Determining the folding and unfolding rate constants of nucleic acids by biosensor. Application to telomere G-quadruplex

Nucleic acid molecules may fold into secondary structures, and the formation of such structures is involved in many biological processes and technical applications. The folding and unfolding rate constants define the kinetics of conformation interconversion and the stability of these structures and is important in realizing their functions. We developed a method to determine these kinetic parameters using an optical biosensor based on surface plasmon resonance. The folding and unfolding of a nucleic acid is coupled with a hybridization reaction by immobilization of the target nucleic acid on a sensor chip surface and injection of a complementary probe nucleic acid over the sensor chip surface. By monitoring the time course of duplex formation, both the folding and unfolding rate constants for the target nucleic acid and the association and dissociation rate constants for the target-probe duplex can all be derived from the same measurement. We applied this method to determine the folding and unfolding rate constants of the G-quadruplex of human telomere sequence (TTAGGG)(4) and its association and dissociation rate constants with the complementary strand (CCCTAA)(4). The results show that both the folding and unfolding occur on the time scale of minutes at physiological concentration of K(+). We speculate that this property might be important for telomere elongation. A complete set of the kinetic parameters for both of the structures allows us to study the competition between the formation of the quadruplex and the duplex. Calculations indicate that the formation of both the quadruplex and the duplex is strand concentration-dependent, and the quadruplex can be efficiently formed at low strand concentration. This property may provide the basis for the formation of the quadruplex in vivo in the presence of a complementary strand.     

Low-temperature orientationally ordered structures of two-dimensional C60

Orientationally ordered structures of two-dimensional (2D) C(60) at low temperature have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. Using total energy optimization with a phenomenological potential, we find the ground state is a close packed hexagonal lattice in which all the molecules have the same orientation. Several local minima of the potential energy surface are found to be associated with other 1 x 1 lattices as well as 2 x 2 lattices. The energies of the orientational domain boundaries of the 1x1 lattices are also computed, and two kinds of which yield negative values. A majority of these theoretical findings are confirmed by our low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy study of a 2D C(60) array supported on a self-assembled monolayer.     

Strategies for locating disulfide bonds in a monoclonal antibody via mass spectrometry

The location of the disulfide bonds in a recombinant monoclonal antibody was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS). A non-reduced Endoproteinase Lys-C (Endo Lys-C) digest of the antibody was analyzed directly by MALDI-TOFMS. The sample was then reduced on-plate by depositing dithiothreitol (DTT) on the sample spot and re-analyzed by MALDI-TOFMS. The disulfide bonds were assigned based on the disappearance of certain mass ions in the non-reduced digest and the appearance of product ions in the reduced digest. A rapid LC/ESI-MS protocol was also developed to determine the location of the disulfide bonds. The peptides generated from the Endo Lys-C digest of the antibody were partially separated on a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column by utilizing a steep gradient and analyzed by ESI-MS. The masses of the partially resolved peptides were determined by deconvoluting the mass spectra.     

铀-2-(3,5-二溴-2-吡啶偶氮)-5-二乙氨基苯酚-Triton X-100析相体系的研究及应用

本文研究了铀-2-(3,5-二溴-2-吡啶偶氨)-5-二乙氨基苯酚(3,5-diBr-PADAP)-Triton X-100析相光度体系,建立了矿石中微量铀的测定方法,在pH 7.5三乙醇胺-盐酸介质中,将胶束溶液在 95±1℃加热 1h.络合物即被Triton X-100相完全富集.络合物最大吸收峰位于565nm.摩尔吸光系数为1.02×10～5L·mol～(-1)·cm～(-1),铀含量在0～12μg/5mL服从比耳定律.采用TBP萃淋树脂分离干扰离子,测定矿石中微量铀,结果满意.     

聚偏氟乙烯共混体系的压电性及其分子运动——Ⅱ.PVDF与 P(VDF-HFE)以及PVDF与P(VDF-TFE)的共混体系

本文研究了 PVDF-P(VDF-HFE)以及 PVDF-P(VDF-TFE)共混体系的压电、介电、力学松弛谱。其松弛转变过程基本与 PVDF 的相似。α,β,γ压电松弛峰分别位于40～120℃,-40℃,-85℃附近。实验结果表明后一体系的压电性大于前一体系的。同时,PVDF-P(VDF-TFE)的压电性也大于PVDF-PMMA 共混体系的。选择第二组分时,以介电常数高,模量小而本身又具有压电性的,更有助于共混薄膜压电性的提高。在同样的极化条件下,经拉伸的 P(VDF-TFE)薄膜,其压电性大于未经拉伸的薄膜,这表明分子的取向对薄膜的压电性也有影响。TSC 表明,42℃的松弛峰与晶区表面捕获的空间电荷有关,对压电性也有一定的贡献。     

The Tolman length: is it positive or negative?

By means of a large-scale molecular dynamics simulation, we show that the Tolman length, although positive, is much smaller in magnitude than previously reported. We found that the range of interparticle interaction can significantly affect the magnitude of the Tolman length. When the range of interaction is longer than five molecular diameters, the Tolman length is on the order of a few hundredths of the molecular diameter, rather than a few tenths known previously.     

人γ晶体蛋白的一级结构测定 1.γ晶体蛋白的分离提纯及其顺序测定方法(GC/MS法)的研究

成功地从人眼晶体中分离出单纯组分的γ晶体蛋白,对γ晶体蛋白的纯度、相对分子质量、氨基酸组成、N末端氨基酸组成等进行了测定,利用酸水解法和酶解法对γ晶体蛋白进行了水解和酶解条件的摸索、找出了使γ晶体蛋白断裂成适合于GC/MS联用仪进行结构测定的肽段的裂解条件。对进行氨基酸顺序测定的GC/MS法化学衍生化条件作了一系列的摸索,找出了化学衍生化的合适条件。对衍生化过程中的一些影响因素也进行了探讨。     

Selective effect of guest molecule length and hydrogen bonding on the supramolecular host structure

A host supramolecular structure consisting of bis-(2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine)-4'-oxyhexadecane (BT-O-C16) is shown to respond to guest molecules in dramatic ways, as observed by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface under ambient conditions. It is observed that small linear molecules can be encapsulated within the host supramolecular lattice. The characteristics of the host structure were nearly unaffected by the encapsulated guest molecules of terphthalic acid (TPA) dimers, whereas appreciable changes in cavity dimension can be observed with azobenzene-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid. The STM study and density functional theory (DFT) analysis reveal that intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction plays an essential role in forming the assembling structures. The difference in guest molecule length is considered the important cause for the different guest-host complexes.     

110K铋基超导相形成的组成条件

Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O超导材料中存在110K和80K2个超导相。其组成是Bi_2Sr_2Ca_2Cu_3O_y和Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O。但迄今为止,在按2223组成比合成的未掺杂Bi系超导材料中从未得到过纯的110K相,也未见过组成为2223,零电阻温度在100K以上材料的报道。为了探索形成110K相的最佳条件,本文以2223组成比为参考,合成了5个系列材料:Bi_xSr_2Ca_2Cu_3O_y,Bi_2Sr_xCa_2Cu_3O_y,Bi_2Sr_2Ca_xCu_3O_y,Bi_2Sr_2Ca_2Cu_xO_y,Bi_i Sr_uCa_yCu_wO_s。