The Effect of Albumin Fusion Patterns on the Production and Bioactivity of the Somatostatin-14 Fusion Protein in Pichia pastoris

Somatostatin is a natural inhibitor of growth hormone, and its analogues are clinically used for the therapy of acromegaly, gigantism, thyrotropinoma, and other carcinoid syndrome. However, natural somatostatin is limited for clinical usage because of its short half-life in vivo. Albumin fusion technology was used to construct long-acting fusion proteins, and Pichia pastoris was used as an expression system. Three fusion proteins, (somatostatin (SS)14)₂-human serum albumin (HSA), (SS14)₃-HSA, and HSA-(SS14)₃, were constructed with different fusion copies of somatostatin-14 and fusion orientations. The expression level of (SS14)₃-HSA and HSA-(SS14)₃ was much lower than (SS14)₂-HSA due to the additional fusion of the somatostatin-14 molecule. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry revealed that severe degradation occurred in the fermentation process. Similar to the standard of somatostatin-14, all three fusion proteins were able to inhibit growth hormone secretion in the blood, with (SS14)₂-HSA being the most effective one. On the whole, (SS14)₂-HSA was the most effective protein in both production level and bioactivity, and increasing the number of small protein copies fused to HSA may not be a suitable method to improve the protein bioactivity.     

Crystal structure and thermal behavior of cold-crystallized poly(trimethylene terephthalate)

The structure and thermal behavior of cold-crystallized poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) are revealed in detail by DSC, AFM, TEM, and WAXD as well as in situ FTIR and SAXS techniques. There is no effect of crystallization temperature and initial state on the crystal modification, yet the morphology is strongly affected by these two factors. First, the small rod-like lamellae for PTT are obtained during the cold crystallization instead of the spherulites formed in the melt crystallization. Second, the edge-on lamellar orientation in thin films is identified during the cold crystallization. The thickness and the lateral width of rod-like lamellae get larger and larger with increasing crystallization temperature. Thin lamellar crystals assemble randomly when the cold-crystallization temperature is lower, while lamellar stacks composed of thicker lamellae are observed when the PTT was annealed at elevated temperature. Moreover, for the cold-crystallized PTT, the final melting temperature does not vary with the crystallization temperature. This phenomenon is explained by the structural improvement during the heating process. For the cold-crystallized PTT sample at lower temperature, three transitions occur when it is heated again: the relaxation of the rigid amorphous phase, the reorganization of molecules in the intermediate phase, and then the melt–recrystallization behavior. Those transitions finally lead to thicker lamellae besides a higher crystallinity before the final fusion. Therefore, the final melting peak of these lamellae is at the same temperature.     

Enhancement inhibition efficiency of PBTCA depending on the inclusion complex with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

For the first time, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) has been brought in to include 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA) in order to enhance inhibition efficiency of PBTCA, which leads a new approach to study oil–gas field corrosion inhibition in the process of acid treatment. Based on the host–guest inclusion reaction, the inclusion complex of PBTCA with HP-β-CD has been prepared in the laboratory. UV–Vis absorption spectrum was applied to study the inclusion behavior of PBTCA with HP-β-CD. The results revealed that PBTCA with HP-β-CD can form a 1:1 stoichiometry inclusion complex. The 1:1 inclusion complex synthesized by using lyophilization was further characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Besides, inhibition effect of the inclusion complex on the corrosion inhibition of Q235 carbon steel has been investigated in 0.1 M sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) solution using potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the presence of the inclusion complex better achieved the anti-corrosion property in aggressive medium than was the case with alone PBTCA and the highest inhibition efficiency of the inclusion complex over 90 % was obtained, which are suggestive of the active effect of the inclusion complex for improving inhibition efficiency of PBTCA. Meanwhile, the results obtained from SEM further showed that the inclusion complex acts as a more efficient corrosion inhibitor for Q235 carbon steel in H₂SO₄ medium.     

A Facile Synthesis of Prumycin

Abstract

Benzyl 2,3-anhydro-4-azido-4-deoxy-α-L-ribopyranoside (7), an intermediate for the synthesis of Prumycin was synthesized in 72% yield in seven steps from D-arabinose. Ammonolysis of 7 followed by N-protection with the benzyloxycarbonyl group gave benzyl 4-azido-2-(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino-2,4-dideoxy-α-L-arabinopyranoside (8), which was easily converted to Prumycin.     

Studies on the Synthesis and Antiproliferative Activities of 13‐cis‐Retinoyl Sugar Derivatives

New retinoyl sugar derivatives of 13‐cis‐retinoic acid were synthesized in three ways in this paper in order to enhance pharmacal effects, especially antiproliferative activities of 13‐cis‐retinoic acid. Their structures were confirmed by IR, ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, and MS spectra and their antiproliferative activities were determined in vitro using human cancer lines. Results showed that some compounds possessed potential antitumor activities.     

Synthetic Approach Toward the Partial Sequences of Betaglycan in the Linkage Region on Solid Support and in Solution Phase

We have synthesized, for the first time, the partial sequence of the betaglycan composed of the tetraosyl hexapeptide, which was directly usable as a probe for enzymatic glycosyl transfer. Stepwise elongation afforded the corresponding tetraosyl trichloroacetimidate. The common glycosyl dipeptide:[β‐d‐GlcA‐(1→3)‐β‐d‐Gal‐(1→3)‐β‐d‐Gal‐(1→4)‐β‐d‐Xyl‐(1→O)‐Ser‐Gly] was synthesized by glycosylation of the corresponding tetraosyl trichloroacetimidate and Ser‐Gly moiety. The glycosyl dipeptide was coupled with other core peptide parts in solution phase and on a solid support. These glycosyl hexapeptides were then transformed into the desired target compounds.     

Preparation of aluminum nitride fibers from alumina gel fibers by nitridation in ammonia

Aluminum nitride (AlN) fibers were prepared from alumina gel fibers and by heat-treatment in ammonia. The influence of silica on the formation of AlN was investigated. It was shown that phase transformation of alumina (γ-Al₂O₃ to α-Al₂O₃) and nitridation reaction took place above 1,100 °C for pure alumina fiber. The addition of a small amount of silica (3 wt%) suppressed the formation of α-Al₂O₃ and preserved the highly reactive metastable alumina, and nitridation rate was enhanced. Fine grain (~20 nm) AlN fibers were obtained for pyrolysis at 1,150–1,250 °C for 3 h in ammonia, and AlN was identified as the sole crystalline phase.     

Excellent degradation performance of azo dye by metallic glass/titanium dioxide composite powders

The metallic glass/titanium dioxide powders (MG/TiO₂) with enhanced photocatalytic oxidation activity were synthesized, which exhibit a higher efficiency in decolorizing methylene blue solutions (MB). Compared with the pure TiO₂ and crystalline alloy/TiO₂ (CA/TiO₂) under the same circumstances, its degradation rate was 60 % and 30 % higher, respectively. Furthermore, compared with the CA/TiO₂, the MG/TiO₂ photocatalytic rate was three times faster when decolorizing MB. Considering the excellent intrinsic high-performance photocatalytic degradation under visible light irradiation, these novel powders were proven to have potential applications in water purification industry.     

A Hybrid Ring‐Opening Metathesis Polymerization Catalyst Based on an Engineered Variant of the β‐Barrel Protein FhuA

A β‐barrel protein hybrid catalyst was prepared by covalently anchoring a Grubbs–Hoveyda type olefin metathesis catalyst at a single accessible cysteine amino acid in the barrel interior of a variant of β‐barrel transmembrane protein ferric hydroxamate uptake protein component A (FhuA). Activity of this hybrid catalyst type was demonstrated by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of a 7‐oxanorbornene derivative in aqueous solution.