Hybrid micelle formation from poly(ethylene oxide-b-sodium 2-acrylamido-1-propanesulfonate-b-styrene) and Fe3+ ion in aqueous solution

Organic–inorganic nanohybrid particles are prepared in aqueous solution from poly(ethylene oxide-b-sodium 2-acrylamido-1-propanesulfonate-b-styrene) (PEO-b-PAMPS-b-PS) triblock copolymer and ferric ions. The hybrid micelles were characterized by dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and zeta-potential measurements. The hydrodynamic diameter of the hybrid micelles ranges from 68 to 118 nm depending on the concentration of the polymer and the amount of ferric ions loaded on the polymer. Zeta-potential measurements revealed that the micelles are assembled mainly by electrostatic interaction between the ferric ions and the negatively charged PAMPS block in the PEO-b-PAMPS-b-PS.     

Intermolecular π‐stacking and F...F interactions of fluorine‐substituted meso‐alkynylporphyrin

Two C2‐symmetric meso‐alkynylporphyrins, namely 5,15‐bis[(4‐butyl‐2,3,5,6‐tetrafluorophenyl)ethynyl]‐10,20‐dipropylporphyrin, C₅₀H₄₂F₈N₄, (I), and 5,15‐bis[(4‐butylphenyl)ethynyl]‐10,20‐dipropylporphyrin, C₅₀H₅₀N₄, (II), show remarkable π–π stacking that forms columns of porphyrin centers. The tetrafluorophenylene moieties in (I) show intermolecular interactions with each other through the F atoms, forming one‐dimensional ribbons. No significant π–π interactions are observed in the plane of the phenylene and tetrafluorophenylene moieties in either (I) or (II). The molecules of both compounds lie about inversion centers.     

Determination of ammonium in river water and sewage samples by capillary zone electrophoresis with direct UV detection

We developed capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with direct UV detection for determination of ammonium in environmental water samples. Ammonium in the samples was partly converted into ammonia in the alkaline background electrolyte (BGE) during migration and was detected by molecular absorption of ammonia at 190 nm in approximately 7 min. The limit of detection (LOD) for ammonium was 0.24 mg/l (as nitrogen) at a signal-to-noise ratio of three. The respective values of the relative standard deviation (RSD) of peak area, peak height, and migration time for ammonium were 2.1, 1.8, and 0.46%. Major alkali and alkaline earth metal ions coexisting in the samples did not interfere with ammonium determination by the proposed method. The proposed method determined ammonium in surface water and sewage samples. The results were compared to those obtained using ion chromatography (IC).     

Electrochemical analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms of p53 gene

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cancer repression gene p53 were analyzed electrochemically with ferrocenyl naphthalene diimide (1) as a hybridization indicator. The SNPs studied were the transition to A from G in the codon for amino acid at positions 175, 248 or 273 and the transversion to C from G in the codon for the amino acid at position 72. Thus, 20-meric oligonucleotides carrying the SNP site were used both as a sample and a probe with the latter immobilized on an electrode. Even one base difference on the p53 gene resulted in a significant difference in the current response of 1 and the magnitude of the response correlated with the amount of the DNA hybrid on the electrode. Moreover, when PCR products of exon 4, on which the P72/R72 SNP resides, of the p53 gene were analyzed by this method, the heterozygote and homozygotes were discriminated with modest precision.     

Monoidal Morita invariants for finite group algebras

Two Hopf algebras are called monoidally Morita equivalent if module categories over them are equivalent as linear monoidal categories. We introduce monoidal Morita invariants for finite-dimensional Hopf algebras based on certain braid group representations arising from the Drinfeld double construction. As an application, we show, for any integer n, the number of elements of order n is a monoidal Morita invariant for finite group algebras. We also describe relations between our construction and invariants of closed 3-manifolds due to Reshetikhin and Turaev.     

Absolute stereochemistry of citrinadins a and B from marine-derived fungus

[Structure: see text]. Citrinadin A (2) is a pentacyclic indolinone alkaloid isolated from the cultured broth of a fungus, Penicillium citrinum, which was separated from a marine red alga. The absolute stereochemistry of the pentacyclic core in 2 and its new congener, citrinadin B (1), was elucidated by analysis of the ROESY spectrum for the chlorohydrin derivative (3) of 1 as well as comparison of the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra for 1 and 2 with those of known spirooxiindole alkaloids. On the other hand, the absolute configuration at C-21 bearing an epoxide ring was assigned as S by comparison of the vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of 1 with those of model compounds 2S- and 2R-2,3-epoxy-3,3-dimethyl-1-phenylpropan-1-one (4a and 4b, respectively).     

In situ monitoring of the orientated assembly of strep-tagged membrane proteins on the gold surface by surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy

Surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) has been employed to monitor the orientated assembly of a strep-tagged membrane protein on the gold surface via a streptavidin/biotin interlayer. The high surface sensitivity of SEIRAS allows for tracking the individual assembling steps on the molecular level. The sequence of surface modification steps comprises: (i) cross-linking of biotin to the self-assembled monolayer of cysteamine along the gold surface; (ii) adsorption of streptavidin to and desorption from the biotin layer; and (iii) adsorption of the strep-tagged membrane protein ecgltP (glutamate transporter of E. coli) on the streptavidin/biotin layer. The analysis of the SEIRA spectra reveals that the biotin layer undergoes a phase transition from an isotropic orientation to a densely packed layer during coupling to the cysteamine monolayer. Formation of the densely packed layer weakens the interaction between streptavidin and the biotin layer but yields a binding specificity of 80%. The specificity of strep-tagged ecgltP to the streptavidin layer is with 60% only modest. Nevertheless, the streptavidin/biotin interlayer reveals a higher regeneration propensity than the His-tag/Ni-NTA interlayer.     

Formation of Supramolecular Nanostructures through in Situ Self-Assembly and Post-Assembly Modification of a Biocatalytically Constructed Dipeptide Hydrazide**

Aqueous self-assembly of short peptides has attracted growing attention for the construction of supramolecular materials for various bioapplications. Herein, we describe how the thermolysin-assisted biocatalytic construction of a dipeptide hydrazide from an N-protected amino acid and an amino acid hydrazide leads to the formation of thermally stable supramolecular hydrogels. In addition, we demonstrate the post-assembly modification of the supramolecular architectures constructed in situ tethering hydrazide groups as a chemical handle by means of fluorescence imaging.