Sensitive Morphological Characterization of Oriented High‐Density Lipoprotein Nanoparticles Using 31P NMR Spectroscopy

The biological function of high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) nanoparticles, the so‐called good cholesterol that is associated with a low risk of heart disease, depends on their composition, morphology, and size. The morphology of HDL particles composed of apolipoproteins, lipids and cholesterol is routinely visualised by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), but higher‐resolution tools are needed to observe more subtle structural differences between particles of different composition. Here, reconstituted HDL formulations are oriented on glass substrates and solid‐state ³¹P NMR spectroscopy is shown to be highly sensitive to the surface curvature of the lipid headgroups. The spectra report potentially functionally important differences in the morphology of different HDL preparations that are not detected by TEM. This method provides new morphological insights into HDL comprising a naturally occurring apolipoprotein A‐I mutant, which may be linked to its atheroprotective properties, and holds promise as a future research tool in the clinical analysis of plasma HDL.     

Search for multiparticle-multihole states of Ca with the S(C,α) reaction

Levels of ⁴⁰Ca below E_x = 10 MeV have been populated with the ³²S(¹²C,α) reaction at an incident energy of 30 MeV. States which are thought to be based on 4p-4h and 8p-8h K = 0 configurations were more strongly populated than other low-lying states.     

Mixing of 2+ states in 20Ne

The broad 8.8 MeV 2⁺ state of ²⁰Ne is seen to be populated with appreciable strength [(2J + 1)S = 0.21] in the reaction ¹⁹F(τ, d)²⁰Ne, even though this strength would be zero in the simplest model. A model previously used to explain the mixing of 0⁺ states is found to work surprisingly well for the 2⁺ states.     

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy detects interactions between tryptophan residues of the E. coli sugar transporter GalP and the alpha-anomer of the D-glucose substrate

An experimental approach is described in which high resolution 13C solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy has been used to detect interactions between specific residues of membrane-embedded transport proteins and weakly binding noncovalent ligands. This procedure has provided insight into the binding site for the substrate D-glucose in the Escherichia coli sugar transport protein GalP. Cross-polarization magic-angle spinning (CP-MAS) SSNMR spectra of GalP in its natural membrane at 4 degrees C indicated that the alpha- and beta-anomers of D-[1-(13)C]glucose were bound by GalP with equal affinity and underwent fast exchange between the free and bound environments. Further experiments confirmed that by lowering the measurement temperature to -10 degrees C, peaks could be detected selectively from the substrate when restrained within the binding site. Dipolar-assisted rotational resonance (DARR) SSNMR experiments at -10 degrees C showed a selective interaction between the alpha-anomer of D-[1-(13)C]glucose and 13C-labels within [13C]tryptophan-labeled GalP, which places the carbon atom at C-1 in the alpha-anomer of D-glucose to within 6 A of the carbonyl carbon of one or more tryptophan residues in the protein. No interaction was detected for the beta-isomer. The role of tryptophan residues in substrate binding was investigated further in CP-MAS experiments to detect D-[1-(13)C]glucose binding to the GalP mutants W371F and W395F before and after the addition of the inhibitor forskolin. The results suggest that both mutants bind D-glucose with similar affinities, but have different affinities for forskolin. This work highlights a useful general experimental strategy for probing the binding sites of membrane proteins, using methodology which overcomes the problems associated with the unfavorable dynamics of weak ligands.     

Fibrils and nanotubes assembled from a modified amyloid-β peptide fragment differ in the packing of the same β-sheet building blocks

The peptide AAKLVFF assembles into fibrils in water and nanotubes in methanol. Solid-state NMR data are consistent with fibrils constructed from β-sheet bilayers and nanotubes bounded by a wall of offset β-sheet monolayers. Remarkably distinct morphologies are thus traced to subtle differences in the arrangement of the same fundamental building blocks.     

Protonolysis of [((i)PrO)TiMo5O18]3-: access to a family of TiMo5 Lindqvist type polyoxometalates

The tetra-n-butylammonium (TBA) salts of [((i)PrO)TiMo(5)O(18)](3-) 1 and [((i)BuO)TiMo(5)O(18)](3-) 2 were prepared by hydrolysis of mixtures of (TBA)(2)[Mo(2)O(7)], (TBA)(4)α-[Mo(8)O(26)] and Ti(OR)(4) (R = (i)Pr or (i)Bu) in acetonitrile. Treatment of (TBA)(3)1 with alcohols ROH afforded primary and tertiary alkoxide derivatives [(RO)TiMo(5)O(18)](3-) (R = Me 3, (t)Bu 4), whilst aryloxides [(ArO)TiMo(5)O(18)](3-) were prepared by reacting 1 with phenols ArOH (Ar = C(6)H(4)Me-4 5, and C(6)H(4)CHO-2 6). Oxo-bridged [(μ-O)(TiMo(5)O(18))(2)](6-)7 rather than the hydroxo derivative [(HO)TiMo(5)O(18)](3-) was obtained upon hydrolysis of 1. X-Ray crystal structures of TBA salts of anions 3-7 show that titanium is six-coordinate in all cases, although titanium sites are disordered over two trans positions in 3. Mo-O bond length alternation is observed in the Mo(4)O(4) planes of 4 and 7 and in one of the two independent anions in the structure of 3. In solution, (17)O NMR spectra are consistent with the higher anionic charge compared to [Mo(6)O(19)](2-) and reveal an order of basicity for the anions [LM'Mo(5)O(18)](3-) associated with the ability of {LM'}(3+) to donate/withdraw electron density from {Mo(5)O(18)}(6-). Protonolysis reactions of 1 and 3 were slower than for tungstate analogues and the possibility of initial protonation at TiOM (M = Mo) rather than TiOR (M = W) in a proton-assisted S(N)1 mechanism for ligand exchange in [(RO)TiM(5)O(18)](3-) is discussed.     

Synthesis of imidazo[4,5-b]- and [4,5-c]pyridines

2-Arylimidazo[4,5-b]- and [4,5-c]pyridines have been prepared by treatment of the appropriate 2,3- or 3,4-diaminopyridine with an aromatic carboxylic acid in the presence of polyphosphoric acid. Other derivatives have been prepared by similar cyclisation of diaminopyridines using triethyl orthoformate, urea, thiophosgene and thiourea and the properties of some N-oxides have been investigated. A number of the arylimidazopyridines have been screened for mutagenicity.