Triplex and quadruplex DNA structures studied by electrospray mass spectrometry

DNA triplex and quadruplex structures have been successfully detected by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Circular dichroism and UV-melting experiments show that these structures are stable in 150 mM ammonium acetate at pH 7 for the quadruplexes and pH 5.5 for the triplexes. The studied quadruplexes were the tetramer [d(TGGGGT)](4), the dimer [d(GGGGTTTTGGGG)](2), and the intramolecular folded strand dGGG(TTAGGG)(3), which is an analog of the human telomeric sequence. The absence of sodium contamination allowed demonstration of the specific inclusion of n - 1 ammonium cations in the quadruplex structures, where n is the number of consecutive G-tetrads. We also detected the complexes between the quadruplexes and the quadruplex-specific drug mesoporphyrin IX. MS/MS spectra of [d(TGGGGT)](4) and the complex with the drug are also reported. As the drug does not displace the ammonium cations, one can conclude that the drug binds at the exterior of the tetrads, and not between them. For the triplex structure the ESI-MS spectra show the detection of the specific triplex, at m/z values typically higher than those typically observed for duplex species. Upon MS/MS the antigene strand, which is bound into the major groove of the duplex, separates from the triplex. This is the same dissociation pathway as in solution. To our knowledge this is the first report of a triplex DNA structure by electrospray mass spectrometry.     

Structure électronique du fluoroacétylène et du chloroacétylène

Résumé La structure et le spectre électronique du fluoroacétylène et du chloroacétylène ont été étudiés à l'aide d'une méthode matricielle du type LCAO SCF MO où les fonctions monoélectroniques sont des orbitales orthogonalisées de Löwdin. Le transfert de charge de l'halogène au système est d'environ 0,04 électron 2p pour le fluor et 0,08 électron 3p pour le chlore. L'étude des transitions électroniques indique pour la transition du type - située vers 1850 Å un effet bathochrome et une augmentation de la force oscillatrice lorsque l'électronégativité de l'halogène décroît. Ceci permet d'identifier la transition située vers de plus grandes longueurs d'onde avec une transition - dont la force oscillatrice varie en sens inverse de celle de la transition -.

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The electronic structure and spectra of fluoroacetylene and chloroacétylène have been studied by a matricial method of LCAO SCF MO type where the monoelectronic functions are Löwdin'S orthogonalized orbitals. The charge transfer from the halogen to the system is equal to about 0,04 2p electron for fluorine and to 0,08 3p electron for chlorine. A bathochromic effect and an increase of the oscillator strength with the halogen electronegativity decreasing have been found for the - transition at 1850 Å; from the theoretical results it is possible to identify the transition of lower energy as a - transition whose oscillator strength varies the other way than that of the - transition.

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Zusammenfassung Struktur und Elektronenspektren von Fluor- und Chloracetylen wurden mit Hilfe einer Matrizenmethode vom LCAO-SCF-MO-Typ untersucht, wobei die Einelektronenfunktionen nach Löwdin orthogonalisiert wurden. Der Ladungsübergang vom Halogen zum -System entspricht etwa 0,04 2p-Elektronen bei Fluor und 0,08 3p-Elektronen bei Chlor. Für den --Übergang um 1850 Å wird für abnehmende Elektronegativität des Halogens eine bathochrome Verschiebung und eine Zunahme der Oscillatorenstärke gefunden. Das erlaubt, die längerwellige Bande einem - -Übergang zuzuordnen, dessen Oscillatorenstärke sich in entgegengesetzter Richtung ändert.

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Nous tenons à remercier Monsieur Berthier pour de nombreuses discussions sur ce travail, Messieurs Romanet et Wojtkowiak pour avoir attiré notre attention sur les problèmes posés par les spectres ultraviolets des halogéno-acétyléniques et Monsieur H. v. Hirschhausen pour nous avoir signalé une erreur numérique dans la fin de cet article.     

Versatile fluorescence probes of protein kinase activity

We introduce a versatile fluorescent peptide reporter of protein kinase activity. The probe can be modified to target a desired kinase by changing the kinase recognition motif in the peptide sequence. The reporter motif contains the Sox amino acid, which generates a fluorescence signal when bound to Mg2+ present in the reaction mixture. The phosphorylated peptide exhibits a much greater affinity for Mg2+ than its unphosphorylated analogue and, thus, a greater fluorescence intensity. Product formation during phosphorylation by the kinase is easily followed by the increase in fluorescence intensity over time. These probes exhibit a 3-5-fold increase in fluorescence intensity upon phosphorylation, the magnitude of which depends on the substrate. Peptides containing the reporter functionality are phosphorylated on serine by Protein Kinase C and cAMP-dependent protein kinase and are shown to be good substrates for these enzymes. The principle of this design extends to peptides phosphorylated on threonine and tyrosine.     

(18‐Crown‐6)‐μ‐oxo‐hexa­kis(tetra­hydro­borato)diuranium(IV): an unprecedented asymmetric dinuclear complex

In the title compound, (1,4,7,10,13,16‐hexa­oxacyclo­octa­decane‐1κ⁶O)‐μ‐oxo‐1:2κ²O:O‐hexa­kis(tetra­hydro­borato)‐1κ³H;2κ²H;2κ²H;2κ³H;2κ³H;2κ³H‐diuranium(IV), [U₂(BH₄)₆O(C₁₂H₂₄O₆)], one of the U atoms (U1), located at the centre of the crown ether moiety, is bound to the six ether O atoms, and also to a tridentate tetra­hydro­borate group and a μ‐oxo atom in axial positions. The other U atom (U2) is bound to the same oxo group and to five tetra­hydro­borate moieties, three of them tridentate and the other two bidentate. The two metal centres are bridged by the μ‐oxo atom in an asymmetric fashion, thus giving the species (18‐crown‐6)(κ³‐BH₄)U=(μ‐O)—U(κ³‐BH₄)₃(κ²‐BH₄)₂, in which the U1=O and U2—O bond lengths to the μ‐O atom [1.979 (5) and 2.187 (5) Å, respectively] are indicative of the presence of positive and negative partial charges on U1 and U2, respectively.     

Performance of an ultra-low elution-volume 96-well plate: drug discovery and development applications

Recently, sample preparation has been considered to be the major cause of bottlenecks during high-throughput analysis. With the assistance of robotic liquid handlers and the 96-well plate format, more samples can be prepared for subsequent liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) analysis. Protein precipitation is still widely used despite potential loss of sensitivity or variable results due to ion suppression. The use of solid-phase extraction (SPE) clearly gives superior results but may not be as cost effective as protein precipitation due to the labor and material costs associated with the process. Here, a novel 96-well SPE plate is described that was designed to minimize the elution volume required for quantitative elution of analytes. The plate is packed with 2 mg of a high-capacity SPE sorbent that allows loading of up to 750 microL of plasma, while the novel design permits elution with as little as 25 microL. Therefore, the plate offers up to a 15-fold increase in sample concentration. The evaporation and reconstitution step that is typically required in SPE is avoided due to the concentrating ability of the plate. Examples of applications in drug discovery/development are shown and results are compared to protein precipitation. Excellent sensitivity and linearity are demonstrated.     

Investigation of bovine ubiquitin conformers separated by high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry: Cross section measurements using energy-loss experiments with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer

High-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) was used to separate gas-phase conformers of bovine ubiquitin produced by electrospray ionization. These conformers were sampled by a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer where energy-loss experiments, following the work of Douglas and co-workers, were used to determine their cross sections. The measured cross sections for some conformers were readily altered by the voltages applied to the interface ion optics, therefore very gentle mass spectrometer interface conditions were required to preserve gas-phase conformers separated by FAIMS. Cross sections for 19 conformers (charge states +5 through +13) were measured. Two conformers for the +12 charge state, which were readily separated in FAIMS, were found to have similar cross sections. Based on a method to calibrate the collision gas thickness, the cross sections measured using the FAIMS/energy-loss method were compared with literature values determined using drift tube ion mobility spectrometry. The comparison illustrated that the conformers of bovine ubiquitin that were identified using drift tube ion mobility spectrometry were also observed using the FAIMS device.     

Access to 2-fluoroacrylates and their 3-chloro derivatives by chemical hydrogenolysis of 3,3-dichloro-2-fluoroacrylates

The formation of 3-chloro-2-fluoroacrylates 2 and 2-fluoroacrylates 3 by hydrogenolysis of 3,3-dichloro-2-fluoroacrylates 1 was studied by using Bu₃SnH, zinc, the sodium sulphite/sodium formate mixture or iron pentacarbonyl in the presence of a hydrogen donor (Et₃SiH or CH₃OH). The two last couples can be used to prepare the 3-chloro derivatives 2, whereas for the preparation of the 3,3-dihydro derivatives 3, zinc is the most appropriate reducing agent. Keywords: 2-Fluoroacrylate; 3-Chloro-2-fluoroacrylate; 3,3-Dichloro-2-fluoroacrylate; Tributyltin hydride; Zinc; Sodium sulphite; Sodium formate; Iron pentacarbonyl; NMR spectroscopy; IR spectroscopy