Inhibition of class A beta-lactamases by carbapenems: crystallographic observation of two conformations of meropenem in SHV-1

Carbapenem antibiotics are often the "last resort" in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria resistant to penicillins and cephalosporins. To understand why meropenem is resistant to hydrolysis by the SHV-1 class A beta-lactamase, the atomic structure of meropenem inactivated SHV-1 was solved to 1.05 A resolution. Two conformations of the Ser70 acylated intermediate are observed in the SHV-1-meropenem complex; the meropenem carbonyl oxygen atom of the acyl-enzyme is in the oxyanion hole in one conformation, while in the other conformation it is not. Although the structures of the SHV-1 apoenzyme and the SHV-1-meropenem complex are very similar (0.29 A rmsd for Calpha atoms), the orientation of the conserved Ser130 is different. Notably, the Ser130-OH group of the SHV-1-meropenem complex is directed toward Lys234Nz, while the Ser130-OH of the apo enzyme is oriented toward the Lys73 amino group. This altered position may affect proton transfer via Ser130 and the rate of hydrolysis. A most intriguing finding is the crystallographic detection of protonation of the Glu166 known to be involved in the deacylation mechanism. The critical deacylation water molecule has an additional hydrogen-bonding interaction with the OH group of meropenem's 6alpha-1 R-hydroxyethyl substituent. This interaction may weaken the nucleophilicity and/or change the direction of the lone pair of electrons of the water molecule and result in poor turnover of meropenem by the SHV-1 beta-lactamase. Using timed mass spectrometry, we further show that meropenem is covalently attached to SHV-1 beta-lactamase for at least 60 min. These observations explain key properties of meropenem's ability to resist hydrolysis by SHV-1 and lead to important insights regarding future carbapenem and beta-lactamase inhibitor design.     

Broadly tunable femtosecond parametric oscillator using a photonic crystal fiber

Pulses as short as 460 fs and a tuning range as wide as 200 nm around 1 microm have been achieved from a photonic-crystal-fiber-based parametric oscillator. The ring cavity with only 65 cm of photonic crystal fiber is synchronously pumped with a tunable passively mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser. Widely extended tunability is achieved by using the modulation instability gain in normal dispersion as the result of high-order dispersion in the photonic crystal fiber.     

Luminol-dependent chemiluminescence analysis of human platelets

We describe a simple, sensitive, and reproducible assay system to measure the chemiluminescence (CL) produced by injecting arachidonic acid (AA) into a preparation of human platelets containing luminol.The CL appears to result from the metabolism of the AA by enzymes in human platelets, namely, cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, and possibly peroxidases. It is believed that when the AA is injected, free radicals and/or oxidizing agents are formed that react with the luminol producing an excited state and emitting blue light (425 nm).The enzymes can be inhibited by drugs to varying degrees. BW755C inhibits all CL at micromolar doses and it is known to inhibit both lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase. Aspirin, indomethacin, and sulindac sulfide inhibit only cyclooxygenase and inhibit 35–65% of the light from an individual. This assay system can be used to screen certain drugs that are effective in inflammatory diseases. It could be used to determine whether the drugs would be effective in a given individual and also whether drugs have a long-term toxic effect in vivo on platelets. Further the assay is practical with a few milliters of blood.     

True fundamental solitons in a passively mode-locked short-cavity Cr(4+):YAG laser

We demonstrate a self-starting, passively mode-locked short-cavity Cr(4+):YAG laser that supports fundamental intracavity solitons over wide ranges of cavity group-velocity dispersion and pulse energies. The total dispersion and nonlinear effects are small enough that stable, N=1 soliton pulses are generated. Equally spaced multiple pulsing is also observed, with fundamental soliton behavior preserved. Regions of bistability exist where, at a constant cavity dispersion, the laser can produce transform-limited pulses of a different width and energy. The laser produces 200-fs pulses at approximately 0.9-, 1.8-, and 2.7-GHz repetition rates with a total of 82 mW of average output power.     

Comparison of excited-state energy transfer in arrays of hydroporphyrins (chlorins, oxochlorins) versus porphyrins: rates, mechanisms, and design criteria

A set of chlorin-chlorin and oxochlorin-oxochlorin dyads has been prepared with components in the same or different metalation states. In each case a 4,4'-diphenylethyne linker spans the respective 10-position of each macrocycle. The dyads have been studied using static and time-resolved absorption and emission spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical techniques. Excited-state energy transfer from a zinc chlorin to a free-base (Fb) chlorin occurs with a rate constant of (110 ps)(-1) and an efficiency of 93%; similar values of (140 ps)(-1) and 83% are found for the corresponding oxochlorin dyad. Energy transfer in both dyads is slower and less efficient than found previously for the analogous porphyrin dyad, which displays a rate of (24 ps)(-1) and a yield of 99%. The slower rates and diminished efficiencies in the ZnFb chlorin and oxochlorin dyads versus the ZnFb porphyrin dyad are attributed to substantially weaker linker-mediated through-bond (TB) electron-exchange coupling (as indicated by resonance Raman data). Although the through-space (TS, i.e., dipole-dipole) coupling in the ZnFb-chlorin and -oxochlorin dyads is enhanced relative to the ZnFb porphyrin dyad (as indicated by F?rster calculations), this enhancement is insufficient to compensate for the greatly diminished TB coupling. Taken together, the chlorin and oxochlorin dyads examined herein serve as benchmarks for elucidating the energy-transfer, electrochemical, and other properties of light-harvesting arrays containing multiple chlorins or oxochlorins.     

A novel palladium(0) catalysed tandem 1,3-allyl shift and Heck arylation

On treatment with Pd(PPh₃)₄ allyl vinyl ether (1) undergoes a Pd(0) catalysed 1,3 oxygen to carbon allyl shift to afford -allyl ketone (2). In the presence of both Pd(PPh₃)₄ and base the allyl vinyl ether undergoes a Pd(0) catalysed tandem 1,3 allyl shift and intramolecular Heck arylation to give the spiro indane (3). Mechanistic investigations suggest that the 1,3-allyl shift proceeds via a π-allyl palladium intermediate.     

Vapor-liquid equilibrium predictions of refrigerant mixtures from a cubic equation of state with a G-EoS mixing rule

A modified excess Gibbs energy model which is based on the local composition concept and assigns a single energy parameter per pair of components, is incorporated into the G^E—EoS thermodynamic formalism for vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) calculations of simple and complex refrigerant mixtures. One temperature set of data close to 273 K is used to obtain the model's parameters, which are used to extrapolate the VLE at other temperatures and pressures. A one-parameter form of the model based on the Wong-Sandler mixing rule is presented for several simple systems. The physical significance of the model's energy parameter is connected to the preference of the mixture for like to unlike interactions. The model is applied for VLE predictions of the ternary system R14-R23-R13, and the results are compared to calculations using the 3PWS model [H. Orbey. S.I. Sandler, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 34 (1995) 2520–2525] and the van der Waals mixing rule. Modelling of a few complex systems with only three data points given at each temperature is shown with a two parameter version of our model on the basis of the Huron-Vidal mixing rule.     

Particle electrophoresis for quality assurance and process control

Process control is an increasingly important issue as life science companies world-wide strive for recognition of their manufacturing and product development quality measures according to International Standards Organization (ISO) or good manufacturing practices (GMP) standards. Analytical particle electrophoresis (APE) has the potential for significant contributions, not just to basic research, but also in process development and control in manufacturing environments. An important feature of colloidal (small) particles, which controls their behavior, is their surface charge. Optimization of life science products and process conditions involving small particles (>100 nm) may be approached by a variety of strategies based upon direct measurements of the charge properties of process particles or "reporter" particles. The availability of increasingly powerful instruments and control particle preparations (National Institute of Standards and Technology ((NIST) and others) for validation of instrument operation make the method more attractive than ever. We summarize highly flexible electrophoretic strategies for assessing process consistency both from the perspective of particles being processed as well as the processing environment and describe principles for the use of polymer microspheres both as control particles for validation of instrument operation as well as for probes of the assay medium.