Charge heterogeneity of recombinant pro-urokinase and urinary urokinase, as revealed by isoelectric focusing in immobilized pH gradients

When analysing homogeneous preparations of recombinant pro-urokinase and urinary urokinase by isoelectric focusing (IEF) in immobilized pH gradients, an extreme charge heterogeneity was detected (at least ten major and ten minor bands in the pH range 7–10). This extensive polydispersity was not caused by different degrees of glycosylation, or by IEF artefacts, such as binding to carrier ampholytes or carbamylation by urea. A great part of this heterogeneity could be traced back to the existence of a multitude of protein molecules containing Cys residues at different oxidation levels (-SH, -S-S-, even cysteic acid). Owing to the very large number of Cys residues in pro-urokinase (24 out of a total of 411 amino acids) and to the relatively high pI of its native forms (pI 9.5–9.8; the native form is believed to contain all Cys residues as -S-S- bridges), the presence of SH or cysteic acid residues would increase the negative surface charge, as even SH groups would be extensively ionized. In pro-urokinase, part of the heterogeneity was also due to spontaneous degradation to urokinase and possibly also to cleavage into lower-molecular-mass fragments. When all these causes of heterogeneity were removed, the pI spectrum was reduced to only four, about equally intense, bands. The cause of this residual heterogeneity is unknown.     

Complexing equilibria and redox potentials of the Ag(II)/Ag(I) system in the presence of 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine in water

Summary The conditional protonation constants (=0.1) for 2,2:6,2-terpyridine, logK ₁=4.93, logK ₂=3.69, were determined by thepH-metric method. The compositions of complexes of Ag²⁺ and Ag⁺ ions with 2,2:6,2-terpyridine (tp) were studied and equilibria of the complex formation process were described. The values of conditional complex formation constants are as follows: for Ag(tp) ₂ ⁺ :log₀₁=5.79, log₀₂=9.68, for Ag(tp) ₂ ²⁺ :log₀₂=25.31, while the conditional constant of the Ag(tp)NO₃ precipitate formation is:K _SO=2.45·10⁴. Using coulometric and chronovoltamperometric measurements, the redox systems being formed in the complex solutions of Ag(II) and Ag(I) were determined and described including their formal potentials.

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Komplexibildungsgleichgewichte und Redoxpotentiale des Systems Ag(II)/Ag(I) in Gegenwart von 2,2:6,2-Terpyridin in Wasser

Zusammenfassung Mit Hilfe derpH-metrischen Methode wurden die konditionalen Protonationskonstanten (=0.1) von 2,2:6,2-Terpyridin bestimmt: logK ₁=4.93, logK ₂=3.69. Es wurde auch die Zusammensetzung der Komplexe von Ag(II) und Ag(I) mit 2,2:6,2-Terpyridin(tp) bestimmt sowie die Gleichgewichte der komplexbildung beschrieben. Die Werte der Konditionalkomplexbildungskonstanten sind: für Ag(tp) ₂ ⁺ :log₀₁=5.79, log₀₂=9.68, für Ag(tp) ₂ ²⁺ :log₀₂=25.31 und für das Löslichkeitsprodukt Ag(tp)NO₃:K _SO ^–1 =4.08·10^–5. Die in Komplexlösungen von Ag(II) und Ag(I) vorliegenden Redoxsysteme wurden mittels cyclischer Voltametrie und Coulometrie untersucht und die Formalpotentialwerte dieser Systeme in Wasser bestimmt.

     

Distillation, on-line RP C18 preconcentration and HPLC-UV-PCO-CVAAS as a new combination for the determination of methylmercury in sediments and fish tissue

 Distillation as a way of sample digestion has been combined with on-line RP C18 preconcentration and HPLC-UV-PCO-CVAAS (high performance liquid chromatography – ultra violet – post column oxidation – cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry) for the determination of methylmercury at background levels in sediments, soils and fish tissue. To prove the accuracy of this method, it was applied to sediment and fish tissue reference materials. The results correspond with the reference values within their error ranges. Excellent recoveries (92–95%) were obtained for the sediment samples by means of the standard addition method. The standard deviations of the sediment samples were within an acceptable range (7.2–12.5%), those of the fish samples were substantially lower (3.4–5.0%). The detection limit is 0.04 ng/g for 1 g sample weight. Received: 23 November 1995/Revised: 16 April 1996/Accepted: 20 April 1996     

Synthesis and antimalarial effects of N,N-dialkyl-6-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazin-3-amines

The synthesis of a series of N,N-dialkyl-6-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazin-3-amines (IV) by two routes is described. The first route (Scheme I) involved the oxidative cyclization of formazans (II) to 3-bromo-6-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazines (III), followed by treatment with amines. The second (Scheme II) utilized the treatment of 3-(methylthio)-6-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazines (VII) with amines to provide the desired products. The intermediate 3-(methylthio)-6-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazines (VII) were obtained by thiobenzoylation of hydrazinecarbohydrazonothioic acid methyl ester with [[(substituted phenyl)thioxomethyl]thio]-acetic acids (V) to afford the 1,2-dihydro-3-(methylthio)-6-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazines (VI). Oxidation with bromine in acetic acid provided the desired intermediates. The target 6-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazin-3-amines (IV) displayed modest antimalarial activity.     

Oxydative Kupplung von Indolinen und 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydrochinolinen mit Kaliumpermanganat. 153. Mitteilung über Alkaloide

It is shown that treatment of indolines like 4a-methyl-1,2,3,4,4a,9a-hexahydrocarbazole ( 1 ) and even indoline-alkaloids like 5 or 6 (cf. scheme 1) with KMnO₄ in boiling acetone solution leads to the indolenines 10, 29 and 33 , respectively, and, in relatively high yields, to N,N′- or C,N-coupling products (cf. schemes 2 and 5). The results of the oxidation of 6- or 8-methoxy-indolines are shown in schemes 3 and 4, respectively. Analogous ‘dimeric’ dehydrogenation products are observed when tetrahydroquinolines ( 8 and 9 , resp.) are treated with KMnO₄ (cf. schemes 7 and 8, resp.). The formation of the bis-compounds is almost certainly due to the coupling of two intermediate indolenyl or tetrahydroquinolyl radicals. The cleavage of the hydrazine derivatives 11 or 17 (scheme 9) also leads to ‘dimeric’ C,N-coupling products. By heating the hydrazine derivative 17 with aqueous HCl, a complete cleavage into indoline 2 and the indolenines 16 and 20 is observed. The reaction is rationalized in scheme 10. So far no naturally occurring alkaloids related to the above mentioned C,N-coupling products have been found.     

Sensitive high resolution inverse detection NMR spectroscopy of proteins in the solid state

A new indirect detection scheme for obtaining (15)N/(1)H shift correlation spectra in crystalline proteins is described. Excellent water suppression is achieved without the need for pulsed field gradients, and using only a 2-step phase cycle. Careful attention to overall NMR instrument stability was found critical for obtaining the best resolution and sensitivity. Magnetic dilution by deuteration of the protein in combination with high-speed magic angle spinning produces (1)H resonances averaging only 0.22 ppm in width, and in some cases lines as narrow as 0.17 ppm are obtained. In application to two different polymorphs of ubiquitin, structure dependent differences in both (15)N and (1)H amide chemical shifts are observed. In one case, distinct shifts for different molecules in the asymmetric unit are seen, and all differ substantially from solution NMR shifts. A gain of 7 in sensitivity makes the method competitive with solution NMR as long as nanocrystalline samples are available.     

The Isocyanide–Cyanide Rearrangement; Mechanism and Preparative Applications

Until recently the isocyanide–cyanide rearrangement was of interest almost solely as an example of a unimolecular gas-phase reaction, and kinetic studies had been carried out in only a few simple cases. Kinetic measurements in solution were made possible only by the discovery and suppression of a parallel free-radical chain process which leads to the same products. The rate of the isomerization is almost independent of the structure of the starting material and of the substituents present. An exception is provided by extreme steric hindrance in three dimensions which, as in tris-α-substituted triptycyl isocyanides, leads to a considerable increase in the activation energy. The results can be interpreted in terms of a purely sigmatropic mechanism, as predicted by ab initio calculations. The preparative application of this rearrangement reaction requires the suppression of side reactions and can best be carried out by flash pyrolysis; yields are then almost quantitative. Allyl isocyanides react without allyl isomerization, optically active isocyanides with complete retention of configuration. New, economically interesting syntheses for the known nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ibuprofen and (S)-naproxene are described. The application of the useful synthetic building blocks, the optically active β-acyloxy cyanides, which are formed from optically active α-amino acids, will be demonstrated.     

CO(2) Fixation by Novel Copper(II) and Zinc(II) Macrocyclic Complexes. A Solution and Solid State Study

Solutions containing Zn(II) and Cu(II) complexes with [15]aneN(3)O(2) rapidly adsorb atmospheric CO(2) to give {[ZnL](3)(&mgr;(3)-CO(3))}.(ClO(4))(4) (2) and {[CuL](3)(&mgr;(3)-CO(3))}.(ClO(4))(4) (4) complexes. The crystal structures of both complexes have been solved (for 2, space group R3c, a, b = 22.300(5) ?, c = 17.980(8) ?, V = 7743(4) ?(3), Z = 6, R = 0.0666, R(w)(2) = 0.1719; for 4, space group R3c, a, b = 22.292(7) ?, c = 10.096(8) ?, V = 7788(5) ?(3), Z = 6, R = 0.0598, R(w)(2) = 0.1611), and the spectromagnetic behavior of 4 has been studied. In both compounds a carbonate anion triply bridges three metal cations. Each metal is coordinated by one oxygen of the carbonate, three nitrogens, and an oxygen of the macrocycle; the latter donor weakly interacts with the metals. Although the two compounds are isomorphous, they are not isostructural, because the coordination geometries of Zn(II) in 2 and Cu(II) in 4 are different. The mixed complex {[CuZn(2)L(3)](&mgr;(3)-CO(3))}.(ClO(4))(4) has been synthesized. X-ray analysis (space group R3c, a, b = 22.323(7) ?, c = 17.989(9) ?, V = 7763(5) ?(3), Z = 6, R = 0.0477, R(w)(2) = 0.1371) and EPR measurements are in accord with a &mgr;(3)-carbonate bridging one Cu(II) and two Zn(II) ions in {[CuZn(2)L(3)](&mgr;(3)-CO(3))}(4+). Both the Zn(II) and Cu(II) cations exhibit the same coordination sphere, almost equal to that found in the trinuclear Zn(II) complex 2. The systems Zn(II)/L and Cu(II)/Lhave been studied by means of potentiometric measurements in 0.15 mol dm(-)(1) NaCl and in 0.1 mol dm(-)(3) NaClO(4) aqueous solutions; the species present in solution and their stability constants have been determined. In both systems [ML](2+) species and hydroxo complexes [M(II)LOH](+) (M = Zn, Cu) are present in solution. In the case of Cu(II), a [CuL(OH)(2)] complex is also found. The process of CO(2) fixation is due to the presence of such hydroxo-species, which can act as nucleophiles toward CO(2). In order to test the nucleophilic ability of the Zn(II) complexes, the kinetics of the promoted hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate has been studied. The [ZnLOH](+) complex promotes such a reaction, where the Zn(II)-bound OH(-) acts as a nucleophile to the carbonyl carbon. The equilibrium constants for the addition of HCO(3)(-) and CO(3)(2)(-) to the [ZnL](2+) complex have been potentiometrically determined. Only [ML(HCO(3))](+) and [ML(CO(3))] species are found in aqueous solution. A mechanism for the formation of {[ML](3)(&mgr;(3)-CO(3))}.(ClO(4))(4) is suggested.