Covalent Imprinting and Covalent Rebinding of Benzyl Mercaptan: Towards a Facile Detection of Proteins

A novel synthetic benzyl mercaptan receptor with tunable binding sites was prepared by covalent imprinting using a disulfide linkage which was cleaved and able to recognize the benzyl mercaptan templates by reforming disulfide bonds through thiol–disulfide exchange. These covalently molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared using ambient ultraviolet radiation in comparison with thermal cross-linking at 80°C. Subsequent reduction of disulfide bonds resulted in the formation of surface thiol groups, followed by modification forming sodium thiolate as covalent binding sites. Covalent imprinting was found to be complementary in size, spatial effects, and chemical reactivity to benzyl mercaptan. This covalent rebinding and other various guest molecules were prepared by reforming disulfide bonds at room temperature in protic solvents. The results showed that rapid covalent rebinding is more efficient than other noncovalent interactions.     

Chiral nematic phase formation by aqueous suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals prepared by oxidation with ammonium persulfate

There is continuing interest in the growing family of nanocellulosic materials prepared from plant cell wall material. While most of the research on cellulose nanocrystals has focused on the product of sulfuric acid hydrolysis stabilized by surface sulfate half-esters, cellulose nanocrystals with surface carboxyl groups have also been prepared by oxidation of lignocellulosic materials with ammonium persulfate. The major difference is that the persulfate oxidation leads to nanocrystals stabilized by surface carboxyl groups. Some properties of cellulose nanocrystals from cotton and wood, prepared by persulfate oxidation, are compared with those observed for nanocrystals prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Evidence from polarized light microscopy showed that the nanocrystal suspensions prepared by persulfate oxidation also form chiral nematic ordered phases in water.     

羧甲基纤维素铜(Ⅱ)用于液态烃脱硫醇研究

用羧甲基纤维素钠和硫酸铜溶液制备出不溶性的羧甲基纤维素铜(Ⅱ)材料,以含16×１０-6噻吩和96×１０-6正戊硫醇的石油醚为模型样,研究了该材料对硫醇的脱除效果。结果表明,羧甲基纤维素铜(Ⅱ)在室温下以24.0h-1空速可以将模型样品中的硫醇完全脱除,模型样品的脱除容量达到925mL/g,脱硫醇容量1.86mmol/g。利用XPS研究材料使用前后铜离子价态的变化,发现材料中的正二价铜离子转变成正一价,通过GC MS分析脱硫醇后的模型样品硫醇的变化,确认硫醇被氧化生成二硫化物,从而证实了羧甲基纤维素铜(Ⅱ)材料脱硫醇是一个氧化-还原过程。     

Sulfur-containing polymers. IV. Preparation and properties of poly(sulfenyl thiocarbonates)

Poly(sulfenyl thiocarbonates) have been prepared for the first time by the stepwise condensation of chlorocarbonylsulfenyl chloride with diols and dithiols. The polymers were obtained in high yield. Generally they were crystalline solids and were soluble in chlorinated hydrocarbons. On treatment with benzyl mercaptan in the presence of triethylamine, the polymers afforded a diol, carbonyl sulfide, and a disulfide compound. This reaction was extended to the preparation of alternating copolydisulfides.     

Oxidation versus carboxamidomethylation of s-s bond in ranid frog peptides: Pro and contra for de novo MALDI-MS sequencing

Five natural peptides isolated from ranid skin secretions of European frog species of Rana ridibunda and Rana arvalis (molecular masses 3516, 2674, 2636, 1874, and 1810 Da) were studied by MALDI-TOF/TOF to compare two procedures of disulfide bond cleavage: (1) performic oxidation and (2) reduction/carboxamidomethylation. The processes are relevant for the elucidation of the amino acid sequence inside the seven-member cystine ring at the C-terminus. The results clearly demonstrated that oxidation of the disulfide bond led to notably higher abundances of b- and y-ions, corresponding to the C-terminal peptide bonds, than reduction/carboxamidomethylation. This conclusion is true for all five peptides studied. Besides that, the oxidation procedure is simpler than carboxamidomethylation, as it is a one-step process with no purification required. The oxidation is more reproducible. The results were similar each time the peptide was subjected to the process. It was successfully applied to all five peptides while reduction/carboxamidomethylation failed in the case of brevinin-1Ra, despite all variations of reaction conditions.     

Determination of volatile organic sulfur compounds in the air at sewage management areas by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The concentrations of seven volatile organic sulfur compounds (VOSCs) in air samples were determined by active collection on multisorbent tubes followed by two-stage thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The compounds studied were ethyl mercaptan (CH(3)CH(2)SH), dimethyl sulfide ((CH(3))(2)S), carbon disulfide (CS(2)), propyl mercaptan (C(3)H(8)S), butyl mercaptan (C(4)H(10)S), dimethyl disulfide ((CH(3))(2)S(2)) and 1-pentanethiol (C(5)H(12)S). Active collection on SilcoSteel multisorbent tubes enabled an air volume of 3000ml to be sampled without observing breakthrough. This study focused on an exhaustive sampling of several process steps or sections from sewage management plants. A wide range of concentrations was observed. Dimethyl sulfide, carbon disulfide and dimethyl disulfide were the most abundant compounds in all samples, the highest concentrations being 608.5microg m(-3), 658.5microg m(-3) and 857.8microg m(-3), respectively. The less appearing compound was ethyl mercaptan, which was only detected in the sludge digestion process at a maximum concentration of 14.8microg m(-3). The remaining compounds were detected and measured in about half the samples. The sections with the maximum values of VOSCs involved sludge processes such as mixing, thickening and digestion. The results were also strongly influenced by the design characteristics of the sampling point, e.g. whether the sample was taken at a confined site or in the open air.     

Positively and negatively charged ionic modifications to cellulose assessed as cotton-based protease-lowering and hemostatic wound agents

Recent developments in cellulose wound dressings targeted to different stages of wound healing have been based on structural and charge modifications that function to modulate events in the complex inflammatory and hemostatic phases of wound healing. Hemostasis and inflammation comprise two overlapping but distinct phases of wound healing wherein different dressing material properties are required to bring pathological events under control when they present as a result of trauma or chronic wounds. Thus, we have designed cellulose wound dressings with properties that function through modified fiber surface properties to lower protease levels in the chronic wound and promote clotting in hemorrhaging wounds. With this in mind three finishing chemistries utilizing traditional pad-dry-cure approaches were explored for their potential to confer charged properties to cotton dressings. Cellulose dressings designed to remove cationic serine proteases from highly exudative chronic wounds were created to present negatively charged fibers as an ion exchange mechanism of protease-lowering. Phosphorylated cotton and polycarboxylic acid crosslinked cotton were prepared to examine their ability to remove human neutrophil elastase (HNE) from surrogate wound fluid. A cellulose phosphorylation reaction utilizing sodium hexametaphosphate: urea was explored to optimize cellulose phosphorylation as a function of HNE sequestration efficacy. Acid catalyzed cross linking of cellulose with butane-tetracarboxylic acid also resulted in a negatively charged dressing that removed HNE from solution more effectively than phosphorylated cellulose. Collagenase sequestration was also assessed with phosphorylated cellulose and polycarboxylic acid cross linked cellulose derivatives. Butanetetracarboxylic acid and phosphorylated cellulose functioned to remove collagenase from solution most effectively. Cellulose dressings designed to accelerate thrombosis and aggregation of blood platelets were prepared with a view to examining derivatized cotton fibers bearing a net positive charge to promote hemostasis. Cellulose and chitosan dressings bearing an aminoglucan functionality were created by grafting chitosan on cotton and preparing aminized cotton. The preparation of chitosan-grafted cotton dressings was completed with a citric acid grafting onto cellulose. Aminized cotton was functionalized as an ethylamino-ether cellulose derivative. The chitosan-grafted and aminized cotton demonstrated a dose response gelling of citrated sheep blood.     

Role of thiol-disulfide exchange in insulin binding to its receptor.

The effects of reduction by DTT, oxidation by DTNB and treatment with NEM on the thiol contents and insulin binding to its receptor in mice liver membranes were studied. Reduction with DTT leads to a parallel increase in the thiol content and the specific binding of insulin to the membrane. Scatchard analysis of the results shows little change in the number of binding sites but a twofold increase of the binding constant. Washing the membrane with bound insulin by a DTT containing buffer results in a more marked increase in the release of bound insulin than washing with buffer alone, suggesting that part of the insulin is bound to its receptor by covalent disulfide linkages through a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction and reduction with DTT leads to a marked increase in this "disulfide-linked" insulin. Treatment with DTNB or NEM of the DTT-reduced membrane seems to reverse the effect of DTT reduction, although the reaction of the untreated membrane with DTNB or NEM had little or no effect on the specific binding of insulin. It is suggested that initially, part of the thiols responsible for the exchange reaction may not be available for reaction with DTNB and reduction with DTT generates further thiols leading to increased specific binding in general and increased insulin binding to the receptor through covalent disulfide linkages in particular.     

Reaction of Microcrystalline Cellulose with Water

The properties of microcrystalline cellulose prepared by classical (thermohydrolytic) and nonclassical (UHF) treatment of cotton cellulose are compared. The mechanisms of its reaction with water were studied to obtain stable gelatinous suspensions.     

Structure characterization of native cellulose during dehydration and rehydration

The goal of this study is to investigate the hydration and dehydration induced structural changes of native cellulose. Never dried cotton, and never dried bacterial cellulose with and without added matrix polymer xyloglucan, are examined under the influence of dehydration and rehydration. Significant crystal structure changes were observed in the later stage of drying for both cotton and bacterial cellulose (BC). The 1 % lateral expansion in glucan chain spacing and 17 % decrease of calculated Scherrer dimension were detected for cotton due to the distortion of the structure possibly caused by mechanical stresses associated with drying. No detectable changes on average glucan chain spacings were observed for large BC crystals. However, an average width decrease by 4.4 nm was discovered in the (010) direction, which was more significant than that observed in the (100) and (110) directions. It is hypothesized that co-crystallized elementary fibrils preferentially disassociate along the (010) plane resulting in a significant reduction of crystal width. In the BC-xyloglucan model composite, the presence of xyloglucan does not interfere with the dehydration behavior. Rehydration leads to some structural changes but to a lesser extent than the initial drying. High temperature dehydration induced deformation and crystal size changes are found to be non-reversible due to the removal of the last hydration layer on the cellulose surface.     

Enzymatic degradation of oxidized cellulose hydrogels

The cellulose-based hydrogel with abundant aldehyde groups was prepared by periodate oxidation of cellulose hydrogel prepared by dissolution-regeneration of cellulose by aqueous LiOH/urea solvent. Aldehyde groups could be introduced retaining the nanoporosity of the cellulose gel. The enzymatic degradation of three grades of oxidized cellulose hydrogel, with aldehyde contents of 3.3, 8.1 and 18.6 per 100 glucose unit, was carried out using solutions containing cellulase and β-glucosidase at 37 °C up to 48 h. The degradation of oxidized gels was remarkably slower than that of original cellulose gel, depending strongly on the degree of oxidation. The portion except for the amount of glucose released was greater than the degree of oxidation, but became closer to the latter with increase in the degree of oxidation. This behavior can be interpreted in terms of the enzymatic recognition of the chemically modified cellulose chains.     

Ion-exchange chromatography by dicarboxyl cellulose gel.

A new column packing material for ion-exchange chromatography was prepared from cellulose gel by periodate oxidation followed by chlorite oxidation to form spatially paired carboxyl groups (dicarboxyl cellulose, DCC). The carboxyl group was quantitatively introduced to spherical cellulose gel by controlling the extent of oxidation. The DCC gels were examined for their ion-exchange activity for various amines at pH of 2.5-5.5. In this pH range, aromatic amines with acid dissociation constant (pKa) below 2.7 showed no interaction with DCC gels as expected from their lack of protonation. The amines with pKa greater than 3.3, both aromatic and aliphatic, showed strong interaction corresponding to the amount of carboxyl introduced to the gel. However, these amines showed anomalous dependence on pH of the mobile phase, showing a maximum in retention factor at around pH 4. This is in contrast with the nearly constant retention factor of these amines on conventional carboxylated cellulose packing at pH greater than 4.0. The maximum retention factor at pH 4 of DCC gel was 4-5-times greater than that of conventional gel having a similar amount of carboxyls. Since pKa of dicarboxyl groups ranges 3-5 as determined by acid-base titration, the pH giving maximum retention corresponds to the pH at which one of paired carboxyls is dissociated. Possible cause of this anomaly is presented in terms of dissociation state of dicarboxyl groups and its interaction with amines.     

Synthesis of Cellulose Long-Chain Esters in 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Acetate: Structure-Property Relations

In this study, we prepared cellulose long-chain esters homogeneously in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, using cotton linter as the raw material, long-chain fatty acid as the esterification agent and paratoluensulfonyl chloride as the co-reactant. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the product. The maximum degree of substitution was found to be 1.53 when the molar ratio of cellulose, lauric acid and paratoluensulfonyl chloride was 1 : 6 : 6, provided that the reaction temperature was 60°C and the reaction time was 24 h. The mechanical property of the free-film made of cellulose laurate was also tested. It was found that the toughness of cellulose laurate was much better than that of cellulose acetate.     

Thermal Degradation of Cotton Cellulose

The thermal degradation of cotton cellulose treated with chemical mixtures containing P and N was studied by thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy, Char yield and limiting-oxygen-index (LOI). Our experiments demonstrated the following facts. The temperatures and activation energies of pyrolysis were lower for cotton cellulose treated with flame retardants than those for untreated samples and the values of Char yield and LOI were greater for treated cotton than those for untreated one. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Catalytic decomposition of dimethyl disulfide

We have studied dimethyl disulfide conversion on heterogeneous catalysts in a flow setup at T=250–350°C and atmospheric pressure. Methyl mercaptan appears to be the main reaction product. The rate of dimethyl disulfide decomposition and its selectivity towards methyl mercaptan in H₂S medium are higher than those in pure helium. Thus the process seems to involve the surface protons formed upon dissociative H₂S chemisorption.     

2.3 Wood pulp manufacturing and quality characteristics

Cellulose acetate being important in the fiber and textile industries is usually prepared from high quality cellulose such as cotton linters and wood pulps with an alpha cellulose content of more than 95%. In this section, therefore, wood pulps and cotton linters appropriate for cellulose acetate production were discussed in their chemical and physical properties so as to use them judiciously as natural raw materials for cellulose acetate production.     

二苯硫脲纤维分离富集原子吸收法测定地质样品中痕量金

采用自行研究合成的二苯硫脲纤维素分离富集，并用火焰原子吸收法测定了地质样品中痕量金，系统研究了题示方法的各种条件，该法简便快速，测定准确，经济实用，具有推广价值。     

Chemical interactions and yellowing in chitosan-treated cellulose

The chemical interactions between cellulose and chitosan were studied in chitosan-treated celluloses using diffuse reflectance spectroscopic techniques (UV-Vis and FTIR) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The materials were obtained by treating pure cotton cellulose with chitosan in dilute acetic acid solutions of different concentration, and some samples were exposed to different thermal treatments in air. Other related materials, including cellulose treated with benzyl amine and chitosan-treated with acetaldehyde, were also prepared and studied as models for chitosan-treated celluloses. The spectra of the treated celluloses showed new absorption and emission bands that revealed the existence of chemical interactions. These bands were assigned to conjugated imines produced in the reaction of the chitosan amino groups with cellulose carbonyl groups. The reaction is strongly amplified at temperatures above 100 °C, causing the intense yellowing of chitosan-treated celluloses.     

Separation and determination of emetine dithiocarbamate metal complexes by capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection of the tris(2,2'-bipyridine)-ruthenium(II) complex

A new cellulose-based anion-exchanger was prepared by grafting polyallylamine onto cellulose. The material was obtained by partial oxidation of a size-exclusion grade cellulose gel by aq. NaIO4, forming dialdehyde cellulose, followed by Schiff base formation with a polyallylamine (PAA, molecular mass 5000) and subsequent reduction for stabilization. Three grades of PAA-cellulose gels, with amino group contents of 0.78, 1.01 and 1.28 mmol/g cellulose, were examined for their ionic interaction with mono- and divalent carboxylic acids at pH 2.5-5.5. While the retention factor for monovalent acids was nearly proportional to the amino group content of the gel, that for divalent acids was remarkably greater for the PAA-cellulose gel than for the conventional diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose gel bearing more amino groups (1.97 mmol/g cellulose). Such high capacity can be explained by the high local density of amino groups on grafted PAA, in contrast to the random and sparse charge distribution in conventional exchangers.     

THE ACTION OF U.V. LIGHT OF VARIOUS WAVELENGTHS ON PAPAIN

Abstract— Papain, prepared according to Kimmel and Smith is activated by irradiation with u.v. light of 254, 280 and 313 nm (φ_A= 0·022 ± 10 per cent). This activation is caused by the reductive splitting of a mixed disulfide in position 25. This disulfide is split with higher probability than any of the three structural disulfide links. This selectivity is likely caused by specific reduction of the mixed disulfide by thiol groups produced elsewhere in the molecule, although specific reduction by direct photochemical processes cannot be completely excluded on the basis of the data available. The quantum yields for destruction of structural cystine residues at the three wavelengths are comparable with the yields of cystine destruction in other proteins. The data also confirm that quanta absorbed by aromatic amino acid residues contribute to cystine destruction. In contrast to other enzymes with structural disulfide bonds, however, no correlation was found between the destruction of disulfide links and loss in activity. The results suggest that the mechanism of papain inactivation is not only dependent on the wavelength, but also on the dose.