Light and heat control over secondary structure and amyloid-like fiber formation in an overcrowded-alkene-modified Trp zipper

The external photocontrol over peptide folding, by the incorporation of molecular photoswitches into their structure, provides a powerful tool to study biological processes. However, it is limited so far to switches that exhibit only a rather limited geometrical change upon photoisomerization and that show thermal instability of the photoisomer. Here we describe the use of an overcrowded alkene photoswitch to control a model β-hairpin peptide. This photoresponsive unit undergoes a large conformational change and has two thermally stable isomers which has major influence on the secondary structure and the aggregation of the peptide, permitting the phototriggered formation of amyloid-like fibrils.     

Bioanalysis of acetylcarnitine in cerebrospinal fluid by HILIC–mass spectrometry

Acetyl‐l ‐carnitine (ALCAR) is a potential biomarker for the modulation of brain neurotransmitter activity, but is also present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Recent studies have utilized hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC‐MS/MS) based assays to detect and quantify ALCAR within biofluids such as urine, plasma and serum, using various sample pretreatment procedures. In order to address the need to quantify ALCAR in CSF on a high‐throughput scale, a new and simple HILIC‐MS/MS assay has been successfully developed and validated. For rapid analysis, CSF sample pretreatment was performed via ‘dilute and shoot’ directly onto an advanced HILIC column prior to MS/MS detection. This newly developed HILIC‐MS/MS assay shows good recoveries of ALCAR without the need for chemical derivatization and multistep sample extraction procedures. The employment of this assay is suitable for the high‐throughput bioanalysis and quantification of ALCAR within the CSF of various animal models and human clinical studies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variants of closing the nuclear fuel cycle

Influence of the nuclear energy structure, the conditions of fuel burnup, and accumulation of new fissile isotopes from the raw isotopes on the main parameters of a closed fuel cycle is considered. The effects of the breeding ratio, the cooling time of the spent fuel in the external fuel cycle, and the separation of the breeding area and the fissile isotope burning area on the parameters of the fuel cycle are analyzed.