Intriguing self-assembly of large granules of F-actin facilitated by gelsolin and alpha-actinin

We report microscopic observations and a structural determination of actin granules self-assembled in concentrated solutions of actin filaments (F-actin). Optical microscopy shows reproducible formation of numerous and stable granules of densely packed F-actin of variable sizes on the order of 10 microm. These granules coexist with a uniform network of F-actin of a lower concentration. The microscopic segregation of F-actin into two distinct states is assisted by an actin cross-linking protein, alpha-actinin. The rapid on and off rates and temperature sensitivity of the alpha-actinin/F-actin interaction facilitate the formation of multi-micrometer-sized granules of well-defined shapes. Additional physical factors such as the excluded volume effect and the minimization of surface energy act in concert with the specific molecular interactions to define the intriguing granular formation. Both the biochemical specificity of alpha-actinin and the thermodynamics of phase transitions are required for understanding such large scale self-assembly.     

ADENOSINE-MEDIATED PHOTOREACTION OF 4,5',8-TRIMETHYLPSORALEN WITH ALCOHOLS

Abstract— Irradiation of thin films consisting of 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (TMP), adenosine and small amounts of alcohols led to TMP-alcohol photoadducts in addition to TMP-adenosine photoadducts. Four TMP-ethanol and two TMP-methanol adducts have been separated and characterized. Covalent bonds were formed between the 4-carbon of TMP and the α-carbon to the hydroxy group in the alcohols. The TMP-alcohol photoadducts were formed only in the TMP film containing small amounts of alcohol and adenosine. Furthermore, no photoadduct of TMP and ribose was detected upon photolysis of a TMP-ribose film, suggesting that the adenine moiety plays a specific role in the reaction. The interaction of adenosine with psoralens in a dry film may be related to the DNA sequence selectivity observed for the photoreaction of psoralens with DNA.     

Highly sensitive and simple fluorescence staining of proteins in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-based gels by using hydrophobic tail-mediated enhancement of fluorescein luminescence

Fluorescein has an extremely low luminescence intensity in acidic aqueous media. However, when it was bound to proteins, subsequent increase of luminescence intensity took place. Furthermore, when a hydrophobic tail, such as aliphatic hydrocarbons, was introduced to fluorescein, more dramatic increase of luminescence intensity was observed upon binding to proteins. In the present study, by utilizing this luminescence enhancement, three hydrophobic fluorescein dyes (5-dodecanoyl amino fluorescein, 5-hexadecanoyl amino fluorescein, and 5-octadecanoyl amino fluorescein) were examined as noncovalent fluorescent stains of protein bands in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Effective incorporation of the dyes to proteins in gels was accomplished either simply by adding dyes at the protein fixation step, or by treating gels with a staining solution after the fixation. The sensitivity of this staining method using the fluorescein derivatives was approximately 1 ng/band for most proteins. For some cases, protein bands containing as low as 0.1 ng were successfully visualized. In addition, the detection sensitivity showed much less protein-to-protein variation than silver staining. This new staining method was also successfully applied to two-dimensional electrophoresis of rat brain proteins. Its overall sensitivity was comparable to that of silver staining.     

高活性的茂基钛配合物／正丁基锂加氢催化体系的研究

考察了茂环上不同取代基及钛上阴离子配体对茂基钛配合物／正丁基锂催化体系加氢活性和稳定性的影响。在充分发挥该体系催化活性的条件下，由配合物Ｃｐ２ＴｉＣｌ２、Ｃｐ２ＴｉＦ２和Ｃｐ２Ｔｉ［ＯＣ６Ｈ３（ＣＨ３－２）Ｃｌ－４］２组成的催化体系对辛烯－１加氢的最高活性（或初活性）达到４６￣５８ｓ＾－１。     

Kinetics of thermal depolymerization of trimethylsiloxy end-blocked polydimethylsiloxane and polydimethylsiloxane-N-phenylsilazane copolymer

The thermal degradation of Me₃SiO end-blocked polydimethylsiloxane (eb-PDMS) and polydimethylsiloxane-N-phenylsilazane (eb-PDMS–NPhSz) copolymer was studied. For both polymers relative degree of polymerization (DP /DP ₀) as a function of conversion (1 – W/W₀) data were obtained. For eb-PDMS the results were consistent with a mechanism involving a rate determining random siloxane bond cleavage initiation step followed by a rapid and complete depropagation of the active fragments evolving volatile cyclic oligomers. Rate constants (k) for initiation were obtained at four temperatures from plots of DP ^?1 vs. time. An Arrhenius activation energy of approximately 80 kcal/mol was determined and is consistent with a SiOSi scission transition state. The degradation of eb-PDMS–NPhSz appears to follow the same depolymerization process evolving cyclic oligomers. Although DP /DP ₀ vs. C data suggest a random cleavage–complete depolymerization mechanism, an Arrhenius plot suggests a more complex degradation mechanism. The role of impurities as degradation catalysts is discussed.     

Synthesis and Insulin—sensitizing Activity of a Series of 2—Benzyl—1,3—dicarbonyl Derivatives

A series of 2-benzyl-1,3-dicabonyl derivatives was synthesized.Their insulin-sensitizing activity was evaluated in 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells.Compounds3,26 and 27 were found to possess strong insulin-sensitizing activity in vitro and were selected for further hypoglycemic evaluation in vivo.     

Determination of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid in apple extracts by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A rapid and sensitive method for the determination of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in apple tissues has been described. This method is based on the derivatization of ACC with 3-(2-furoyl)quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde (FQ), and separation and quantification of the resulting FQ-ACC derivative by capillary electrophoresis coupled to laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF). Our results indicated that ACC derivatized with FQ could be well separated from other interfering amino acids using 20 mM borate buffer (pH 9.35) containing 40 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 10 mM Brij 35. The linearity of ACC was determined in the range from 0.05 to 5 microM with a correlation of 0.9967. The concentration detection limit for ACC was 10 nM (signal-to-noise = 3). The sensitivity and selectivity of this described method allows the analysis of ACC in crude apple extracts without extra purification and enrichment procedure.     

Density functional study of lithium-aromatic sandwich compounds and their crystals

Using density functional theory, we have theoretically studied the formation of neutral lithium-aromatic complexes R-nLi and R-nLi-R, where R is benzene, naphthalene, or pyrene. We first find that the maximum number of lithium atoms n in the complexes increases with the size of R. In addition, pyrene favors the sandwich compound R-4Li-R over R-4Li more than three times that of the corresponding tendency for benzene, strongly suggesting the possible existence of oligomer (R-4Li)x. We have also investigated energetics and band structures of infinite one-dimensional crystals of R-nLi, finding them metallic. Detailed analysis of the electronic structure shows that all these observations are related to the strong electrostatic interaction among the species, which is originated from the charge transfer from Li atoms to the aromatic rings. In addition, it is shown that the pyrene crystal is mechanically stable with respect to deformation. This also suggests the possibility of its existence, which, in turn, holds potential application in lithium storage in respect to its large Li/C ratio.     

Photoreactions of benzosilacyclobutenes with carbonyl compounds. SH2 reaction on SiC bond by triplet carbonyl compounds

Photoreaction of 2,3-benzo-1,1-diphenyl(or dimethyl)-1-sila-2-cyclobutene with an aldehyde or ketone results in 1:1 cycloadduct of [4+2] type, the formation of which is accountd for in terms of S_H2 process, i.e., attack of a triplet carbonyl compound on the silicon of the benzosilacyclobutene.     

XPS analysis of the effect of Pt addition to Pd catalysts for complete benzene oxidation

Pt-Pd bimetallic catalysts were prepared in order to develop and investigate catalysts having excellent activity and stability for benzene destruction. The effect of Pt addition to Pd catalysts is studied by XPS analysis. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.