ABEEM浮动电荷分子力场在含离子体系中的发展和应用

离子水合及生物分子体系内离子选择性的微观作用机制是人们长期探索的重要课题,其难点在于如何合理精确地描述上述体系内的离子-水、离子-生物分子等各种相互作用.本文主要总结近年来原子-键电负性均衡浮动电荷分子力场（ABEEM/MM）在含离子体系中的发展和应用,包括离子水溶液、金属蛋白、离子-核酸碱基体系的研究.我们优选相关参数,构建上述体系的势能函数,并对气相水合离子团簇、离子水溶液、金属蛋白、离子-核酸碱基体系进行研究,模拟其结构、活性、热力学和动力学等性质.研究和比较结果表明,我们的ABEEM浮动电荷力场总体上优于其它力场方法,其精度可达到或接近高水平从头计算MP2方法.这为进一步探讨生物分子体系内的离子选择性、金属酶及其它含离子体系的结构和性质奠定了基础.     

Chemical–physical behavior of hydrogels of poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(ethylene glycol)

New hydrogels based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) of different degrees of hydrolysis were synthesized. To form the network the PEG was modified at their ends with acyl chloride groups to be used as the crosslinking agent. The compositions of the hydrogels were between 50% and 90% by weight of PEG and PVA of various degrees of hydrolysis were used. It was found that the degree of hydrolysis of the PVA and the PEG content influence the equilibrium water content of the hydrogel. The process of swelling of all the hydrogels prepared followed a second-order kinetics.     

Simulating the Physiological Phase of Hydrated DPPC Bilayers: The Ester Moiety

Abstract

The charge on the ester oxygen of the sn2 group of the dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) has a remarkable effect on the square area per lipid in simulations of a hydrated bilayer. This is in contrast to simulations of nonpolar, neutral lipids, where it has been found to have little effect. The charges associated with the GROMOS96 45A3 and 45A4 biomolecular force fields have been previously shown to cause significant membrane shrinkage. We find that the use of larger charges at the ester groups alone (as opposed to on all the polar moieties in the head group) remedies the shrinkage. The source of this effect in DPPC lies in the fact that the charge distribution of this polar group profoundly influences its free energy of hydration and, correspondingly, the water distribution around it. In an attempt to rationally tune the ester parameters, the repulsive Lennard–Jones parameters that represent the van der Waals interaction have been refined to reproduce the experimental density and heat of vaporization, and the charges of the ester groups have been tuned to reproduce the experimental free energies of hydration of a series of alkane esters. The new parameters form part of the GROMOS96 53A5 and 53A6 force fields. However, with the new force‐field parameters, the area per lipid in simulations of hydrated DPPC bilayers lies below that of the physiological liquid‐crystalline phase, the implications of which are discussed.     

Electrostatic solvation free energy of amino acid side chain analogs: implications for the validity of electrostatic linear response in water

Electrostatic free energies of solvation for 15 neutral amino acid side chain analogs are computed. We compare three methods of varying computational complexity and accuracy for three force fields: free energy simulations, Poisson-Boltzmann (PB), and linear response approximation (LRA) using AMBER, CHARMM, and OPLS-AA force fields. We find that deviations from simulation start at low charges for solutes. The approximate PB and LRA produce an overestimation of electrostatic solvation free energies for most of molecules studied here. These deviations are remarkably systematic. The variations among force fields are almost as large as the variations found among methods. Our study confirms that success of the approximate methods for electrostatic solvation free energies comes from their ability to evaluate free energy differences accurately.     

{Au(IPr)}2(μ-OH)]X complexes: synthetic, structural and catalytic studies

The synthesis of a series of dinuclear gold hydroxide complexes has been achieved. These complexes of type [{Au(IPr)}₂(μ‐OH)]X (X=BF₄, NTf₂, OTf, FABA, SbF₆; IPr=2,6‐bis(disopropylphenyl)imidazol‐2‐ylidene; NTf₂=bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imidate; OTf=trifluoromethanesulfonate; FABA=tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate) are easily formed in the presence of water and prove highly efficient in the catalytic hydration of nitriles. Their facile formation in aqueous media suggests they are of relevance in gold‐catalyzed reactions involving water. Additionally, a series of [Au(IPr)(NCR)][BF₄] (R=alkyl, aryl) complexes was synthesized as they possibly occur as intermediates in the catalytic reaction mechanism. ¹H and ¹³C NMR data as well as key bond lengths obtained by X‐ray diffraction studies are compared and reveal an interesting structure–activity relationship. The collected data indicate a negligible effect of the nature of the nitrile on the reactivity of [Au(L)(NCR)][X] complexes in catalysis.     

Wheat Bran Modifications for Enhanced Nutrition and Functionality in Selected Food Products

The established use of wheat bran (WB) as a food ingredient is related to the nutritional components locked in its dietary fibre. Concurrently, the technological impairment it poses has impeded its use in product formulations. For over two decades, several modifications have been investigated to combat this problem. Ninety-three (93) studies (review and original research) published in English between January 1997 and April 2021 reporting WB modifications for improved nutritional, structural, and functional properties and prospective utilisation in food formulations were included in this paper. The modification methods include mechanical (milling), bioprocessing (enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation with yeasts and bacteria), and thermal (dry heat, extrusion, autoclaving), treatments. This review condenses the current knowledge on the single and combined impact of various WB pre-treatments on its antioxidant profile, fibre solubilisation, hydration properties, microstructure, chemical properties, and technological properties. The use of modified WB in gluten-free, baked, and other food products was reviewed and possible gaps for future research are proposed. The application of modified WB will have broader application prospects in food formulations.     

Pseudopolymorphic transitions of niclosamide monitored by Raman spectroscopy

Niclosamide suffers pseudopolymorphic transformations when exposed to different ambient conditions, which can lead to changes in its bioavailability. In this study, the kinetics of the pseudopolymorphic transitions of niclosamide crystals are characterized. FT‐Raman spectroscopy is used to quantify the anhydrate and hydrate forms of niclosamide crystals, mostly because of its high sensitivity to the strong intermolecular interactions present in these systems. The samples are exposed to well‐characterized relative humidity (RH) conditions during different periods of time and both water diffusion and polymorphic changes are monitored from the corresponding changes observed in the vibrational spectra. Both hydration and dehydration were found to be single‐step processes, with a half‐life time of ca. 142 and 63 h, respectively, at 24 °C. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

聚羧酸减水剂在水泥水化过程中的微观表现

采用SEM、IR、XRD、pH值和电导率等分析手段研究了聚羧酸减水剂对水泥水化初期的影响,结果表明,聚羧酸减水剂具有减缓水泥的初期水化作用,水泥水化产物的聚合度随水化时间增加而增大,但晶型不改变。在水泥中添加0．3％聚羧酸减水剂,32．5#水泥3d、7d和28d的抗压强度分别提高了50．9％、40．4％、35％。     

Hydrated Ionic Liquids: Perspective for Bioscience

Hydrated ionic liquid (IL) is a simple mixture of IL and water. Unique aqueous electrolyte solution can be designed by mixing IL with limited amount of water. In most hydrated ILs, there are no free water and all are strongly interacted with ions. The properties of hydrated ILs, such as polarity, viscosity, ion mobility, and hydrogen bonding ability, can therefore be controlled simply by water content. This mixture is expected to provide similar environment to that of living cell, and is desired to be effective solvents for biomolecules. In this account, we would like to survey the basic properties, recent results, and future aspects of the hydrated ILs.