Short-term changes in carbon isotope composition of soluble carbohydrates and starch: from canopy leaves to the root system

Changes in the 13C discrimination of current leaf photosynthesis might have profound impacts on root respiratory substrates. Therefore, the aim of this study was (1) to refine a method for the isolation of root and leaf starch and soluble sugars (neutral fraction) for stable carbon isotope analysis and (2) to assess the short-term temporal variability of the C isotope composition (delta13C) of starch and of the neutral fraction of beech roots and leaves at different canopy heights. An existing method for isolating starch for stable C isotope analysis based on enzymatic hydrolysis was modified to account for the low starch content of the samples. This was achieved by removing the enzyme (alpha-amylase) by ultrafiltration after the hydrolysis, resulting in very low carbon blanks. The neutral fraction was separated from organic acids and cations by ion-exchange chromatography. An anion-exchange resin in the [HCO3]--form was chosen that ensured high precision of C blanks. Beech leaves at 5, 10 and 20 m above the forest floor as well as roots were sampled six times during a day/night cycle in July 2003. Delta13C values of bulk material, starch and the neutral fraction increased from the lower to the higher canopy with mean differences between 5 and 20 m of 3.8, 3.4 and 2.7 per thousand for the delta13C values of starch, neutral fraction and bulk foliage, respectively. The delta13C value of foliar starch increased from the morning to the afternoon and decreased during the night, but diurnal differences (up to 3.1 per thousand) were only statistically significant for leaves sampled at 5 and 10 m height. In roots, no diurnal variation in the delta13C of starch was observed during the short time frame of one day and the delta13C of the neutral fraction did not differ between samples taken at 16:30 and 22:00. Calculated delta13C values of starch, which was mobilised during the night, were more positive than the total starch (all sampling times pooled) in leaves. Furthermore, the delta13C values of mobilised starch were approximately 5 per thousand more positive than that of the mobilised neutral fraction. Hence, the delta13C of potential sources for export from canopy leaves to roots varied considerably in their C isotope composition.     

Templated synthesis of electroactive periodic mesoporous organosilica bridged with oligoaniline

The synthesis and characterization of novel electroactive periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) are reported. The silsesquioxane precursor, N,N'-bis(4'-(3-triethoxysilylpropylureido)phenyl)-1,4-quinonene-diimine (TSUPQD), was prepared from the emeraldine base of amino-capped aniline trimer (EBAT) using a one-step coupling reaction and was used as an organic silicon source in the co-condensation with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in proper ratios. By means of a hydrothermal sol-gel approach with the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the structure-directing template and acetone as the co-solvent for the dissolution of TSUPQD, a series of novel MCM-41 type siliceous materials (TSU-PMOs) were successfully prepared under mild alkaline conditions. The resultant mesoporous organosilica were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and showed that this series of TSU-PMOs exhibited hexagonally patterned mesostructures with pore diameters of 2.1-2.8 nm. Although the structural regularity and pore parameters gradually deteriorated with increasing loading of organic bridges, the electrochemical behavior of TSU-PMOs monitored by cyclic voltammetry demonstrated greater electroactivities for samples with higher concentration of the incorporated TSU units.     

Synthesis and application of chiral N-heterocyclic carbene-oxazoline ligands: iridium-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation

Two libraries of enantiomerically pure imidazolium salts bearing an oxazoline unit were synthesized. Deprotonation of the imidazolium salts and complexation of the resulting oxazoline-carbene ligands to iridium(I) was achieved in one step by mixing the imidazolium salts with NaOtBu and [(eta(4)-cod)IrCl](2) in THF at room temperature. The air-stable complexes were purified by flash chromatography. All complexes were analyzed by two-dimensional (2D) NMR methods and one compound from each family was characterized by X-ray structure analysis. The two libraries of iridium complexes were successfully tested in the asymmetric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized and functionalized olefins. Enantioselectivities of up to 90 % ee were obtained with trans-alpha-methylstilbene. Upon complexation of imidazolium salt 15 p with R(1) = phenyl, C-H bond activation of the phenyl ring gave rise to iridium(III) complex 17, which was fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray structure analysis. Complex 17 proved to be catalytically inactive in the hydrogenation.     

Synthesis of oligosaccharides corresponding to Vibrio cholerae O139 polysaccharide structures containing dideoxy sugars and a cyclic phosphate

A spacer-equipped tetrasaccharide, p-aminocyclohexylethyl alpha-l-Colp-(1-->2)-beta-d-Galp-(1-->3)-[alpha-l-Colp-(1-->4)]-beta-D-GlcpNAc, containing a 4,6-cyclic phosphate in the galactose residue, has been synthesised. The structure corresponds to a part of the repeating unit of the capsular (and lipo-) polysaccharide of the endemic bacteria Vibrio cholerae type O139 synonym Bengal. The synthetic strategy allows continuous syntheses of the complete O139 hexasaccharide repeating unit as well as of the structurally related repeating unit of serotype O22. Starting from ethyl 2-azido-4,6-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-1-thio-beta-D-glucopyranoside, a thioglycoside tetrasaccharide donor block was constructed through two orthogonal glycosylations with glycosyl bromide donors. First, a properly protected galactose moiety was introduced using silver triflate as promoter and subsequently the two colitose residues, carrying electron-withdrawing protecting groups for stability reasons, under halide-assisted conditions. The tetrasaccharide block was then linked to the spacer in a NIS-TMSOTf-promoted coupling. Transformation of the azido group into an acetamido group using H2S followed by removal of temporary protecting acetyl groups gave a 4',6'-diol, which was next phosphorylated with methyl dichlorophosphate and deprotected to yield the 4,6-cyclic phosphate tetrasaccharide target structure.     

Chemoenzymatic approaches toward dechloroansamitocin P-3

[reaction: see text] The enantioselective total synthesis of proansamitocin, a key biosynthetic intermediate of the highly potent antitumor agent ansamitocin P-3, is described which bears a diene-ene RCM as the key macrocyclization step. Feeding of proansamitocin to an AHBA block mutant Actinosynnema pretiosum (HGF073) yielded ansamitocin P-3 as well as dechloroansamitocin P-3, the latter also being formed upon fermentation in the presence of 3-amino-5-methoxybenzoic acid.     

Transition metal-carbon complexes. A theoretical study

The equilibrium geometries and bond dissociation energies of 16VE and 18VE complexes of ruthenium and iron with a naked carbon ligand are reported using density functional theory at the BP86/TZ2P level. Bond energies were also calculated at CCSD(T) using TZ2P quality basis sets. The calculations of [Cl2(PMe3)2Ru(C)] (1Ru), [Cl2(PMe3)2Fe(C)] (1Fe), [(CO)2(PMe3)2Ru(C)] (2Ru), [(CO)2(PMe3)2Fe(C)] (2Fe), [(CO)4Ru(C)] (3Ru), and [(CO)4Fe(C)] (3Fe) show that 1Ru has a very strong Ru-C bond which is stronger than the Fe-C bond in 1Fe. The metal-carbon bonds in the 18VE complexes 2Ru-3Fe are weaker than those in the 16VE species. Calculations of the related carbonyl complexes [(PMe3)2Cl2Ru(CO)] (4Ru), [(PMe3)2Cl2Fe(CO)] (4Fe), [(PMe3)2Ru(CO)3] (5Ru), [(PMe3)2Fe(CO)3] (5Fe), [Ru(CO)5] (6Ru), and [Fe(CO)5] (6Fe) show that the metal-CO bonds are much weaker than the metal-C bonds. The 18VE iron complexes have a larger BDE than the 18VE ruthenium complexes, while the opposite trend is calculated for the 16VE compounds. Charge and energy decomposition analyses (EDA) have been carried out for the calculated compounds. The Ru-C and Fe-C bonds in 1Ru and 1Fe are best described in terms of two electron-sharing bonds with sigma and pi symmetry and one donor-acceptor pi bond. The bonding situation in the 18 VE complexes 2Ru-3Fe is better described in terms of closed shell donor-acceptor interactions in accordance with the Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson model. The bonding analysis clearly shows that the 16VE carbon complexes 1Ru and 1Fe are much more strongly stabilized by metal-C sigma interactions than the 18VE complexes which is probably the reason why the substituted homologue of 1Ru could become isolated. The EDA calculations show that the nature of the TM-C and TM-CO binding interactions resembles each other. The absolute values for the energy terms which contribute to Delta(Eint) are much larger for the carbon complexes than for the carbonyl complexes, but the relative strengths of the energy terms are not very different from each other. The pi bonding contribution to the orbital interactions in the carbon complexes is always stronger than sigma bonding. There is no particular bonding component which is responsible for the reversal of the relative bond dissociation energies of the Ru and Fe complexes when one goes from the 16VE complexes to the 18VE species. That the 18 VE compounds have longer and weaker TM-C and TM-CO bonds than the respective 16 VE compounds holds for all complexes. This is because the LUMO in the 16 VE species is a sigma-antibonding orbital which becomes occupied in the 18 VE species.     

Hydrophobic amino acid and single-atom substitutions increase DNA polymerase selectivity

DNA polymerase fidelity is of immense biological importance due to the fundamental requirement for accurate DNA synthesis in both replicative and repair processes. Subtle hydrogen-bonding networks between DNA polymerases and their primer/template substrates are believed to have impact on DNA polymerase selectivity. We show that deleting defined interactions of that kind by rationally designed hydrophobic substitution mutations can result in a more selective enzyme. Furthermore, a single-atom replacement within the DNA substrate through chemical modification, which leads to an altered acceptor potential and steric demand of the DNA substrate, further increased the selectivity of the developed systems. Accordingly, this study about the impact of hydrophobic alterations on DNA polymerase selectivity--enzyme and substrate wise--further highlights the relevance of shape complementary and polar interactions on DNA polymerase selectivity.     

Physicochemical investigation of a lipid with a new core structure for gene transfection: 2-amino-3-hexadecyloxy-2-(hexadecyloxymethyl)propan-1-ol

Cationic liposomes/DNA complexes can be used as nonviral vectors for direct delivery of DNA-based biopharmaceuticals to damaged cells and tissues. In order to obtain more effective and safer liposome-based gene transfection systems, the new cationic lipid 2-amino-3-hexadecyloxy-2-(hexadecyloxymethyl)propan-1-ol (AHHP) was synthesized. In this paper we report on the synthesis of AHHP and investigations of its physical-chemical properties. Langmuir monolayers of AHHP were studied at the air/buffer interface by film balance measurements, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD), and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). Structure and thermotropic phase behavior of AHHP in aqueous dispersion were examined by small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show clear differences in structure and phase behavior of AHHP, both in the monolayer system and in aqueous dispersions, in dependence on the subphase pH due to protonation or deprotonation of the primary amine in the lipid head group. Thermodynamic data derived from pi-A isotherms provide information about the critical temperature (Tc), which is in rough agreement with the temperature of the lipid phase transition from gel to fluid state (Tm) found by X-ray and calorimetry studies of AHHP aqueous dispersions. The packing properties of the molecules in mono- and bilayer systems are very similar. DNA couples to the monolayer of the new lipid at low as well as at high pH but in different amounts. The DNA coupling leads to an alignment of adsorbed DNA strands indicated by the appearance of a Bragg peak. The distance between aligned DNA strands does not change much with increasing monolayer pressure.     

Effect of CyDye minimum labeling in differential gel electrophoresis on the reliability of protein identification

Differential 2-DE (DIGE) is a widely applied tool for the quantitative analysis of differentially represented proteins. The method involves covalent minimal labeling of proteins prior to their electrophoretic separation using CyDye DIGE Fluor minimal dyes. This methodology creates two different species per protein, the labeled (approx. 1-2%) and unlabeled (approx. 98-99%) ones, which differ in their molecular masses by 434-464 Da, depending on the attached dye. DIGE followed by automated spot picking according to the CyDye coordinates misses in many instances the exact positions where the maximum amounts of the considered proteins are located. This fact leads to a loss in sensitivity of the subsequent MALDI-MS analyses and results in a reduced reliability of protein identification and sequence coverage. In this paper, the migration differences of labeled and unlabeled species are quantified together with the impact of this effect on the certainty of protein identification and sequence coverage investigating proteins up to 90 kDa.