonium chloride/n-decylamine mixed micelles on the rate of hydrolysis of aryl esters of acids of four-coordinate phosphorus was studied spectrophotometrically. The shape of the concentration curves is characteristic of the micellar catalysis reactions. The binding constants of the substrate, critical micelle concentrations, and the rate constants in the micellar phase were determined. A specific effect of the structure of substrates on these parameters was shown.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 2003–2006, August, 1996.     

HPLC monitored synthesis of R2NCH2 substituted benzene derivatives used as (C,N)-ligands for organometallic compounds

2-(Diethylaminomethyl)phenyl bromide and 1,3-bis(dimethylaminomethyl)-benzene, useful ligands for the synthesis of hypervalent organometallic compounds, were prepared and characterized by NMR (¹H, ¹³C, 2D experiments) spectroscopy. Their synthesis was monitored by the HPLC method. The compounds were eluted on a Nucleosil 120 Si column (5 μm, 25×0.4 cm) with n-hexane at room temperature using a 1.0 ml/min flow-rate. The maximum values of absorbance for the studied compounds, excepting the diethylamine, were located in a narrow range around 212 nm, the wavelength used for their UV detection. The diethylamine was detected at 190 nm. The calibration curves are straight lines with correlation factors r>0.995. The HPLC data are in good agreement with those provided by NMR spectroscopy.     

Phytoremediation of arsenic by two hyperaccumulators in a hydroponic environment

Phytofiltration involves the use of plants to remove toxic compounds from water. Arsenic is an element of considerable environmental and toxicological interest because of its potential deleterious effects upon human health. In this research, a laboratory-constructed hydroponic system was employed to characterize phytofiltration for the uptake of arsenic and macronutrients by two arsenic hyperaccumulators, Pteris cretica cv Mayii (Moonlight fern) and Pteris vittata (Chinese brake fern). Arsenic was shown to preferentially accumulate in the leaves and stems of P. cretica cv Mayii compared to roots. The amounts of the macronutrients calcium and phosphorous absorbed were compared for control plants (growth solution) and plants exposed to arsenic(III) (growth solution and arsenic(III)). Significant differences in the concentration levels of the macronutrients were observed in roots, stems, and leaves between the control and arsenic-exposed plants. The arsenic contents of entire P. vittata plants exposed to hydroponic solutions containing arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) were compared, and no significant difference was observed.