Analysis of Mammalian Cell Cytoplasm with Electrophoresis in Nanometer Inner Diameter Capillaries

Capillary electrophoresis in 770 nanometer inner diameter capillaries coupled to electrochemical detection with an etched electrode matching an etched capillary (etched electrochemical detection) has been used with ultrasmall sampling to inject subcellular samples from intact single mammalian cells. Separations of cytoplasmic samples taken from rat pheochromocytoma cells have been achieved. As little as 8% of the total volume of a single cell has been sampled and analyzed. Dopamine has been identified and quantified in these PC12 cells using this technique. The average cytoplasmic level of dopamine in rat pheochromocytoma cells has been determined to be 240 ± 60 μM. The use of electrophoresis in 770 nanometer inner diameter capillaries with electrochemical detection to monitor cytoplasmic neurotransmitters at the single cell level can provide information about complex cellular functions such as neurotransmitter storage and synthesis.     

A comparison of electrochemical and Auger analysis of the surface composition of platinum-rhodium alloys

Values of the surface composition of platinum-rhodium alloys determined electrochemically, utilizing the potential of the oxygen desorption peak on cyclic voltammograms, have been compared with those obtained by Auger electron spectroscopy (a.e.s.). This comparison confirms that the electrochemical method is applicable to analysis of the surface of cycled as well as untreated homogeneous noble metal alloys. The composition profile in the surface region of cycled electrodes was determined by sputtering of the surface followed by a.e.s. measurements. The rhodium content was found to increase linearly with depth. The depth scale was established from analyses of the metal dissolved during potential cycling. Consideration of the differences between data obtained from the electrochemical and a.e.s. studies leads to the conclusion that the surface zone involved in chemisorption extends over a few atomic layers.     

Mass spectra of doubly charged ions

The mass spectra of biological molecules, whose molecular mass exceeds 10 kDa, invariably contain multiply charged ions. For example, a survey scan of a small protein will produce singly, doubly and triply protonated molecules, the intensity of the doubly charged species often being greater than that of the singly charged entity. Although the spectra resulting from doubly charged peptides have not previously been studied, collisional activation of such doubly charged species may result in significant additional information pertaining to molecular structure. The techniques employed to study ions originating from multiply charged species were linked scanning of constant B/E and tandem mass spectrometry, namely low collision energy spectra acquired on a BEQQ hybrid instrument. The methodology was applied to model compounds whose tandem mass spectrometry characteristics are well known, e.g. gramicidin S and angiotensin I. The results for the product ions of the [M + 2H]²⁺ species of the models were obtained which highlight the methodology required for high-mass materials.     

Probe molecule spectroscopy of NaCl aerosol particle surfaces

Excited-state absorption spectroscopy and ionization threshold measurements for coumarin 314 (C314) adsorbed to the surface of NaCl aerosols characterize the chemical environment of the particle surface as a function of relative humidity (RH). An atmospheric pressure flow of aerosol passes through an ionization cell where two-photon laser ionization of the adsorbed molecules produces a net charge on the particle. Monitoring this charge as a function of the laser wavelength produces either the absorption spectrum of the S(1) <-- S(0) transition or the ionization threshold. The wavelength of maximum absorption for the S(1) excited-state shifts from 448 nm for RH < 5% to 441 nm for RH = 60%, indicating that adsorbed water decreases the polarity of the surface. Similarly, the ionization threshold increases from 5.10 to 5.27 eV over a similar range of RH. The decrease in polarity is attributable to changes in the local electric field experienced by C314, which is on the order of 1 x 10(7) V/cm, and is correlated with changes in the surface topography. Using a continuum model, we estimate the contributions to the measured thresholds of the polarization response of the surface ions and the electric field and calculate an effective dielectric constant for the adsorbed water film. For a multilayer water coverage (RH = 65%), the effective dielectric constant is approximately 2.4. These results demonstrate that the changes in surface topography with adsorbed water are as important as direct water-solute interactions in determining the solvent character of the surface.     

Attenuation of ultrasound in post rigor bovine skeletal muscle

A pulse transmission method for measuring the attenuation of 1-7 MHz ultrasound in bovine skeletal muscle is described. Measurements of the attenuation coefficient at -20, 0, 20 and 40 degrees C conformed to the relation alpha = Afn, where A and n are temperature-dependent coefficients and f is the frequency. alpha/f varied slowly with frequency, and at 4 MHz and 20 degrees C mean values were 1.3 dB cm-1 MHz-1 along the fibres and 0.55 dB cm-1 MHz-1 across the fibres. These data are lower than most previous measurements of skeletal muscle, but comparable with recent measurements of canine heart muscle.     

正向电压激发下CdS MIS发光二极管中的自由激子发光

在44~77K温度范围内.在正向电压激发下的Cds MIS二极管中,观测到了发射0、1或2个纵光学(O、1LO或2LO)声子的自由激子的辐射衰减.根据激子的动能分布,讨论了1LO和2LO声子协助的伴线的形状和温度依赖.这里激子的有效温度等于晶格温度.     

Effects of glycosylation on peptide conformation: a synergistic experimental and computational study

Asparagine-linked glycosylation, the co-translational covalent attachment of carbohydrates to asparagine side chains, has a major effect on the folding, stability, and function of many proteins. The carbohydrate composition in mature glycoproteins is heterogeneous due to modification of the initial oligosaccharide by glycosidases and glycosyltransferases during the glycoprotein passage through the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. Despite the diversity of carbohydrate structures, the core beta-D-(GlcNAc)(2) remains conserved in all N-linked glycoproteins. Previously, results from our laboratory showed that the molecular composition of the core disaccharide has a critical and unique conformational effect on the peptide backbone. Herein, we employ a synergistic experimental and computational approach to study the effect of the stereochemistry of the carbohydrate--peptide linkage on glycopeptide structure. A glycopeptide derived from a hemagglutinin protein fragment was synthesized, with the carbohydrate attached to the peptide with an alpha-linked stereochemistry. Computational and biophysical analyses reveal that the conformations of the peptide and alpha- and beta-linked glycopeptides are uniquely influenced by the attached saccharide. The value of computational approaches for probing the influence of attached saccharides on polypeptide conformation is highlighted.     

STUDIES OF PHOSPHAZENES. PART VI.1 THE PREPARATION OF THE ISOMERIC TETRACHLOROBIS-ISOPROPYLAMINOCYCLOTRIPHOSPHAZATRIENES

Abstract

The three isomers of N₃P₃Cl₄(NHPr¹)₂ have been prepared and separated by gas-liquid chromatography. Their structures have been assigned on the basis of ¹H and ³¹P nmr data.