Electrochemical Nickel-Catalyzed Selective Inter- and Intramolecular Arylations of Cysteine-Containing Peptides**

Here we report a simple electrochemical route towards the synthesis of S-arylated peptides by a site selective coupling of peptides with aryl halides under base free conditions. This approach demonstrates the power of electrochemistry to access both highly complex peptide conjugates and cyclic peptides.     

Bioelectrochemistry for sensing amino acids,peptides, proteins and DNA interactions

Oxidative damage to peptides, proteins and DNA is considered to be one of the major causes of cancer and age-related diseases. The interaction of biomolecules, peptides, proteins, nucleic acids and pharmaceuticals with solid electrode surfaces is not only a fundamental phenomenon but also a key to important and novel analytical sensing applications in biosensors, biotechnology, medical devices and drug-delivery schemes. Electrochemical methods can provide insight into the redox mechanisms and the electron-transfer reactions of a variety of fundamental biological processes.     

Spatially Resolved Immobilization of Peptides by Electrochemical Polymerization after Photolytic Cleavage of a Protecting Group

Microstructuring of surfaces: Electrochemical polymerization after removal of a photolabile protecting group (nitrobenzyl group) represents a new method for spatially resolved immobilization of ligands or receptors. Thus, the electropolymerization of 3-hydroxyphenylacetyl peptides such as 1 on electrodes can be controlled by light     

Analysis of food proteins and peptides by chromatography and mass spectrometry

The research topics and the analytical strategies dealing with food proteins and peptides are summarized. Methods for the separation and purification of macromolecules of food concern by both high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on conventional packings and perfusion HPLC are examined. Special attention is paid to novel methodologies such those based on multi-dimensional systems that comprise liquid-phase based protein separation, protein digestion and mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of food peptide and proteins. Recent applications of chromatography and MS-based techniques for the analysis of proteins and peptides in food are discussed.     

Signature-peptide approach to detecting proteins in complex mixtures

The objective of the work presented in this paper was to test the concept that tryptic peptides may be used as analytical surrogates of the protein from which they were derived. Proteins in complex mixtures were digested with trypsin and classes of peptide fragments selected by affinity chromatography, lectin columns were used in this case. Affinity selected peptide mixtures were directly transferred to a high-resolution reversed-phase chromatography column and further resolved into fractions that were collected and subjected to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. The presence of specific proteins was determined by identification of signature peptides in the mass spectra. Data are also presented that suggest proteins may be quantified as their signature peptides by using isotopically labeled internal standards. Isotope ratios of peptides were determined by MALDI mass spectrometry and used to determine the concentration of a peptide relative to that of the labeled internal standard. Peptides in tryptic digests were labeled by acetylation with acetyl N-hydroxysuccinimide while internal standard peptides were labeled with the trideuteroacetylated analogue. Advantages of this approach are that (i) it is easier to separate peptides than proteins, (ii) native structure of the protein does not have to be maintained during the analysis, (iii) structural variants do not interfere and (iv) putative proteins suggested from DNA databases can be recognized by using a signature peptide probe.     

Recent liquid chromatographic-(tandem) mass spectrometric applications in proteomics

Conventional proteomics makes use of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by mass spectrometric analysis of tryptic fragments derived from in-gel digestion of proteins. Although being a very strong technique capable of separating and visualizing hundreds of proteins, 2D-gel electrophoresis has some well-documented disadvantages as well. More recently, liquid chromatographic-(tandem) mass spectrometric techniques have been developed to overcome some of the shortcomings of 2D-gel electrophoresis. In this review we have described several recent applications of liquid chromatography-(tandem) mass spectrometry in the field of proteomics and especially in the field of membrane proteomics, quantitative proteomics and in the analysis of post-translational modifications.     

Effects of Combinatorial Expression of selA,selB and selC Genes on the Efficiency of Selenocysteine Incorporation in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, four gene products(selA, selB, selC and selD) and a selenocysteine(Sec) insertion sequence(SECIS) are required for the correct translation of UGA codons encoding Sec. Previous studies have shown that the stoichiometry of selenoproteine mRNA and elongation factor SelB affect the efficiency of Sec incorporation. Herein lies a detailed analysis of the effects of co-expressing selA, selB and selC genes under inducible promoters on the incorporation efficiency of Sec. Over-expression of either selA or selB reduced the efficiency of Sec incorporation by 61.1% or 11.6%, respectively, compared to the over-expression of the reporter vector alone did. Concomitant over-expression of selC with selA or selB completely reversed the reduce of the efficiency of Sec but still reduced the efficiency of the incorporation relative to that observed for expression of selC alone. Over-expression of selC gene alone under L-arabinose induction reduced the efficiency of the incorporation relative to that observed for co-expressing selC with selA and selB under the control of its endogenous promoter in the absence of L-arabinose. Co-expression of selA, selB and selC with selA or selB under the control of inducible promoters increased the efficiency of Sec incorporation by 69.7%. Moreover, inducing selenoprotein-related gene expression during the late exponential phase increased the efficiency of Sec incorporation by a factor of 5.4 relative to that observed for the reporter vector alone. These results suggest that the co-expression of selA, selB and selC in Escherichia coli under the control of inducible promoters is a viable and promising strategy for increasing the yields of selenoproteins.     

延胡索酸泰妙菌素在碳糊电极上的电化学性质及电分析方法

运用循环伏安法(CV)、计时电流法(CA)和计时电量法(CC)研究了延胡索酸泰妙菌素(Tiamulin fumarate,TF)在碳糊电极(Carbon Paste Electrode,CPE)上的电化学及其电化学动力学性质。结果表明,TF在CPE上的电化学过程是一不可逆的氧化过程,氧化峰电位Ep为0.772 V。在扫描速度10～1 000 mV.s-1范围内,其氧化峰电流Ip与扫描速度v呈良好的线性关系,表明TF在CPE上的伏安行为是一受吸附控制的过程。方波伏安(SWV)法结果表明TF氧化峰电流与其浓度在5.0×10-7～1.0×10-5mol.L-1及1.0×10-5～1.0×10-4mol.L-1范围内均呈良好的线性关系,相关系数r分别为0.9980及0.9966,检出限(S/N=3)为5.8×10-8mol.L-1,相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.8%～2.8%,加样回收率为97.6%～102.0%。据此建立了TF含量的电化学测定方法。该方法简便快捷,测定结果令人满意。     

Chalcogen Bonds in Selenocysteine Seleninic Acid,a Functional GPx Constituent,and in Other Seleninic or Sulfinic Acid Derivatives

The controlled oxidation reaction of L-selenocystine under neutral pH conditions affords selenocysteine seleninic acid (3-selenino-L-alanine) which is characterized also by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction. This technique shows that selenium forms three chalcogen bonds (ChBs), one of them being outstandingly short. A survey of seleninic acid derivatives in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) confirms that the C−Se(=O)O− functionality tends to act as a ChB donor robust enough to systematically influence the interactional landscape in the solid. Quantum Theory of Atom in Molecules (QTAIM) analysis proves the attractive nature of the short contacts observed in crystals containing the seleninic functionality and calculation of surface molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) reveals that remarkably positive σ-holes can frequently be found opposite to the covalent bonds at selenium. Both CSD searches and QTAIM and MEP approaches show that also the sulfinic acid moiety can function as a ChB donor, albeit less frequently than the seleninic acid one. These findings may contribute to a better understanding, at the atomic level, of the mechanism of action of the enzymes that control oxidative stress and ROS deactivation and that contain selenocysteine seleninic acid and cysteine sulfinic acid in the active site.     

Genetic Fusion of Thermoresponsive Polypeptides with UCST-type Behavior Mediates 1D Assembly of Coiled-Coil Bundlemers

Thermoresponsive resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs) of various lengths were genetically fused to two different computationally designed coiled coil-forming peptides with distinct thermal stability, to develop new strategies to assemble coiled coil peptides via temperature-triggered phase separation of the RLP units. Their successful production in bacterial expression hosts was verified via gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and amino acid analysis. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis) turbidimetry, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements confirmed the stability of the coiled coils and showed that the thermosensitive phase behavior of the RLPs was preserved in the genetically fused hybrid polypeptides. Cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy and coarse-grained modeling revealed that functionalizing the coiled coils with thermoresponsive RLPs leads to their thermally triggered noncovalent assembly into nanofibrillar assemblies.     

Electrochemical Oxidation of Metolazone at a Glassy Carbon Electrode

Metolazone is a diuretic agent used in patients with edematous states and/or hypertension. The electrochemical behavior of metolazone on a glassy carbon electrode was investigated using cyclic, differential pulse, and square‐wave voltammetry at different pHs. The pH dependent oxidation of metolazone occurs in two consecutive steps in a diffusion‐controlled mechanism and involves the formation of a main oxidation product. The first oxidation process is reversible, and involves two electrons and two protons corresponding to the oxidation of nitrogen in the sulfonamide moiety. The second oxidation process is irreversible, also occurs in the sulfonamide moiety, involves a one electron‐transfer, and is followed by deprotonation to produce a cation radical, which reacts with water and yields a hydroxylated product. The diffusion coefficient of metolazone was calculated to be 3.43×10^?6 cm² s^?1 in pH 7.0 0.1 M phosphate buffer.     

吡硫醇在单壁碳纳米管修饰电极上电化学行为的研究

研究了吡硫醇在单壁碳纳米管修饰电极上的电化学行为,提出了一种检测吡硫醇的电化学方法.在0.1 mol/L的NaAc-HAc(pH 4.0)缓冲溶液中,吡硫醇在单壁碳纳米管修饰电极上出现一灵敏的氧化峰,峰电位位于0094 V处.与裸玻碳电极相比,单壁碳纳米管修饰电极显著提高了吡硫醇的氧化峰电流.在最佳实验条件下,吡硫醇浓度在9.9×10~(-6)～5.7×10~(-4) mol/L范围内与峰电流呈良好的线性关系,检出限为2.98×10~(-7) mol/L.吡硫醇在单壁碳纳米管修饰电极上的氧化过程受吸附控制,为1电子2质子的过程.     

Electrochemical Processes for the Enrichment of Isotopes

The principles of electrochemical methods of isotope separation and the results obtained are described. The migration of ions in salt melts and solutions, complex formation in the homogeneous phase, electrolysis, ion-exchange equilibria, and exchange electrolysis are discussed in detail.     

Synthesis of hexaphenylbenzene-based template assembled synthetic proteins

Template-assembled synthetic proteins (TASPs) synthesized from rigid templates have attracted attention due to their interesting structural architectures and potential biomedical applications. Herein, we report the design, synthesis and characterizations of TASPs based on hexaphenylbenzene template (HPB) having twelve peptide attachable axial-arms in its structure. The peptides were attached to all the axial-arms of the template in a single step using simple solution phase peptide coupling strategy. The reaction conditions were standardized systematically using simple amines from smaller size to larger ones.     

Genetically engineered peptide fusions for improved protein partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems. Effect of fusion localization on endoglucanase I of Trichoderma reesei

Genetic engineering has been used for fusion of the peptide tag, Trp-Pro-Trp-Pro, on a protein to study the effect on partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems. As target protein for the fusions the cellulase, endoglucanase I (endo-1,4-beta-Dglucan-4-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.4, EGI, Cel7B) of Trichoderma reesei was used. For the first time a glycosylated two-domain enzyme has been utilized for addition of peptide tags to change partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems. The aim was to find an optimal fusion localization for EGI. The peptide was (1) attached to the C-terminus end of the cellulose binding domain (CBD), (2) inserted in the glycosylated linker region, (3) added after a truncated form of EGI lacking the CBD and a small part of the linker. The different constructs were expressed in the filamentous fungus T. reesei under the gpdA promoter from Aspergillus nidulans. The expression levels were between 60 and 100 mg/l. The partitioning behavior of the fusion proteins was studied in an aqueous two-phase model system composed of the thermoseparating ethylene oxide (EO)-propylene oxide (PO) random copolymer EO-PO (50:50) (EO50PO50) and dextran. The Trp-Pro-Trp-Pro tag was found to direct the fusion protein to the top EO50PO50 phase. The partition coefficient of a fusion protein can be predicted with an empirical correlation based on independent contributions from partitioning of unmodified protein and peptide tag in this model system. The fusion position at the end of the CBD, with the spacer Pro-Gly, was shown to be optimal with respect to partitioning and tag efficiency factor (TEF) was 0.87, where a fully exposed tag would have a TEF of 1.0. Hence, this position can further be utilized for fusion with longer tags. For the other constructs the TEF was only 0.43 and 0.10, for the tag fused to the truncated EGI and in the linker region of the full length EGI, respectively.     

Genetically engineered peptide fusions for improved protein partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems: Effect of fusion localization on endoglucanase I of Trichoderma reesei

Genetic engineering has been used for fusion of the peptide tag, Trp–Pro–Trp–Pro, on a protein to study the effect on partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems. As target protein for the fusions the cellulase, endoglucanase I (endo-1,4-β- -glucan-4-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.4, EGI, Cel7B) of Trichoderma reesei was used. For the first time a glycosylated two-domain enzyme has been utilized for addition of peptide tags to change partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems. The aim was to find an optimal fusion localization for EGI. The peptide was (1) attached to the C-terminus end of the cellulose binding domain (CBD), (2) inserted in the glycosylated linker region, (3) added after a truncated form of EGI lacking the CBD and a small part of the linker. The different constructs were expressed in the filamentous fungus T. reesei under the gpdA promoter from Aspergillus nidulans. The expression levels were between 60 and 100 mg/l. The partitioning behavior of the fusion proteins was studied in an aqueous two-phase model system composed of the thermoseparating ethylene oxide (EO)–propylene oxide (PO) random copolymer EO–PO (50:50) (EO₅₀PO₅₀) and dextran. The Trp–Pro–Trp–Pro tag was found to direct the fusion protein to the top EO₅₀PO₅₀ phase. The partition coefficient of a fusion protein can be predicted with an empirical correlation based on independent contributions from partitioning of unmodified protein and peptide tag in this model system. The fusion position at the end of the CBD, with the spacer Pro–Gly, was shown to be optimal with respect to partitioning and tag efficiency factor (TEF) was 0.87, where a fully exposed tag would have a TEF of 1.0. Hence, this position can further be utilized for fusion with longer tags. For the other constructs the TEF was only 0.43 and 0.10, for the tag fused to the truncated EGI and in the linker region of the full length EGI, respectively.     

Capillary electrophoresis using diol-bonded fused-silica capillaries

In this paper, 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane was used to produce diol-bonded capillaries at room temperature for capillary electrophoresis (CE). A variety of standard reference compounds and authentic biological samples including ribonucleotides, peptides and proteins were used to test the columns. It was found that greatly suppressed electroosmotic flow was measured over a pH range of 3–10. Lower than 1.6% relative standard deviation (>10 runs) in migration time was observed for the analysis of test proteins. For real samples of ribonucleotides in tumor cell extracts, 1 million theoretical plates and excellent peak shapes were obtained. The high column efficiency and symmetrical peaks allowed the separation of samples with only 0.6% maximum difference in migration times. The diol-bonded fused-silica capillary columns were stable when used in a pH range of 2–8 under typical CE conditions. The column preparation method involved a simple dynamic coating procedure at room temperature, greatly simplifying the more typical static coating methods that require vacuum pumps and ovens.     

Electrochemical parameters of ethamsylate at multi-walled carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrodes

In this paper, some electrochemical parameters of ethamsylate at a multi-walled carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrode, such as the charge number, exchange current density, standard heterogeneous rate constant and diffusion coefficient, were measured by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and chronocoulometry. The modified electrode exhibits good promotion of the electrochemical reaction of ethamsylate and increases the standard heterogeneous rate constant of ethamsylate greatly. The differential pulse voltammetry responses of ethamsylate were linearly dependent on its concentrations in a range from 2.0 x 10(-6) to 6.0 x 10(-5) mol L(-1), with a detection limit of 4.0 x 10(-7) mol L(-1).     

Direct Electrochemical Monitoring of RNase Activity

Here we present a highly sensitive, rapid and simple electrochemical assay of RNase based on coupling magnetic separation of the enzymatically treated RNA with stripping potentiometric detection of the purine nucleobases. A detection limit of 1×10^?8 U RNase (ca. 4 pg/mL) is obtained in connection to a 60 min enzymatic digestion. The attractive performance of this direct indicator‐free electrochemical assay offers great promise for a wide range of molecular biology and water quality applications.     

甘草苷在悬汞电极上的电化学行为及方法研究

运用循环伏安法(CV)考察了甘草苷在悬汞电极(HMDE)上的电化学还原行为,在-0.7~-1.7 V(vs.SCE)电位窗口及0.10 mol/L(NH4)2SO4溶液中甘草苷在HMDE上的循环伏安行为是一在低扫描速度(<100 mV/s)下受吸附控制,在高扫描速度下受扩散控制的不可逆还原过程,还原峰电位(Epc)为-1.491 V。运用计时库仑法(CC)、计时电流法(CA)测定并计算了甘草苷的电荷传递系数α、扩散系数D以及表观速率常数Kf等电极过程动力学参数。初步探讨了甘草苷在HMDE上的反应机理,同时运用方波伏安法(SWV)研究了甘草苷在HMDE上的方波伏安行为,还原峰电流与其浓度在1.2×10-6~1.2×10-5mol/L及1.2×10-5~1.2×10-3mol/L范围内呈良好的线性关系,相关系数R=0.9936及0.9966,检出限8.0×10-7mol/L,据此可建立直接电化学测定甘草苷含量的方法。