Self-gelatinizable copolymer immobilized glucose biosensor based on prussian blue modified graphite electrode

A novel poly(vinyl alcohol) grafting 4-vinylpyridine self-gelatinizable copolymer was adapted to immobilize glucose oxidase. The reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was detected at a Prussian Blue (PB) modified graphite electrode. A stable and sensitive glucose amperometric biosensor is described. The copolymer is a good biocompatible polymer in which the glucose oxidase retains high activity. Moreover, the copolymer can adhere firmly to the inorganic PB membrane. The sensor showed an apparent Michaelis-Menten constant of 18 +/- 0.2 mM and a maximum current density of 1.14 microA cm-2 mM-1. The linear range is from 5 microM to 4.5 mM glucose and the detection limit is 0.5 microM glucose. The catalytic efficiency of PB for the reduction of H2O2 is higher than that for the oxidation of H2O2. Glucose concentrations in serum samples from healthy persons and diabetic patients were determined using the sensor. The results compared well with those provided by the hospital using a spectroscopy method.     

Study on the Tautomer Interconversion of 3-Oxo Pentanoate During Gas Chromatography

Enol and keto tautomers of methyl 3-oxo pentanoate could be separated on a HP-5 capillary column. The chromatographic peaks were identified by examining characteristic mass ions arose from the corresponding enol and keto molecular ions. The study showed that the area percentage of enol tautomer is a function of temperature of the column. Treating the column as a reactor, the energy of activation for the on-column tautomerization could be extracted (35.1 kJ mol⁻¹) by monitoring the loss of the enol tautomer, because the reaction is found to obey pseudo first-order kinetics. The enthalpy and the entropy changes (ΔH = −3.98 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔS = −7.89 J K⁻¹mol⁻¹) for the enol-to-keto reaction in the stationary phase were also obtained.     

TiO2 sol-gel derived amperometric biosensor for H2O2 on the electropolymerized phenazine methosulfate modified electrode

A novel hydrogen peroxide biosensor was developed based on the immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in a TiO(2) sol-gel matrix on an electropolymerized phenazine methosulfate (PMS) modified electrode surface. Such membranes are of interest due to their high surface area, biological compatibility, and ease of fabrication. HRP entrapped in the TiO(2) matix was stable and retained its activity to a large extent. Cyclic voltammetry and amperometric measurements were employed to demonstrate the feasibility of electron transfer between immobilized HRP and the glassy carbon electrode via electropolymerized PMS. The influence of various experimental parameters such as operating potential, pH, temperature, and stability was investigated for optimum analytical performance. The biosensor provided a wide linear calibration range from 4.0x10(-6) M to 1.0x10(-3) M, with a detection limit of 8.0x10(-7) M at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The sensor retained 80% of its original activity after two months of operation.     

Simple interface for capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A simple interface has been developed to couple capillary electrophoresis (CE) to inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) for metal speciation. A concentric glass nebulizer with elongated tip is used as the CE-ICP interface. The CE capillary is the central tube of the nebulizer. A platinum wire is wrapped across the exit end of the CE capillary to provide electrical connection to the CE power supply. No sheath flow of buffer solution is needed. A simple cooling system has also been developed. A peristaltic pump circulates water through a plastic tube that encloses the section of the CE capillary between the CE instrument and the ICP spectrometer. Characteristics of the CE-ICP interface, e.g., elution time, nebulization and transport efficiency and peak broadening, versus carrier gas flow-rate have been studied. Comparisons to a previous design with the Pt electrode inserted into the end of the CE capillary are made where appropriate. The reproducibility (RSD) in ICP emission intensity of the system is <4%. Detection limits of Cr and Cu are approximately 5 ng/ml.     

Probing the kinetic landscape of transient peptide-protein interactions by use of peptide (15)n NMR relaxation dispersion spectroscopy: binding of an antithrombin peptide to human prothrombin

Protein-ligand interactions may lead to the formation of multiple molecular complexes in dynamic exchange, affecting the kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics of the binding equilibrium. We followed the dissociation kinetics of the transient and specific complex of an antithrombotic peptide N-acetyl-Asp(55)-Phe-Glu-Glu-Ile-Pro(60)-Glu-Glu-Tyr-Leu-Gln(65) with human prothrombin by use of (15)N NMR relaxation dispersion spectroscopy of the peptide. Every one of the five (15)N-labeled adjacent residues of the peptide exhibited apparently different kinetic exchange and relaxation behaviors, which were especially evident at different concentrations of prothrombin. Binding-induced (15)N relaxation dispersion of residues Phe(56), Glu(57), Glu(58), and Ile(59) can be fitted phenomenologically to a two-site on-and-off exchange mechanism with physically feasible relaxation and kinetic parameters obtained for residues Phe(56), Glu(58), and Ile(59), independent of the prothrombin concentration. The apparent kinetic parameters of Glu(57) show some dependence on the concentration of prothrombin and the extracted transverse relaxation rate for Glu(57) in the bound state was severalfold higher than that expected for a protein-peptide complex with a size of approximately 72 kDa. In addition, the equilibrium population of the bound peptide obtained for Glu(57) was inconsistent with those for Phe(56), Glu(58), and Ile(59) and with the prothrombin/peptide ratios used in the experiments. These discrepancies can be explained by the presence of two conformations for the peptide-protein complex exchanging at a rate of approximately 100 s(-)(1). In all, our study shows that fast dissociation of protein-peptide complexes can be studied quantitatively using peptide (15)N NMR relaxation dispersion measurements without a precise knowledge of the peptide and protein concentrations. In addition, protein titration was found to improve the accuracy of quantitative analysis and may make it possible to determine the rate of conformational changes within the protein-peptide complex.     

Organic functionalization of the sidewalls of carbon nanotubes by diels-alder reactions: a theoretical prediction

[structure: see text] The viability of the Diels-Alder (DA) cycloaddition of conjugated dienes onto the sidewalls of single-wall carbon nanotubes is assessed by means of a two-layered ONIOM(B3LYP/6-31G:AM1) approach. Whereas the DA reaction of 1,3-butadiene on the sidewall of an armchair (5,5) nanotube is found to be unfavorable, the cycloaddition of quinodimethane is predicted to be viable due to the aromaticity stabilization at the corresponding transition states and products.