Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Cellular Adhesion Tripeptide RGD Precursor in Organic Media

IntroductionA characteristic tripeptide sequence Arg-Gly-Asp(RGD) that is found within fibronectin and other rela-ted adhesion molecules in extracellular matrices(ECM)has received considerable attention from researcherssince it was proved to be a recognit…     

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of spinel LiMn2O4 prepared by the rheological phase method

Pure-phase and well-crystallized spinel LiMn₂O₄ powders were successfully synthesized by a simple rheological phase method. The thermal behavior and structure properties of the powders prepared by the rheological phase method compared with the solid-state reaction were investigated by thermogravimetry, powder X-ray diffraction , scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. According to the results of the electrochemical tests, it is obvious that the sample resulting from the rheological phase method shows higher discharge capacity and better cycling stability than one formed in the solid-state reaction. The cyclic voltammogram and columbic efficiency curves also confirm that the product by the rheological phase method has a good cycling performance due to its fine cubic spinel structure and morphology.     

The effect of UV-irradiation on composting of polyethylene modified by cellulose

LDPE and its blend with cellulose, obtained by extrusion, were UV-irradiated with different doses or biodegraded in soil up to 1 year. Simultaneously, the same samples were 1 year biodegraded after 20 h UV pre-irradiation in the same conditions. The course of photo- and biodegradation was monitored by estimation of average molecular weights and polydispersity, gel amount, changes of PE crystallinity and mechanical properties. Moreover, the biodegradation degree was calculated on the basis of carbon dioxide evolved and surface morphological changes were observed by SEM. It was found that biodegradation of PE + cellulose is hampered by intermolecular crosslinking of both components. Although, the rate of decomposition of PE + cellulose blends is low it is enough for disintegration of such materials in the natural environment.     

Current mass spectrometry strategies for selenium speciation in dietary sources of high-selenium

This document reviews the most relevant mass spectrometry approaches to selenium (Se) speciation in high-Se food supplements in terms of qualitative and quantitative Se speciation and Se-containing species identification, with special reference to high-Se yeast, garlic, onions and Brazil nuts. Important topics such as complexity of Se speciation in these materials and the importance of combining Se-specific detection and molecule-specific determination of the particular species of this element in parallel with chromatography, to understand their nutritional role and cancer preventive properties are critically discussed throughout. The versatility and potential of mass spectrometric detection in this field are clearly demonstrated. Although great advances have been achieved, further developments are required, especially if speciatedcertified reference materials (CRMs) are to be produced for validation of measurements of target Se-containing species in Se-food supplements.     

Cooperation of reducing species for NO reduction over Ag/Al2O3 under oxidizing conditions

Summary The cooperation effect of reducing species for selective reduction of NO over Ag/Al₂O₃ has been investigated in the presence of excess oxygen. When the combinations of propene or propane and ethanol or methanol were used as reducing agents, NO reduction took place over a wider temperature range, compared with a single hydrocarbon as reducing agent.     

Optimization of on-chip elongation for fabricating double-stranded DNA microarrays

The sequence-specific recognitions between DNA and proteins are playing important roles in many biological functions. The double-stranded DNA microarrays (dsDNA microarrays) can be used to study the sequence-specific recognitions between DNAs and proteins in highly parallel way. In this paper, two different elongation processes in forming dsDNA from the immobilized oligonucleotides have been compared in order to optimize the fabrication of dsDNA microarrays: (1) elongation from the hairpins formed by the self-hybridized oligonucleatides spotted on a glass; (2) elongation from the complementary primers hybridized on the spotted oligonucleatides. The results suggested that the dsDNA probes density produced by the hybridized-primer extension was about four times lower than those by the self-hybridized hairpins. Meanwhile, in order to reduce the cost of dsDNA microarrays, we have replaced the Klenow DNA polymerase with Taq DNA polymerase, and optimized the reaction conditions of on-chip elongation. Our experiements showed that the elongation temperature of 50 °C and the Mg²⁺ concentration of 2.5 mM are the optimized conditions in elongation with Taq DNA polymerase. A dsDNA microarray has been successfully constructed with the above method to detect NF-kB protein.     

Thin-layer chromatography of pitch and a petroleum vacuum residue. Relation between mobility and molecular size shown by size-exclusion chromatography

A coal tar pitch and a petroleum vacuum residue have been separated by TLC using pyridine, acetonitrile, toluene and pentane to develop the chromatograms. The bands of material detected were recovered in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) solvent and examined by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) in NMP eluent. The relation between elution time in SEC and mobility on the TLC plate indicated that molecular size increased steadily with increasing immobility on the plate. This relation was reinforced by UV fluorescence spectroscopy in that the fluorescence moved to longer wavelengths with increasing immobility. The molecular size of the material excluded from the porosity of the SEC column remains undefined; some excluded material was found in all of the fractions from both samples. The valley of zero intensity separating the retained material from the excluded material may suggest a change of structure from near-planar in the retained region to three-dimensional in the excluded region.     

H-quadrupolar coupling-based analysis of stereochemical and regiochemical memory in the Pd-catalysed allylic alkylation of iso-cinnamyl type substrates employing the chiral monophosphine ligands ‘MOP’ and ‘MAP’

The reaction of iso-cinnamyl acetate with NaC(Me)(CO₂Me)₂, catalysed by Pd-‘MOP’ (MOP=2-methoxy-2′-diphenylphosphino-1,1′-binaphthalene) is known to proceed with a regiochemical memory effect that results in the predominant generation of the branched alkylation product. The analogous reaction employing ‘MAP’ as ligand (MAP=2-N,N-dimethylamino-2′-diphenylphosphino-1,1′-binaphthalene) proceeds with ‘normal’ regioselectivity to generate predominantly the linear isomer of product. A ²H-NMR based analysis, employing quadrupolar coupling in a chiral liquid crystal matrix, has been developed to facilitate the simultaneous study of the regiochemical and stereochemical outcome of the reaction of both enantiomers of iso-cinnamyl ester substrates in ²H-labelled but racemic samples. The analysis allows the comparison of relative rates of two competing isomerisation processes occurring in the π-allyl intermediates in the Pd-catalysed reaction, one of which facilitates asymmetric induction, the other resulting in loss of regiochemical memory. It is demonstrated that the two processes are partially coupled and that this then limits the attainment of high global enantiomeric excess in the branched product to reactions that proceed with low regiochemical retention. A key factor for the observation of high regiochemical memory is found to be the nucleophilicity of the malonate anion and the electrophilicity of the Pd-π-allyl intermediate with reduction in the reactivity of either partner resulting in the onset of substantial loss of memory.     

Chemical fixation of CO2 with highly efficient ZnCl2/[BMIm]Br catalyst system

The chemical fixation of CO₂ with mono-substituted terminal epoxides or cyclohexene oxide to form cyclic carbonates under the ZnCl₂/[BMIm]Br catalyst system without using additional organic solvents was achieved in excellent selectivity (>98%) and TOF (5410 h⁻¹) and the catalyst could be used six times almost without losing its catalytic activity and selectivity. Besides, the pure cis-cyclic carbonate of cyclohexene oxide was obtained in this catalyst system.     

利用DPN技术直接构建磁性纳米图形

在纳米尺度下构建有序的磁性模板和图形是当前的研究热点之一 [1,2 ] .这种模板在生物样品的分离[1] 、磁电子学研究和信息存储 [2 ] 等领域具有重要意义 .目前 ,光刻 [3] 、微触点印刷 [4 ] 和自组装 [5] 等多项技术已被用来构建各种纳米模板 .1 999年 ,美国西北大学 Mirkin小组 [6 ]发明的 Dip- pen纳米刻蚀技术 (简称 DPN技术 )更在可控组装方面显示出巨大优越性 .这项技术是在一定驱动力作用下 ,使吸附在原子力显微镜 ( AFM)针尖上的分子“墨水”逐渐转移到基底表面上 ,实现纳米模板的可控构建 .与传统技术相比 ,DPN技术可在纳米尺…