Fabrication of Gold Nano‐Structures with Azopolymer Templates

Fabrication of gold nano‐patterns has been demonstrated employing surface relief structures created on films of an azobenzene‐functionalized polymer as templates. The surface relief templates were photoinscribed on the azopolymer films in one‐step with two laser beams. Thin layers of gold were over‐coated on the polymer templates by thermal evaporation. Gold lines of a few hundred nanometer width were successfully fabricated by pyrolyzing the azobenzene polymer. Sub‐micron gold dots were also created. The resulting gold structures exhibited the same periodicity as the polymer templates.     

Superior Antibacterial Activity of Integral Lemon Pectin Extracted via Hydrodynamic Cavitation

Pectin extracted via hydrodynamic cavitation in water only from waste lemon peel and further isolated via freeze drying displays significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram positive pathogen which easily contaminates food. The antibacterial effect of the new IntegroPectin is largely superior to that of commercial citrus pectin, opening the way to advanced applications of a new bioproduct now obtainable in large amounts and at low cost from citrus juice industry's waste.     

Validation of a digestion system using a digester block/cold finger system for the determination of lead in vegetable foods by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

This paper presents the validation of a system for sample digestion using a digester block/cold finger to determine the lead content in vegetables by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). After mineralization, lead contents were determined by ETAAS using a calibration curve based on aqueous standards prepared in 2.60 M nitric acid solutions containing 5 microg ammonium phosphate as chemical modifier. A pyrolysis temperature of 900 degrees C and atomization temperature of 2000 degrees C were used. This method allowed the determination of lead with a characteristic mass of 35 pg; LOD and LOQ of 0.6 and 2 nglg, respectively, were found. The precision was investigated in terms of reproducibility and repeatability. Reproducibility was estimated by analysis of nine different portions of a certified reference material (CRM) of spinach leaves, and the repeatability was determined through the analysis of nine aliquots of the same solution. The reproducibility and repeatability were found to be 4.27 and 2.94% RSD, respectively. The accuracy was confirmed by analysis of whole meal flour, spinach leaves, and orchard leaves CRMs, all furnished by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Lead contents were measured using the newly developed technique in 11 different potato samples. The lead contents ranged from 12.80 to 69.27 ng/g, with an average value of 28.59 ng/g. These values were in agreement with data reported in the literature.     

Models of the low-spin iron(III) hydroperoxide intermediate of heme oxygenase: magnetic resonance evidence for thermodynamic stabilization of the d(xy) electronic state at ambient temperatures

The (13)C pulsed ENDOR and NMR study of [meso-(13)C-TPPFe(OCH(3))(OO(t)Bu)](-) performed in this work shows that although the unpaired electron in low-spin ferrihemes containing a ROO(-) ligand resides in a d(pi) orbital at 8 K, the d(xy) electron configuration is favored at physiological temperatures. The variable temperature NMR spectra indicate a dynamic situation in which a heme with a d(pi) electron configuration and planar porphyrinate ring is in equilibrium with a d(xy) electron configuration that has a ruffled porphyrin ring. Because of the similarity in the EPR spectra of the hydroperoxide complexes of heme oxygenase, cytochrome P450, and the model heme complex reported herein, it is possible that these two electron configurations and ring conformations may also exist in equilibrium in the enzymatic systems. The ruffled porphyrinate ring would aid the attack of the terminal oxygen of the hydroperoxide intermediate of heme oxygenase (HO) on the meso-carbon, and the large spin density at the meso-carbons of a d(xy) electron configuration heme suggests the possibility of a radical mechanism for HO. The dynamic equilibrium between the ruffled (d(xy)) and planar (d(pi)) conformers observed in the model complexes also suggests that a flexible heme binding cavity may be an important structural motif for heme oxygenase activity.     

Spectroelectrochemical identity of Prussian blue films in various electrolytes: comparison of time-derivative voltabsorptometric responses with conventional cyclic voltammetry

Using Prussian blue (PB) electrodeposited on gold-covered foil as a model system, we have demonstrated the usefulness of the time-derivative measurements of absorbance versus potential (linear potential-scan voltabsorptometry) for spectroelectrochemical characterization of thin electrochromic films. The time-derivative signals were monitored for PB at 680 and 420 nm in potassium, sodium and lithium electrolytes. Information obtained from cyclic voltabsorptometry is equivalent or complementary to that from conventional cyclic voltammetry. In the case of PB films investigated in lithium electrolyte, the voltabsorptometric time-derivative peaks are better defined than the respective voltammetric peaks. The combination of voltabsorptometry with voltammetry enables molar absorptivity and/or film loading to be determined. Also, concentration changes of differently colored mixed-valence redox centers can be monitored as a function of applied potential. Received: 16 January 1997 / Accepted: 11 March 1997     

Enzymatically synthesized polyaniline film deposition studied by simultaneous open circuit potential and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance measurements

The chemical and enzymatic deposition of polyaniline (PANI) films by in situ polymerization was studied and the resulting films were characterized. The film formation and polymerization processes were simultaneously monitored by the evolution of the open circuit potential and quartz-crystal microbalance measurements. Different substrates, such as Indium-Tin oxide electrodes and gold-coated quartz-crystal electrodes were used as substrates for PANI deposition. Electroactive PANI films were successfully deposited by in situ enzymatic polymerization at low oxidation potential. The electrogravimetric response of the enzymatically deposited PANI film was studied by cyclic voltammetry in monomer-free acidic medium. The morphology of the films was observed by scanning electron microscopy, revealing a granular structure in enzymatically deposited PANI. The PANI films were also characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy. The simultaneous use of quartz crystal microbalance and open circuit potential is presented as a very useful technique to monitor enzymatic reactions involving oxidoreductases.     

Metamagnetism and single-chain magnetic behavior in a homospin one-dimensional iron(II) coordination polymer

Reaction of FeCl(2)·4H(2)O with KNCSe and pyridine in ethanol leads to the formation of the discrete complex [Fe(NCSe)(2)(pyridine)(4)] (1) in which the Fe(II) cations are coordinated by two N-terminal-bonded selenocyanato anions and four pyridine co-ligands. Thermal treatment of compound 1 enforces the removal of half of the co-ligands leading to the formation of a ligand-deficient (lacking on neutral co-ligands) intermediate of composition [Fe(NCSe)(2)(pyridine)(2)](n) (2) to which we have found no access in the liquid phase. Compound 2 is obtained only as a microcrystalline powder, but it is isotypic to [Cd(NCSe)(2)(pyridine)(2)](n) and therefore, its structure was determined by Rietveld refinement. In its crystal structure the metal cations are coordinated by two pyridine ligands and four selenocyanato anions and are linked into chains by μ-1,3 bridging anionic ligands. Magnetic measurements on compound 1 show only paramagnetic behavior, whereas for compound 2 an unexpected magnetic behavior is found, which to the best of our knowledge was never observed before for a iron(II) homospin compound. In this compound metamagnetism and single-chain magnetic behavior coexist. The metamagnetic transition between the antiferromagnetically ordered phase and a field-induced ferromagnetic phase of the high-spin iron(II) spin carriers is observed at a transition field H(C) of 1300 Oe and the single-chain magnetic behavior is characterized by a blocking temperature T(B), estimated to be about 5 K.     

Mass spectrometric characterization of two novel inflammatory peptides from the venom of the social wasp Polybia paulista

The social wasp P. paulista is relatively common in southeast Brazil causing many medically important stinging incidents. The seriousness of these incidents is dependent on the amount of venom inoculated by the wasps into the victims, and the characteristic envenomation symptoms are strongly dependent on the types of peptides present in the venom. In order to identify some of these naturally occurring peptides available in very low amounts, an analytical protocol was developed that uses a combination of reversed-phase and normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of wasp venom for peptide purification, with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight post-source decay mass spectrometry (MALDI-Tof-PSD-MS) and low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) in a quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (QTof-MS/MS) instrument for peptide sequencing at the sub-picomole level. The distinction between Leu and Ile was achieved both by observing d-type fragment ions obtained under CID conditions and by comparison of retention times of the natural peptides and their synthetic counterparts (with different combinations of I and/or L at N- and C-terminal positions). To distinguish the isobaric residues K and Q, acetylation of peptides was followed by Q-Tof-MS analysis. The primary sequences obtained were INWLKLGKMVIDAL-NH(2) (MW 1611.98 Da) and IDWLKLGKMVMDVL-NH(2) (MW 1658.98 Da). Micro-scale bioassay protocols characterized both peptides as presenting potent hemolytic action, mast cell degranulation, and chemotaxis of polymorphonucleated leukocyte (PMNL) cells. The primary sequences and the bioassay results suggest that these toxins constitute members of a new sub-class of mastoparan toxins, directly involved in the occurrence of inflammatory processes after wasp stinging.     

Spontaneous Formation of RNA Strands,Peptidyl RNA,and Cofactors

How the biochemical machinery evolved from simple precursors is an open question. Here we show that ribonucleotides and amino acids condense to peptidyl RNAs in the absence of enzymes under conditions established for genetic copying. Untemplated formation of RNA strands that can encode genetic information, formation of peptidyl chains linked to RNA, and formation of the cofactors NAD⁺, FAD, and ATP all occur under the same conditions. In the peptidyl RNAs, the peptide chains are phosphoramidate‐linked to a ribonucleotide. Peptidyl RNAs with long peptide chains were selected from an initial pool when a lipophilic phase simulating the interior of membranes was offered, and free peptides were released upon acidification. Our results show that key molecules of genetics, catalysis, and metabolism can emerge under the same conditions, without a mineral surface, without an enzyme, and without the need for chemical pre‐activation.