Golden crowns: cation binding by macrocyclic gold(I) crown ether derivatives

The polyether bis(alkynes) α,ω-bis(O-propargyl)triethylene glycol and α,ω-bis(O-4-propargyloxyphenoxy)triethylene glycol reacted with [AuCl(SMe₂)] in the presence of base to form the corresponding oligomeric gold(I) acetylide complexes (AuCCCH₂O(CH₂CH₂O)₃CH₂CCAu)_n and (AuCCCH₂OC₆H₄O(CH₂CH₂O)₃C₆H₄OCH₂CCAu)_n. These digold(I) diacetylide complexes reacted with diphosphine ligands to give macrocyclic digold(I) complexes of the type [Au₂(μ-CC)(μ-PP)], where CC is the diacetylide and PP is a diphosphine ligand. These digold(I) complexes bind the cations Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺ and Cs⁺, as studied by electrospray mass spectrometry.     

依波西隆蓝与蛋白质作用的共振光散射光谱及其分析应用

微量蛋白质对依波西隆蓝的共振光散射产生增强作用，且增强程度与蛋白质浓度有良好的线性关系，由此建立了测定蛋白质的灵敏共振光散射分析方法。利用该方法测定合成样品和血清样品中的蛋白质，均获得了可靠的分析结果。     

丙烯醇等离子体处理聚四氟乙烯的表面结构与润湿性

聚四氟乙烯经丙烯醇等离子体处理后,在其表面形成了一层亲水性的聚合物薄膜。水在表面的接触角为40—60°不等,由等离子体处理时间决定。对表面的全反射红外光谱、ESCA分析和SEM观测发现,等离子体处理后在原表面上形成的聚合物膜包含—CH_3、—CH_2、C=O和C—OH等基团,并且表面光滑、平整。     

Measurement and modeling of the glass transition temperatures of multi-component solutions

Protein crystals are usually grown in multi-component aqueous solutions containing salts, buffers and other additives. To measure the X-ray diffraction data of the crystal, crystals are rapidly lowered to cryogenic temperatures. On flash cooling, ice frequently forms affecting the integrity of the sample. In order to eliminate this effect, substances called cryoprotectants are added to produce a glassy (vitrified) state rather than ice. Heretofore, the quantity of cryoprotectant needed to vitrify the sample has largely been established by trial and error. In this study, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to measure the melting (T_m), devitrification (T_d) and glass transition (T_g) temperatures of solutions with a range of compositions typical of those used for growing protein crystals, with the addition of glycerol as cryoprotectant. The addition of cryoprotectant raises the T_g and lowers the T_m of bulk solution thereby decreasing the cooling rates required for vitrification of protein crystals. The theoretical T_g value was calculated using the apparent volume fraction using the Miller/Fox equation extended for multi-component systems. The experimental values of T_g were within approximately ±4% of that predicted by the model. Thus, the use of the model holds the promise of a rational method for the theoretical determination of the composition of cryoprotectant requirement of protein crystallization solutions.     

High-level expression of soluble human β-defensin-2 fused with green fluorescent protein in Escherichia coli cell-free system

Human β-defensin-2 (hBD2), a small cationic peptide, exhibits a broad range of antimicrobial activity and does not acquire any microbial resistance. To produce this uneasily detectable, degradable, and toxic polypeptide efficiently, an alternative approach based on the Escherichia coli cell-free biosynthesis system was proposed. The approach implies that a polypeptide of interest is synthesized as a fusion protein linked to a green fluorescent protein (GFP) through a cleavable spacer. With batch-mode operation, a significant amount of hBD2 fused with GFP (0.25 mg/mL) can be expressed in this cell-free system. The productivity of the fusion protein can be improved up to 1.2 mg/mL by employing a continuous-exchange cell-free system. Furthermore, the GFP moiety provides directly visible and quantitative monitoring of the polypeptide synthesis, and the product is soluble and stable. This work will be helpful in allowing the rapid and visible expression of other similar defensins using an in vitro cell-free system.     

Classification of cultivation area of ginseng by near infrared spectroscopy and ICP-AES

A rapid and nondestructive near infrared (NIR) method using soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) for the classification of cultivation area (Korea and China) was evaluated and confirmed. Raw, first, and second derivative NIR spectra were compared to develop a robust classification rule. The chemical properties of ginseng samples were also investigated to find out the differences between Korean samples and Chinese samples. These differences make NIR spectroscopic method viable. The average value of each Korean and Chinese ginseng sample for crude fiber, crude protein, starch, and 10 inorganic constituents were measured and compared with F-test and t-test. The inorganic constituents were also measured by induced coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). It could be found that the amount of starch and ten inorganic elements for example Na, Mg, P, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn in ginseng samples are considerably different based on cultivation area. SIMCA has been applied to the inorganic data to investigate the possibility of ICP-AES as classification tool. However, it was observed that the result was not equal to than NIR spectra data. The overall results showed the availability of NIR method using SIMCA would be adequate for classification of cultivation of ginseng, since NIR spectra includes useful and various information on chemical properties in spite of broad and overlapped bands.     

UO22＋•nH2O和PuO22＋•nH2O (n＝2, 4, 5, 6)密度泛函理论研究

首先用密度泛函理论(DFT)方法研究了铀酰和钚酰离子的几何与电子结构, 计算结果与实验基本符合, 表明DFT方法也能用于含铀和钚重原子的化合物计算. 然后对铀酰和钚酰水合离子的几何构型、Mulliken集居数分布以及铀酰(钚酰)与配体水分子的结合能进行计算, 计算结果表明UO₂^2＋•5H₂O和PuO₂^2＋•5H₂O分别为铀酰和钚酰系列水合离子中最稳定的配合物.     

Electrochemical Study of the Lipid‐Transfer Protein

Electrochemical study of barley grain lipid‐transfer protein (LTP) revealed that it may belong to the metal‐binding protein class. Using differential pulse polarography the presence of Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions in the native LTP structure was proved, as well as its affinity for binding Ni(II) ion. Application of a more sensitive electroanalytical technique, such as anodic stripping voltammetry with analyte preconcentration, revealed the presence of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions and also enabled the following Hg(II) ion binding. Possible biological role of LTP in plant stress response and its contribution to barley phytoextraction potential are discussed.     

Microwave and RF surface wave sustained discharges as plasma sources for plasma chemistry and plasma processing

The surface wave produced plasma belongs to a class of RF and microwave induced plasmas. It results from the propagation of an electromagnetic wave which uses the plasma column it sustains and the plasma tube as its sole propagating media. This type of plasma offers several advantages compared to the positive column plasma of dc discharges or to other RF and microwave produced plasmas. Surface wave plasmas require no internal electrodes, and they can be applied over an extremely broad range of wave frequencies (27 MHz to 10 GHz demonstrated) and gas pressures (about 10^–4 Torr to a few times the atmospheric pressures). Using the surface wave plasma technique, a large variety of plasma column diameters have been created (0.5–150 mm demonstrated) and no limitation on plasma column length (column up to 6 m long demonstrated) has been found. The surface wave produced plasma is used in elemental analysis and to sustain emission in lasing media. This article is intended as a guide for potential users of surface wave plasmas in the field of plasma processing and plasma chemistry.     

In silico engineering of tailored ink-binding ability at molecular printboards.

Molecular recognition between guest ink molecules and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) cavities at self-assembled monolayers provides a molecular printboard for nanopatterning applications. We recently used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to describe the specificity of ink-printboard binding and here extend the simulations to include charged cyclodextrin hosts, necessary to broaden the chemistry of molecular printboards and bind charged inks such as the ferrocenium cation. Shifting to high pH, or alternatively grafting a charged sidearm onto beta-CD, created three distinct types of anionic beta-CD cavity and we used electronic structure calculations and MD simulations to measure host-guest charge transfer and binding strengths. We find that steric recognition of uncharged organic molecules is retained at the charged printboards, and that improved guest-host electrostatic contacts can strengthen binding of larger inks while penalising small inks, enhancing the level of discrimination. A prudent choice of complementary host-guest shape and charge states thus provides a means of tuning both ink binding strength and specificity at molecular printboards.