Native red electrophoresis--a new method suitable for separation of native proteins

A new type of native electrophoresis was developed to separate and characterize proteins. In this modification of the native blue electrophoresis, the dye Ponceau Red S is used instead of Coomassie Brilliant Blue to impose uniform negative charge on proteins to enable their electrophoretic separation according to their relative molecular masses. As Ponceau Red S binds less tightly to proteins, in comparison with Coomassie Blue, it can be easily removed after the electrophoretic separation and a further investigation of protein properties is made possible (e.g. an enzyme detection or electroblotting). The tested proteins also kept their native properties (enzyme activity or aggregation state).     

Red-emitting dyes with photophysical and photochemical properties controlled by pH

New unsymmetrical zinc azaphthalocyanines, bearing one substituted aniline as a peripheral substituent, were prepared by using a statistical condensation approach. Both fluorescence and singlet oxygen quantum yields were extremely low in DMF (Φ(F)<0.01, Φ(Δ)<0.02, respectively), but increased after the addition of sulfuric acid, reaching values comparable to controls without aniline substituents (Φ(F)=0.22-0.29, Φ(Δ)=0.40-0.59, respectively). This behavior was attributed to the deactivation of excited states by intramolecular charge transfer from a donor site (aniline), which was blocked after protonation in acidic media. In the protonated form, all of the compounds efficiently emitted light with λ(em) in the region of 662-675 nm. The investigated compounds were anchored to dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) unilamellar vesicles and showed response to buffer pH. They were highly fluorescent at low pH values and almost nonfluorescent in neutral solutions. The pK(a) values were determined in DOPC vesicles and ranged between 2.2 and 4.2.     

Nitrogen-Rich Oxetanes Based on the Combination of Azides and Tetrazoles

Literature known energetic oxetane derivatives have a nitrogen content of up to 49.98 %. Through the introduction of azide and tetrazole functionalities attached to an oxetane ring, energetic oxetanes with higher nitrogen contents than previously reported in the literature were obtained. The newly synthesized oxetane derivatives were extensively characterized via ¹H NMR, ¹³C{¹H} NMR, ¹⁴N NMR, ¹⁵N NMR, ¹H-¹⁵N HMBC, FT-IR spectroscopy and/or DTA. Their crystal structures were elucidated using X-ray diffraction, their sensitivities towards impact, friction and electrostatic discharge were determined and their energetic properties were calculated using the EXPLO5 code.     

ChemInform Abstract: Anhydrous Tin and Lead Hexacyanoferrates(II). Part 2. Electronic Structure and Chemical Bonding

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.     

Mit chinesischer Medizin zu neuen Arzneimitteln: Auf Wirkstoffsuche im Fernen Osten

For many centuries, the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has played an important role in China for the therapy of diseases. The continuous use and development of the TCM has enabled to build up an extensive knowledge and experience regarding the medicinal plants and their pharmacological activities. In the last decades, the secondary metabolites of the TCM plants were isolated to characterise their chemical structures and their profiles of biological activity. Several of the lead structures were resp. are being developed to marketable drugs as demonstrated for the examples of huperzin, camptothecin and artemisinin.