Monitoring structural transitions in icosahedral virus protein cages by site-directed spin labeling

This work describes an approach for calculating and measuring dipolar interactions in multispin systems to monitor conformational changes in icosahedral protein cages using site-directed spin labeling. Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) is used as a template that undergoes a pH-dependent reversible capsid expansion wherein the protein cage swells by 10%. The sequence-position-dependent geometric presentation of attached spin-label groups provides a strategy for targeting amino acid residues most probative of structural change. The labeled protein cage residues and structural transition were found to affect the local mobility and dipolar interactions of the spin label, respectively. Line-shape changes provided a spectral signature that could be used to follow the conformational change in CCMV coat dynamics. The results provide evidence for a concerted swelling process in which the cages exist in only two structural forms, with essentially no intermediates. This methodology can be generalized for all symmetry types of icosahedral protein architectures to monitor protein cage dynamics.     

Effect of ring strain on the thiolate-disulfide exchange. A computational study

B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ and MP2/6-31+G calculations of the reactions of HS(-) with small cyclic disulfides (dithiirane, 1,2-dithietane, 1,2-dithiolane, and 1,2-dithiane) were performed to determine the reaction mechanism. For the five- and six-membered rings, the reaction proceeds via the addition-elimination pathway, consistent with acyclic analogues. The smaller, more strained three- and four-membered rings react by the S(N)2 mechanism. Addition of the nucleophile cannot be accommodated by the small rings without concomitant ring cleavage.     

Simultaneous detection of five different 2-hydroxyethyl-DNA adducts formed by ethylene oxide exposure, using a high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry assay

A method has been developed for the simultaneous detection and quantitation of five different 2-hydroxyethyl-DNA (HE-DNA) adducts that could be formed as a result of exposure to ethylene oxide (EO). In addition to the major N7-HE-guanine (N7-HEG) adducts this assay can also measure the less prevalent but potentially more biologically significant N1-HE-2'-deoxyadenosine (N1-HEdA), O(6)-HE-2'-deoxyguanosine (O(6)-HEdG), N(6)-HE-2'-deoxyadenosine (N(6)-HEdA) and N3-HE-2'-deoxyuridine adducts (N3-HEdU). The method involves the isolation of HE adducts from the unmodified nucleosides by either neutral thermal hydrolysis or enzymatic digestion, followed by high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) purification, before detection and quantification by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) using selective reaction monitoring (SRM). The limits of detection were in the range 0.5-25 fmol for each individual adduct, making this one of the most sensitive assays available for the detection of N7-HEG. To illustrate the possible applications of the assay, it has been employed in the measurement of endogenous/background and EO-induced HE adducts in a variety of DNA samples.     

Photo‐induced surface transformations of silica nanocomposites

The photo‐induced, physicochemical surface transformations to silica nanoparticle (SiNP) ‐ epoxy composites have been investigated. The silica nanocomposites (SiNCs) were prepared using a two‐part epoxy system with a 10% mass fraction of SiNPs and exposed to varying doses of high intensity, ultraviolet (UV) radiation at wavelengths representative of the solar spectrum at sea level (290 nm to 400 nm) under constant temperature and humidity. Visibly apparent physical modifications to the SiNC surface were imaged with scanning electron microscopy. Surface pitting and cracking became more apparent with increased UV exposure. Elemental and surface chemical characterization of the SiNCs was accomplished through X‐ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, while attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed changes to the epoxy's structure. During short UV exposures, there was an increase in the epoxy's overall oxidation, which was accompanied by a slight rise in the silicon and oxygen components and a decrease in overall carbon content. The initial carbon components (e.g. aliphatic, aromatic and alcohol/ether functionalities) decreased and more highly oxidized functional groups increased until sufficiently long exposures at which point the surface composition became nearly constant. At long exposure times, the SiNC's silicon concentration increased to form a surface layer composed of approximately 75% silica (by mass). Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Interaction of pyridine‐ and 4‐hydroxypyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acids with heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions

Interactions between pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid and 4‐hydroxypyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid with Cu(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) ions were characterized in aqueous solutions (20°C; I = 0.4 (KNO₃)) by means of dc‐polarography. In solutions with excess of ligand, Cu(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) form 1:2 complexes with the tridentate dianion of pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid (dipic²⁻) from weak acid to alkaline solutions. The values of log β₂ for Cu(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) are 16.1, 11.8, and 11.0, respectively. The complexing ability of pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid is higher in acid solutions and lower in alkaline solutions than that of 4‐hydroxypyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid. This difference is attributed to the OH‐group, which can deprotonate in basic pH. In acid solutions the OH‐group acts as an electron acceptor and reduces the electron donation available to the nitrogen atom in 4‐hydroxypyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid, whereas in alkaline solutions the OH‐group is deprotonated, and the deprotonated O₋ group acts as an electron donor and increases the coordination ability of the ligand. The triple‐deprotonated anion of 4‐hydroxypyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid (chel^3‐) forms a stable diligand complex with Cu(II), the stability constant logarithm being 21.5 ± 0.2.© 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 14:625–632, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hc.10203