Diamond synthesis by DC thermal plasma CVD at 1 atm

Diamond crystals and films have been success full y synthesized by DC thermal plasma jet CVD at a pressure of I atrn. A novel triple torch plasma reactor has been used to generate a convergent plasma volume to entrain the participating gases. Three coalescing plasma jets produces! by this reactor direct the dissociated and ionized gaseous species onto ( 100) silicon wafer substrates where the diamond grows. In a typical 10-min run, depending on the method of .substrate preparation, either microcrystals with sizes up to 8 m or continuous films with thicknesses of 1–2 m have been obtained. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy have been used for the characterization of the crystals and of the films.     

NMR and X-ray crystallography, complementary tools in structural proteomics of small proteins

NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, the two primary experimental methods for protein structure determination at high resolution, have different advantages and disadvantages in terms of sample preparation and data collection and analysis. It is therefore of interest to assess their complementarity when applied to small proteins. Structural genomics/proteomics projects provide an ideal opportunity to make such comparisons as they generate data in a systematic manner for large enough numbers of proteins to allow firm conclusions to be drawn. Here we report a comparison for 263 unique proteins screened by both NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography in our structural proteomics pipeline. Only 21 targets (8%) were deemed amenable to both methods based on an initial 2D 15N-HSQC NMR spectrum and optimized crystallization trials. However, the use of both methods in the pipeline increased the total number of targets amenable to structure determination to 107, with 43 amenable to NMR only and 43 amenable to X-ray crystallographic methods only. We did not observe a correlation between 15N-HSQC spectral quality and the success of the same protein in crystallization screens. Similar results were found for an independent set of 159 proteins as reported in the accompanying paper by Snyder et al. Thus, we conclude that both methods are highly complementary, and in order to increase the number of proteins suited for structure determination, we suggest that both methods be used in parallel in screening of all small proteins for structure determination.     

Isotachophoretic analysis of the dihydrofolate reductase reaction in the presence of methotrexate and ascorbic acid

The antifolate methotrexate (MTX) is widely used in cancer chemotherapy. In this study, we show that MTX (MTX-Glu1) and MTX-polyglutamates (MTX-Glu2-5) strongly inhibited the growth of the leukemic cell line MOLT-4. This effect, however, was mitigated by ascorbic acid. We investigated whether ascorbic acid is able to reduce dihydrofolic acid (DHF) to tetrahydrofolic acid (THF) directly or by circumventing the MTX inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). The inhibition of this NADPH-dependent reduction of DHF by MTX-Glun in the absence or presence of ascorbate, was determined by analytical isotachophoresis. Using 0.01 M HCl/histidine, pH 6.0, as a leading electrolyte (L) and 0.005 M 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES)/histidine, pH 6.0, as a terminating electrolyte (T), MTX-Glun derivatives including MTX-Glu1 could be easily separated, whereas the quantitative estimation of THF was not possible. A quantitative characterization of the DHFR reaction by measuring NADPH, NADP+ and ascorbate was achieved with another system (L: 0.01 M HCI/beta-alanine, pH 3.73; T: 0.01 M caproic acid, pH 3.27). Nanomolar concentrations of MTX-Glu1-5 inhibited consumption of NADPH and production of NADP+. Ascorbic acid was not able to reduce DHF, neither directly nor after inhibition of DHFR by MTX. However, ascorbic acid seemed to diminish the oxidation of THF and this may account for its capacity to reduce the inhibitory effect of MTX on MOLT-4 cells.     

催化极谱法连续测定岩石中钨和钼

本文提出了在二苯基乙醇酸-二苯胍-氯酸钠催化极谱体系测钨后,加入少许钛铁试剂,使钼产生一个极灵敏的导数波。谊波形尖锐、对称,便于测量钼。建立的连测体系简便灵敏,用于岩石样品中钨和钼的测定,取得了满意的效果。     

使用疏水作用色谱研究蛋白质的构象变化

研究了高效疏水作用液相色谱中(HIC)色谱条件改变对蛋白质构象的影响。发现固定相配体的疏水性、温度及流动相中盐的阴离子、阳离子和pH值都影响蛋白质的构象。     

Semipreparative separation and determination of eleutheroside E in Acanthopanax giraldii Harms by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method for the isolation, purification, and determination of eleutheroside E in Acanthopanax giraldii Harms, collected in the Sichuan province (China), is established. The water extraction of A. giraldii Harms is pre-isolated using macroporous adsorption resin (D-101) and a C18 solid-phase extraction cartridge, and the enriched extract is purified to give eleutheroside E (syringaresinol-di-O-beta-D-glucoside; liriodendrin) by semipreparative reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Structure identification is performed by a comparison of IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometric data with the literature. The final purity of the compound is 97%. Quantitative determination of eleutheroside E in A. giraldii Harms is performed on a Zorbax SB C18 (150- x 4.6-mm i.d., 5 microm) column. The linear range of eleutheroside E is 4.85-194 mg/L (r = 0.9998), and the average recovery is 99.6-101%. The developed method is simple, reproducible, and easy to operate. It is useful for the evaluation of Acanthopanax giraldii Harms.     

Enthalpies of dilution of l-cystine in aqueous solutions of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid

The enthalpies of dilution of l-cystine in solutions of two strong alkalis and one strong acid have been determined by isothermal flow-mix calorimetry at the temperatures 298.15 K, 303.15 K, 308.15 K, 313.15 K and 318.15 K. Equations of apparent enthalpies of dilution have been obtained from the experimental data in terms of the improved McMillan-Mayer theory. Enthalpic interaction coefficients, h₂, h₃, and h₄, are obtained and the values of pair-wise enthalpic interaction coefficient, h₂, discussed in the light of solute-solute and solute-solvent interactions.     

Coriatone and corianlactone, two novel sesquiterpenes from Coriaria nepalensis

Both coriatone (1). a novel highly oxygenated picrotoxane-type sesquiterpene, and corianlactone (2). with an unprecedented sesquiterpene basic skeleton, named coriane, were isolated from Coriaria nepalensis Wall. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by analysis of their two-dimensional NMR data, and the structure of 2 was confirmed by X-ray analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 showed no remarkable inhibitory activity toward K(562) cells. They are cytotoxic with IC(50) > 50 microg/mL (cis-platinim: IC(50) = 0.49 microg/mL).     

Simultaneous determination of35S and14C in double-labelled organic compounds by liquid scintillation counting

An isotope analytical method for the simultaneous determination of³⁵S and¹⁴C in double-labelled organic compounds by liquid scintillation counting is described. The sample is burned in a stream of oxygen. Sulfur oxides are converted to sulfuric acid and separated from other combustion products, including carbon-14 dioxide, on a heated quartz wool column previously wetted with hydrogen peroxide. Carbon dioxide is collected from the gas stream by an absorbent suitable for liquid scintillation counting. The residual sulfuric acid is rinsed off the column with water and the aqueous solution obtained is mixed with a liquid scintillation cocktail for radioactivity measurement. The final solutions ready for counting are obtained in less than fifteen minutes, quantitative collection recovery is achieved and no cross contamination occurs.     

SciFinder-guided rational design of fluorescent carbon dots for ratiometric monitoring intracellular pH fluctuations under heat shock

Intracellular pH plays a significant role in various biological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, metabolism, enzyme activity and homeostasis. In this work, a novel design strategy for the preparation of pH responsive carbon dots (CDs-pH) for ratiometric intracellular imaging was reported. By using SciFinder database, fluorescent CDs-pH with the required pK_a value of 6.84 were rationally designed, which is vital important for precise sensing of intracellular pH. As a result, the synthesized CDs-pH demonstrated robust ability to test pH fluctuations within the physiological range of 5.4-7.4. The CDs-pH was further utilized for fluorescent ratiometric imaging of pH in living HeLa cells, effectively avoided the influence of autofluorescence from native cellular species. Moreover, real-time monitoring of intracellular pH fluctuation under heat shock was successfully realized. This SciFinder-guided design strategy is simple and flexible, which has a great potential to be used for the development of other types of CDs for various applications.