(Imidazole)(3,3′-trimethylenedinitrilo bis (2-butanone oximate)) copper(II) perchlorate: Synthesis and crystal structure of a five-coordinate copper-protein model complex

The synthesis and crystal structure of the novel pentacoordinated complex [Cu(DOHPN)(IMI-DAZOLE)] (ClO4), (DOHPN=(3,3′-trimethylenedinitrilo bis 2-butanone oxime) are reported. The X-ray crystal structure (space groupP2₁/n, a=11.349(2) Å,b=14.241(3) Å,c= 12.635(3) Å; α=90°, β=100.21 (3)°, γ=90°) shows that the copper(II) ion occupies a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with the imidazole ligand occupying the axial position. The copper(II)-(N)imidazole distance is 2.125(3) Å and the copper(II)-tetraaza plane distance is 0.385/Å. The tetraaza ligand DOHPN adopts a “butterfly-like” geometry with a dihedral angle of 149.69°. The title complex is the first structurally characterized compound of the series [Cu(DOHPN)(axial ligand)]ⁿ⁺ where the axial ligand is a neutral N-heterocycle with known biological relevance. A comparison of the structural parameters with those observed when the axial ligand is H₂O or NCS^? (N-bonded) gives the following series with increasing metal-ligand interaction: H₂O>IMIDAZOLE>NCS^? (N-bonded).     

Unravelling Malaria Antigen Binding to Antibody‐Gold Nanoparticle Conjugates

Conjugates formed by antibody adsorption to gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have found extensive utilization in immunoassays due to the high surface area and interesting optical and electronic properties of the nanomaterials. Nevertheless, the mechanism of formation of antibody‐AuNP conjugates and their antigen binding characteristics have not been sufficiently explored in terms of specificity and consequent clinical applicability. Dynamic light scattering and related techniques have been successfully employed to detect antigen binding to antibody‐AuNP complexes. Here, a range of different techniques from the bionanotechnology realm have been applied to obtain a detailed picture of a competitive immunoassay for malaria antigen detection, based on fluorescence‐quenching by AuNPs. Both agarose gel electrophoresis and differential centrifugal sedimentation (DCS) analyses provide binding constants in the same order of magnitude, for antibody binding to AuNP and for antigen binding to antibody‐AuNP conjugates. Both techniques are also able to reveal inhibition of antigen binding in the presence of a major blood plasma protein, transferrin (via competitive binding). DCS is further used to show inhibition of the binding of the antigen in the presence of human plasma, a realistic testing condition, of high relevance to the implementation of immunoassays at the clinical level.     

Dynamic block GMRES: an iterative method for block linear systems

We present variants of the block-GMRES() algorithms due to Vital and the block-LGMRES(,) by Baker, Dennis and Jessup, obtained with replacing the standard QR factorization by a rank-revealing QR factorization in the Arnoldi process. The resulting algorithm allows for dynamic block deflation whenever there is a linear dependency between the Krylov vectors or the convergence of a right-hand-side occurs. implementations of the algorithms were tested on a number of test matrices and the results show that in some cases a substantial reduction of the execution time is obtained. Also a parallel implementation of our variant of the block-GMRES() algorithm, using and was tested on parallel computer, showing good parallel efficiency. This work was carried out while the author was at IM/UFRGS.     

Effect of X-ray radiation on the structure of P (VDF/TrFE) copolymers

Structural changes in poly(vinylidene fluoride)-trifluoroethylene [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymers caused by X-ray irradiation were investigated by molecular weight determination, EPR analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, gel content, DSC thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and piezoelectricity measurements. Samples exhibit radiation-induced conductivity (RIC) due to the formation of radical ions. These radicals are generated by bond cleavage, which could react, leading to structural changes such as oxidation, double bond formation, chain scission, and crosslinking. The increasing gel content with radiation dose indicated that crosslinkings of the polymer chains predominate. Irradiation on P(VDF-TrFE) caused the melting temperature, heat of fusion, and Curie temperature to decrease. These results are consistent with the partial destruction of crystalline domains. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 1201–1205, 1997     

Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations in a Chromomagnetic-Like Background

In this paper, we study the effects associated to quantum vacuum fluctuations of vectorial perturbations of the Abelian SU(2) Yang-Mills field in a static and homogeneous chromomagnetic-like background field, at zero temperature. We use periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions in order to calculate the Casimir energy by means of the frequency sum technique and of the regularization method based on zeta functions, analyzing its behavior in the weak and strong coupling regimes. We compare the obtained results with the similar ones found for scalar and spinor fields placed in an ordinary magnetic field background. We show that only in the weak coupling regime the non-trivial topology of the system encoded in the antiperiodic boundary conditions changes the nature of the Casimir force with respect to the periodic ones. Considering the weak coupling scenario, we show that the introduction of a third polarization state in the perturbations makes manifest the effects on the Casimir energy due to the coupling with the chromomagnetic-like background field, for both the boundary conditions. Finally, in the strong coupling regime, in which the quantum vacuum is not stable due to the Nielsen-Olesen instabilities, we evaluate the effects of a compact extra dimension on its stabilization.     

RP-HPLC method for estimation of sesamin in two Zanthoxylum species

Zanthoxylum naranjillo and Z. tingoassuiba (Rutaceae) are traditional herbal medicines with various biological activities including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antimalarial action. In this work, we have developed a simple HPLC-DAD method to quantify sesamin, a bioactive lignan present in Z. naranjillo and Z. tingoassuiba; egonol was the internal standard. According to the developed method, 11.07 ± 1.66, 8.69 ± 0.95, and 15.11 ± 0.72 µg/mL sesamin was present in the ethanol extract of Z. naranjillo leaves, in the methanol extract of Z. naranjillo leaves, and in the methanol extract of Z. tingoassuiba bark, respectively. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.32 and 1.06 µg/mL, respectively. The developed method can be easily applied during routine analysis of sesamin in these medicinal plants.     

A new minor dimmeric ester from seeds of Cassia fistula L. (Leguminosae)

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of n-hexane phase from MeOH extract of the seeds of Cassia fistula L. (Leguminosae) yielded two bioactive substances against Cladosporium cladosporioides and C. sphaerospermum. After spectroscopic analysis, these compounds were characterised as the known benzyl 2-hydroxy-3,6-dimethoxybenzoate and its dimer dibenzyl 2,2'-dihydroxy-3,6,3″,6″-tetramethoxy-biphenyl-1,1'-dicarboxylate, which showed a new structural arrangement.     

Lectin from Canavalia brasiliensis seeds (ConBr) is a valuable biotechnological tool to stimulate the growth of Rhizobium tropici in vitro

To study the interactions between a Rhizobium tropici strain and lectins isolated from the seeds of Canavalia ensiformis (ConA) and Canavalia brasiliensis (ConBr), a lectin fluorescence assay was performed. In addition, an experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of the two lectins on bacterial growth. Both lectins were found to bind to R. tropici cells, but the interactions were inhibited by D-mannose. Interestingly, only ConBr stimulated bacterial growth in proportion to the concentrations used (15.6-500 μg/mL), and the bacterial growth stimulation was inhibited by D-mannose as well. Structure/Function analyses by bioinformatics were carried out to evaluate the volume and carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) configuration of ConA and ConBr. The difference of spatial arrangement and volume of CRD may indicate the variation between biological activities of both lectins. The results suggest that ConBr could be a promising tool for studies focusing on the interactions between rhizobia and host plants.     

Identification of stiffness properties of composite tubes from dynamic tests

The identification of the stiffness properties of typical laminated composite tubes from dynamic tests is presented. Unknown coefficients are identified by a technique of model updating. The fomulation is based on the minimization of the eigensolution residuals (sensitivity method). Errors of generalized masses are considered. The technique allows for the simultaneous identification of several properties from a single test. Stiffness properties of extension, bending/twisting and transverse shear are identified. Important points of the model updating of tubes in dynamics are addressed: potential energy evaluation, placement of sensors and the problem of multiple eigenvalues. Results obtained by numerical simulation show the efficiency of the proposed method.