Edge spreading lithography and its application to the fabrication of mesoscopic gold and silver rings

A new form of edge lithography, edge spreading lithography (ESL), has been demonstrated and applied to the formation of coinage metal rings. In this process, alkanethiols are delivered from a flat PDMS stamp to the surface of a metal film through a two-dimensional array of spherical silica colloids. The thiols further spread on the metal surface, forming highly ordered SAMs in the form of a ring pattern. Following lift-off of beads, the pattern in the SAMs can be transferred into the metal film through wet chemical etching, with SAMs serving as the resist. The dimensions of the rings can be readily controlled by several parameters such as the beads diameter, the concentration of the thiol solution, and the contact time between the stamp and the silica beads.     

Ultrafine molybdenum carbide nanoparticles supported on nitrogen doped carbon nanosheets for hydrogen evolution reaction

Nitrogen doped carbon nanosheets supported molybdenum carbides nanoparticles (Mo_xC/NCS) have been synthesized by tuning the mass ratio of melamine and ammonia molybdate. The Mo₂C/NCS-10 exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance and stability for HER, which was attributed to N-doped carbon nanosheets, small particle size, mesoporous structure, and large electrochemical active surface area.     

Optical properties of nanocrystalline Y2O3:Eu depending on its odd structure

The structure of nanocrystalline Y2O3:Eu prepared by a combustion reaction was analyzed by XRD and high-resolution electron microscopy. Compared with a large-scale particles, 5-nm Y2O3:Eu particles presented as distorted crystallite and rough surfaces. Luminescent and absorption properties of nano-Y2O3:Eu showed remarkably particle size effects. At Y2O3:Eu particle sizes smaller than 10 nm some new results were observed: (a) a red shift of the charge-transfer-state absorption; (b) new emission bands of Eu3+ in the 5D0 --> 7F2 region; (c) luminescent decay of energy level 5D0 of Eu3+ turning to a two-step exponential; and (d) a pronounced increase in quenching concentration and much lower phonon density compared with those of the bulk material. All these phenomena can be attributed to the effect of the softened lattice and surface state of the nanomaterial. The latter was confirmed by stronger excitation by the host absorption after the surface modification.     

Purification and partial characterization of a lipase from Bacillus coagulans ZJU318

An extracellular lipase was purified from the fermentation broth of Bacillus coagulans ZJU318 by CM-Sepharose chromatography, followed by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography. The lipase was purified 14.7-fold with 18% recovery and a specific activity of 141.1 U/mg. The molecular weight of the homogeneous enzyme was (32 kDa), determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme activity was maximum at pH 9.0 and was stable over a pH range of 7.0–10.0, and the optimum temperature for the enzyme reaction was 45°C. Little activity loss (6.2%) was observed after 1 h of incubation at 40°C. However, the stability of the lipase decreased sharply at 50 and 60°C. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by Ag⁺ and Cu²⁺, whereas EDTA caused no inhibition. SDS, Brij 30, and Tween-80 inhibited lipase, whereas Triton X-100 did not significantly inhibit lipase activity.     

Identification of differentially expressed proteins between human hepatoma and normal liver cell lines by two-dimensional electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry

In the previous study, the proteomes of the human hepatoma cell line BEL-7404 and the normal human liver cell line L-02 were separated by high resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). Image analysis revealed that 99 protein spots showed quantitative and qualitative variations that were significant (P < 0.01) and reproducible. Here we report the identification results of some of these protein spots. Protein spots excised from 2-D gels were subjected to in-gel digestion with trypsin, and the resulting peptides were measured by microbore high performance liquid chromatography - ion trap - mass spectrometry (LC-IT-MS) to obtain the tandem mass (MS/MS) spectra. Twelve protein spots were identified with high confidence using SEQUEST with uninterpreted MS/MS raw data. Besides inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase 2, heat shock 27 kDa protein, calreticulin and calmodulin, whose expression was elevated in hepatoma cells, glutathione-S-transferase P was identified from hepatoma cells in which its level was 18-fold higher compared to human liver cells. Two spots were identified as the homologs of reticulocalbin for the first time in hepatoma cells and their expression increased compared to liver cells. However, tubulin beta-1 chain and natural killer cell enhancing factor B were downregulated in hepatoma cells. A tumor suppressing serpin, maspin precursor, was identified from one spot whose quantity was much higher in the normal liver cell line. More interestingly, epidermal fatty acid-binding protein (E-FABP) and fatty acid-binding protein, adipocyte-type (A-FABP), were detected in liver cells but not in hepatoma cells. The functional implication of the identified proteins was discussed.     

Development of a new reaction system for the synthesis of highly optically active alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones

A highly useful method for the synthesis of optically active alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones has been developed. The SmI(2)-induced reductive coupling of chiral 2-alkyl acrylates derived from isosorbide with ketones in the presence of (1S)-(-)-2,10-camphorsultam as a proton source give the chiral alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones in good yields and high enantiomeric purities (up to >99% ee for trans and 75% ee for cis). The reaction system has been investigated with various ketones, and it is demonstrated that this system is very effective for trans-alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones. Both the chiral auxiliary and the hindered proton source in this system are necessary for the observed excellent ee values of the products. The absolute configuration of the trans products is assigned on the basis of the X-ray crystal structure.     

甲烷氧化偶联催化剂La2O3／SrCO3—BaCO3的催化活性与表征

在甲烷氧化偶联制Ｃ２烃的研究中，人们发现碱土金属与稀土金属组成的复合氧化物催化剂具有高的催化活性［１，２］．稀土化合物作为有希望的工业催化剂之一，已受到广泛的关注．一般认为，它们含有的氧空位对活化甲烷的有效氧物种有利．Ｄｅｂｅｙ等在１％Ｓｒ／Ｌａ２Ｏ...     

Facile fabrication of AgCl@polypyrrole-chitosan core-shell nanoparticles and polymeric hollow nanospheres

A one-step sequential method for preparing AgCl@polypyrrole-chitosan core-shell nanoparticles and subsequently the formation of polypyrrole-chitosan hollow nanospheres is reported. The formation of the core and the shell is performed in one reaction medium almost simultaneously. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show the presence of core-shell nanoparticles and hollow nanospheres. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) studies reveal that AgCl was formed first followed by polypyrrole. X-ray diffration (XRD) and UV-vis studies show that AgCl was present in the core-shell nanoparticles and could be removed completely from the core.     

Use of the tubulin bound paclitaxel conformation for structure-based rational drug design

A new computational docking protocol has been developed and used in combination with conformational information inferred from REDOR-NMR experiments on microtubule bound 2-(p-fluorobenzoyl)paclitaxel to delineate a unique tubulin binding structure of paclitaxel. A conformationally constrained macrocyclic taxoid bearing a linker between the C-14 and C-3'N positions has been designed and synthesized to enforce this "REDOR-taxol" conformation. The novel taxoid SB-T-2053 inhibits the growth of MCF-7 and LCC-6 human breast cancer cells (wild-type and drug resistant) on the same order of magnitude as paclitaxel. Moreover, SB-T-2053 induces in vitro tubulin polymerization at least as well as paclitaxel, which directly validates our drug design process. These results open a new avenue for drug design of next generation taxoids and other microtubule-stabilizing agents based on the refined structural information of drug-tubulin complexes, in accordance with typical enzyme-inhibitor medicinal chemistry precepts.     

亮菌甲素的荧光光度法测定

对亮菌甲素的荧光特性进行了研究 ,发现该物质在四硼酸钠缓冲溶液 (pH 8.8± 0 .0 2 )介质中有很强的荧光性质 ,其激发波长为 2 81nm ,发射波长为 4 62nm ,亮菌甲素浓度在 0 .1～ 4 .5 μg·ml- 1范围内与荧光强度呈线性关系 (F =79.4C +3.4 6,r =0 .9994 )。用荧光法测定片剂中亮菌甲素的含量 ,方法简单、快捷、灵敏度高。