TMS triflate-catalyzed cleavage of prenyl (3-methylbut-2-enyl) ester

[reaction: see text] Prenyl (3-methylbut-2-enyl) ester is catalytically cleaved by TMS triflate affording carboxylic acid and isoprene in high yield under mild conditions with high chemoselectivity without causing epimerization of the neighboring chiral center.     

Flow amperometric detection of indigo for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with use of screen-printed electrodes

A simple and automated methodology for a sensitive electrochemical detection of enzyme immunoassays that employ alkaline phosphatase (AP) as label has been developed. A flow injection system with programmable pump, valve and cell functions, amperometric detection of indigo and screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) are responsible for the advantages of this methodology. Amperometric detection at a low potential of indigo, the product of the enzymatic hydrolysis of the substrate 3-indoxyl phosphate (IP), is combined with a flow injection system. This incorporates in the flow cell a disposable screen-printed board provided with a graphite working electrode. No electrode pretreatment is necessary to obtain reproducible signals. The system was applied to the determination by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) of pneumolysin (PLY), a toxin related to respiratory infections. Linear calibration curves for low and high concentration ranges were obtained. These were also performed in a proteic matrix and linearity was also obtained.     

Monolithic silica columns with various skeleton sizes and through-pore sizes for capillary liquid chromatography

Reduction of through-pore size and skeleton size of a monolithic silica column was attempted to provide high separation efficiency in a short time. Monolithic silica columns were prepared to have various sizes of skeletons (approximately 1-2 microm) and through-pores (approximately 2-8 microm) in a fused-silica capillary (50-200 microm I.D.). The columns were evaluated in HPLC after derivatization to C18 phase. It was possible to prepare monolithic silica structures in capillaries of up to 200 microm I.D. from a mixture of tetramethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane. As expected, a monolithic silica column with smaller domain size showed higher column efficiency and higher pressure drop. High external porosity (> 80%) and large through-pores resulted in high permeability (K = 8 x 10(-14) -1.3 x 10(-12) m2) that was 2-30 times higher than that of a column packed with 5-mirom silica particles. The monolithic silica columns prepared in capillaries produced a plate height of about 8-12 microm with an 80% aqueous acetonitrile mobile phase at a linear velocity of 1 mm/s. Separation impedance, E, was found to be as low as 100 under optimum conditions, a value about an order of magnitude lower than reported for conventional columns packed with 5-microm particles. Although a column with smaller domain size generally resulted in higher separation impedance and the lower total performance, the monolithic silica columns showed performance beyond the limit of conventional particle-packed columns under pressure-driven conditions.     

Utilization of microgravity to improve the crystal quality of biologically important proteins: chaperonin-60, GrpE, B-subunit of V-type ATPase, and MIF

Protein crystallization experiments under microgravity were performed by using commercial vapor diffusion apparatus (CVDA) hardware on the STS-84 shuttle mission. Chaperonin-60, GrpE, the B subunit of V-type ATPase, and the selenomethionine substituted proteins of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) were selected as target proteins. The results indicate that microgravity positively affected their crystal growth, supporting the practical utilization of microgravity for the protein structure determination.     

Synthesis and characterization of Th2N2(NH) isomorphous to Th2N3

Using a new, low-temperature, fluoride-based process, thorium nitride imide of the chemical formula Th(2)N(2)(NH) was synthesized from thorium dioxide via an ammonium thorium fluoride intermediate. The resulting product phase was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and was found to be crystallographically similar to Th(2)N(3). Its unit cell was hexagonal with a space group of P3m1 and lattice parameters of a = b = 3.886(1) and c = 6.185(2) ?. The presence of -NH in the nitride phase was verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Total energy calculations performed using all-electron scalar relativistic density functional theory (DFT) showed that the hydrogen atom in the Th(2)N(2)(NH) prefers to bond with nitrogen atoms occupying 1a Wyckoff positions of the unit cell. Lattice fringe disruptions observed in nanoparticle areas of the nitride species by high-resolution transmission electron microscopic (HRTEM) images also displayed some evidence for the presence of -NH group. As ThO(2) was identified as an impurity, possible reaction mechanisms involving its formation are discussed.     

Protein conformational gating of enzymatic activity in xanthine oxidoreductase

In mammals, xanthine oxidoreductase can exist as xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) and xanthine oxidase (XO). The two enzymes possess common redox active cofactors, which form an electron transfer (ET) pathway terminated by a flavin cofactor. In spite of identical protein primary structures, the redox potential difference between XDH and XO for the flavin semiquinone/hydroquinone pair (E(sq/hq)) is ~170 mV, a striking difference. The former greatly prefers NAD(+) as ultimate substrate for ET from the iron-sulfur cluster FeS-II via flavin while the latter only accepts dioxygen. In XDH (without NAD(+)), however, the redox potential of the electron donor FeS-II is 180 mV higher than that for the acceptor flavin, yielding an energetically uphill ET. On the basis of new 1.65, 2.3, 1.9, and 2.2 ? resolution crystal structures for XDH, XO, the NAD(+)- and NADH-complexed XDH, E(sq/hq) were calculated to better understand how the enzyme activates an ET from FeS-II to flavin. The majority of the E(sq/hq) difference between XDH and XO originates from a conformational change in the loop at positions 423-433 near the flavin binding site, causing the differences in stability of the semiquinone state. There was no large conformational change observed in response to NAD(+) binding at XDH. Instead, the positive charge of the NAD(+) ring, deprotonation of Asp429, and capping of the bulk surface of the flavin by the NAD(+) molecule all contribute to altering E(sq/hq) upon NAD(+) binding to XDH.     

Additive-free nucleophilic addition of imidazolines and imidazoles to haloacetylenes

Nucleophilic addition of imidazolines to 1-halo-1-alkynes takes place by simple heating in DMF without any additives to give (Z)-N-(1-halo-1-alken-2-yl)imidazolines in good yield and in a highly regio- and stereoselective manner. These reaction conditions are also valid for the similar addition of imidazoles.