Photocontrolled manipulation of a microscale object: a rotational or translational mechanism

In this paper the photocontrolled manipulation of solid materials on the surface of a liquid crystalline thin film is described. Three different types of films namely cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLC), compensated nematic liquid crystal (NLC) and nematic LC were used. The rotational and translational manipulation of the microscale solid object was induced by irradiation of light and mode of manipulation (either translational or rotational) was changed by changing the isomer of the azobenzene compound used to make the film. Rotational motion of the object was observed on the ChLC and compensated NLC films containing chirally pure azobenzene compound. The direction of rotational motion was controlled either by changing the optical isomer of the chiral azobenzene or by changing the irradiating light (from ultraviolet to visible). When racemic mixture of the chiral azobenzene compound was used, a translational motion of the object was observed. Even though the direction of the translational motion can be controlled by controlling irradiation position, more facile and precise manipulation of the objects was possible by spatially controlled irradiation of Ar(+) laser and diode UV laser.     

A photocleavable rapamycin conjugate for spatiotemporal control of small GTPase activity

We developed a novel method to spatiotemporally control the activity of signaling molecules. A newly synthesized photocaged rapamycin derivative induced rapid dimerization of FKBP (FK-506 binding protein) and FRB (FKBP-rapamycin binding protein) upon UV irradiation. With this system and the spatially confined UV irradiation, we achieved subcellularly localized activation of Rac, a member of small GTPases. Our technique offers a powerful approach to studies of dynamic intracellular signaling events.     

Real-time measurements of protein dynamics using fluorescence activation-coupled protein labeling method

We present a fluorescence activation-coupled protein labeling (FAPL) method, which employs small-molecular probes that exhibit almost no basal fluorescence but acquire strong fluorescence upon covalent binding to tag-proteins. This method enables real-time imaging of protein labeling without any washout process and is uniquely suitable for real-time imaging of protein dynamics on the cell surface. We applied this method to address the spatiotemporal dynamics of the EGF receptor during cell migration.     

Rational development of caged-biotin protein-labeling agents and some applications in live cells

Biotin-(strept)avidin complex is widely used in biotechnology because of its extremely high binding constant, but there is no report describing spatiotemporally controlled formation of the complex in live cells. Here, based on X-ray crystal structure analysis and calorimetric data, we designed and synthesized photoreleasable biotins, which show greatly reduced affinity for (strept)avidin, but recover native affinity after UV irradiation. For application at the cell surface, we introduced an amine-reactive moiety into these "caged" biotin molecules. Specific fluorescence imaging of live cells that had been labeled with these agents and then UV-irradiated, was accomplished by addition of streptavidin conjugated with a fluorophore. We also demonstrated the applicability of these compounds for UV-irradiated-cell-specific drug delivery by using caged-biotin-labeled cells, a prodrug, and streptavidin conjugated with a prodrug-activating enzyme.     

Crystallization and characterization of an inflammatory lectin purified from the seeds of Dioclea wilsonii

DwL, a lectin extracted from the seeds of Dioclea wilsonii, is a metalloprotein with strong agglutinating activity against rabbit and ABO erythrocytes, inhibited by glucose and mannose. DwL was purified by affinity chromatography on a Sephadex G-50 column and ion exchange chromatography on a HiTrap SP XL column. SDS-PAGE revealed three electrophoretic bands corresponding to the α (25,634 ± 2 Da), β (12,873 ± 2 Da) and γ (12,779 ± 2 Da) chains. Protein sequencing was done by Tandem Mass Spectrometry. The primary sequence featured 237 amino acids and was highly homologous to other reported Diocleinae lectins. A complete X-ray dataset was collected at 2.0 ? for X-Man-complexed DWL crystals produced by the vapor diffusion method. The crystals were orthorhombic and belonged to the space group I222, with the unit-cell parameters a = 59.6, b = 67.9 and c = 109.0 ?. DWL differed in potency from other ConA-like lectins and was found to induce neutrophil migration in rats, making it particularly useful in structural/functional studies of this class of proteins.     

Sound attenuation in one-dimensional magnetic systems at finite temperatures

Sound attenuattion constants are calculated for the one-dimensional ferro- and antiferromagnetic systems at finite temperatures. Their frequency dependences, in both cases, turn out to be $\text{ω}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>k</mtext>}}\text{if}\text{ω}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>k</mtext>}}\text{? ω}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{and}\text{ω}{}^2{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>k</mtext>}}\text{if}\text{ω}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>k</mtext>}}\text{?ω}{}_{\mathrm{c}}$, where ω_c is a “cut-off” frequency related to the three-dimensional anisotropic interactions.     

NMR line shape in one-dimensional magnet in the finite temperature region

The NMR line width is calculated for the one-dimensional ferro- and antiferro-magnets in the finite temperature region. The NMR line shape turns out to have a structure with double peaks which is quite different from the Lorentzian and the Gaussian type.