An immobiline DryStrip application method enabling high-capacity two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

In the field of proteomics the need to detect low-abundance cellular components, such as regulatory proteins, is of critical importance. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) is one of the most commonly used separation tools for these biological investigations. In this paper we report an alternative micropreparative 2-D PAGE sample application method, called the "paper bridge loading" method. This method makes it possible to apply a larger sample volume to commercially available immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strips. The Vh products required for focusing are only marginally longer than those used in analytical experiments. The method was compared to traditional cup loading and in-gel rehydration. With 18 cm long narrow-range Immobiline DryStrip pH 4.5-5.5, the "paper bridge" method allowed the application of 10 mg human plasma proteins compared to 3 mg with traditional loading methods. The corresponding figures using Escherichia coli sample was found to be 6 mg and less than 2 mg, respectively. The paper bridge method also showed the best results in terms of spot resolution and separation of high molecular weight proteins.     

Oxidation of micro or trace amounts of bromide to bromate by peroxodisulphate before their iodometric determination by titration or spectrophotometry

The optimum conditions for the oxidation of bromide to bromate by peroxodisulphate at 120 degrees as well as for the decomposition of the excess of oxidant have been determined. The predicted advantages of this oxidizing agent, viz. minimal blanks and destruction of small amounts of interfering organic matter and reducing substances, were confirmed. The bromate was determined iodometrically either by titration with thiosulphate or by spectrophotometry in absence of oxygen at 355 nm. The titrimetric finish applied to 0.8-8 micromole of bromide gave a mean yield of 100.0%, s = 6 nmole. The spectrophotometric finish applied to 0.05-0.25 micromole of bromide gave a mean yield of 98.9%, s = 1.1 nmole. Interfering amounts of iodide present in the sample and oxidized to iodate can be corrected for by making use of the pH-dependence of the reaction of iodide with bromate and iodate.     

A 3D QSAR study on a set of dopamine D4 receptor antagonists

The molecular alignments obtained from a previously reported pharmacophore model have been employed in a three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D QSAR) study, to obtain a more detailed insight into the structure-activity relationships for D(2) and D(4) receptor antagonists. The frequently applied CoMFA method and the related CoMSIA method were used. Statistically significant models have been derived with these two methods, based on a set of 32 structurally diverse D(2) and D(4) receptor antagonists. The CoMSIA and the CoMFA methods produced equally good models expressed in terms of q(2) values. The predictive power of the derived models were demonstrated to be high. Graphical interpretation of the results, provided by the CoMSIA method, brings to light important structural features of the compounds related to either low- or high-affinity D(2) or D(4) antagonism. The results of the 3D QSAR studies indicate that bulky N-substituents decrease D(2) binding, whereas D(4) binding is enhanced. Electrostatically favorable and unfavorable regions exclusive to D(2) receptor binding were identified. Likewise, certain hydrogen-bond acceptors can be used to lower D(2) affinity. These observations may be exploited for the design of novel dopamine D(4) selective antagonists.