Binding of brucine to human serum albumin

The feature of brucine binding to human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated via fluorescence and UV/vis absorption spectroscopy. The results revealed that brucine caused the fluorescence quenching of HSA by the formation of brucine–HSA complex. The hydrophobic interaction plays a major role in stabilizing the complex; the binding site number n and apparent binding constant K_A, corresponding thermodynamic parameters the free energy change (ΔG), enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS) at different temperatures were calculated. The distance r between donor (HSA) and acceptor (brucine) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The effect of brucine on the conformation of HSA was analyzed using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and UV/vis absorption spectroscopy.     

Synthesis of cationic guar gum-graft-polyacrylamide at low temperature and its flocculating properties

Acrylamide grafted cationic guar gum (CGG-g-PAM), induced by ceric ammonium sulfate, was synthesized using aqueous polymerization technique at 10 °C and the flocculation property was studied with high-turbidity tobacco wastewater (NTU > 4500). Thus five grades of graft copolymers were obtained through alteration of initiator and monomer concentrations in order to understand the effect of molecular weight on flocculation. The grafted copolymer was characterized by FTIR and SEM. Study of DTG demonstrated that CGG-g-PAM had better heat-resistant performance than guar gum, cationic guar gum (CGG) and polyacrylamide. The dosage of polyaluminium chloride (PAC) and CGG-g-PAM, pH value and molecular weight were considered to be the factors that can influence flocculation efficiency. The result showed best flocculation efficiency occurs at pH 5 when the dosage of CGG-g-PAM and PAC are 3.6 ppm and 120 ppm, respectively. The percentage of turbidity and COD removal are 98% and 24% correspondingly, and its flocculating efficiency prevails over that of CGG and cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM).     

Elucidating Factors Manipulated the Formation of Multiply Charged Protein Homomultimeric Complexes by Electrospray Ionization

Native non‐covalently bonded protein‐protein and protein‐substrate complexes are of great interest and have been extensively studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). Multiply charged protein homomultimeric complexes are shown to form by ESI‐MS. This study addresses factors that can artificially induce the formation of multiply charged protein homomultimeric complexes. Cytochrome c (Cyt c) and ubiquitin, which are monomers in solution, were found to generate (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ by electrospray ionization (ESI). The homomultimeric complexes were not limited to dimeric complexes but include also multiply charged trimers, tetramers, and pentamers. The observation of these homomultimeric complexes has never been revealed from a Cyt c solution at the concentration as low as 10 μM. Increasing the concentration of Cyt c enhanced the formation of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ as expected; however, the protein concentration does not affect the relative intensities of monomeric and dimeric complexes. Additionally the enrichment of NH₄OH also promotes the formation of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺. Notably, source collision‐induced dissociations (source‐CID) of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ alter the charge state distribution (CSD) and may lead to an incorrect interpretation of Cyt c conformations. Hence, extra care should be taken when using CSD to interpret the conformation of a protein derived from ESI‐MS.     

2-Deoxy-d-glucose Promotes Buforin IIb-Induced Cytotoxicity in Prostate Cancer DU145 Cells and Xenograft Tumors

Inhibition of the glycolytic pathway is a critical strategy in anticancer therapy because of the role of aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. The glycolytic inhibitor 2-Deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) has shown potential in combination with other anticancer agents. Buforin IIb is an effective antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with broad-spectrum anticancer activity and selectivity. The efficacy of combination treatment with 2-DG and buforin IIb in prostate cancer remains unknown. Here, we tested the efficacy of buforin IIb as a mitochondria-targeting AMP in the androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell line DU145. Combining 2-DG with buforin IIb had a synergistic toxic effect on DU145 cells and mouse xenograft tumors. Combination treatment with 2-DG and buforin IIb caused stronger proliferation inhibition, greater G1 cell cycle arrest, and higher apoptosis than either treatment alone. Combination treatment dramatically decreased L-lactate production and intracellular ATP levels, indicating severe inhibition of glycolysis and ATP production. Flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy results indicate that 2-DG may increase buforin IIb uptake by DU145 cells, thereby increasing the mitochondria-targeting capacity of buforin IIb. This may partly explain the effect of combination treatment on enhancing buforin IIb-induced apoptosis. Consistently, 2-DG increased mitochondrial dysfunction and upregulated Bax/Bcl-2, promoting cytochrome c release to initiate procaspase 3 cleavage induced by buforin IIb. These results suggest that 2-DG sensitizes prostate cancer DU145 cells to buforin IIb. Moreover, combination treatment caused minimal hemolysis and cytotoxicity to normal WPMY-1 cells. Collectively, the current study demonstrates that dual targeting of glycolysis and mitochondria by 2-DG and buforin IIb may be an effective anticancer strategy for the treatment of some advanced prostate cancer.     

Novel 1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione derivatives containing a hydrazide moiety: Design,synthesis and bioactive evaluation against phytopathogenic fungi in vitro and in vivo

A series of novel 1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione derivatives bearing a hydrazide moiety were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their biological activities against phytopathogenic fungi. The antifungal bioassays indicated that the title compound 5b impressively displayed the obvious selectivity and specificity aganist Rhizoctonia solani (Rs) in vitro and in vivo. The above researches provide a significant reference for the further structural optimization of 1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione derivatives bearing a hydrazide moiety as potential fungicides.     

Temperature-programmed desorption and adsorption of hydrogen on Mo2N

Hydrogen adsorption-desorption over Mo₂N has been studied using a temperature-programmed technique. It is revealed that hydrogen on Mo₂N exhibits very high mobility leading to migration of the surface hydrogen into the sublayer and bulk of the sample or the reverse. The surface hydrogen species are preferentially formed when adsorption is carried out below 573 K. On increasing the adsorption temperature to above 573 K, the quantity of hydrogen species located in the sublayer or/and bulk of the Mo₂N sample increases significantly.     

Anodic stripping voltammetric determination of bismuth(III) using a Tosflex-coated mercury film electrode

A Tosflex-mercury film electrode (TMFE) was prepared by spin-coating a solution of the perfluorinated anion exchange polymer Tosflex onto a glassy carbon electrode surface followed by electrodeposition of mercury film on this electrode. This electrode was used for the determination of trace bismuth(III) which was preconcentrated onto the TMFE as anionic bismuth(III) complexes with chloride in a chloride medium. The preconcentration was carried out at a potential of-0.2 V, and the preconcentration of the bismuth(III) was enhanced significantly by the anion-exchange feature of Tosflex. The accumulated bismuth(III) was then determined by anodic square-wave stripping voltammetry (SWSV). Various parameters influencing the determination of bismuth(III) were examined in detail. With 2 min accumulation, the analytical signal versus concentration dependence was linear up to 50 ppb, and the detection limit was 0.58 ppb. This modified electrode showed good resistance to the interferences from surface-active compounds and common ions.     

氧化共沉淀法制备纳米级掺锑α—Fe2O3气敏陶瓷粉料

氧化共沉淀法制备纳米级掺锑α┐Ｆｅ２Ｏ３气敏陶瓷粉料王忠春＊＊刘尔生陈耐生＊黄金陵（福州大学化学系福州３５０００２）关键词α－Ｆｅ２Ｏ３陶瓷，锑掺杂气敏材料，纳米材料１９９６－１０－０５收稿，１９９７－０４－２２修回福建省科委资助项目＊＊现在上海硅酸...     

Spectroscopic and DFT studies to understand the liquid formation mechanism in the LiTFSI/acetamide complex system

It is interesting that although both lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfone) imide (LiN(SO2CF3)2, LiTFSI) and acetamide (CH3CONH2) are solid, their mixture is a liquid in an appropriate molar ratio range at room temperature. The liquid formation mechanism of the LiTFSI/acetamide complex has been investigated by FT-IR and FT-Raman spectroscopy. The spectroscopic studies show that the Li+ ions coordinate with the C=O group of acetamide whereas the SO2 group in TFSI- anions interacts with the NH2 group of acetamide via hydrogen bonding. These interactions lead to the breakage of the hydrogen bonds between acetamide molecules and to the dissociation of LiTFSI, resulting in the formation of this molten salt. Furthermore, it has been found that moderate interaction between LiX and RCONH2 (R = -NH2, -CH3 and -CF3) is favorable for forming a LiX/RCONH2 molten salt system with low eutectic temperature and high conductivity based on density functional theory (DFT) calculational and experimental comparison for different R groups in RCONH2 and different lithium salts.     

Sorption and desorption of radiostrontium on calcareous soil and its solid components

The effect of different solid components of calcareous soil on the retention of Sr was investigated by using batch technique and selective extraction method. The sorption and desorption isotherms of Sr on the untreated calcareous soil and the three treated soils were determined at 20°C, pH 7.8±0.2 and in the presence of 0.001 M CaCl₂. It was found that all isotherms are linear and that the sorption of Sr on the calcareous soil can be described by a reversible sorption process and the sorption mechanism is mainly ion exchange.