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.     

A new route to spirooxindoles

[reaction: see text]Reaction of indole amides 5 with tributylstannane gave spiroindolenines 9 which are readily converted into spiropyrrolidinyloxindoles. This tricyclic system is found in a number of interesting natural products.     

Optical sensors based on hybrid DNA/conjugated polymer complexes

Single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) can specifically bind to various targets, including a complementary ss-DNA, ions, proteins, drugs, and so forth. When binding takes place, the oligonucleotide probe often undergoes a conformational transition. This conformational change of the negatively charged ss-DNA can be detected by using a water-soluble, cationic polythiophene derivative, which transduces the complex formation into an optical (colorimetric or fluorometric) signal without any labeling of the probe or the target. This simple and rapid methodology has enabled the specific and sensitive detection of nucleic acids and human thrombin. This new biophotonic tool can easily be applied to the detection of various other biomolecules and is also useful in the high-throughput screening of new drugs.     

Substituted γ-lactones: On the structural elucidation of the reaction products from 4-aroyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanones and 1,2-diamines

The reaction pathway of 4-aroyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanones 1 with diamines depends on the nature of the amine as well as on the applied reaction conditions. Thus, the reaction of 1a-d with 5,6-diamino-1,3-dimethyluracil 5 led to the formation of two isomeric Schiff bases 7a-d and 8a-d . Conversely type 1 compounds reacted with 4,5-diaminopyrimidine 9 or 2,3-diaminopyridine 10 to form the mono acid-base adducts 11a and 11b respectively. When type 1 compounds were reacted with aliphatic diamines 13a-d or p-phenylenediamine and p-xylenediamine, respectively also an immediate formation of acid-base adducts 15a-f was observed. The reaction of a number of O-methylated type 1 compounds with 1,2-ethylenediamine afforded the novel seven-membered ring compounds 18a-d in good yields. The analogous reaction of O-alkylated 1a with o-phenylenediamine 2 or 2,3-diaminonaphthalene gave the expected tricyclic ring systems 19 or 20 .     

Analysis of transient membrane protein interactions by single-molecule diffusional mobility shift assay

Various repertoires of membrane protein interactions determine cellular responses to diverse environments around cells dynamically in space and time. Current assays, however, have limitations in unraveling these interactions in the physiological states in a living cell due to the lack of capability to probe the transient nature of these interactions on the crowded membrane. Here, we present a simple and robust assay that enables the investigation of transient protein interactions in living cells by using the single-molecule diffusional mobility shift assay (smDIMSA). Utilizing smDIMSA, we uncovered the interaction profile of EGFR with various membrane proteins and demonstrated the promiscuity of these interactions depending on the cancer cell line. The transient interaction profile obtained by smDIMSA will provide critical information to comprehend the crosstalk among various receptors on the plasma membrane.Subject terms: Fluorescence imaging, Super-resolution microscopy, Single-molecule biophysics     

Aqua dissociation nature of cesium hydroxide

To understand the mechanism of aqueous base dissociation chemistry, the ionic dissociation of cesium-hydroxide in water clusters is examined using density functional theory and ab initio calculations. In this study, we report hydrated structures, stabilities, thermodynamic quantities, dissociation energies, infrared spectra, and electronic properties of CsOH(H(2)O)(n=0-4). With the addition of water molecules, the Cs-OH bond lengthened significantly from 2.46 A for n=1 to 3.08 A for n=4, which causes redshift in Cs-O stretching frequency. It is found that three water molecules are needed for the dissociation of Cs-OH, in contrast to the case of strong acid dissociation which requires at least four water molecules. However, the dissociation for n=3 could be considered as incomplete because a very weak CS em leader OH stretch mode is still present, while that for n=4 is complete since the Cs em leader OH mode no longer exists. This study can be related with hydration chemistry of cations and anions, and extended into the intra- and intercharge-transfer phenomena.     

A polymeric photobase generator containing oxime–urethane groups: Crosslinking reaction and application to negative photoresist

A polymeric photobase generator containing oxime–urethane groups was prepared by copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and methacryloxyethyl benzophenoneoxime urethane, and its photo and thermal crosslinking reaction after irradiation was examined from the measurement of UV and IR absorption spectral changes, insoluble fraction, and molecular weight changes. The photo‐crosslinking reaction of the copolymer film was more efficient when irradiations were carried out with 310 nm UV light in the presence of benzophenone than with 254 nm UV light without the addition of benzophenone. The crosslinking reaction increased after postexposure baking (PEB), and this thermal crosslinking reaction mechanism was studied from the identification of the photolysis products of a model compound, benzophenoneoxime phenylurethane, by a high‐performance liquid chromatography. The results indicate that the thermal crosslinking reaction of the copolymer after PEB is due to the formation of urea‐type chemical bonds. Resist properties of the copolymer were examined from the measurement of normalized thickness and micropattern development. A negative tone image with a resolution of 2 μm was obtained with this copolymer, having a sensitivity (D) of 1200 mJ/cm² and contrast (γ_n) of 1.31, when irradiation was carried out with 310 nm UV light in the presence of benzophenone following chloroform development. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 975–984, 2004     

Neutron diffraction study of [H(4)Co(4)(C(5)Me(4)Et)(4)], a tetrahedral metal cluster complex with four face-bridging hydride ligands

A single-crystal neutron diffraction analysis of the cluster complex [H(4)Co(4)(C(5)Me(4)Et)(4)] was carried out on the new quasi-Laue diffractometer VIVALDI at the Institut Laue-Langevin. The structure consists of four face-bridging hydrides attached to a tetrahedral cobalt metal core. Average distances and angles in the core of the molecule are as follows: Co-Co = 2.571(8), Co-C = 2.158(6), Co-H = 1.749(7), H.H = 2.366(9) A; Co-H-Co = 94.6(3), H-Co-H = 85.1(3) degrees. The hydride ligands are located off the Co-Co-Co planes by an average distance of 0.923(8) A. It is suggested that the dimensions of the HCo(3) fragments found in this molecule provide reasonable estimates for analogous distances and angles associated with chemisorbed H atoms situated on the 3-fold hollows of a cobalt surface. Crystallographic details: space group P2(1)/a (monoclinic); a = 21.979(2), b = 10.924(1), c = 34.406(2) A; beta = 90.81(1) degrees; Z = 8. Final agreement factor: R(F) = 0.099 for 3779 reflections [I > 2sigma(I)] collected at 20 K.     

Preparation and characterization of functional group gradient surfaces

Functional group gradient surfaces where the density of functional groups changes gradually along the sample length were prepared. The functional group (? COOH, ? CONH₂, and ? OH group) gradient surfaces were produced by the treatment of low-density PE sheets using a corona with gradually increasing power, followed by the graft copolymerization of acrylic acid and subsequent substitution reaction of carboxylic acid groups to amide or hydroxyl groups. The prepared gradient surfaces were characterized by the measurement of water contact angle, FTIR-ATR, and ESCA. The gradient surfaces prepared can be used to systematically investigate the interactions of biological or other species in terms of the surface functional groups and their density of polymeric materials. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A delicate balance of energetics. Subtleties associated with alpha-ketol-based bridge migration to afford 9-keto-10beta-p-methoxybenzyloxytaxanes

The feasibility of the title reaction has been pursued for the purpose of advancing a concise total synthesis of Taxol. Of the two closely related series examined, the first featured an exo-methylene group at C4. The second consisted of an alpha-epoxide at that site. Strikingly, the olefinic construct proved inert to attempted alpha-ketol rearrangement. In contrast, the oxiranyl derivative isomerized smoothly. The reaction sequence associated with arrival at taxane 18 is short (15 steps from a D-camphor derivative) and notably efficient. The thermodynamic issues that are raised by this investigation have been clarified by an assessment of molecular mechanics-derived (MM3) steric energy calculations.