冰冻人血清中尿酸标准物质复制的定值EI北大核心CSCD

为了满足该标准物质的需求,进行了第二次尿酸血清标准物质的复制。针对复制的尿酸血清标准物质,基于单四极杆质谱的液相色谱-同位素稀释质谱法(LC-IDMS),用乙腈沉淀法去除蛋白质,BEH C18色谱柱和电喷雾离子源负离子模式(ESI^(-)),同位素稀释的单点校准法进行定值、均匀性检验、稳定性检验以及不确定度评定等研究。此定值方法经过CCQM-K109(血清中尿酸分析)国际关键比对进行验证。复制的2种不同浓度水平尿酸(肾病患者和正常人)血清标准物质的定值结果分别为(73.5±1.3)μg/g,(47.5±1.1)μg/g,其均匀性和稳定性评估结果良好。     

Clickable report tags for identification of modified peptides by mass spectrometry

The identification and quantification of modified peptides are critical for the functional characterization of post-translational protein modifications (PTMs) to elucidate their biological function. Nowadays, quantitative mass spectrometry coupled with various bioinformatic pipelines has been successfully used for the determination of a wide range of PTMs. However, direct characterization of low abundant protein PTMs in bottom-up proteomic workflow remains challenging. Here, we present the synthesis and evaluation of tandem mass spectrometry tags (TMT) which are introduced via click-chemistry into peptides bearing alkyne handles. The fragmentation properties of the two mass tags were validated and used for screening in a model system and analysis of AMPylated proteins. The presented tags provide a valuable tool for diagnostic peak generation to increase confidence in the identification of modified peptides and potentially for direct peptide-PTM quantification from various experimental conditions.     

An innovative SiO2-pyrazole nanocomposite for Zn(II) and Cr(III) ions effective adsorption and anti-sulfate-reducing bacteria from the produced oilfield water

Novel SiO₂-pyrazole (SiO₂-PYZ) nanocomposite was introduced for the elimination of Zn(II) and Cr(III) from oil reservoir water. Characterization analysis of prepared SiO₂-PYZ nanocomposite was investigated using SEM, FTIR, TGA, XRD, TEM, and BET. Studying the effects and optimization of the parameters such as retention time, pH, initial Cr(III) and Zn(II) ions concentrations, adsorbent dosage, and temperature were examined. For kinetics investigation, the pseudo-second-order (PSO) model matches the adsorption process effectively under different operating conditions. After applying two other isotherm models (Langmuir and Freundlich), the experimental data was adequately equipped with Langmuir, R² = 1. The thermodynamic results pointed that the adsorption of Zn(II) and Cr(III) ions was spontaneous, endothermic, and physisorption reaction. At pH 12, the influence of more than one ion, such as Ca(II) and Na(I), was checked, and the results revealed that this conjugate substance was highly selective to Cr(III). After washing with water in multiple cycles, the adsorbed material was regenerated with 0.1 M HCl and subsequently reused without deterioration in its case cavities. Interestingly, SiO₂-PYZ was highly effective against sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in the petroleum field.     

A novel colorimetric and “turn-on” fluorescent sensor for selective detection of Cu2+

In this work, a new highly selective and sensitive fluorescent sensor for detecting Cu²⁺ was developed based on rhodamine fluorophore. It displayed strong fluorescence “turn-on” effect upon addition of Cu²⁺, and possessed the function of naked eye recognition. The fluorescence enhancement also enabled the sensor to quantitatively analyze Cu²⁺ due to the formation of a stable 1:1 metal–ligand complex in a short time, and the complex possesses relatively good pH stability. In addition, the density functional theory calculations were adopted to investigate the molecular orbitals as well as the spatial structure. Simultaneously, the cell imaging and zebra fish experiments provided a broader application prospect in biological system.     

Bioelectrochemistry for various facets of tau protein biochemistry

Tau protein undergoes complex biochemical processes involved in normal and diseased cellular functions; specifically, tau pathology has been linked to neurodegeneration. At the heart of tau biochemistry are three pillars: microtubules, phosphorylation, and aggregation. However, these three processes are also regulated through other biomolecules in the biological setting, such as metal ions and small and larger ligands, including proteins and nucleic acids. This review describes the latest electrochemical approaches toward greater understanding of tau biochemistry, early disease diagnosis, and drug inhibitor screening.     

A Label-Free Fluorometric Glutathione Assay Based on a Conformational Switch of G-quadruplex

In this paper, a label-free fluorescent method for glutathione (GSH) detection based on a thioflavin T/G-quadruplex conformational switch is developed. The sensing assay is fabricated depending on the virtue of mercury ions to form a thymine–thymine mismatch, which collapses the distance between two ssDNA and directs the guanine-rich part to form an intra-strand asymmetric split G-quadruplex. The newly formed G-quadruplex efficiently reacts with thioflavin T and enhances the fluorescent intensity. In the presence of GSH, Hg²⁺ is absorbed, destroying the G-quadruplex formation with a significant decrease in fluorescence emission. The proposed fluorescent assay exhibits a linear range between 0.03–5 μM of GSH with a detection limit of 9.8 nM. Furthermore, the efficacy of this method is examined using human serum samples to detect GSH. Besides GSH, other amino acids are also investigated in standard samples, which display satisfactory sensitivity and selectivity. Above all, we develop a method with features including potentiality, facility, sensitivity, and selectivity for analyzing GSH for clinical diagnostics.     

Fungal keratitis infected eye treatment with antibiotic-loaded zinc ions tagged polyvinyl acetate phthalate-g-polypyrrole drug carrier

Currently, the treatment of fungal keratitis (FK) infection remains a major clinical challenge, and current investigations, development in the field have widened approaches. The present work was aimed to synthesis a dual role novel carrier system consisting of Ofloxacin (OFL) and Nepafenac (NF) hydrophobic drugs incorporated in Zinc ions (Zn²⁺) tagged Polyvinyl acetate phthalate (PVAP) grafted Polypyrrole (PPy) carrier (OFL&NF-Zn²⁺/PVAP-g-PPy) to treat FK infection. The FT-IR, SEM, and dynamic light scattering revealed the carrier chemical structure, spherical shape, and the average particle size of 691.3 ± 1 nm. The carrier’s entrapment of OFL and NF drugs has been observed at 78.23% and 60.03%. The carrier exhibited significant antifungal activity at the concentration of 58 mg mL⁻¹ against Candida albicans which was lower than that of the free ofloxacin. The cell viability results suggested up to 70 μg/mL concentration of OFL&NF-Zn²⁺/PVAP-g-PPy did not induce any cytotoxicity on cultured ADSC cells at 48 h treatment time. It confirms the fact that the OFL&NF-Zn²⁺/PVAP-g-PPy carrier showed good biocompatibility and good anti-fungal activity. Thus the carriers provide a significant potential to improve the bioavailability of topically applied drugs to treat fungal eye infection.     

Generation of a four-qubit cluster state for atoms in a thermal cavity

We propose two schemes for generating a four-atom cluster state in a thermal cavity. With the assistant of a strong classical field the photon-number-dependent parts in the effective Hamiltonian are canceled. Thus the schemes are insensitive to the thermal field. The schemes can also be used to generate the cluster state for the trapped ions in thermal motion.     

Physical consequences of the mitochondrial targeting of single-walled carbon nanotubes probed computationally

Experiments by F. Zhou and coworkers (2010) [16] showed that mitochondria are the main target of the cellular accumulation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Our in silico experiments, based on geometrical optimization of the system consisting of SWCNT+proton within Density Functional Theory, revealed that protons can bind to the outer side of SWCNT so generating a positive charge. Calculation results allow one to propose the following mechanism of SWCNTs mitochondrial targeting. SWCNTs enter the space between inner and outer membranes of mitochondria, where the excess of protons has been formed by diffusion. In this compartment SWCNTs are loaded with protons and acquire positive charges distributed over their surface. Protonation of hydrophobic SWCNTs can also be carried out within the mitochondrial membrane through interaction with the protonated ubiquinone. Such “charge loaded” particles can be transferred as “Sculachev ions” through the inner membrane of the mitochondria due to the potential difference generated by the inner membrane. Physiological consequences of the described mechanism are discussed.     

The role of copper(II) and zinc(II) in the degradation of human and murine IAPP by insulin‐degrading enzyme

Amylin or islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is a 37‐residue peptide hormone secreted from the pancreatic islets into the blood circulation and is cleared by peptidases in the kidney. IAPP aggregates are strongly associated with β‐cell degeneration in type 2 diabetes, as demonstrated by the fact that more than 95% of patients exhibit IAPP amyloid upon autopsy. Recently, it has been reported that metal ions such as copper(II) and zinc(II) are implicated in the aggregation of IAPP as well as able to modulate the proteolytic activity of IAPP degrading enzymes. For this reason, in this work, the role of the latter metal ions in the degradation of IAPP by insulin‐degrading enzyme (IDE) has been investigated by a chromatographic and mass spectrometric combined method. The latter experimental approach allowed not only to assess the overall metal ion inhibition of the human and murine IAPP degradation by IDE but also to have information on copper‐ and zinc‐induced changes in IAPP aggregation. In addition, IDE cleavage site preferences in the presence of metal ions are rationalized as metal ion‐induced changes in substrate accessibility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.