Tertiary contact formation in alpha-synuclein probed by electron transfer

To explore tertiary contact formation in alpha-synuclein, a natively unfolded protein implicated in Parkinson's disease, we have measured the rates of reaction between a powerful electron donor, the tryptophan (W) triplet excited state, and an acceptor, 3-nitro-tyrosine (Y(NO2)) in six different variants, probing loop sizes between 15 and 132 residues. Electron transfer rates decrease with loop size with the fastest contact time of 140 ns for the N-terminal pair and the slowest of 1.2 mus for the N- to C-terminal pair. Diffusion coefficients ranging from approximately 2 x 10-6 to approximately 10-5 cm2 s-1 were extracted from simultaneous fits of the W to Y(NO2) electron (triplet excited state) and energy transfer (singlet excited state) kinetics.     

Polymeric positive-temperature-coefficient materials: dynamic curing effect

The object of this work was to prepare high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/ethylene–propylene–diene terpolymer (EPDM)/conductive carbon black (CB) composites by dynamic curing and to characterize the positive-temperature-coefficient (PTC) performances of the composites.EPDM and dicumyl peroxide were preblended in a research mill. The roll-milled strands were blended with HDPE and CB in a Haake mixer. The sheet resistivity and morphology of the HDPE/EPDM/CB composites with or without the dynamic curing process were investigated. It was concluded that the dynamically cured blends exhibit better PTC performance than the simple blends without dynamic curing. The effects of shear intensity and dicumyl peroxide content during the dynamic curing process were discussed for the PTC characteristics of the HDPE/EPDM/CB composites.     

Effects of ligands on the “living” radical polymerization initiated by the aged Cr2+ plus benzoyl peroxide system

The “living” radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate with the aged Cr²⁺ plus benzoyl peroxide (BPO) system in the presence of various amines as ligand has been studied in N,N′-dimethylformamide. Aliphatic amines such as ethylenediamine diminished the rate of polymerization, while dipyridyl (dipy) and o-phenanthroline (phen) accelerated the polymerization rate as follows: phen > dipy > pyridine ? none. Specifically, the rate of polymerization in the presence of phen had a maximum value at [phen]/[Cr²⁺] = 0.5. The retardation of polymerization by aliphatic amines was explained by the interaction of BPO with free and coordinated amines. The latter result may support the mechanism involving the complexed radical proposed for the living radical polymerization with the aged Cr²⁺ + BPO system. In the presence of phen the effects of aging period and aging temperature as well as polymerization temperature were studied and the nature of complexed radicals is discussed.     

Charged particle evaporation from compound nuclei formed by bombardment of58Ni with 70 MeV16O ions II

The experimental data have been compared with the result of extensive compound nucleus calculations based on the statistical theory. The shapes and the absolute cross sections for the high energy parts of the proton- and -spectra are reproduced with a level density parametera 0·11 A MeV^–1 and a moment of inertiaJ1·3J _rig. The same parameters fairly well reproduce the angular distributions corresponding to the high energy parts of the spectra whereas deviations between theory and experiment are observed for the lower energies where particles emitted by higher order processes contribute. The observed total cross section for emission of an -particle is 500 mb or 1·7 times calculated value. For protons the corresponding numbers are 2313 mb and 3·0. The increase in cross section is ascribed to the process in which several particles are evaporated. Various methods are discussed for determination of the average orbital angular momentum of the emitted particle or the average spin of the daughter nucleus.On leave fromFaculty of Matematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czechoslovakia.     

Self-assembled amphiphilic fluorescent probe: detecting pH-fluctuations within cancer cells and tumour tissues

Abnormal anaerobic metabolism leads to a lowering of the pH of many tumours, both within specific intracellular organelles and in the surrounding extracellular regions. Information relating to pH-fluctuations in cells and tissues could aid in the identification of neoplastic lesions and in understanding the determinants of carcinogenesis. Here we report an amphiphilic fluorescent pH probe (CS-1) that, as a result of its temporal motion, provides pH-related information in cancer cell membranes and selected intracellular organelles without the need for specific tumour targeting. Time-dependent cell imaging studies reveal that CS-1 localizes within the cancer cell-membrane about 20 min post-incubation. This is followed by migration to the lysosomes at 30 min before being taken up in the mitochondria after about 60 min. Probe CS-1 can selectively label cancer cells and 3D cancer spheroids and be readily observed using the green fluorescence channel (λ_em = 532 nm). In contrast, CS-1 only labels normal cells marginally, with relatively low Pearson''s correlation coefficients being found when co-incubated with standard intracellular organelle probes. Both in vivo and ex vivo experiments provide support for the suggestion that CS-1 acts as a fluorescent label for the periphery of tumours, an effect ascribed to proton-induced aggregation. A much lower response is seen for muscle and liver. Based on the present results, we propose that sensors such as CS-1 may have a role to play in the clinical and pathological detection of tumour tissues or serve as guiding aids for surgery.

A self-assembled amphiphilic fluorescent probe allows pH-fluctuations within cancer cells and tumour tissues to be readily detected.     

β微管蛋白中紫杉醇(Taxol)结合腔的性质分析

采用多拷贝同时搜寻法(MCSS), 并结合现有微管抑制剂的SAR及3D-QSAR对β微管蛋白中Taxol(紫杉醇)结合腔的性质进行了分析. 结构研究结果表明, Taxol结合腔以疏水性质为主, 并指出官能团分布的具体位置: 在Phe270上方(Leu361-Pro272-Leu273-Leu228之间)的弧形区域、Asp26羧基下方及其与Glu22羧基之间、M-loop的中部, 以及Asp224内侧且靠近Arg276的胍基的位置. 而Asp224的内侧又是新提出的结合位点. 研究结果符合现有微管抑制剂的SAR, 为现有抗肿瘤药物的结构改造以及小分子微管抑制剂设计提供了理论依据.     

Adaptation of Cu/ZnO/Al_2O_3 to Temperature Change in Methanol Synthesis from CO_2 Hydrogenation

The induction behavior in CO2 hydrogenation was studied by varying the reaction temperature to investigate the adaptation of the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst to the temperature change. The results indicated that a used catalyst had a tendency to keep the last running state in new reaction conditions for MeOH formation, and that this tendency was related to the difference in Cu/Cun+ ratio caused by CO2 and CO produced at different reaction temperatures. However, the reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGS) induced at four temperatures was completely different from that of methanol synthesis. It implied that the two so-called competitive reactions in CO2+H2, RWGS and methanol synthesis, have different active centers.     

三辛基氧化膦(TOPO)萃取铟的研究

本文研究了三辛基氧化膦(TOPO)自盐酸溶液中萃取铟的性能,其萃取率是随酸度的增加而增加。与P_(350)和TBP相比较,萃取能力大小顺序为:TOPO>P_(350)>TBP经斜率法和化学分析法研究确定,TOPO白盐酸溶液中萃取铟的反应为:In_((a))~(3+)+H_((a))~++4Cl_((a))~-+2TOPO_((o))F(?)HInCl_4·2TOPO_((o))IR和NMR研究证明:铟是以H[InCl_4]形式被萃入TOPO有机相中的。     

Synthesis of polynucleotide analogs by grafting optically active adenine,cytosine, and hypoxanthine derivatives onto polytrimethylenimine

A new family of polynucleotide analogs were prepared by grafting nucleic acid base derivatives onto polytrimethylenimine. Several new optically pure α-nucleic acid base substituted propanoic acids were prepared as pendant groups. The (R)-ethyl adeninylpropanoate was obtained from adenine and (S)-ethyl lactate by utilizing a diethyl azodicarboxylate-triphenyl phosphine method. Subsequent hydrolysis of the ester in aqueous acid gave the (R)-adeninylpropanoic acid without racemization. The reaction of cytosine sodium salt with (S)-ethyl 2-[(methylsulfonyl)oxy] propanoate produced the 20% racemized (R)-ethyl 2-(cytosin-1-yl)propanoate. The optically pure ester was obtained by recrystallization from ethyl alcohol, which was hydrolyzed in aqueous acid to give the (R)-acid with 66% enantiomeric excess. The (R)-2-(hypoxanthin-9-yl)propanoic acid was prepared by reaction of (R)-2-(adenin-9-yl)propanoic acid with sodium nitrite. The pendant groups were allowed to react with N-hydroxy compounds in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide to give the active esters. These active esters underwent reaction with N,N-dipropylamine to provide monomer model compounds. The pendant groups were grafted onto polytrimethylenimine by using the active ester method. The racemization reactions were observed in the grafting reactions. The resulting polymers showed a range of percent grafting from 60 to 80%.