Purification, cloning and expression of an Aspergillus niger lipase for degradation of poly(lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone)

A lipase from Aspergillus niger MTCC 2594 was purified 53.8-fold to homogeneity by hydrophobic interaction chromatography using octyl sepharose and the enzyme showed two protein bands with apparent molecular mass of 35 and 37 kDa respectively. The lipase exhibited maximum activity at pH 7.0 and 37 °C and was stable between pH 4.0 and 10.0 and temperatures up to 50 °C. The values of K_m and V_max were 3.83 mM and 32.21 μmol/min/mg respectively, using olive oil as substrate. Lipase encoding gene, lipA, coded for 297 amino acid residues with conserved pentapeptide sequence, G-H-S-L-G, was cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris. Although lipA showed high homology with the known Aspergillus lipases, it exhibited differences in putative lid domain. Both native and recombinant lipases have potential for degradation of poly(lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone), and the present study will serve as a baseline of initial studies for its exploitation in polymer degradation.     

Backward Terahertz Radiation from a Two-Color Femtosecond Laser Filament

A change in the quasistatic magnetic susceptibility in thin plates of iron borate (FeBO₃), which is a weak ferromagnet, has been revealed at adsorption of water molecules. The measurements have been performed at room temperature with the use of the magneto-optical Faraday effect. The change of the susceptibility in saturated water vapors is about 30%. The observed effect is reversible. The time of establishing the susceptibility after the introduction of water vapors is 1.5 min, which is twice as large as the time of establishing the susceptibility after the evacuation. The effect is explained by the appearance of uniaxial surface magnetic anisotropy in the basal plane because of the adsorption of water molecules.     

Facile Synthesis of Novel Pentofuranose Analogs of Phospha Sugar Derivatives

Novel pentofuranose analogs of phospha sugar derivatives were synthesized starting from 1-phenyl-2-phospholene 1-oxide ( 1 ). First, the allylic oxidation of 1-phenyl-2-phospholene 1-oxide ( 1 ) with CrO 3 in Ac 2 O-AcOH or 3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-2-phospholene ( 2 ) with MnO 2 afforded 1-phenyl-4-oxo-2-phospholene 1-oxide ( 3 ). The C-5 alkylation of 3 in the presence of NaH by using benzyl bromide or methyl iodide as electrophiles afforded the target title compounds.     

Biosynthetic Conclusions from the Functional Dissection of Oxygenases for Biosynthesis of Actinorhodin and Related Streptomyces Antibiotics

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Highlights? ActVA-ORF5 is a flavin-dependent monooxygenase required for actinorhodin biosynthesis ? ActVA-ORF5 and its three close homologs were functionally dissected ? ActVA-ORF5 and Gra-21 are bifunctional at C-6/C-8, while Med-7 acts only for C-6 ? AlnT exhibits different regiospecificity for oxidation of tricyclic substrates     

Hydrochlorothiazide Enhances UVA‐Induced DNA Damage

The UVA is currently thought to be carcinogenic because, similar to UVB, it induces the formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). Various drugs have been reported to cause photosensitive drug eruptions as an adverse effect. Although the precise mechanism of photosensitive drug eruption remains to be elucidated, it is generally accepted that free radicals and other reactive molecules generated via UV‐irradiated drugs play important roles in the pathogenesis of photosensitive drug eruptions. The waveband of concern for photo‐reactive drugs is UVA‐visible light, but some extend into the UVB region. We tested whether photosensitive drugs could enhance CPD formation after UVA exposure by using isolated DNA in the presence of several reported photosensitive drugs using high‐performance liquid chromatography. We found that the diuretic agent hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) significantly enhanced the production of TT dimers over a wide range of UVA. Furthermore, we investigated whether UVA plus HCT could enhance CPD production in xeroderma pigmentosum model mice defective in nucleotide excision repair. Immunofluorescence studies showed that CPD formation in the skin significantly increased after 365 nm narrow‐band UVA irradiation in the presence of HCT, compared with that in wild‐type mice. HCT could be used with caution because of its enhancement of UVA‐induced DNA damage.     

Complete Photochromic Structural Changes in Ruthenium(II)?Diimine Complexes,Based on Control of the Excited States by Metalation

The thermal and photochemical reactions of a newly synthesized complex, [Ru^II(TPA)(tpphz)]²⁺ ( 1 ; TPA=tris(2‐pyridylmethyl)amine, tpphz=tetrapyrido[3,2‐a:2′,3′‐c:3′′,2′′‐h: 2′′′,3′′′‐j]phenazine), and its derivatives have been investigated. Heating a solution of complex 1 (closed form) and its derivatives in MeCN caused the partial dissociation of one pyridylmethyl moiety of the TPA ligand and the resulting vacant site on the Ru^II center was occupied by a molecule of MeCN from the solvent to give a dissociated complex, [Ru^II(η³‐TPA)(tpphz)(MeCN)]²⁺ ( 1′ , open form), and its derivatives, respectively, in quantitative yields. The thermal dissociation reactions were investigated on the basis of kinetics analysis, which indicated that the reactions proceeded through a seven‐coordinate transition state. Although the backwards reaction was induced by photoirradiation of the MLCT absorption bands, the photoreaction of complex 1′ reached a photostationary state between complexes 1 and 1′ and, hence, the recovery of complex 1 from complex 1′ was 67 %. Upon protonation of complex 1 at the vacant site of the tpphz ligand, the efficiency of the photoinduced recovery of complex 1 +H⁺ from complex 1′ +H⁺ improved to 83 %. In contrast, dinuclear μ‐tpphz complexes 2 and 3 , which contained the Ru^II(TPA)(tpphz) unit and either a Ru^II(bpy)₂ or Pd^IICl₂ moiety on the other coordination edge of the tpphz ligand, exhibited 100 % photoconversion from their open forms into their closed forms ( 2′ → 2 and 3′ → 3 ). These results are the first examples of the complete photochromic structural change of a transition‐metal complex, as represented by complete interconversion between its open and closed forms. Scrutinization by performing optical and electrochemical measurements allowed us to propose a rationale for how metal coordination at the vacant site of the tpphz ligand improves the efficiency of photoconversion from the open form into the closed form. It is essential to lower the energy level of the triplet metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer excited state (³MLCT*) of the closed form relative to that of the triplet metal‐centered excited state (³MC*) by metal coordination. This energy‐level manipulation hinders the transition from the ³MLCT* state into the ³MC* state in the closed form to block the partial photodissociation of the TPA ligand.     

Improvement of TiO2/Dye/Electrolyte Interface Conditions by Positional Change of Alkyl Chains in Modified Panchromatic Ru Complex Dyes

A series of panchromatic ruthenium sensitizers ( MJ sensitizers) with attached thiophene and phenyl units bearing alkyl chains was synthesized. A new synthetic route was used to examine all possible positions for the alkyl chains. The absorption spectra showed the sum of a ruthenium complex and peripheral organic chromophore units. The hypochromic effect and blueshift of the metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer band observed in the modified ruthenium sensitizers were suppressed by changing the positions of the alkyl chains on the attached thiophene ring. Changing only one alkyl chain also influenced the performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells. Ruthenium sensitizer MJ‐10 with bulky substituent harvests visible and near‐infrared light, and solar cells sensitized by MJ‐10 exhibit an efficiency of 9.1 % under 1 sun irradiation.     

Acceleration of self‐consistent field convergence in ab initio molecular dynamics simulation with multiconfigurational wave function

The Lagrange interpolation of molecular orbital (LIMO) method, which reduces the number of self‐consistent field iterations in ab initio molecular dynamics simulations with the Hartree–Fock method and the Kohn–Sham density functional theories, is extended to the theory of multiconfigurational wave functions. We examine two types of treatments for the active orbitals that are partially occupied. The first treatment, as denoted by LIMO(C), is a simple application of the conventional LIMO method to the union of the inactive core and the active orbitals. The second, as denoted by LIMO(S), separately treats the inactive core and the active orbitals. Numerical tests to compare the two treatments clarify that LIMO(S) is superior to LIMO(C). Further applications of LIMO(S) to various systems demonstrate its effectiveness and robustness. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.