Construction of recombinant Escherichia coli strais for production of poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)

Plastic wastes constitute a worldwide environmental problem, and the demand for biodegradable plastics has become high. One of the most important characteristics of microbial polyesters is that they are thermoplastic with environmentally degradable properties. In this study, pUC 19/PHA was cloned and transformed into three different Escherichia coli strains. Among the three strains that were successfully expressed in the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), E. coli HMS174 had the highest yield in the production of poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (P[HB-HV]). The cell dry weight and PHA content of recombinant HMS174 reached as high as 10.27 g/L and 43% (w/w), respectively, in fed-batch fermentor culture. The copolymer of PHA, P(HB-HV), was found in the cells, and the biopolymers accumulated were identified and analyzed by gas chromatography, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. We demonstrated clearly that the E. coli host for PHA production has to be carefully selected to obtain a high yield. The results obtained indicated that a superior E. coli with high PHA production can be constructed with a desirable ratio of P(HB-HV), which has potential applications in industry and medicine.     

Enhanced thermal properties and flame retardancy from a thermosetting blend of a phosphorus‐containing bismaleimide and epoxy resins

Epoxy resins modified by an organosoluble phosphorus‐containing bismaleimide (3,3′‐bis(maleimidophenyl) ­phenylphosphine oxide; BMPPPO) were prepared by simultaneously curing epoxy/diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM), and BMPPPO. The resulted epoxy resins were found to exhibit glass transition temperatures as high as 212 °C, thermal stability at temperatures over 350 °C, and excellent flame retardancy with Limited oxygen index (LOI) values around 40. Incorporation of BMPPPO into epoxy resins via the thermosetting blend was demonstrated to be an effective way to enhance the thermal properties and flame retardancy simultaneously. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct electrochemistry of recombinant tobacco peroxidase on gold

Direct electron transfer (DET) reactions of recombinant tobacco peroxidase (rTOP), namely direct electroreduction of Compound I/Compound II and heme Fe^3+/2+ conversion, were studied on gold electrodes. rTOP of wild type, non-glycosylated, was produced using an Escherichia coli expression system. At pH 5.0, the redox potential for direct electrochemical transformation of the Fe^3+/2+ of the peroxidase heme was −143 mV vs. AgAgCl, and 0.26 ± 0.07 pmol of the adsorbed rTOP were in DET contact with the gold electrode. The total amount of the adsorbed rTOP estimated from QCM data was 53 ± 5 pmol/cm² or 1.67 pmol when referred to the surface area of the electrodes used for electrochemical measurements. Of 1.67 pmol of adsorbed rTOP, only 0.76 pmol were catalytically active. DET between Au and the enzyme was also studied in the reaction of the bioelectrocatalytic reduction of H₂O₂ by cyclic voltammetry and amperometric detection of H₂O₂ at +50 mV with rTOP-modified Au electrodes placed in a wall-jet flow-through electrochemical cell. Maximal bioelectrocatalytic current response of the rTOP-modified gold electrodes to H₂O₂ was observed at pH 5.0 and stemmed from its bioelectrocatalytic reduction based on DET between Au and the active site of rTOP. Kinetic analysis of the DET reactions gave 52% of the adsorbed rTOP molecules active in DET reactions (0.4 pmol of adsorbed catalytically active rTOP, correspondingly), which correlated well with the non-catalytic-voltammetry data. DET was characterised by a heterogeneous ET rate constant of 13.2 s⁻¹, if one takes into account the QCM data, and 19.6 s⁻¹, if the amount of rTOP estimated from the data on DET transformation of Fe^3+/2+ couple of rTOP is considered. The sensitivity for H₂O₂ obtained for the rTOP-modified Au electrodes was 0.7 ± 0.1 A M⁻¹ cm⁻². These are the first ever-reported data on DET reactions of anionic plant peroxidases on bare gold electrodes.     

Time-resolved resonance Raman and density functional theory study of the deprotonation reaction of the triplet state of p-hydroxyacetophenone in water solution

[reaction; see text] Picosecond and nanosecond time-resolved resonance Raman (TR(3)) spectroscopy was employed to investigate the deprotonation/ionization reaction of p-hydroxyacetophenone (HA) after ultraviolet photolysis in water solution. The TR(3) spectra in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to characterize the structure and dynamics of the excited-state HA deprotonation to form HA anions in near neutral water solvent. DFT calculations based on a solute-solvent intermolecular H-bonded complex model containing up to three water molecules were used to evaluate the H-bond interactions and their influence on the deprotonation reaction and the structures of the intermediates. The deprotonation reaction was found to occur on the triplet manifold with a planar H-bonded HA triplet complex as the precursor species. The HA triplet species is generated within several picoseconds and then decays with a approximately 10 ns time constant to produce the HA triplet anion species after 267 nm photolysis of HA in water solution. The triplet anion species was observed to decay with a time constant of about 90 ns into the ground-state anion species that was found to have a lifetime of about 200 ns. The DFT calculations on the H-bonded complexes of the anion triplet and ground-states species suggest that these anion species are H-bonded complexes with planar quinonoidal structures containing two water molecules H-bonded, respectively, with oxygen lone pairs of the carbonyl and deprotonated hydroxyl moieties. A deactivation scheme of the photoexcited HA in regard to the deprotonation reaction in neutral water solutions was proposed. With the above dynamic and structural information available, we briefly discuss the possible implications of the model HA photochemistry in water solutions for the photodeprotection reactions of related p-HP phototrigger compounds in aqueous solutions.     

Coordination properties of a diarylaza crown ether appended with a luminescent [Ru(bipy)3]2+ unit

The [Ru(bipy)(2)(1)](PF(6))(2) (bipy refers to 2,2'-bipyridine) complex, comprising a ruthenium(II) tris(2,2'-bipyridine) luminophore covalently linked to a di[(o-triethyleneglycoxy)phenyl]amine crown ether 1, has been synthesized and fully characterized. The photophysical properties of this metal complex have been examined in solution at ambient temperature. Luminescence from the metal complex is enhanced significantly in the presence of various adventitious cations, including protons. In particular, Li(+) cations bind to the crown ether, as evidenced by (1)H NMR and luminescence spectroscopy. Cation binding serves to decrease the rate of reductive quenching of the triplet state of the metal complex, thereby increasing the extent of luminescence. The solution-phase conformation of [Ru(bipy)(2)(1)](PF(6))(2), with and without encapsulated Li(+), has been examined by 2-D NMR and by molecular dynamics simulations.     

Etude des propriétés cristallographiques,diélectriques et d'optique non linéaire de quelques nouvelles phases de composition BaxLi5−2xNb5(1−y)Ta5yO15 et de structure bronzes oxygénés de tungstène quadratiques

Two series of phases with tetragonal bronze-like structure and composition Ba_xLi_5?2xT₅O₁₅ (T = Nb, Ta) have been isolated in the systems BaNb₂O₆LiNbO₃ and BaTa₂O₆LiTaO₃. All these phases show ferroelectric-paraelectric transitions. The Curie temperature increases with the lithium content. The value of T_C for Ba_2.03Li_0.94Nb₅O₁₅ is the highest ever observed for this type of structure: the obtained phases are potentially good materials for the harmonic generation of the 0.53-μm radiation. The optical yield of the niobate Ba_2.14Li_0.71Nb₅O₁₅ is about 2.5 times that of Ba₂NaNb₅O₁₅ and 250 times that of the K.D.P. The crystallographic and dielectric data of the system Ba_2.14Li_0.71Nb₅O₁₅Ba_2.14Li_0.71Ta₅O₁₅ characterize three domains, which are respectively antiferroelectric, ferroelectric, and paraelectric. The Curie temperature and the optical yield decrease with increasing tantalum content.     

Regioselective oxygenative tetraamination of [60]fullerene. Fullerene-mediated reduction of molecular oxygen by amine via ground state single electron transfer in dimethyl sulfoxide

The reaction of [60]fullerene with a variety of a secondary aliphatic amines in 20% v/v dimethyl sulfoxide in chlorobenzene under an atmospheric pressure of molecular oxygen allows regioselective introduction of four amino groups and one epoxide group around one pentagon of the fullerene molecule in good to high yield. This new synthesis of tetraaminofullerene expoxide can be carried out with a simple procedure on a multigram scale at room temperature and affords a variety of functionalized fullerene derivatives. Near-infrared analysis of a mixture of [60]fullerene and piperidine in a deaerated dimethyl sulfoxide/chlorobenzene mixture indicated equilibrium formation of [60]fullerene radical anion (C60*-) that persists at least for 2 weeks at room temperature but reacts immediately with molecular oxygen to give the tetraaminofullerene expoxide. The Benesi-Hildebrand analysis of the concentration dependency of the near-infrared absorption indicated that a [C60*- piperidine*+] radical ion pair is formed with an equivalent constant of K = 0.62 +/- 0.02 M(-1) at 25 degrees C. This and other lines of evidence suggest that the oxygenative amination reaction involves C60-mediated reduction of molecular oxygen by the amine.     

Ritter Reaction of 1‐Aryl‐1‐Fluoro‐2‐Haloethanes

Fluorinated phenethyl bromides 1,2 , and 3 , prove to be totally inert under Ritter reaction conditions in the presence of either SnCl₄ or AgNO₃, due to the strong deactivation by the gem‐difluoro unit. Subjecting 2‐bromo‐1‐fluoro‐1‐phenylethane to SnCl₄ in MeCN at elevated temperatures led to formation of 2‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐4,5‐dihydrooxazole.     

Response of a benzoxainone derivative linked to monoaza-15-crown-5 with divalent heavy metals

The response of a monoaza-15-crown-5 with an optically active aminobenzoxazinone moiety to divalent cations was investigated. The crown ether was found to undergo a strong emission shift to the blue when complexed with specific divalent metals that have ionic diameters between 1.9-2.4 A. Consequently the photoactive macrocycle is responsive to Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Ba(2+), Sr(2+), Cd(2+), and particularly responsive to Hg(2+)and Pb(2+). Macrocycle emission spectra are shown to be a function of cation concentration. Alkaline metal cations and smaller transition metals ions such as Ni(2+), Co(2+)and Zn(2+)do not cause significant changes in the macrocycle emission spectra. Emission, absorption, and complex stability constants are determined. Mechanisms of cation selectivity and spectral emission shifts are discussed. Challenges involving immobilization of the macrocycle while preserving its spectral response to cations are explored.     

Evaluation of dithiocarbamates and beta-diketones as chelating agents in supercritical fluid extraction of Cd, Pb, and Hg from solid samples

The use of four dithiocarbamates and three fluorinated β-diketones as potential chelating agents for three transition metal ions (Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Hg²⁺) extracted from spiked sand and filter paper samples by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was investigated. The extractions were performed at 45°C and 250 atm for spiked sand samples and at 60°C and 200 atm for filter paper samples using supercritical carbon dioxide modified with 5% methanol. At 250 atm and using carbon dioxide modified with 5% methanol, the recoveries of Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Hg²⁺ ions from spiked sand samples were 95% with lithium bis(trifluoroethyl)dithiocarbamate (LiFDDC) as the chelating agent; they ranged from 83–97% with diethylammonium diethyldithiocarbamate and from 87–97% with sodium di-ethyldithiocarbamate as chelating agents, and from 68–96% with trifluoracetylacetone, hexafluoroacetylacetone, and thenoylfluoroacetone as chelating agents. Ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate was not effective in the chelation SFE of Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Hg²⁺ ions from either spiked sand or spiked filter paper samples under the extraction conditions used. Supercritical carbon dioxide alone gave consistently lower analyte recoveries than supercritical carbon dioxide modified with 5% methanol. The results suggest that the solubility of the metal chelate in the supercritical fluid plays a more important role than the solubility of the chelating agent in the supercritical fluid, as long as sufficient chelating agent is present in the fluid phase. Fluorination of the chelating agent, as in the case of LiFDDC, increases the solubility of the metal chelate, and subsequently enhances the extraction efficiency for the metal ions.