Method for the direct determination of available carbohydrates in low-carbohydrate products using high-performance anion exchange chromatography

An improved method for direct determination of available carbohydrates in low-level products has been developed and validated for a low-carbohydrate soy infant formula. The method involves modification of an existing direct determination method to improve specificity, accuracy, detection levels, and run times through a more extensive enzymatic digestion to capture all available (or potentially available) carbohydrates. The digestion hydrolyzes all common sugars, starch, and starch derivatives down to their monosaccharide components, glucose, fructose, and galactose, which are then quantitated by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with photodiode array detection. Method validation consisted of specificity testing and 10 days of analyzing various spike levels of mixed sugars, maltodextrin, and corn starch. The overall RSD was 4.0% across all sample types, which contained within-day and day-to-day components of 3.6 and 3.4%, respectively. Overall average recovery was 99.4% (n = 10). Average recovery for individual spiked samples ranged from 94.1 to 106% (n = 10). It is expected that the method could be applied to a variety of low-carbohydrate foods and beverages.     

Methyl groups as probes for proteins and complexes in in-cell NMR experiments

Studying protein components of large intracellular complexes by in-cell NMR has so far been impossible because the backbone resonances are unobservable due to their slow tumbling rates. We describe a methodology that overcomes this difficulty through selective labeling of methyl groups, which possess more favorable relaxation behavior. Comparison of different in-cell labeling schemes with three different proteins, calmodulin, NmerA, and FKBP, shows that selective labeling with [(13)C]methyl groups on methionine and alanine provides excellent sensitivity with low background levels at very low costs.     

Synthesis,Structure, Photophysical Properties,and Photostability of Benzodipyrenes

This work explores the syntheses, structures, photophysical properties, and photostability of benzodipyrenes (BDPs). BDPs were synthesized through an InCl₃-AgNTf₂-catalyzed, four-fold alkyne benzannulation reaction. The structures of BDP 4 a and its corresponding endoperoxide product were unambiguously confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The BDPs reported here can also be recognized as peri- and cata-benzannulated pentacenes with a non-functionalized central ring. Unlike the previous reported pentacene-based polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the absorbances of the BDPs were blueshifted by ca. 40 nm relative to pentacene, even after extension of π-conjugation. The newly synthesized BDP products exhibit relatively good stability with half-lives as high as 4612 min in THF.     

Characterization of protein contributions to cobalt-carbon bond cleavage catalysis in adenosylcobalamin-dependent ethanolamine ammonia-lyase by using photolysis in the ternary complex

Protein contributions to the substrate-triggered cleavage of the cobalt-carbon (Co-C) bond and formation of the cob(II)alamin-5'-deoxyadenosyl radical pair in the adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)-dependent ethanolamine ammonia-lyase (EAL) from Salmonella typhimurium have been studied by using pulsed-laser photolysis of AdoCbl in the EAL-AdoCbl-substrate ternary complex, and time-resolved probing of the photoproduct dynamics by using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy on the 10(-7)-10(-1) s time scale. Experiments were performed in a fluid dimethylsulfoxide/water cryosolvent system at 240 K, under conditions of kinetic competence for thermal cleavage of the Co-C bond in the ternary complex. The static ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra of holo-EAL and ternary complex are comparable, indicating that the binding of substrate does not labilize the cofactor cobalt-carbon (Co-C) bond by significantly distorting the equilibrium AdoCbl structure. Photolysis of AdoCbl in EAL at 240 K leads to cob(II)alamin-5'-deoxyadenosyl radical pair quantum yields of <0.01 at 10(-6) s in both holo-EAL and ternary complex. Three photoproduct states are populated following a saturating laser pulse, and labeled, P(f), P(s), and P(c). The relative amplitudes and first-order recombination rate constants of P(f) (0.4-0.6; 40-50 s(-1)), P(s) (0.3-0.4; 4 s(-1)), and P(c) (0.1-0.2; 0) are comparable in holo-EAL and in the ternary complex. Time-resolved, full-spectrum electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy shows that visible irradiation alters neither the kinetics of thermal cob(II)alamin-substrate radical pair formation, nor the equilibrium between ternary complex and cob(II)alamin-substrate radical pair, at 246 K. The results indicate that substrate binding to holo-EAL does not "switch" the protein to a new structural state, which promptly stabilizes the cob(II)alamin-5'-deoxyadenosyl radical pair photoproduct, either through an increased barrier to recombination, a decreased barrier to further radical pair separation, or lowering of the radical pair state free energy, or a combination of these effects. Therefore, we conclude that such a change in protein structure, which is independent of changes in the AdoCbl structure, and specifically the Co-C bond length, is not a basis of Co-C bond cleavage catalysis. The results suggest that, following the substrate trigger, the protein interacts with the cofactor to contiguously guide the cleavage of the Co-C bond, at every step along the cleavage coordinate, starting from the equilibrium configuration of the ternary complex. The cleavage is thus represented by a diagonal trajectory across a free energy surface, that is defined by chemical (Co-C separation) and protein configuration coordinates.     

Effect of ligand structure on the pathways for iron release from human serum transferrin

Rate constants for the removal of iron from N-terminal monoferric transferrin have been measured for a series of phosphate and phosphonocarboxylic acids in pH 7.4 0.1 M hepes buffer at 25 degrees C. The bidentate ligands pyrophosphate and phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) show a combination of saturation and first-order kinetics with respect to the ligand concentration. Similar results are observed following a single substitution at the 2-position of PAA to give 2-benzyl-PAA and phosphonosuccinic acid. In contrast, disubstitution at the 2-position to form 2,2-dibenzyl-PAA leads to a marked reduction in iron removal via the first-order pathway. Rate constants were also measured for tripolyphosphate and phosphonodiacetic acid, which are elongated versions of PP(i) and PAA. In both cases, this elongation completely eliminates the first-order component for iron release while having relatively little impact on the saturation pathway. The sensitivity of the first-order component to the structure of the ligand strongly indicates that this pathway involves the binding of the ligand to a specific site on the protein and cannot be attributed to changes in the overall ionic strength of the solution as the ligand concentration increases. It is proposed that this structural sensitivity reflects steric restrictions on the ability of the incoming ligand to substitute for the synergistic carbonate anion to form a relatively unstable Fe-ligand-Tf ternary intermediate, which then dissociates to FeL and apoTf.     

Conformational Properties of the Phosphate Rings of Neutral Phosphoramidate Derivatives of Ribo- and 2′-Deoxyribonucleoside Cyclic 3′,5′-Monophosphates

Abstract

An investigation of the effects of changing the nature of X, nitrogen base (B), and amino substituent (R₂N) on the equilibrium 1?2 was carried out.

The influence of the above structural changes on the time-averaged coupling constants J_AP and J_BP, determined at 300 MHz, were used to follow changes in K_eq. With constant R₂N, small effects from variation of X and B were found. A large range in K_eq arose from changes in the steric size of R₂N. These results will be related to the question of the ease of chair to twist interconversion of the phosphate ring essential to the biological activities of the naturally occurring diesters, cAMP and cGMP.     

The kalimantacin/batumin biosynthesis operon encodes a self-resistance isoform of the FabI bacterial target

BatG is a trans-2-enoyl-ACP reductase, encoded in?the kalimantacin/batumin (kal/bat) biosynthesis operon. It is not essential for the production of the kal/bat secondary metabolite. Instead, BatG is an isoform of FabI, conferring full resistance to target bacteria. It also complements FabI in its role in fatty acid biosynthesis. The identification of FabI as the antibacterial target is important to assess clinical potential of the kalimantacin/batumin antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus.     

Extraordinary NO2 Removal by the Metal–Organic Framework UiO‐66‐NH2

Here we discuss the removal of nitrogen dioxide, an important toxic industrial chemical and pollutant, from air using the MOF UiO‐66‐NH₂. The amine group is found to substantially aid in the removal, resulting in unprecedented removal capacities upwards of 1.4 g of NO₂ /g of MOF. Furthermore, whereas NO₂ typically generates substantial quantities of NO on sorbents, the amount generated by UiO‐66‐NH₂ is significantly reduced. Of particular significance is the formation of a diazonium ion on the aromatic ring of the MOF, and the potential reduction of NO₂ to molecular nitrogen.     

Model systems for probing metal cation hydration: the V+(H2O) and ArV+(H2O) complexes

In support of mass-selected infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectroscopy experiments, coupled-cluster methods including all single and double excitations (CCSD) and a perturbative contribution from connected triple excitations [CCSD(T)] have been used to study the V+(H2O) and ArV+(H2O) complexes. Equilibrium geometries, harmonic vibrational frequencies, and dissociation energies were computed for the four lowest-lying quintet states (5A1, 5A2, 5B1, and 5B2), all of which appear within a 6 kcal mol(-1) energy range. Moreover, anharmonic vibrational analyses with complete quartic force fields were executed for the 5A1 states of V+(H2O) and ArV+(H2O). Two different basis sets were used: a Wachters+f V[8s6p4d1f] basis with triple-zeta plus polarization (TZP) for O, H, and Ar; and an Ahlrichs QZVPP V[11s6p5d3f2g] and Ar[9s6p4d2f1g] basis with aug-cc-pVQZ for O and H. The ground state is predicted to be 5A1 for V+(H2O), but argon tagging changes the lowest-lying state to 5B1 for ArV+(H2O). Our computations show an opening of 2 degrees -3 degrees in the equilibrium bond angle of H2O due to its interaction with the metal ion. Zero-point vibrational averaging increases the effective bond angle further by 2.0 degrees -2.5 degrees, mostly because of off-axis motion of the heavy vanadium atom rather than changes in the water bending potential. The total theoretical shift in the bond angle of about +4 degrees is significantly less than the widening near 9 degrees deduced from IRPD experiments. The binding energies (D0) for the successive addition of H2O and Ar to the vanadium cation are 36.2 and 9.4 kcal mol(-1), respectively.