Unusual heme-histidine bond in the active site of a chaperone

The heme chaperone CcmE is essential for the delivery of heme to c-type cytochromes. It forms an unusual transient, yet covalent, bond between an essential histidine, H130, and heme. We report on the discovery of the chemical structure of this bond solved by NMR, where the heme vinyl is cross-linked at the beta carbon to the Ndelta1 of H130. As this type of heme linkage has not been described previously in any cytochrome or hemoprotein, it represents a novel type of heme-histidine complex.     

Substituent effects on the photophysical properties of pterin derivatives in acidic and alkaline aqueous solutions

Pterins are heterocyclic compounds with important biological functions, and most of them may exist in two acid-base forms in the pH range between 3 and 13 in aqueous solution. In this work, the photophysical properties of acid and basic forms of six compounds of the pterin family (6-hydroxymethylpterin [HPT], 6-methylpterin [MPT], 6,7-dimethylpterin [DPT], rhamnopterin [RPT], N-methylfolic acid [MFA], and pteroic acid [PA]) have been studied. The effects of the chemical nature of the substituents at position 6 of the pterin moiety and the effects of the pH on the absorption and emission properties are analyzed. The fluorescence characteristics (spectra, quantum yields, lifetimes) of these compounds have been investigated using the single-photon-counting technique. Results obtained for pterin derivatives containing small substituents with 1 carbon atom (HPT, MPT, DPT) and short hydrocarbon chain (4 carbon atoms) (RPT) are different from those found for pterin derivatives containing a p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) moiety in the substituent (MFA and PA). Fluorescence quantum yields (Phi(F)) of the first group of compounds are relatively high (>/=0.4), whereas MFA and PA exhibit very small Phi(F) values (相似文献   

Glucose-sensitive inverse opal hydrogels: analysis of optical diffraction response

A glucose-sensitive inverse opal hydrogel was synthesized through photopolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid within the interstitial space of a dried poly(styrene) colloidal crystal template, followed by template removal. Charged complex formation between the phenylboronic acid functional group and the 1,2-cis-diol glucose resulted in reversible swelling of the inverse opal hydrogel, which was observed through shifts in the optical diffraction wavelength. The hydrogel was sensitive to glucose at physiological concentrations and ionic strength. The effects of phenylboronic acid concentration, ionic strength, and buffer pH on the equilibrium hydrogel swelling were also studied. The kinetics of hydrogel swelling was also examined, and it was found that the rate of diffraction shift matched well with diffusion-limited kinetics. Additionally, the diffraction response was compared with simulations using the scalar wave approximation and transfer matrix method.     

PHYTOCHROME EVOLUTION: A PHYLOGENETIC TREE WITH THE FIRST COMPLETE SEQUENCE OF PHYTOCHROME FROM A CRYPTOGAMIC PLANT: (Selaginella martensii SPRING)

We have sequenced cDNA and genomic clones coding for phytochrome of the fern Selaginella. On the amino acid level, this phytochrome shares sequence homologies with phytochromes of higher plants which range between 62 (phytochrome B of Arabidopsis) and 55 (56)% [phytochrome C of Arabidopsis (Avena)]. Introns in the Selaginella gene are short and occupy positions known from phytochrome sequences of higher plants. A rooted phylogenetic tree based on mutation distances puts Selaginella phytochrome closest to the hypothetical ancestor. A similar tree arises if the tree is constructed with partial sequences (about 200 amino acids) around the chromophore attachment site. An extension of this tree by sequences of other cryptogamic plants (Mougeotia, Ceratodon, Psilotum) shows all these sequences including those of the phytochromes B and C of Arabidopsis on a branch, well separated from the branch formed by phytochromes known to accumulate in etiolated plants. The rooted phytochrome phylogenetic tree, however, is difficult to reconcile with the fossil record.     

Efficient search for all low energy conformations of polypeptides by Monte Carlo methods

The Metropolis Monte Carlo method has been added to the program FANTOM for energy refinement of polypeptides and proteins using a Newton–Raphson minimizer in torsion angle space. With this extension, different strategies for global minimization of the semiempirical energy function ECEPP/2 by various temperature schedules and restriction of conformational space were tested for locating local minimum conformations with low energy of the pentapeptide Met-enkephalin. In total, 1881 conformations below ?10 kcal/mol were found. These conformations could be represented by 77 nonidentical conformations which were analysed for their pattern of hydrogen bonds, types of tight turn, pairwise root-mean-square-deviation (rmsd), Zimmermann codes and side chain conformations. All low energy conformations below ?10.4 kcal/mol show strong similarity to the global minimum conformation in the backbone structure.     

Phosphides with Zr2Fe12P7-type structure

Twenty-six ternary phosphides Ln₂T₁₂P₇ (Ln = lanthanoid, T = Fe, Co, Ni) were prepared for the first time by reaction of the elemental components in liquid tin or by reaction of the components in evacuated silica tubes. The analysis of their powder patterns indicates their isotypism with Zr₂Fe₁₂P₇. Their lattice constants are reported. Gd₂Ni₁₂As₇ also crystallizes with that structure.     

Gatekeeping patterns in the publication of analytical chemistry research

An analysis has been made of the nationalities of the members of advisory and editorial boards of analytical chemistry journals. Correlations were sought between their number and citation rates and between their number and the number of analytical papers published by scientists from the country in question. A comparison is given for the gatekeepers of organic and inorganic chemistry journals.     

Crown-containing butadienyl dyes 8. Structures and complexation of chromogenic dithia-15(18)-crown-5(6) ethers

The structures of new butadienyl dyes of the benzothiazole series containing the dithia-15-crown-5 (2a) or dithia-18-crown-6 (2b) fragments were established by X-ray diffraction. Complexation of dyes 2a,b with Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ag⁺, Zn²⁺, and alkaline-earth cations in aqueous-acetonitrile solutions was studied by spectrophotometry. At a high percentage of water in solutions (P _w ≈ 50%), these dyes have a very low ability to bind Pb²⁺ cations (logK < 2) and virtually do not bind Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, and alkaline-earth cations. At the same time, these dyes form stable 1: 1 complexes with Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺ cations at all P _w. The stability constants of complexes with the Ag⁺ cation increase with increasing P _w because the free energy of hydration of this cation is much lower than the free energy of solvation in acetonitrile. In the P _w range from 0 to 75%, the stability constants of the complexes of dyes 2a,b with the Hg²⁺ cation are larger than those of the corresponding complexes with the Ag⁺ cation by more than four orders of magnitude. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 90–96, January, 2006.     

THE REACTIVITY OF CITRONELLOL and α-THUJENE WITH SINGLET OXYGEN. RATE CONSTANTS OF CHEMICAL REACTION and PHYSICAL QUENCHING*

The quantum yields of Rose Bengal sensitized photooxidation of citronellol and α-thujene have been determined as a function of added acceptor and compared with those of furfuryl alcohol as a standard. The results permitted the calculation of the corresponding rate constants of chemical reaction (k_T) and physical quenching (K_q) of singlet oxygen. The sum (k_T+ k_q) has been verified independently by a Stern-Volmer analysis of the singlet oxygen luminescence quenching. α-Thujene reacts faster with singlet oxygen than citronellol, physical quenching being negligible in both cases.     

Hydrodynamics of a bounded vertical film with nonlinear surface properties

The drainage of a thin liquid film with an insoluble monolayer down a vertical wall is studied. Lubrication theory is used to develop a model where the film is pinned at the top with a given thickness and the film drains into a bath at the bottom. A nonlinear equation of state is used for the surface tension and the surface viscosity is a nonlinear function of the surfactant concentration; these are appropriate for some aqueous systems. The three partial differential equations are solved via discretization in space and then the resulting differential algebraic system is solved. Results are described for a wide range of parameters, and the conditions under which the free surface is immobilized are discussed.