In‐capillary detection of fast antibody‐peptide binding using fluorescence coupled capillary electrophoresis

Herein, we report a technique for detecting the fast binding of antibody‐peptide inside a capillary. Anti‐HA was mixed and interacted with FAM‐labeled HA tag (FAM‐E₄) inside the capillary. Fluorescence coupled capillary electrophoresis (CE‐FL) was employed to measure and record the binding process. The efficiency of the antibody‐peptide binding on in‐capillary assays was found to be affected by the molar ratio. Furthermore, the stability of anti‐HA‐FAM‐E₄ complex was investigated as well. The results indicated that E₄YPYDVPDYA (E₄) or TAMRA‐E₄YPYDVPDYA (TAMRA‐E₄) had the same binding priorities with anti‐HA. The addition of excess E₄ or TAMRA‐E₄ could lead to partial dissociation of the complex and take a two‐step mechanism including dissociation and association. This method can be applied to detect a wide range of biomolecular interactions.     

Ultrasound‐assisted temperature‐controlled ionic liquid emulsification microextraction coupled with capillary electrophoresis for the determination of parabens in personal care products

We developed a CE and ultrasound‐assisted temperature‐controlled ionic liquid emulsification microextraction method for the determination of four parabens (methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, propyl paraben, and butyl paraben) in personal care products including mouthwash and toning lotion. In the proposed extraction procedure, ionic liquid (IL, 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) was used as extraction solvent, moreover, no disperser solvent was needed. Parameters affecting the extraction efficiency including volume of IL, heating temperature, ultrasonic time, extraction time, sample pH, ionic strength, and centrifugation time were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the method was found to be linear over the range of 3–500 ng/mL with coefficient of determination (R²) in the range of 0.9990–0.9998. The LODs and LOQs for the four parabens were 0.45–0.72 ng/mL and 1.50–2.40 ng/mL, respectively. Intraday and interday precisions (RSDs, n = 5) were in the range of 5.4–6.8% and 7.0–8.7%, respectively. The recoveries of parabens at different spiked levels ranged from 71.9 to 119.2% with RSDs less than 9.5%.     

Two multifunctional organic-inorganic hybrid complexes based on polyoxometalates,BiEDTA and sodium linker: crystal structures,photochromic, and catalytic performances

Two 3-D organic–inorganic hybrid supermolecular complexes, Na(BiHEDTA·2H₂O)₃(PW₁₂O₄₀)·2H₃O (BiPW) and Na(BiHEDTA·2H₂O)₃(PMo₁₂O₄₀)·2H₃O·2H₂O (BiPMo) ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) have been synthesized by solution method and characterized by ultraviolet visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis, photoluminescence, cyclic voltammetry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD analysis reveals that BiPW and BiPMo are isostructural with 3-D architectures assembled by 2-D layer tetranuclear cation and a Keggin-type polyoxoanion. Although these two hybrids exhibit similar structures, the properties depend on the nature of polyoxoanion [PM₁₂O₄₀]^3? (M = W, Mo). Under UV irradiation, BiPW and BiPMo show fast response of reversible and irreversible photochromism, respectively. BiPW exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity in degradation of methyl orange dyes under irradiation of UV–visible light. It can be reused for at least six cycles without obvious loss of activity in the degradation experiments; BiPMo shows catalytic activity in elimination of methanol. The elimination rate of methanol reaches 56.9% when the concentration of methanol is 2.3 g·m^?3 and the flow velocity is 10 mL·min^?1 at 100 °C.     

吡咯锂的合成、表征及晶体结构

Development of clean energy is an urgent requirement because of the depletion of fossil energy sources and increasingly severe environmental pollution. However, the lack of safe and efficient hydrogen storage materials is one of the bottlenecks in the implementation of hydrogen energy. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) have been recognized as potential materials for the storage and transportation of hydrogen owing to their high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen densities, reversible hydrogen absorption and desorption ability, and ease of widespread implementation with minimal modification on the existing fueling infrastructure. While some LOHCs such as cycloalkanes and N-heterocycles have been developed for hydrogen storage, they require a high hydrogen release temperature due to the large enthalpy change of dehydrogenation. In our previous work, a metallation strategy was proposed to improve the thermodynamic properties of liquid organic hydrogen carriers for hydrogen storage, and a series of metalorganic hydrides were synthesized and investigated. Among them, sodium phenoxide-cyclohexanolate pair, lithium carbazolide-perhydrocarbazolide, and sodium anilinide-cyclohexylamide pair showed promising dehydrogenation thermodynamics and improved hydrogen storage properties. Sodium pyrrolide and sodium imidazolide were also synthesized. However, pyrrolides were not well characterized, and the structure of lithium pyrrolide was not resolved. In the present study, we synthesized sodium and lithium pyrrolides by ball milling and wet chemical methods. One equivalent of hydrogen could be released from the reaction of pyrrole and metal hydrides, indicating the replacement of H by metal. The formation of pyrrolides was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy analyses. The ¹H signals attributed to C－H in the NMR spectra of the alkali metal pyrrolides shifted upfield due to the replacement of the H of N－H with a stronger electron-donating species (Li or Na), resulting in a greater shielding environment upon metallation. The absorption peaks of lithium and sodium pyrrolides showed red shifts, and the intensities became obviously stronger in the UV-Vis spectra, suggesting an enhancement of the conjugation effect, in accordance with theoretical calculations. The structure of lithium pyrrolide was determined by the combined direct space method and first-principles calculations on XRD data and Rietveld refinement. This molecule crystallizes in the monoclinic P2₁/c (14) space group, with lattice parameters of a = 4.4364(7) Å, b = 11.969(2) Å, c = 8.192(2) Å, β = 108.789(8)°, and V = 411.8(2) ų (1 Å = 0.1 nm). Each Li⁺ cation is surrounded by three pyrrolides via cation－N σ bonding with two pyrrolides and a cation–π interaction with the third pyrrolide, where the Li⁺ is on the top of the π face. Our experimental findings are different from the theoretical prediction in the literature.     

Module Assembly Strategy for Single-Cell Nucleic Acid Imaging at the Sub-Molecule Level

Single-cell imaging has unique advantages of maintaining the in situ physiological state, morphology, and microenvironment, becoming a powerful tool to unravel the nature of intracellular nucleic acids. The analysis of nucleic acids unprecedentedly demands the sub-molecule details at segment or subunit, secondary structure and monomer levels, instead of just probing the sequence and the abundance of nucleic acids. Detection of nucleic acids at the sub-molecule level requires higher specificity and higher sensitivity, which becomes a new challenge in nucleic acid analysis. Herein, we summarize the recent progress in the design and the application of single-cell nucleic acid imaging methods at the sub-molecule level, including the visualization of RNA splicing variants, RNA G-quadruplexes in an individual gene, single nucleotide variation of mitochondrial DNA, and RNA m⁶A methylation. Remarkably, we highlight the key strategy, “Module Assembly”, for high-performance molecular recognition and demonstrate the required improvements in future research.     

α-Fe2O3/Attapulgite-mediated reaction of benzyl chloride: Synthesis of poly(phenylene methylene)

Thermostable and fluorescent poly(phenylene methylene) (PPM) was synthesized via α-Fe₂O₃/attapulgite (α-Fe₂O₃/A)-mediated polymerization of benzyl chloride (BC) in CCl₄ in good yields. A carbocationic mechanism was proposed based on the controlling experiment. The structure and properties of PPM were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis, elemental analysis, gel permeation chromatography, and UV–vis and fluorescence spectrometry. The results show that PPM possesses outstanding homoconjugation fluorescence and excellent thermal stability with onset decomposition temperature of ca. 420 °C. Recycled α-Fe₂O₃/A proved to be still highly active for BC polymerization. Moreover, the strategy features low-cost and readily accessible starting materials, simple one-pot operation, and recyclable catalyst, facilitating future applications. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 2280–2285     

Correlation analysis of synchronization flow at a traffic bottleneck

In this paper, we study the correlation characteristics of synchronization flow in a two-lane model with the partial reduced lane based on the Kerner–Klenov–Wolf cellular automation model using the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). The local fundamental diagram and cross-correlation near the entry of the partial reduced lane have been analyzed in the periodic boundary condition. The typical two-dimensional scatter diagram in the local fundamental diagram and the noncorrelation of the cross-correlation between the local density and flow reveal characteristics of synchronization flow near the entry of the reduced lane. By the DFA, the synchronized flow at a traffic bottleneck exhibits the characteristics of long-range correlation. The results of investigation indicate that the injection rate, removal rate, and the location of the partial reduced lane have an obvious influence on the change of the scale exponent in the open boundary condition. Moreover, the length of the partial reduced lane has impact on the change of the scale exponent in the periodic boundary condition.     

Piezochromic luminescence and aggregation induced emission of 9,10- bis[2-(2-alkoxynaphthalen-1-yl)vinyl]anthracene derivatives

Four derivatives of 9,10-bis[2-(2-alkoxynaphthalen-1-yl)vinyl]anthracene (BNAs) were designed, successfully synthesized and characterized by spectrofluorometer, powder wide-angle X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and differential scanning calorimetry experiments (DSC), etc. It was found that these compounds exhibited aggregation-induced emission phenomenon. Moreover, these target compounds displayed reversible color change from yellow to orange upon pressing and annealing process. Interestingly, all of BNAs obviously presented red-shifted piezofluorochromic (PFC) properties and behaved mainly length dependence of alkoxy group, in which, BNA displayed the largest PFC spectral shift (Δl_PFC=26 nm). The PXRD profiles demonstrated the transformation from crystalline to amorphous state upon grinding, and the mechanism of PFC behaviors was proposed. Thus, changing the length of alkoxyl chain could be an alternative way to tune their PFC behaviors.     

Magnetic microparticle-based SELEX process for the identification of highly specific aptamers of heart marker--brain natriuretic peptide

Microchimica Acta - The brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is known to be an effective indicator of heart failure. It has been widely adopted as a parameter for the evaluation of heart function of...