Acquiring Structural Information on Virus Particles with Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry

Charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) is a single-molecule technique particularly well-suited to measuring the mass and charge distributions of heterogeneous, MDa-sized ions. In this work, CDMS has been used to analyze the assembly products of two coat protein variants of bacteriophage P22. The assembly products show broad mass distributions extending from 5 to 15 MDa for A285Y and 5 to 25 MDa for A285T coat protein variants. Because the charge of large ions generated by electrospray ionization depends on their size, the charge can be used to distinguish hollow shells from more compact structures. A285T was found to form T = 4 and T = 7 procapsids, and A285Y makes a small number of T = 3 and T = 4 procapsids. Owing to the decreased stability of the A285Y and A285T particles, chemical cross-linking was required to stabilize them for electrospray CDMS.

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High-pressure testing of heterogeneous charge transfer in a room-temperature ionic liquid: evidence for solvent dynamic control

We report the first application of a high-pressure electrochemical strategy to study heterogeneous charge transfer (CT) in a room-temperature ionic liquid, [BMIM][BTA]. High-pressure kinetic studies on electron exchange for two redox couples of different charge type, viz. [Fe(bipy)3]3+/2+ and [Fe(cp)2]+/0, at bare Au electrodes within the range of 0.1-150 MPa, revealed large positive volumes of activation that were found to be virtually the same for the two redox couples in terms of the CT rate constants and diffusion coefficients, despite the reactant's charge type. Independent viscosity (fluidity) studies at elevated pressure (up to 175 MPa), were also performed and revealed a pressure coefficient closely resembling the former ones. Complementary temperature-dependent kinetic studies within the range of 298-358 K also revealed the virtual similarity in activation enthalpies for the same kinetic and diffusion processes, as well as the viscosity of [BMIM][BTA]. A rigorous analysis of the complete variety of obtained results strongly indicates that dynamic (frictional) control of CT is operative by way of the full adiabatic mechanism. The contribution of the Franck-Condon term to the activation free energy of the kinetic process seems almost diminished because of the high value of electronic coupling and freezing out of the outer-sphere reorganization energy. Further analyses indicate that frictional control most probably takes place through slow translational modes (implying "minimal volume" cooperative dislocations) of constituent ions. This kind of motion seems further slowed down within the vicinity of the active site presumably located within the diffusive-like zone situated next to the compact (first) part of the metal/ionic liquid junction.     

Synthesis, microwave-assisted polymerization, and polymer properties of fluorinated 2-phenyl-2-oxazolines: a systematic study

We present a detailed systematic study of the synthesis and ability of fluorinated 2-phenyl-2-oxazolines to undergo polymerization. The synthesis of these compounds is based on a two-step procedure that gives the desired 2-oxazolines in moderate-to-good yields. All the compounds were fully characterized by IR and NMR ((1)H, (13)C, and (19)F) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The 2-oxazolines were subsequently used as monomers for living cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) with microwave irradiation as the heat source (T=140 degrees C), nitromethane as the solvent, and methyl tosylate as the initiator. The linear first-order kinetic plots of the polymerizations accompanied by a linear increase of the molecular weight with conversion and low polydispersity index (PDI) values (generally below 1.30) indicate a living polymerization mechanism. The resulting polymerization rates reflect a strong sensitivity to the quantity of fluorine substituents in general and the presence or absence of ortho-fluoro substituents of the phenyl ring in particular. All the polymers were isolated and characterized by size-exclusion chromatography and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Finally, a detailed investigation of selected polymer properties was performed by using differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and contact-angle measurements, thus resulting in structure-property relationships. Whereas the thermal properties of the polymers are mostly influenced by the presence of ortho-fluoro substituents, the surface properties are mainly determined by the presence of para- and/or meta-fluoro substituents.     

Cellular internalization and targeting of semiconductor quantum dots

Peptide-mediated internalization and organelle targeting of quantum dots.     

HPLC separations with micro-bore columns using high-temperature water and flame ionization detection

Previous work demonstrates that a flame ionization detector (FID) may be used as a detector for high-temperature water separation. However, the relatively high flow rate of the eluent required by standard high-performance liquid chromatography columns causes instability of the FID. In this work, micro-bore columns are packed with poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (PRP-1) or Daiso gel octadecylsilane-bonded phase particles. Because micro columns require low volume flow rates, the eluent used in high-temperature water chromatography does not cause instability of the FID. Separation of carbohydrates, amino acids, and other organic acids and bases is performed on two micro-bore columns using a homemade high-temperature water chromatograph with FID. Both isothermal and programmed temperatures are used in this work. The limit of detection and the linear range are also determined for amino acids tested.     

Location of muonium and hydrogen in C60 fullerene and associated electronic structure and hyperfine properties

The unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) procedure is used to investigate the locations, associated electronic structures and hyperfine interactions for muonium and hydrogen in C₆₀ fullerene. Our results indicate that from total energy considerations, in keeping with earlier investigations, the exohedral model has the lowest energy. However, the energies of the endohedral model involving the muonium (hydrogen) inside the fullerene and bonded to one of the carbon atoms, and of the muon at the center are found to be almost equal, contrary to earlier results. The hyperfine interaction constant for the endohedral site is in good agreement with that required to explain the lower observed muon spin-rotation (SR) frequency in the C₆₀-muonium system. The same appears to be the case for the exohedral model. However, there seems to be some uncertainty about the theoretical result in the latter case due to significant admixtures of higher spin states in the UHF wave-function. Additionally, in solid fullerene, the calculated location of the muonium for the exohedral model is such that it could be bonded to two fullerene molecules and therefore a muonium attached to a simple fullerene may not be representative of the exohedral state. This feature as well as the difficulty for the exohedral model of explaining the observed equality of the correlation times for relaxation effects associated with both SR and¹³C relaxation times in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments suggests that the endohedral model for muonium cannot at present be ruled out as a viable model in favor of the exohedral model. Possible avenues for future investigations to resolve some of the problems for both exohedral and endohedral models are discussed. Results obtained for muonium at the center of fullerene are presented and compared to the features of the observed high frequency SR signal, and possible improvements in theory are discussed.     

The Effect of Ionic Liquid Pretreatment on the Bioconversion of Tomato Processing Waste to Fermentable Sugars and Biogas

Tomato pomace is an abundant lignocellulosic waste stream from industrial tomato processing and therefore a potential feedstock for production of renewable biofuels. However, little research has been conducted to determine if pretreatment can enhance release of fermentable sugars from tomato pomace. Ionic liquids (ILs) are an emerging pretreatment technology for lignocellulosic biomass to increase enzymatic digestibility and biofuel yield while utilizing recyclable chemicals with low toxicity. In this study, pretreatment of tomato pomace with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim][OAc]) was investigated. Changes in pomace enzymatic digestibility were affected by pretreatment time and temperature. Certain pretreatment conditions significantly improved reducing sugar yield and hydrolysis time compared to untreated pomace. Compositional analyses suggested that pretreatment primarily removed water-soluble compounds and enriched for lignocellulose in pomace, with only subtle changes to the composition of the lignocellulose. While tomato pomace was effectively pretreated with [C2mim][OAc] to improve enzymatic digestibility, as of yet, unknown factors in the pomace caused ionic liquid pretreatment to negatively affect anaerobic digestion of pretreated material. This result, which is unique compared to similar studies on IL pretreatment of grasses and woody biomass, highlights the need for additional research to determine how the unique chemical composition of tomato pomace and other lignocellulosic fruit residues may interact with ionic liquids to generate inhibitors for downstream fermentation to biofuels.     

A brief critique of the Adam–Gibbs entropy model

This paper critically discusses the entropy model proposed by Adam and Gibbs in 1965 for the dramatic temperature dependence of glass-forming liquids’ average relaxation time, which is one of the most influential models during the last four decades. We discuss the Adam–Gibbs model’s theoretical bases as well as its reported experimental model confirmations; in the process of doing this a number of problems with the model are identified.