Methodological challenges of optical tweezers‐based X‐ray fluorescence imaging of biological model organisms at synchrotron facilities

Recently, a radically new synchrotron radiation‐based elemental imaging approach for the analysis of biological model organisms and single cells in their natural in vivo state was introduced. The methodology combines optical tweezers (OT) technology for non‐contact laser‐based sample manipulation with synchrotron radiation confocal X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) microimaging for the first time at ESRF‐ID13. The optical manipulation possibilities and limitations of biological model organisms, the OT setup developments for XRF imaging and the confocal XRF‐related challenges are reported. In general, the applicability of the OT‐based setup is extended with the aim of introducing the OT XRF methodology in all research fields where highly sensitive in vivo multi‐elemental analysis is of relevance at the (sub)micrometre spatial resolution level.     

Cyclodextrin knowledgebase a web-based service managing CD-ligand complexation data

Cyclodextrins are cyclic oligosaccharides that are able to form water-soluble inclusion complexes with small molecules. Because of their complexing ability, they are widely applied in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In this paper we describe the development of a free web-service, Cyclodextrin KnowledgeBase: (http://www.cyclodextrin.net). The database contains four modules: the Publication, Interaction, Chirality and Analysis Modules. In the Publication Module, almost 50,000 publication details are collected that can be retrieved by text search. In the Interaction and Chirality Modules relevant literature data on cyclodextrin complexation and chiral recognition are collected that can be retrieved by both text and structural searches. Moreover, in the Analysis Module, the geometries of small molecule-cyclodextrin complexes can be predicted using molecular docking tools in order to explore the structures and interaction energies of the inclusion complexes. Complex geometry prediction is made possible by the built-in database of 95 cyclodextrin derivatives, where the 3D structures as well as the partial charges are calculated and stored for further utilization. The use of the database is demonstrated by several examples.     

trans-Resveratrol and trans-Piceid Content of Hungarian Wines

Plant polyphenols are naturally occurring secondary plant metabolites, synthesized in response to environmental stress factors. As anti-oxidants and free-radical scavengers they serve as essential components of the human diet. Among polyphenols well studied representatives are the trans-resveratrol and trans-piceid molecules, the latter being the glycoside of trans-resveratrol. trans-Resveratrol is known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, cardio- and vasoprotective effects which help in the prevention of chronic cardiovascular and tumorous diseases.

In the present study, 42 Hungarian wines were analyzed using LC-DAD detection. The wines were from Villány and Eger wine regions representing three wineries from 2003 to 2007 vintage years. The trans-resveratrol amount in the processed wines ranged from 0.75 to 10.4 mg mL⁻¹ and for trans-piceid from 0.1 to 3.7 mg mL⁻¹.

     

Nitroxide bound beta-cyclodextrin: is there an inclusion complex?

236CDTIPNO, a derivative of the persistent free radical TIPNO (1,1-dimethylethyl 2-methyl-1-phenylpropyl nitroxide) covalently bound to a permethylated-beta-cyclodextrin, was prepared. Self-association of 236CDTIPNO in water was proved by solvent- and competition-dependent EPR spectroscopy experiments with 2,6-di-O-Me-beta-cyclodextrin (DIMEB) and permethylated-beta-cyclodextrin (TRIMEB) as external hosts competing for accommodation of the TIPNO moiety. Temperature-dependent EPR spectra were simulated with a novel two-dimensional (field-temperature) EPR simulation program that afforded a full determination of the thermodynamic parameters characterizing the rate constants of the self-inclusion reaction derived from Arrhenius and Eyring models. This method allows separating the line broadening effects due to relaxation from a chemical exchange, even if only the fast exchange regime is accessible experimentally. The activation parameters for the forward and backward steps were consistent with an equilibrium between a nonassociated form and a weakly associated form, with activation free enthalpies for each reaction of around 34 kJ.mol(-)(1).     

SPR-based immunocapture approach to creating an interfacial sensing architecture: mapping of the MRS18-2 binding site on retinoblastoma protein

Biosensor technologies based on optical readout are widely used in protein–protein interaction studies. Here we describe a fast and simple approach to the creation of oriented interfacial architectures for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) transducers, based on conventional biochemical procedures and custom reagents. The proposed protocol permits the oriented affinity-capture of GST fusion proteins by a specific antibody which is bound to protein A, which in turn has been immobilized on the transducer surface (after the surface has been modified by guanidine thiocyanate). The applicability of the method was demonstrated by studying the interaction between retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRb) and MRS18-2 proteins. The formation of the pRb–MRS18-2 protein complex was examined and the pRb binding site (A-box–spacer–B-box) was mapped. We have also shown that MRS18-2, which was detected as the Epstein–Barr virus-encoded EBNA-6 binding partner using the yeast two-hybrid system, binds to pRb in GST pull-down assays.     

Bioelectrocatalysis in ionic liquids. Examining specific cation and anion effects on electrode-immobilized cytochrome c

Cytochrome c immobilized on alkylthiol self-assembled monolayers exhibits a characteristic Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox signal that is lost when exposed to ionic liquids composed of a butylimidazolium cation combined with either hexafluorophosphate or bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide anion. In this study it was shown that exposure to the aqueous solubilized ionic liquid components, butyl-, hexyl-, and octyl-imidazolium cations and hexafluorophosphate, tetrafluoroborate, and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide anions, resulted in partial electrochemical signal loss. Absorbance and fluorescence measurements showed that signal loss due to the cationic ionic liquid component followed a different mechanism than that of the anionic component. Although a portion of the signal was recoverable, irreversible signal loss also occurred in both cases. The source of the irreversible component is suggested to be the loss of protein secondary structure through complexation between the ionic liquid components and the protein surface residues. The reversible electrochemical signal loss is likely due to interfacial interactions imposed between the electrode and the cytochrome heme group. The influence of the amount of exposed surface residues was explored with a simplified model protein, microperoxidase-11.