Tracing the evolution of the mitochondrial protein import machinery

Mitochondria are eukaryotic organelles originated from a single bacterial endosymbiosis about 2 billion years ago. One of the earliest events in the evolution of mitochondria was the acquisition of a mechanism that facilitated the import of proteins from cytosol. The mitochondrial protein import machinery consists of dozens of subunits, and they are of modular design. However, to date, it is not clear when certain component was added to the machinery. Using extensive homology searches, the evolutionary history of the mitochondrial protein import machinery was reconstructed. The results indicated that 6 of the 35 subunits have homologs in prokaryote, suggesting that they were prokaryotic origin; the major subunit gains were occurred in the earliest stage of eukaryotic evolution; subsequent to the gain of these conserved set of subunits, the mitochondrial protein import machinery components diversified along the eukaryotic lineages and a number of lineage-specific subunits can be observed. Furthermore, protein import systems of mitochondria-like organelles (hydrogenosomes and mitosomes) have dramatically reduced their subunit contents, however, they share most of the prokaryotic origin components with mitochondrion.     

Adsorption of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene on Al(111) ultrathin film: periodic DFT calculations

The adsorption of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) molecule on the Al(111) ultrathin film were investigated by the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) of density functional theory (DFT). The calculations employ a supercell (4 × 4 × 2) model and three-dimensional periodic boundary conditions. The strong attractive forces between oxygen and aluminum atoms induce the N–O bond breaking of the TNT. Subsequently, the dissociated oxygen atoms and radical fragment of TNT oxidize the Al ultrathin film. The N–O bond of the o-NO₂ group is easier to rupture than that of the p-NO₂ group after the adsorption of the TNT molecule on the Al(111). Except for the breaking of the N–O bonds of the nitro group, other bonds of TNT molecule do not dissociate. The largest adsorption energy is −747.3 kJ/mol. The most of charge transfer is 3.42 e from the Al(111) to the fragment of TNT molecule. The aluminum ultrathin film is readily oxidized by the radical fragment of TNT, which is initiated by the dissociated O atoms from the nitro group.     

一例新型桥联吡啶化合物的合成和结构研究

利用改进的Sonogashira反应一锅法合成了一例未见报道的叁键桥联的联吡啶类化合物L[2,6-二(3'-吡啶乙炔基)-4-甲基苯胺],与常规的分步合成方法相比,新方法不需脱除保护,从而简化了反应步骤,提高了产率.对所合成的化合物利用红外、核磁、元素分析等确定了其结构,并进一步利用X射线单晶衍射法测得了该化合物的单晶结构.单晶分析显示该化合物结晶于正交晶系、Pca21空间群中,a=10.178A,b=10.972A,c=28.949 A;a=β=γ=90°,Z=8.该化合物在配位化学方面具有潜在的应用前景.我们测定了其固态下的荧光性质,显示其能够发出较强的蓝色光.     

Ce-TiO_x超细粒子的模板法制备及结构研究

利用模板法结合真空干燥技术制备出Ce-TiOx超细粒子,用XRD,TG-DSC,TEM等手段进行表征;以甲基橙溶液的光催化降解测试Ce-TiOx超细粒子的催化活性;考察初始物质的量比及热处理温度对Ce-TiOx超细粒子的结构及光催化活性的影响。结果显示:钛干凝胶经400℃热处理可得结晶度较高的锐钛矿型TiO2,800℃时TiO2转变为金红石相;Ce-Ti干凝胶经800℃热处理可得粒径约为45 nm的类球形颗粒;Ce-TiOx超细粒子中,钛以Ti3O5,Ti6O11,TiO2等多种形式存在,铈以CeO2和Ce7O12的形式存在;稀土铈影响Ce-TiOx超细粒子中钛的价态。     

泽泻醇类化合物与血清白蛋白相互作用的分子机理研究

中药泽泻具有抗肿瘤作用,可能与血清中蛋白成分的改变有关.利用荧光光谱、圆二色谱结合分子模拟技术研究了模拟生理条件下泽泻有效成分泽泻醇类化合物与人血清白蛋白的相互作用.实验结果表明,23-乙酰泽泻醇B与蛋白的结合作用远强于24-乙酰泽泻醇A.分子模拟结果与实验一致,并且表明,结合强弱的差异与小分子的侧链结构有关.该结果可...     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel benzothiazole-2-thiol derivatives as potential anticancer agents

A series of novel benzothiazole-2-thiol derivatives were synthesized and their structures determined by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and HRMS (ESI). The effects of all compounds on a panel of different types of human cancer cell lines were investigated. Among them, pyridinyl-2-amine linked benzothiazole-2-thiol compounds 7d, 7e, 7f and 7i exhibited potent and broad-spectrum inhibitory activities. Compound 7e displayed the most potent anticancer activity on SKRB-3 (IC(50) = 1.2 nM), SW620 (IC(50) = 4.3 nM), A549 (IC(50) = 44 nM) and HepG2 (IC(50) = 48 nM) and was found to induce apoptosis in HepG2 cancer cells.     

A structurally ordered thiophene-thiazole copolymer for organic thin-film transistors

This paper reports a new donor-acceptor copolymer semiconductor, PTBTh, comprising bithiophene and bithiazole where the regular coplanar structure and the intramolecular charge transfer are expected to increase the opportunity for --- stacking and charge transport. The AFM image shows lamellar stacking of the polymer on the surface. The field-effect transistor (FET) properties of PTBTh have been evaluated by a bottom-contact/bottom-gate TFT configuration. The device showed a high hole mobility of 1.14×10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 and a current on/off ratio of 3×105 with the polymer thin film annealed at a mild temperature of 120 ℃ when measured under ambient conditions.     

丝网印刷法制备高催化活性对电极

对电极在染料敏化太阳能电池（DSCs）中主要起催化氧化还原反应及收集电荷的作用,铂对电极常用的制备方法为磁控溅射法,但其成本较高,制备条件苛刻. 本文通过引入低成本的表面活性剂Span-85,所制得的铂对电极的附着力、透光率和均匀性显著改善,实现了面积可控,与两步浸泡法和旋涂热解法制备的对电极在DSCs中的光电转换效率分别为7.30%,6.96%和7.03%. 紫外-可见吸收光谱、扫描电镜和附着力测试等结果表明,（1）添加表面活性剂有利于增加附着力及改善透光率和均匀性;（2）使用该法制备的Pt/FTO对电极的透光率与两步浸泡法制作的相同,且铂粒子分布更加均匀. 电化学阻抗图谱、塔菲尔极化曲线和循环伏安曲线结果表明,丝网印刷方法制备的Pt/FTO对电极具有更加优异的催化性能,且该法更有利于降低其生产成本和大规模生产.     

多金属氧酸盐催化的水氧化研究进展

氢气以其清洁无污染、燃烧值高等优点成为未来最具潜力的可再生能源之一,而清洁生产氢气的最佳选择之一即为裂解水. 利用太阳能模拟光合作用实现水的全分解产生氢气和氧气是目前最为理想的能源转化方式,并且已经引起了众多研究者的关注. 水分解的半反应之一--水氧化反应由于其过程复杂,一直是制约水分解的瓶颈. 所以寻找高效、稳定的水氧化催化剂便成为了突破该瓶颈的关键. 多金属氧酸盐是一类以前过渡金属氧簇为基本单元形成的多金属氧簇化合物. 由于多金属氧酸盐在物理、化学性质方面具有无法比拟的特性,使得其在催化、药物、纳米科技和材料科学等方面已被广泛地应用. 多金属氧酸盐的全无机配体可很好地抵御水氧化反应的强氧化性环境,故将其作为水氧化催化剂越来越引起研究者们的注意,并且已有多种多金属氧酸盐被设计为水氧化催化剂. 本文详细介绍了各种不同过渡金属取代的多金属氧酸盐水氧化催化剂的研究进展.