Efficient on-column conversion of IgG1 trisulfide linkages to native disulfides in tandem with Protein A affinity chromatography

Protein trisulfide linkages are generated by the post-translational insertion of a sulfur atom into a disulfide bond. Molecular heterogeneity was detected in a recombinant IgG₁ monoclonal antibody (mAb) and attributed to the presence of a protein trisulfide moiety. The predominant site of trisulfide modification was the bond between the heavy and light chains. The trisulfide was eliminated during purification of the IgG₁ mAb via a cysteine wash step incorporated into Protein A affinity column chromatography. Analysis of the cysteine-treated mAb by electrophoresis and peptide mapping indicated that the trisulfide linkages were efficiently converted to intact disulfide bonds (13% trisulfide decreased consistently to 1% or less) without disulfide scrambling or an increase in free sulfhydryls. The on-column trisulfide conversion caused no change in protein folding detectable by hydrogen/deuterium exchange or differential scanning calorimetry. Consistent with this, binding of the mAb to its antigen in vitro was insensitive to the presence of the trisulfide modification and to its removal by the on-column cysteine treatment. Similar, high efficiency trisulfide conversion was achieved for a second IgG₁ mAb using the column wash strategy (at least 7% trisulfide decreased to 1% or less). Therefore, trisulfide/disulfide heterogeneity can be eliminated from IgG₁ molecules via a convenient and inexpensive procedure compatible with routine Protein A affinity capture.     

Fabrication of Bienzymatic Glucose Biosensor Based on Novel Gold Nanoparticles‐Bacteria Cellulose Nanofibers Nanocomposite

An exploration of gold nanoparticles–bacterial cellulose nanofibers (Au‐BC) nanocomposite as a platform for amperometric determination of glucose is presented. Two enzymes, glucose oxidase (GOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were immobilized in Au‐BC nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode at the same time. A sensitive and fast amperometric response to glucose was observed in the presence of electron mediator (HQ). Both of GOx and HRP kept their biocatalytic activities very well in Au‐BC nanocomposite. The detection limit for glucose in optimized conditions was as low as 2.3 µM with a linear range from 10 µM to 400 µM. The biosensor was successfully applied to the determination of glucose in human blood samples.     

Determination of asperosaponin VI in rat plasma by HPLC‐ESI‐MS and its application to preliminary pharmacokinetic studies

Asperosaponin VI (also named akebia saponin D) is a typical bioactive triterpenoid saponin isolated from the rhizome of Dipsacus asper Wall (Dipsacaceae). In this work, a sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (HPLC‐ESI‐MS) assay has been established for determination of asperosaponin VI in rat plasma. With losartan as the internal standard (IS), plasma samples were prepared by protein precipitation with methanol. Chromatographic separation was performed on a C₁₈ column with a mobile phase of 10 mm ammonium acetate buffer containing 0.05% formic acid–methanol (32 : 68, v/v). The analysis was performed on an ESI in the selected ion monitoring mode using target ions at m/z 951.4 for asperosaponin VI and m/z 423.2 for the IS. The calibration curve was linear over the range 3–1000 ng/mL and the lower limit of quantification was 3.0 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐assay variability values were less than 9.5 and 7.8%, respectively. The accuracies determined at the concentrations of 3.0, 100.0, 300.0 and 1000 ng/mL for asperosaponin VI were within ±15.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in rats after oral administration of asperosaponin VI. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel sesquiterpenes and norergosterol from the soft corals Nephthea erecta and Nephtheachabroli

Chemical investigations on the acetone extract of the Formosan soft coral Nephthea erecta have afforded a new calamenene-type sesquiterpene with a mercaptan group at C-15, erectathiol (1), and a previously reported sesquiterpenoid, (+)-trans-calamenene (2). A novel sec-germacrane sesquiterpene (3), along with a novel norergosterol, chabrosterol (4), possessing a 19-norergostane skeleton, was isolated from the other soft coral Nephthea chabroli. The structures of these metabolites were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analyses. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of 1 and 4 (10 μM) significantly reduced the levels of the iNOS protein (58.0 ± 6.5% and 12.4 ± 2.9%) and COX-2 protein (108.7 ± 4.5% and 45.2 ± 5.4%). In addition, metabolite 1 (166 μg/disk) exhibited antimicrobial activities against a small panel of bacterial strains.     

Green synthesis of nanowire-like Pt nanostructures and their catalytic properties

We reported a simple and effective green chemistry route for facile synthesis of nanowire-like Pt nanostructures at one step. In the reaction, dextran acted as a reductive agent as well as a protective agent for the synthesis of Pt nanostructures. Simple mixing of precursor aqueous solutions of dextran and K₂PtCl₄ at 80 °C could result in spontaneous formation of the Pt nanostructures. Optimization of the experiment condition could yield nanowire-like Pt nanostructures at 23:1 molar ratio of the dextran repeat unit to K₂PtCl₄. Transmission electron microscopy results revealed that as-prepared nanowire-like Pt nanostructures consisted of individual Pt nanoparticles with the size range from 1.7 to 2.5 nm. Dynamic light scattering analysis indicated that as-prepared nanowire-like nanostructures have already formed in solution. The as-prepared nanowire-like Pt nanostructures were further characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, the ratio dependence and temperature dependence of this reaction have also been investigated. The as-prepared nanowire-like Pt nanostructures can be immobilized on glassy carbon electrodes using an electrochemical coupling strategy, and the resulting nanowire-like Pt nanostructures modified film exhibited an excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of oxygen and the oxidation of NADH.     

液相色谱-电喷雾电离三级四极杆质谱法测定茶叶中6种烟碱类农药残留

应用液相色谱-电喷雾电离三级四极杆质谱(LC-ESI-MS/MS)方法测定茶叶中呋虫胺、噻虫嗪、噻虫胺、吡虫啉、啶虫咪和噻虫啉烟碱类农药残留.前处理方法包括添加同位素内标吡虫啉-D4,乙腈提取,再用活性碳和Oasis(HLB)固相小柱净化.该方法采用正离子方式,多反应监测每种烟碱类杀虫剂各两对离子进行定性、定量分析.方法在0.01～0.4 mg/kg范围内具有良好的线性关系.实验了3个添加水平0.02、0.04和0.2 mg/kg,回收率范围为80.1%～106.1%;相对标准偏差小于9.7%;方法检出限(LOQ)均为0.02 mg/kg.本方法简便、快速、准确,各项技术指标满足国内外法规的要求,可用于茶叶样品中烟碱类农药残留的确证检测.     

糖尿病大鼠微量元素与动脉血栓形成的关系

为研究糖尿病大鼠微量元素的含量变化及其与动脉血栓形成的关系,用链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导出糖尿病大鼠模型,三氯化铁（FeCl3）造颈总动脉血栓后,测定血糖、胰岛素（INS）、6-酮-前列腺素F1α（6-K-PGF1α）、血栓素B2（TXB2）、内皮素（ET1）以及全血微量元素镁、锌含量。结果表明,①与正常对照组比,糖尿病大鼠的血糖、TXB2、ET1和锌的含量、ρ（TXB2）／ρ（6-K-PGF1α）、（T／P）比值及血栓质量增加（P〈0．05）,INS含量降低（P〈0．001）,镁和6-K-PGF1α含量无改变（P〉0．05）;②糖尿病组的TXB2与糖、锌（P=0．001）、胰岛素正相关（P=0．003）,ET1仅与锌正相关（P=0．096）,6-K-PGF1α与镁、锌无相关关系。提示：①糖尿病大鼠血管内皮功能受损,血液处于T／P失衡的高凝状态,更易形成动脉血栓;②糖和锌代谢紊乱在T／P失衡和内皮功能损伤中有重要作用。     

基于有源广义忆阻的无感混沌电路研究

采用常见元器件等效实现一个广义忆阻器, 进而制作出一个电路特性可靠的非线性电路, 有助于忆阻混沌电路的非线性现象的实验展示及其所产生的混沌信号的实际工程应用. 基于忆阻二极管桥电路, 构建了一种无接地限制的、易物理实现的一阶有源广义忆阻模拟器; 由该模拟器并联电容后与RC桥式振荡器线性耦合, 实现了一种无电感元件的忆阻混沌电路; 建立了无感忆阻混沌电路的动力学模型, 开展了相应的耗散性、平衡点、稳定性和动力学行为等分析. 结果表明, 无感忆阻混沌电路在相空间中存在分布2个不稳定非零鞍焦的耗散区和包含1个不稳定原点鞍点的非耗散区; 当元件参数改变时, 无感忆阻混沌电路有着共存分岔模式和共存吸引子等非线性行为. 研制了实验电路, 该电路结构简单、易实际制作, 实验测量和数值仿真两者结果一致, 验证了理论分析的有效性.