Determination of protein by its enhancement effect on the Rayleigh light scattering of carboxyarsenazo

This is the first report on the determination of proteins based on the interaction with carboxyarsenazo (CAA) by Rayleigh light scattering (RLS). At pH 4, the weak RLS of CAA can be enhanced greatly by the addition of proteins, resulting in three characteristic peaks. Based on this, the interactions of CAA with nine kinds of proteins were studied and a new quantitative determination method for proteins has been developed. This method is very sensitive (0.10-15.3 mug ml(-1) for bovine serum albumin (BSA)), rapid (<2 min), simple (one step), tolerant of most interfering substances, and gives a close value to that of the Coomassie brilliant blue (CBB) method in the determination of proteins in human serum. Thus, the CAA assay can be useful for routine analytical purposes and may overcome some of the limitations of other currently employed methods. Mechanism studies show that the three RLS peaks correspond to the absorption valleys of the CAA-protein complex.     

Synthesis of New Spiropyrans With a Polyaromatic or Heteroaromatic Pendant and Their Photochromic Bedhaviors

A series of spiropyrans with a polyaromatic or heteroaromatic pendant was synthesized conveniently.Their photochromic behaviors were investigated with the aid of absorption spectral measurements.The results indicated that the compounds with the same parent spiropyran but different aromatic pendant show significantly different photochromic properties.This may be due to the π-π orbital interaction between the polyaromatic pendant and the open photomerocyanine form of spiropyran.The results obtained are very useful in the molecule design area.     

Nd-Fe-B alloy-densified agarose gel for expanded bed adsorption of proteins

Novel dense composite adsorbents for expanded bed adsorption of protein have been fabricated by coating 4% agarose gel onto Nd-Fe-B alloy powder by a water-in-oil emulsification method. Two composite matrices, namely Nd-Fe-B alloy-densified agarose (NFBA) gels with different size distributions and densities, NFBA-S (50-165 microm, 1.88 g/ml) and NFBA-L (140-300 microm, 2.04 g/ml), were produced. Lysozyme was used as a model protein to test the adsorption capacity and kinetics for the NFBA gels modified by Cibacron blue 3GA (CB-NFBA gels). Liquid-phase dispersion behavior in the expanded beds was examined by measurements of residence time distributions, and compared with that of Streamline SP (Amersham-Pharmacia Biotech, Sweden). The dependence of axial mixing in the expanded beds on flow velocity, bed expansion degree. settled bed height, and viscosity of liquid phase was investigated. Breakthrough curves of lysozyme in the expanded beds of the CB-NFBA gels were also examined. The dynamic binding capacity at 5% breakthrough was 23.3 mg/ml matrix for the CB-NFBA-S gels, and 16.7 mg/ml matrix for the CB-NFBA-L, at a flow velocity of 220 cm/h. The results indicate that the NFBA gels are promising for expanded bed adsorption of proteins.     

芳香叔胺引发丙烯腈光聚合的引发机理

芳香叔胺引发丙烯腈(AN)光聚合是通过形成激基复合物(exciPlex)进行的。紫外光谱和荧光光谱表明,芳香叔胺在基态可以和AN形成电荷转移复合物(CTC),而在激发态可和AN形成exciplc(称定域激发)。CTC经光照亦可激发(称CTC激发)。 定域激发引起光聚合速率为CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>C_6H_5N(CH_3)_2>HOCH_2·C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_2CH_2OH)_2,与芳胺荧光被AN淬灭的Stern-Vo-lmer常数顺序一致。CTC激发引起的光聚合顺序为:CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>CH_3C_6H_4N(CH_2CH_2OH)_2>HOCH_2C_6H_4N(CH_3)_2>C_6H_5N(CH_3)_2,与芳胺上取代基推电子能力一致。端基分析表明聚合物有芳胺端基。     

Dysfunction of Shh signaling activates autophagy to inhibit trophoblast motility in recurrent miscarriage

In early pregnancy, the placenta anchors the conceptus and supports embryonic development and survival. This study aimed to investigate the underlying functions of Shh signaling in recurrent miscarriage (RM), a serious disorder of pregnancy. In the present study, Shh and Gli2 were mainly observed in cytotrophoblasts (CTBs), Ptch was mainly observed in syncytiotrophoblasts (STBs), and Smo and Gli3 were expressed in both CTBs and STBs. Shh signaling was significantly impaired in human placenta tissue from recurrent miscarriage patients compared to that of gestational age-matched normal controls. VEGF-A and CD31 protein levels were also significantly decreased in recurrent miscarriage patients. Furthermore, inhibition of Shh signaling impaired the motility of JAR cells by regulating the expression of Gli2 and Gli3. Intriguingly, inhibition of Shh signaling also triggered autophagy and autolysosome accumulation. Additionally, knockdown of BECN1 reversed Gant61-induced motility inhibition. In conclusion, our results showed that dysfunction of Shh signaling activated autophagy to inhibit trophoblast motility, which suggests the Shh pathway and autophagy as potential targets for RM therapy.Subject terms: Embryology, Endocrine reproductive disorders, Autophagosomes     

Specific and random fragmentations in the mass spectra of some neopentyl compounds

The mass spectra of neopentyl alcohol, bromide and chloride and some ¹³C and ²H labelled analogues have been studied. Most fragmentations of the molecular ions of these compounds occur by simple bond cleavages and do not involve rearrangement before fragmentation. We propose that in the [M ? CH₃]⁺ fragment ions, seven of the eight hydrogen atoms and all four carbon atoms are involved in randomisation when an ethylene molecule is ejected. The eighth hydrogen atom (which comes from a methyl group) is probably associated with the heteroatom. The neopentylcation, observed only in the mass spectrum of the bromide, fragments mainly by loss of an ethylene molecule, also containing randomly selected hydrogen and carbon atoms. The [C₄H₇]⁺ ion also was observed to undergo complete atom scrambling.     

Activity difference between alpha-COOH and beta-COOH in N-phosphorylaspartic acids

N-phosphorylamino acids are chemically active species that have many biomimic activities. alpha-COOH in amino acids and peptides behaviors rather differently than beta-COOH in many biochemical processes and takes a more important role in the origin of life. Activity differences between alpha-COOH and beta-COOH in the peptide formation of phosphoryl amino acids are studied by 1D, 2D NMR techniques and by ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) calculations in this paper. Phosphoryl dipeptide is formed directly from phosphoryl aspartic acids without any coupling reagents. Only the alpha-dipeptide ester is observed by 1D (1)H, (13)C, and (31)P NMR and 2D NMR. In the ab initio and DFT calculations, the pentacoordinate phosphorane intermediates containing five-membered rings are predicted to be more favored than those with six-membered rings. Both the experimental results and the theoretical calculations suggest that only the alpha-COOH group is activated by N-phosphorylation in N-phosphorylaspartic acid under mild conditions.     

Determination of Volatile Carbonyl Compounds in Cigarette Smoke by LC-DAD

An effective and rapid method, use of a 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-treated Cambridge filter and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detection (DAD), has been used for determination of low-molecular-mass carbonyl compounds in cigarette smoke. Different chromatographic mobile phases were investigated and the optimized mobile phase was a gradient prepared from water–acetonitrile–tetrahydrofuran (THF)–iso-propanol, 59:30:10:1 (v/v) (mixture A) and acetonitrile–water, 65:35 (v/v) (mixture B). Under the optimized chromatographic conditions, the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, acetone, propionaldehyde, 2-butanone, and iso-butyraldehyde were separated completely in an 18 min chromatographic run. The concentration of acid, which has large effect on carbonyl-DNPH derivatization, was investigated by adding different volumes of perchloric acid. The DNPH-treated Cambridge filter was convenient and effective compared with conventional methods used to collect and derivatize the carbonyl compounds present in cigarette smoke. Validation of the method showed it to be effective, precise, accurate, and linear over the range of concentrations of analyzed.     

多柱串联高温HPLC系统的构建及应用

在高效液相色谱(HPLC)中,使用多柱串联能够极大地增加柱效和改善分离效果,提高温度能够明显降低色谱柱反压、加快分析速度.将色谱柱串联与提高柱温相结合构建了多柱串联高温HPLC系统,该系统常温下分析标准样品时(以芴计),绝对柱效达7.6×104塔板数;柱温升高到120℃,色谱柱反压从35.3MPa降低到15.4MPa,分析时间从78.39min缩短为19.26min.采用构建的系统分析中药六味地黄丸,常温下出峰94个,升高温度至100℃出峰80个,分离效果较常规的单柱系统有明显提高;升高温度,使主要组分的出峰时间缩短,可获得更为详尽的组成信息.     

3-仲氨基氧杂环丁烷-3-腈衍生物的合成

以仲胺、氧杂环丁-3-酮和三甲基氰硅烷为原料,无水甲醇为溶剂,无需催化剂,一步反应合成目标化合物3-仲氨基氧杂环丁烷-3-腈衍生物(1a～1d),产物结构经¹H NMR、¹³C NMR和ESI-MS表征。并以异吲哚啉、氧杂环丁-3-酮和三甲基氰硅烷的反应为模型反应,考察影响产物1a收率的主要因素,优化反应条件为:物料摩尔比为n(异吲哚啉)∶n(氧杂环丁-3-酮)∶n(三甲基氰硅烷)=2.0∶1∶2.5;反应溶剂为无水甲醇,在65℃反应6h,在此反应条件下,化合物1a收率78.3%。化合物1a与苯基溴化镁在四氢呋喃中室温反应5h,可得到2-(3-苯基氧杂环丁烷-3-基)异吲哚啉(4)和[3-(异吲哚啉-2-基)氧杂环丁烷-3-基](苯基)甲酮(5),收率分别为40.1%和31.5%。