Growth and pectinase production by Aspergillus mexican strain protoplast regenerated under acidic stress

Protoplasts from Aspergillus sp. FP-180 and Aspergillus awamori NRRL-3112 were released and regenerated at extreme acidic conditions. The best conditions for protoplast release were 0.8 M KCI, pH 5.8, and 3h of digestion using mycelia from 12- to 16-h cultures from either Aspergillus sp. FP-180 or A. awamori NRRL-3112. The addition of fresh mycelia to an ongoing digestion after 1 h increased protoplast 4.5–5 times. A regeneration efficiency of 90% was attained at pH 6.0, and it was possible to regenerate protoplasts at pH 1.7 with a regeneration efficiency of 0.5% for Aspergillus sp. FP-180. The LpH-10 strain, derived from protoplast from Aspergillus sp FP-180, was able to regenerate at pH 1.7 and grow at pH values as low as 1.5, values at which the original strain is unable to grow. Regeneratio at extreme pH improved the performance of LpH-10 strain. It showed atwofold increase in cell growth at pH 2.0 in liquid culture and a higher pectinolytic activity in relation to that produced by the original strian.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection of the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 using a silver-coated microarray platform

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy was used to monitor DNA hybridization of a fragment of the BRCA1 breast cancer susceptibility gene on modified silver surfaces. Rhodamine B was covalently attached to a 5′-amino-labeled oligonucleotide sequence (23 mer) through a succinimidyl ester intermediate in methanol. The silver surfaces were prepared by depositing a discontinuous layer (9.0 nm) of silver onto glass slides, which had been etched with HF to form a microwell platform, and subsequently modified with a monolayer of mercaptoundecanoic acid. The complementary probe was covalently attached to the silver surfaces using a succinimidyl ester intermediate in acetonitrile. The silver island substrate allows a very large enhancement of the Raman signal of the DNA-Rhodamine B, and clear distinction between hybridized samples and controls on a microwell array sampling platform.     

Structure and Bonding in Pentacyano(L)ferrate(II) and Pentacyano(L)ruthenate(II) Complexes (L = Pyridine, Pyrazine, and N-Methylpyrazinium): A Density Functional Study

Density Functional Theory (DFT) at the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) level has been applied to the complexes [Fe(CN)(5)L](n-) and [Ru(CN)(5)L](n-) (L = pyridine, pyrazine, N-methylpyrazinium), as well as to [Fe(CN)(5)](3)(-) and [Ru(CN)(5)](3)(-). Full geometry optimizations have been performed in all cases. The geometrical parameters are in good agreement with available information for related systems. The role of the M(II)-L back-bonding was investigated by means of a L and cyanide Mulliken population analysis. For both Fe(II) and Ru(II) complexes the metal-L dissociation energies follow the ordering pyridine < pyrazine < N-methyl pyrazinium, consistent with the predicted sigma-donating and pi-accepting abilities of the L ligands. Also, the computed metal-L bond dissociation energies are systematically smaller in the Ru(II) than in the Fe(II) complexes. This fact suggests that previous interpretations of kinetic data, showing that ruthenium complexes in aqueous solution are more inert than their iron analogues, are not related to a stronger Ru-L bond but are probably due to solvation effects.     

Stereospecific beta-lithiation of oxazolinyloxiranes: synthesis of alpha,beta-epoxy-gamma-butyrolactones

[reaction: see text]. Stereospecific beta-lithiation of beta-aryl-substituted oxazolinyloxiranes is described. The trapping reaction of such reactive intermediates with carbonyl compounds gave alpha,beta-epoxy-gamma-butyrolactones after deblocking of the oxazoline moiety. This methodology has been also extended to the synthesis of optically active alpha,beta-epoxy-gamma-butyrolactones.     

Reaction between N-acyl-2,3-dihydrobenzo-1,4-thiazine and N-acylphenothiazine with organometallic reagents

the title $\text{N}$-acyl-derivatives react with $\text{n}$-BuLi and Grignard reagents leading to products, which, formally, can be considered as derived from a Claisen-type condensation reaction.     

Simultaneous determination of copper and iron in automotive gasoline by X-ray fluorescence after pre-concentration on cellulose paper

This paper proposes an alternative analytical method using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) to determine Fe and Cu in gasoline samples. In the proposed procedure, samples were distilled and the distillation residues were spotted on cellulose paper disk to form a uniform thin film and to produce a homogeneous and reproducible interface to the XRF instrument. The disks were dried at 60 °C for 20 min and copper and iron were determined directly in the solid phase at 6.40 and 8.04 keV, respectively. The calibration curves showed linear response in the 20-800 μg L⁻¹ concentration range of each metal. The precisions (repeatability) calculated from 15 consecutive measurements and defined as the coefficient of variation of solutions containing 100 μg L⁻¹ of Fe and Cu were 7.8 and 8.1%, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD), defined as the analyte concentration that gives a response equivalent to three times the standard deviation of the blank (n = 10), were found to be 10 and 15 μg L⁻¹ for Fe and Cu, respectively. The proposed method was applied to copper and iron determination in gasoline samples collected from different gas stations.     

Influence of the degree of surface oxidation of polycrystalline Rh electrodes on the underpotential deposition of Cu

The underpotential deposition of copper onto polycrystalline rhodium was studied as a function of the degree of oxidation of the electrode surface in acidic media using potentiodynamic techniques. Surface oxidation of the rhodium electrode was carried out using a triangular sweep potential between E _L (lower limit) and E _U (upper limit: 0.94≤E _U≤1.4 V). Cu electrodeposition was performed at the same time as the total or partial reduction of the oxidized species. The surface oxides produced at E _U≤1.09 V were completely reduced during Cu electrodeposition. In this case, the potentiodynamic I-E patterns for oxidative dissolution of Cu were characterized by three anodic peaks located at 0.41 V (peak I), 0.47 V (peak II) and 0.59 V (peak III) and the coverage degree by Cu, θ_Cu, was on the order of a monolayer. Surface oxides produced at E _U>1.09 V were partially reduced during the copper electrodeposition. In this case, the I-E profiles exhibited only two anodic peaks (II and III) and θ_Cu was <1. The Rh-oxygen species that remain on the electrode surface block the active sites of lower energy and modify the binding energy of strongly adsorbed Cu. Electronic Publication     

A molecular spring for vision

Light absorption by the visual pigment rhodopsin leads to vision via a complex signal transduction pathway that is initiated by the ultrafast and highly efficient photoreaction of its chromophore, the retinal protonated Schiff base (RPSB). Here, we investigate this reaction in real time by means of unrestrained molecular dynamics simulations of the protein in a membrane mimetic environment, treating the chromophore at the density functional theory level. We demonstrate that a highly strained all-trans RPSB is formed starting from the 11-cis configuration (dark state) within approximately 100 fs by a minor rearrangement of the nuclei under preservation of the saltbridge with Glu113 and virtually no deformation of the binding pocket. Hence, the initial step of vision can be understood as the compression of a molecular spring by a minor change of the nuclear coordinates. This spring can then release its strain by altering the protein environment.     

Reactivity of 1-phenylsulfinyl-2-phenylsulfanylethylene (SOSE) with O-nucleophiles generated by potassium tert-butoxide

E-1-Phenylsulfinyl-2-phenylsulfanylethylene (E-SOSE) reacts with O-nucleophiles generated by means of t-BuOK via an addition-elimination mechanism, thus affording the product of substitution of the phenylsulfanyl group in a stereo-conservative process. When used alone, the strongly basic and hindered tert-butoxide brings about elimination of either the phenylthiolate or phenylsulfinate groups. Z-SOSE is much more prone to elimination: either with t-BuOK alone or with other O-nucleophiles generated by t-BuOK, it always leads to products derived from elimination. Other alkaline tert-butoxides or other bases appear not as effective in generating species nucleophilic enough to react with E-SOSE.