Semibiological molecular machine with an implemented "AND" logic gate for regulation of protein folding

A semibiological molecular machine with an implemented "AND" logic gate was developed, which was capable of controlling the folding process of proteins in response to ATP and light as input stimuli. The molecular design made use of a genetically engineered chaperonin GroEL bearing, at both entrance parts of its cylindrical cavity, cysteine residues, which were functionalized by an azobenzene derivative to construct photoresponsive mechanical gates (azo-GroEL). This engineered chaperonin trapped denatured green fluorescent protein (GFP(denat)) and prohibited its refolding. However, when hosting azo-GroEL detected ATP (input stimulus 1) and UV light (input stimulus 2) at the same time, it quickly released GFP(denat) to allow its refolding. In contrast, reception of either input stimulus 1 or 2 resulted in only very slow or no substantial refolding of GFP(denat). Implementation of such "AND" logic gate mechanisms in mechanically driven biomolecular systems is an important step toward the design of secured drug delivery systems.     

Design and synthesis of phenoxymethybenzoimidazole incorporating different aryl thiazole-triazole acetamide derivatives as α-glycosidase inhibitors

Molecular Diversity - A novel series of phenoxymethybenzoimidazole derivatives (9a-n) were rationally designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their α-glycosidase inhibitory activity. All...     

Functionalization and Dispersion of Hexagonal Boron Nitride (h‐BN) Nanosheets Treated with Inorganic Reagents

A mixture of bulk hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) with hydrazine, 30 % H₂O₂, HNO₃/H₂SO₄, or oleum was heated in an autoclave at 100 °C to produce functionalized h‐BN. The product formed stable colloid solutions in water (0.26–0.32 g L ^?1) and N,N‐dimethylformamide (0.34–0.52 g L ^?1) upon mild ultrasonication. The yield of “soluble” h‐BN reached about 70 wt %. The dispersions contained few‐layered h‐BN nanosheets with lateral dimensions in the order of several hundred nanometers. The functionalized dispersible h‐BN was characterized by IR spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is shown that h‐BN preserves its hexagonal structure throughout the functionalization procedure. Its exfoliation into thin platelets upon contact with solvents is probably owing to the attachment of hydrophilic functionalities.     

Hydrolysis of ibuprofen nitrile and ibuprofen amide and deracemisation of ibuprofen using Nocardia corallina B-276

A novel application of whole cells of Nocardia corallina B-276 for the deracemisation of ibuprofen is reported. This microorganism successfully hydrolysed ibuprofen nitrile to ibuprofen amide, and ibuprofen amide to ibuprofen, using a suspension of cells in a potassium phosphate buffer solution (0.1 M, pH = 7.0). These results can be explained by the presence of NHase and amidase enzymes, but the reactions are not enantioselective and low ee values were obtained. However, (R)-ibuprofen was isolated with > 99% ee by a deracemisation process catalysed by N. corallina B-276. This is the first report of this kind of catalysis with this microorganism.     

Toward Ultralow‐Bandgap Liquid Crystalline Semiconductors: Use of Triply Fused Metalloporphyrin Trimer–Pentamer as Extra‐large π‐Extended Mesogenic Motifs

In contrast with their dimeric homologue, triply fused zinc porphyrin trimer–pentamer, as extra‐large π‐extended mesogens, assemble into columnar liquid crystals (LCs) when combined with 3,4,5‐tri(dodecyloxy)phenyl side groups ( 3 P_Zn – 5 P_Zn , Figure 1 ). Their LC mesophases develop over a wide temperature range, namely, 41–280 °C (on heating) for 5 P_Zn , and all adopt an oblique columnar geometry, typically seen in columnar LC materials involving strong mesogenic interactions. These LC materials are characterized by their wide light‐absorption windows from the entire visible region up to a near infrared (NIR) region. Such ultralow‐bandgap LC materials are chemically stable and serve as hole transporters, in which 5 P_Zn gives the largest charge carrier mobility (2.4×10^?2 cm V^?1 s^?1) among the series. Despite a big dimensional difference, they coassemble without phase separation, in which the resultant LC materials display essentially no deterioration of the intrinsic conducting properties.     

π-Electronic Charge-Transfer Interactions in Inclusion Complexes of Fullerenens with Cyclic Dimers of Metalloporphyrins

Spectroscopic and voltammetric analyses on inclusion complexes of a fullerene such as C₆₀ with a cyclic dimer of a free-base porphyrin (1-M; M = 2H) and its metal complexes (M = Co, Ag, and Zn) showed that a charge-transfer interaction is partly responsible for the complexation.     

DESIGN AND PHOTOFUNCTIONS OF DENDRIMER-ENCAPSULATED POLY(PHENYLENEETHYNYLENE)S

A series of dendrimer-encapsulated poly(phenyleneethynylene)s 4～6 were Synthesize d. The light-harvesting antenna functions of dendrimer frameworks together with the blue-light emitting activities of 4～6 were highlighted.     

Combination resonance of beams under traveling follower load systems

The regions of simple parametric and combination resonances of a thin walled beam under a sequence of equidistant follower loads moving at constant speed are estimated by using the stability criterion with the characteristic exponent, and the effects on the combination resonance of load mass, speed and frequency of load are examined.