Fluorescence studies of the kinetics of binding and removal of metal ions in proteins

Fluorescence-quenching studies involving native protein fluorescence are used to monitor the rates of binding and removal of Hg(II), Cu(II), Ag(I), methylmercury(I), and p-chloro-mercuribenzoate in various protein systems (ovalbumin, bovine serum albumin, myoglobin, lysozyme, and insulin). In some cases, the fluorescence quenching as a function of time can be used to evaluate the rate constants for the binding of a particular metal ion to a protein. In many cases, multiple binding sites with different rate constants can be differentiated. The restoration of fluorescence vs. time on addition of various chelating agents (BAL, EDTA, cysteine and penicilamine) to the metal/protein system can be used to monitor metal ion removal. Multiple binding sites also can be differentiated kinetically in the removal experiments. In some cases, the appearance of multiple steps in the binding or removal or a metal or ion could be explained by small conformational changes. The rates of removal can help in estimating the effectiveness of various reagents as models for drugs in the treatment of heavy-metal poisoning.     

Mass spectra of some perfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkylether substituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles

Electron impact fragmentation patterns were obtained for 1,4-bis[(5-perfluoro-n-heptyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazolyl]-benzene, its perfluoroalkylether substituted analogue, 3,5-bis(perfluoroalkyl)-, 3,5-bis(perfluoroalkylether)- and 3-perfluoroalkylether-5-perfluoroalkyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles. In the compounds containing the phenylene group the molecular ion constituted the base peak; the main process was the breakdown of the oxadiazole ring with concurrent liberation of the perfluoroalkyl or perfluoroalkylether nitrile molecule; cleavage of the fluorinated chain α to the oxadiazole ring was found to take place to a considerable degree. In the perfluorinated 1,2,4-oxadiazoles cleavage β to the oxadiazole ring occurred preferentially; fragmentation of the ring itself took place to a limited degree only. The 3-perfluoroalkylether-5-perfluoroalkyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole appeared to undergo the primary β-cleavage exclusively at the perfluoroalkylether sidechain.     

Chaotic Hysteresis and Systemic Economic Transformation: Soviet Investment Patterns

Economies making a transition from centrally planned socialism to market capitalism can experience chaotic hysteresis. This can arise from elements of the previous system persisting even as institutions are transformed with the system possibly experiencing chaos during this conflict. A model of investment cycles accompanied by technological stagnation shows this phenomenon which can be viewed from a cusp catastrophe perspective. Empirical tests of Soviet investment and construction data provide incomplete support for the cusp structure with chaos. Nonlinear structures are found with bifurcation effects for all cases and possibly chaotic dynamics for five-year lagged construction data.     

Infinite-dilution viscoelastic properties of sodium poly(styrene sulfonate)

The storage and loss shear moduli G′ and G″ of dilute solutions of two samples of sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) with molecular weights (M) of 3.28 × 10⁵ have been measured. The Birnboim–Schrag multiple-lumped resonator technique was used in the frequency range 100–8000 Hz, and the intrinsic moduli were obtained by extrapolation to infinite dilution. Measurements were performed over the temperature range from 1.0 to 25.0°C in aqueous solvents containing from 0 to 60% by weight glycerol and from 0.001 to 0.005M added salt. The large intrinsic viscosities indicated high extension of the polymer, and the frequency dependences of G′ and G″ were matched well by hybrid relaxation spectra combining rodlike and coil-like behavior. In a solvent containing 0.001M sodium ion and no glycerol, the end-over-end rotational relaxation times for the two molecular weights corresponded to proportionality to the 1.7 power of M. With increasing molecular weight, ionic strength, and/or glycerol concentration, the polyelectrolyte appeared to become less extended, and its behavior more nearly coil-like.     

Investigation of the quantitative properties of the quadrupole orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer with electrospray ionisation using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine

This paper describes the investigation of the potential of a quadrupole orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Q-TOF) equipped with an atmospheric pressure ionisation interface for quantitative measurements of small molecules separated by reversed phase liquid chromatography. To this end, the detection limits and linear dynamic range in particular were studied in an LC/MS/MS experiment using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine standards and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine for internal standardisation. In a second phase, the experiment was repeated with real biological extracts (whole blood, serum, and vitreous humour). A calibration for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine was prepared in each of these matrices again using 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine as internal standard. The resulting quantitative data were compared with those obtained by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection for the same extracts. The Q-TOF results revealed excellent sensitivity and a linear dynamic range of nearly four decades (2-10 000 pg on-column, r(2) = 0.9998, 1/x weighting). Furthermore, all the calibration curves prepared in biological material were superimposable, LC/MS/MS and LC-fluorescence, and the quantitative results for actual samples compared very favourably. It was concluded that the Q-TOF achieves a linear dynamic range for quantitative LC/MS/MS work exceeding that of fluorescence detection and at much better absolute sensitivity. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structures of N,N-dialkoxyamides: pyramidal anomeric amides with low amidicity

The first X-ray structures of two anomeric N,N-dialkoxyamides (2 and 3) have been obtained, which confirm that they are highly pyramidalized at nitrogen and have long N-CO bonds, a characteristic of other anomeric amides and a consequence of drastically reduced amidicity. The crystals also demonstrate chirality at the amide nitrogen in the solid state. The structures are well-predicted by density functional calculations using N,N-dimethoxyacetamide as a model. The amidicity of N,N-dimethoxyacetamide has been estimated by two independent methods, COSNAR and a new transamidation method, which give almost identical resonance stabilization energies of -8.6 kcal mol(-1) and only 47% that of N,N-dimethylacetamide computed at the same level. The total destabilization is composed of a resonance and an inductive contribution, which we have evaluated separately. The electronegative oxygens at nitrogen are responsible for localization of the nitrogen lone pair on the amide nitrogen, a factor that contributes to a loss of resonance over and above the impact of pyramidalization at nitrogen, as well as the fact that N,N-dimethoxyacetamide is predicted to protonate on the carbonyl oxygen in preference to nitrogen.