Preparation of nanoparticle colloids of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>-poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">D</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">L</Emphasis>-lactide): effects of surfactant and organic solvent

Nanoparticle colloids of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(D,L-lactide) (MPEG-b-PDLL) diblock copolymer were prepared by a modified spontaneous emulsification solvent diffusion method using acetone/ethanol as the mixture organic solvents. The MPEG-b-PDLL was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of D,L-lactide using stannous octoate and MPEG with molecular weight of 5,000 g/mol as the initiating system. The MPEG-b-PDLL obtained was an amorphous polymer with molecular weight of 73,600 g/mol. Influences of acetone/ethanol (v/v) ratios and Tween 80 surfactant concentrations on characteristics of the colloidal nanoparticles were investigated and discussed. Light-scattering analysis showed that average diameters of the surfactant-free colloidal nanoparticles were in the range of 86–124 nm. The nanoparticle sizes decreased as the ethanol ratio increased. The Tween 80 did not show the significant effect on the nanoparticle sizes. Scanning electron micrographs of dried nanoparticles that demonstrated the aggregation of most particles suggested they were the soft nanoparticles. However, the dried nanoparticle morphology can be observed from scanning electron microscopy as having a spherical shape and smooth surfaces.     

Fluorescent sensing layer for the determination of<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps"> L</Emphasis>-malic acid in wine

An enzymatic method for determining L-malic acid in wine based on an L-malate sensing layer with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), L-malate dehydrogenase (L-MDH) and diaphorase (DI), immobilized by sol-gel technology, was constructed and evaluated. The sol-gel glass was prepared with tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), water and HCl. L-MDH catalyzes the reaction between L-malate and NAD⁺, producing NADH, whose fluorescence (λ _exc = 340 nm, λ _em = 430 nm) could be directly related to the amount of L-malate. NADH is converted to NAD⁺ by applying hexacyanoferrate(III) as oxidant in the presence of DI. Some parameters affecting sol-gel encapsulation and the pH of the enzymatic reaction were studied. The sensing layer has a dynamic range of 0.1–1.0 g/L of L-malate and a long-term storage stability of 25 days. It exhibits acceptable reproducibility [s _r(%)≈10] and allows six regenerations. The content of L-malic acid was determined for different types of wine, and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) was used as a bleaching agent with red wine. The results obtained for the wine samples using the sensing layer are comparable to those obtained from a reference method based on UV-vis molecular absorption spectrometry, if the matrix effect is corrected for.     

Temperature- and pressure-responsive properties of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>- and<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps"> dl</Emphasis>-forms of poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-(1-hydroxymethyl)propylmethacrylamide) in aqueous solutions

The structural transition of the l- and dl forms of poly(N-(1- hydroxymethyl)propylmethacrylamide (PHMPMA) in aqueous solution was studied by measuring the pressure dependence of the apparent scattering intensity, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and circular dichroism (CD). The thermodynamic implications of the results are discussed in relation to the chiral structure of the side chain, and differences in the thermal and barometric transitions. T-P diagrams of the transition showed characteristic ellipsoid features. Antagonism of the temperature and pressure effects was observed only for P(dl-HMPMA). For P(l-HMPMA), the transition temperature (T _tr) decreased with increasing pressure, and the highest T _tr was observed at atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa). For both polymers, the highest P _trs were observed at the lowest temperatures. The l polymer showed a specific negative peak in its CD spectrum at around 220 nm in the lower temperature region and the temperature dependence was reproduced by a single-step transition, with the midpoint corresponding to the T _tr obtained from the scattering measurements. Coupled with the results from the DSC, the different behavior between the P(l-HMPMA) and P(dl-HMPMA) could be explained in terms of the chain states before and after the transition. The cooperative factors derived from the DSC measurement revealed that about 4 to 5 polymers of the present size were necessary to perform a thermal transition for P(l-HMPMA), and that P(dl-HMPMA) underwent its transition as an almost single molecular event.This revised version was published online in June 2005 with correction to the article category.     

Synthesis and studies of spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of dinuclear ruthenium(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">II</Emphasis>) and manganese(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">II</Emphasis>) complexes

New dinuclear ruthenium manganese complexes of general composition (bpy)₂Ru(L)MnCl_x(H₂O)₂ (L is 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione, 3,3′-dicarboxy-2,2′-bipyridyl, or bis(pyrazolyl); x = 2 or 4) were synthesized by the reaction of (bpy)₂Ru(L) with MnCl₂ · 4H₂O. These compounds and the starting mononuclear ruthenium complexes were studied by spectrophotometric and electrochemical methods in MeCN. The position of the charge-transfer band Ru^II → L in the spectra depends on the donor-acceptor characteristics of the ligand L. For the dinuclear complex under study, the formal potentials of reversible one-electron oxidation of Ru^II are in the range of 0.9–1.2 V (vs. the standard hydrogen electrode), whereas oxidation of Mn^II occurs at more positive (by 0.1–0.2 V) potentials. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2281–2285, October, 2005.     

Determination of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">D</Emphasis>- and <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">L</Emphasis>-amino acids produced by cyanobacteria using gas chromatography on Chirasil-Val after derivatization with pentafluoropropyl chloroformate

A rapid and simple method was developed for the determination of free amino acids (AAs) released from cyanobacteria. The procedure involves trapping of AAs from the centrifuged cyanobacterial culture fluid on a cation-exchange resin, their release together with the resin by direct treatment with the reaction medium, followed by immediate derivatization with a corresponding chloroformate. The extractive alkylation transfers the analytes into an organic phase, an aliquot of which is subjected to GC analysis. Identification and quantification of AAs was performed by GC/MS and GC/FID, respectively, using propyl chloroformate (PCF) as the derivatization reagent. For chiral analysis, the cyanobacteria extracts were treated with 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl chloroformate (PFPCF) to create more volatile analytes. Separation of the AA enantiomers was accomplished on a Chirasil-Val capillary column and the D/L enantiomeric ratios were determined. AAs of cyanobacteria are considered to be important for the assessment of energy flow in an aquatic food web, nutrition value of cyanobacteria in a food web and for cell–cell communication within cyanobacteria. The highest levels of AAs were found in the summer period at the beginning of the season (July). In the September and October samples, the amount of AAs was lower, the number of D-AAs decreased and the D/L ratio was higher than in the July sample. Based on the obtained results it can be assumed that young populations excrete AAs in higher concentrations and a different composition compared to actively growing populations. Figure PFPCF derivatization scheme     

Determination of serum <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-lactic and <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactic acids in normal subjects and diabetic patients by column-switching HPLC with pre-column fluorescence derivatization

d-Lactic and l-lactic acids were simultaneously determined by means of a column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. As a fluorescence reagent, 4-nitro-7-piperazino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-PZ) was employed for the fluorescence derivatization of lactic acid. The proposed HPLC system adopted both octylsilica (Cadenza CD-C8) and amylose-based chiral columns (CHIRALPAK AD-RH), which proved to give a sufficient enantiomeric separation of the lactic acid derivatives with a separation factor () of 1.32 and a resolution (R_s) of 1.98. Moreover, the features of the first elution of d-lactic acid peak in the proposed HPLC were convenient for the determination of trace amount of serum d-lactic acid, which is known to increase under diabetes. Intra-day and inter-day accuracies were in the range of 90.5–101.2 and 89.0–100.7%, and the intra-day and inter-day precisions were 0.3–1.2 and 0.4–4.8%, respectively. The proposed method was applied to determine d-lactic and l-lactic acids in human serum of normal subjects and diabetic patients, showing that both d-lactic and l-lactic acid concentrations were significantly increased in the serum of diabetic patients (n=31) as compared with normal subjects (n=21). This fact was found for the first time owing to the development of the proposed HPLC method which is able to determine d-lactic and l-lactic acid simultaneously. Finally, serum d-lactic acid concentrations determined by the proposed HPLC method were compared with those from a reported enzymatic assay, and the smaller p value between normal subjects and diabetic patients was shown by the proposed HPLC method.     

Synthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-(2-chloroethyl)glycine and -<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">DL</Emphasis>-alanine esters

Two methods for the synthesis of N-(2-chloroethyl)glycine and-DL-alanine esters are proposed: 1) reductive amination of the C=O group of glyoxilic or pyruvic acids upon treatment with 2-chloroethylamine and sodium cyanoborohydride in methanol and 2) alkylation of 2-chloroethylamine with α-haloalkanoic acid esters in K₂CO₃-MeCN two-phase system. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2372–2374, December, 2007.     

Probing the micellization of diblock and triblock copolymers of poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactide) and poly(ethylene glycol) in aqueous and NaCl salt solutions

The micelle formation of a series of amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous and NaCl solutions was studied by a fluorescent probe technique using pyrene as a "model drug". These copolymers were synthesized from poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) and l-lactide by a new calcium ammoniate catalyst. They had fixed PEG block lengths (44, 104 or 113 ethylene oxide units) and various poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) block lengths (15–280 lactide units). The critical micelle concentration (cmc) was found to decrease with increasing PLLA content. The distinct dissimilarity of the cmc values of diblock and triblock copolymers based on the same block length of PEG provided evidence for the different configurations of their micelles. It was also observed that the introduction of NaCl salt significantly contributed to a decrease in the cmcs of the copolymers with short PEG and PLLA blocks, while it had less influence on the cmcs of copolymers with long PEG or PLLA blocks. The dependence of partition coefficients ranging from 0.2×10⁵ to 1.9×10⁵ on the PLLA content in the copolymer and on the micelle configuration was also discussed. The contribution of NaCl salt to increasing the partition of pyrene into a micellar phase was observed.     

The electrochemical polymerization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">o</Emphasis>-phenylenediamine on <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-tyrosine functionalized glassy carbon electrode and its application

The polymerization of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) on l-tyrosine (Tyr) functionalized glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and its electro-catalytic oxidation towards ascorbic acid (AA) had been studied in this report. l-Tyrosine was first covalently grafted on GCE surface via electrochemical oxidation, which was followed by the electrochemical polymerization of OPD on the l-tyrosine functionalized GCE. Then, the poly(o-phenylenediamine)/l-tyrosine composite film modified GCE (POPD-Tyr/GCE) was obtained. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM), and electrochemical techniques have been used to characterize the grafting of l-tyrosine and the polymerization and morphology of OPD film on GCE surface. Due to the doping of the carboxylic functionalities in l-tyrosine molecules, the POPD film showed good redox activity in neutral medium, and thus, the POPD-Tyr/GCE exhibited excellent electrocatalytic response to AA in 0.1 mol l⁻¹ phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 6.8). The anode peak potential of AA shifted from 0.58 V at GCE to 0.35 V at POPD-Tyr/GCE with a greatly enhanced current response. A linear calibration graph was obtained over the AA concentration range of 2.5 × 10⁻⁴–1.5 × 10^–3 mol l⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The detection limit (3δ) for AA was 9.2 × 10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹. The modified electrode showed good stability and reproducibility and had been used for the determination of AA content in vitamin C tablet with satisfactory results.     

Palladium(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">I</Emphasis>) and palladium(0) carbonyl bromide complexes

New Pd^I and Pd⁰ carbonyl bromide complexes co-existing in the same crystal were synthesized and studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystals consist of dimeric complex anions composed of the central Pd(μ-CO)₂Pd fragment and four partially disordered terminal ligands (CO and Br⁻). The complexes were characterized by IR, ESR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1349–1355, June, 2005.     

Estimation of the specific content and nature of sorption sites of iron(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">III</Emphasis>) and zirconium(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">IV</Emphasis>) oxyhydroxides

The sorption of anions H₂PO₄ ⁻, HPO₄ ²⁻, PO₄ ³⁻, [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻, and [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ from aqueous solutions on the surface of Fe^III and Zr^IV oxyhydroxide hydrogels freshly precipitated at pH 4–13 was studied. The region of sorbate concentrations was from 0.00025 to 0.06 mol L⁻¹. The plots of the anion uptakes vs. their equilibrium concentrations are represented by isotherms of the first type, which are well described by the Langmuir equation if the quantity of the amount adsorbed is expressed as mol-site g⁻¹. The maximum uptakes and constants of the Langmuir equation were calculated. The phosphate anions occupy the same number of sorption sites on the sorbents precipitated at different pH. The average specific content of sorption sites for the ferro- and zirconogels in the metastability period is independent of the pH of their precipitation, being 3.1·10⁻³ and 3.2·10⁻³ mol-site g⁻¹, respectively. The [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻ and [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ anions are sorbed only on the positively charged sites of the hydrogels and occupy not more than 2·10 mol-site g⁻¹ in the studied interval of pH of precipitation. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1736—1741, August, 2005.     

Micelle-assisted cerium(IV) oxidation of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">L</Emphasis>-sorbose in aqueous sulfuric acid

Spectrophotometric kinetic technique has been used to investigate the effect of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants on the redox reaction of cerium(IV)+l-sorbose in aqueous sulfuric acid media. The anionic SDS has no effect, whereas the reaction rate increases in the presence of cationic CTAB, which is due to favorable conditions provide by the cationic micelles. The reaction rate decreases with [H₂SO₄], and no acid-dependent path has been observed. At constant [H₂SO₄], the rate of the reaction is dependent on the first powers of the l-sorbose and cerium(IV) concentrations. The CTAB-assisted reaction is retarded by addition of electrolytes (Na₂SO₄, NaNO₃, and NaCl), which is attributed to the competition between electrolyte anions and cerium(IV)-sulfato species. Bromide ion (of CTAB or externally added in the form of NaBr) is not oxidized by the cerium(IV) (as a main or side reaction).     

Inclusion of nickel(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">II</Emphasis>) and copper(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">II</Emphasis>) complexes with aliphatic polyamines in cucurbit[8]uril

The inclusion compound of macrocyclic cavitand cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) with the nickel(II) complex containing the tetraazamacrocyclic ligand cyclam, {[Ni(cyclam)]@CB[8]}Cl₂··16H₂O (1), and the inclusion compounds of CB[8] with the copper(II) bis-ethylene-diamine complex, {trans-[Cu(en)₂(H₂O)₂]@CB[8]}Cl₂·{CB[8]}·42H₂O (2a) and {trans-[Cu(en)₂(H₂O)₂]@CB[8]}Cl₂·17H₂O (2b), were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, IR and ESR spectroscopy, and electrospray mass spectrometry. Guest—host inclusion compounds can be directly synthesized starting from a metal complex and cucurbit[8]uril, as was exemplified by the preparation of compounds 2a and 2b.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2414–2419, November, 2004.     

Hexanuclear methanediolate bridged iron(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">III</Emphasis>) complex

The hexanuclear complex [Fe₆(O)₂(CH₂O₂) (OOCCMe₃)₁₂ (THF)₂]·THF was synthesized. The characteristic feature of this complex is the presence of the methanedithiolate bridge.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 795–797, March, 2005.     

Poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactide) networks with tailored water sorption

A poly(l-lactide) diol was obtained through ring opening polymerization of l-lactide, using 1,6 hexanediol and tin(II) 2 ethylhexanoate as a catalyst. In the second step, the poly(l-lactide) macromer (mLA) was obtained by the reaction of poly(l-lactide) diol with methacrylic anhydride. The effective incorporation of the polymerizable end groups was assessed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR). Besides, poly(l-lactide) networks (pmLA) were prepared by photopolymerization of mLA. Further, the macromer was copolymerized with 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate seeking to tailor the hydrophilicity of the system. A set of hydrophilic copolymer networks were obtained. The phase microstructure of the new system and the network architecture was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and water sorption studies.     

Tagatose Production with pH Control in a Stirred Tank Reactor Containing Immobilized <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Arabinose Isomerase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thermotoga neapolitana</Emphasis>

Chitopearl beads were used as immobilization supports for D-tagatose production from D-galactose by L-arabinose isomerase from Thermotoga neapolitana because chitopearl beads were more stable than alginate beads at temperatures above 60 degrees C. The pH and temperature for the maximum isomerization of galactose were 7.5 and 90 degrees C, respectively. In thermostability experiments, the half-lives of the immobilized enzyme at 70, 75, 80, 85, and 90 degrees C were 388, 106, 54, 36, and 22 h, respectively. The reaction temperature was determined to be 70 degrees C because the enzyme is highly stable up to 70 degrees C during the reaction. When the reaction time, galactose concentration, and temperature were increased, the pH of a mixture containing enzyme and galactose decreased by the Maillard reaction, resulting in decreased tagatose production. With pH control at 7.5, tagatose production (138 g/L) at 70 degrees C in a stirred tank reactor containing immobilized enzyme and 300 g/L galactose increased two times higher, comparing that without pH control.     

Real-time detection of<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps"> L</Emphasis>-glutamate released from C6 glioma cells using a modified enzyme-luminescence method

There is an increasing interest in new strategies to detect neurotransmitters released from nerve cells in real time for brain science, drug assessment, and so on. Previously we reported real-time monitoring of dopamine release from nerve model cells by enzyme-catalyzed luminescence measurement with tyramine oxidase and peroxidase. In the present study, the system was modified with glutamate oxidase instead of tyramine oxidase to detect L-glutamate sensitively (≈ 10 nM) and rapidly with high temporal resolution (<1 s). We applied this modified method successfully to perform real-time monitoring of L-glutamate release from brain model cell (C6 glioma cell) using a luminescence plate reader upon stimulation with high concentration of KCl (>10 mM) or 5-hydroxytryptamine (>1 μM). The measurement solution was not toxic and therefore the L-glutamate release from the cell was measured by the second stimulation after exchanging the measurement solution. We conclude that the developed monitoring system is suitable for real-time detection of dynamic L-glutamate release from nerve cells in vitro and will be suitable for application in assessment of drugs acting on the nervous system. Figure Enzyme luminescence detection of L-glutamate released from cells     

Rapid Determination of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Glutamine using Engineered <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> Overexpressing Glutamine Synthetase

A genetically engineered Escherichia coli was developed as the source of enzyme for rapidly quantifying glutamine. E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells overexpressing a glutamine synthetase from Bacillus subtilis were prepared as tube aliquots and used in a small volume of nontoxic mixture. The current method was compared to high performance liquid chromatography analysis, Sigma kit (GLN-1) and Mecke method. The method is applicable to a wide range of glutamine concentrations (0.05–2.5 mM) and correlates well to the detection results obtained from high performance liquid chromatography (Pearson correlation is 0.978 at the 0.01 level). Moreover, the whole assay procedure takes less than 15 min and uses nontoxic reagents, so it can be applied to monitor glutamine production and utilization conveniently.     

Crystallization behavior and hydrophilicity of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA)/poly(styrene-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-acrylonitrile) (SAN) ternary blends

Compatibilization of the partially miscible poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) pair by a third homopolymer, i.e., poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), was investigated in relation to cross section morphology, crystallization behaviors and hydrophilicity of the polyblends. Scanning electron microscopy showed a more regular and homogeneous morphology when more than 15 wt.% PMMA was incorporated. The samples presented only α phase regardless of PMMA content in the blend. As the PMMA content increased in the blends, the interactions between each component were enhanced, and the crystallization of PVDF was limited, leading to a decreasing of the crystallinity and the crystallite thickness. Besides, the hydrophilicity of PVDF was further improved by PMMA addition. The sample containing 15 wt.% PMMA showed a more hydrophilic property due to the more polar part of surface tension induced by PMMA addition. Observed from the cross section of the blends, the miscibility of partially miscible PVDF/SAN blends were efficiently improved by PMMA incorporation.     

High Soluble Expression of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-Amino Acid Oxidase in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> Regulated by a Native Promoter

To express high-active soluble d-amino acid oxidase (DAAO), a constitutive plasmid that is regulated by a native hydantoinase promoter (P_Hase), was constructed. A d-amino acid oxidase gene (dao) was ligated with the P_Hase and cloned into pGEMKT to constitutively express protein of DAAO without the use of any inducer such as isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside which is poisonous to the cells and environment. The ribosome binding site region, host strain, and fermentation conditions were optimized to increase the expression level. When cultivated in a 5-m³ fermenter, the enzyme activity of JM105/pGEMKT-R-DAAO grown at 37 °C was found to be 32 U/mL and increase 16-fold over cells of BL21(DE3)/pET-DAAO grown at 28 °C. These results indicate the success of our approaches to overproducing DAAO in soluble form in Escherichia coli.