Enzymatic reactions in supercritical gases

The enzyme polyphenol oxidase has been found to be catalytically active in supercritical carbon dioxide and fluoroform: it readily oxidizesp-cresol andp-chlorophenol to their correspondingo-benzoquinones.     

Mechanistic studies of reactions catalysed by diamine oxidase using isotope effects

Diamine oxidase (DAO), the enzyme that is responsible for amine biodegradation in animals, plants and humans, catalyses the biotransformation of amines such as histamine (HA), putrescine, 1-phenylethylamine, tyrosine, tryptamine, serotonine and spermine. The kinetic and solvent isotope effects (SIEs) were applied to study the mechanism of the biotransformation using HA and its methylderivatives. The SIE for the biotransformation of HA, N^τ-methylhistamine and N^π-methylhistamine was found to be 3.58, 2.22 and 5.70 on V_max, and 1.58, 1.06 and 1.14 on V_max/K_M, respectively. On the other hand, the kinetic isotope effect for oxidation of stereospecifically deuterium-labelled [(α R)-²H]-N^τ-methylhistamine and [(α R)-²H]-N^π-methylhistamine was 0.69 and 0.62 on V_max, and 15.06 and 7.50 on V_max/K_M, respectively. These results demonstrate that DAO catalyses amine biotransformation by stereospecifically cleaving the αC\bond H bond in the pro-S position. Moreover, the oxidation of amine to aldehyde involves several transition states, including hybridisation change from sp³ (Schiff base) to sp² (imine), then back again to sp³ to give a final product with hybridisation sp² (aldehyde).     

A novel amperometric glucose biosensor based on reconstitution of glucose oxidase on thiophene-3-boronic acid polymer layer

The biosensor was constructed for determination of glucose by using glucose oxidase enzyme immobilized on poly(thiophene-3-boronic acid) (PTBA). Boronic acid functionalized polythiophene layer was obtained by electrochemical polymerization of Thiophene (Th) and thiophene-3-boronic acid (TBA) with different monomer rations. The reconstitution of the apo-glucose oxidase (apo-GOx) on a complexed flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) linked to polythiophene boronic acid (PTBA) monolayer yields an electrically contacted enzyme monolayer. The GOx-reconstituted enzyme electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activities toward the reduction and oxidation of hydrogen peroxide as well. The PTBA/FAD/GOx biosensor shows an excellent performance for glucose at +0.4 V with a high sensitivity (2.14 μA/mM) and lower response time (～5 s) in a wide concentration range of 0.5–18 mM (correlation coefficient of 0.9952). Furthermore, the effects of applied potential, pH, temperature, electroactive interference, stability and reusability of the biosensors were discussed.     

Interaction between isoamyl adenine and rice cytokinin oxidase

Cytokinin (CTK) dehydrogenase is responsible for regulating the endogenous CTK content by oxidative removal of the side chain. Herein, we have applied fluorescence method to study the interaction between CTK dehydrogenase and CTK in vitro and obtain some parameters of their interaction. We found that addition of isopentenyl adenine can quench the fluorescence of CTK dehydrogenase, and the quenching mechanism was to be a static quenching procedure. We have measured the number of binding sites n and the apparent binding constant K and have calculated the thermodynamics parameter ΔH, ΔG, and ΔS by fluorescence quenching method. Based on thermodynamics parameter’s results, we concluded that their binding reaction was both entropy driven and the enthalpy driven, and the Van der Waals force and hydrogen bond force played a major role in the interaction. Based on the synchronous fluorescence spectrometry results, we demonstrated that the binding site between isopentenyl adenine and CTK dehydrogenase is in the microenvironment of both tryptophan and tyrosine. The fluorescence signal of coenzyme, flavin adenine dinucleotide, decreases gradually with the addition of isopentenyl adenine. And this method can be used for isopentenyl adenine routine assay. Under optimized experimental parameters, the linear segment increases from 0.6 µM to 100 µM with a regression equation of ΔF = 0.04 + 0.15c_ip (r = 0.999, c_ip in µM) with the detection limit of 0.15 µM iP.     

Erythrina alkaloids from leaves of Erythrina arborescens

Continued interest in Erythrina alkaloids resulted in the isolation of 38 alkaloids including 7 undescribed ones from the leaves of Erythrina arborescens Roxburgh. Among the new compounds, erythrivarines H-I were two dimeric alkaloids, while others were Erythrina alkaloid glucosides. Dimeric Erythrina alkaloids and monomers, turcomanidine and isoboldine, showed medium xanthine oxidase inhibition.     

Highly Sensitive Temperature‐responsive Sensor Based on PS‐PDEA‐PS/C60‐MWCNTs for Reversible Switch Detection of Catechol

A new type of temperature‐responsive electrochemical sensor was constructed based on a glass carbon electrode modified by the composite containing temperature‐responsive polymer polystyrene‐poly N, N‐diethyl acrylamide‐polystyrene (PS‐PDEA‐PS) and fullerenes‐carboxylate multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (C₆₀‐MWCNTs). The sensor was used for the electrochemical detection of catechol (CC). When the temperature is higher than the critical temperature (LCST) of PS‐PDEA‐PS, the electrochemical behavior of CC can be detected, which it is in the “on” state. When the temperature is lower than LCST, the composite modified film is in the “off” state and the electrochemical behavior of CC was not detected. Under the best experimental conditions, the sensor has a good detection range for catechol from 4.0 to 135.0 μM, with a LOD of 1.45 μM. In addition, the proposed sensor has good stability and reproducibility, and was successfully applied to the determination of catechol in real tap water.     

Minimization of Interferences in Flow Injection Amperometric Glucose Biosensor Based on Oxidation of Enzymatically‐produced H2O2

One of the major problems in amperometric biosensors based on detection of H₂O₂ produced by enzymatic reaction between oxidase enzymes and substrate is the interference of redox active compounds such as ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA). To minimize these interferences, sodium bismuthate was used for the first time as an insoluble pre‐oxidant in the flow injection (FI) amperometric glucose biosensor at a Glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilized Pt/Pd bimetallic modified pre‐anodized pencil graphite electrode (p.PGE). In this context, these interfering compounds were injected into a flow injection analysis (FIA) system using an injector which was filled with NaBiO₃. Thus, these interferents were converted into their redox inactive oxidized forms before reaching the electrode in the flow cell. While glucose was not influenced by the pre‐oxidant in the injector, the huge oxidation peak currents of the interferents decreased significantly in the biosensor. FI amperometric current time curves showed that the AA, DA and UA were minimized by 96 %, 86 %, and 98 % respectively, in the presence of an equivalent concentration of interferences in a 1.0 mM glucose solution. The proposed FI amperometric glucose biosensor exhibits a wide linear range (0.01–10 mM, R²=0.9994) with a detection limit of 2.4×10^?3 mM. Glucose levels in the artificial serum and two real samples were successfully determined using the fabricated FI amperometric biosensor.     

In vitro and in silico interaction of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) seed extract with xanthine oxidase and evaluation of antioxidant activity as a therapeutic potential

Acetone extract of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) was found to be highest total phenol and flavonoid content among all extracts. Antioxidant activity for inhibition percentage (free radical scavenging activity) had 86.47% for acetone extract, and 97.36% for ascorbic acid respectively. IC₅₀ value of ascorbic acid and acetone extact were found to be 9 μg/mL ± 0.20 and 30 μg/mL ± 0.21. Faba bean seeds had catechin, epicatechin, gallic acid and ellagic acid which on molecular docking study revealed that it binds effectively with xanthine oxidase by binding energy of –7.78, –6.11, –6.39, –5.78 kcal/mol respectively compared to allopurinol drug having binding energy of –4.94 kcal/mol. Gallic acid, ellagic acid, catechin, epicatechin (polyphenols) and allopurinol bind other than catalytic residues (Glu-1261) of xanthine oxidase. In vitro and in silico analysis recommended that mode of enzyme inhibition was mixed type.     

Intracellular Delivery of Glucose Oxidase for Enhanced Cytotoxicity toward PSMA‐Expressing Prostate Cancer Cells

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) forming enzymes are of significant interest as anticancer agents due to their potent cytotoxicity. A key challenge in their clinical translation is attaining site‐specific delivery and minimizing biodistribution to healthy tissues. Here, complexes composed of the ROS enzyme glucose oxidase (GOX), poly‐l ‐lysine‐grafted‐polyethylene glycol (PLL‐g‐PEG), and anti‐prostate specific membrane antigen (anti‐PSMA) monoclonal antibody are synthesized for localized delivery and uptake in prostate cancer cells. Formation of anti‐PSMA‐PLL‐g‐PEG/GOX results in nanoscale complexes ≈30 nm in diameter with a ζ‐potential of 6 mV. The anti‐PSMA‐PLL‐g‐PEG/GOX complexes show significant cytotoxicity (≈60% reduction in cell viability) against PSMA‐expressing LNCaP cells compared to unmodified GOX. Importantly, cytotoxicity in LNCaP cells occurrs concurrently with anti‐PSMA‐PLL‐g‐PEG/GOX uptake and increases in intracellular generation of ROS. These results demonstrate that cytotoxicity of ROS inducing enzymes can be enhanced by intracellular delivery compared to equivalent concentrations of free enzyme, providing a novel means for cancer therapy.     

染料敏化太阳能电池光敏剂卟啉儿茶酚的密度泛函和含时密度泛函研究

用密度泛函理论的杂化密度泛函B3LYP方法研究了太阳能电池光敏荆5,10,15.三苯基-20-(3,4-二羟基苯)卟啉(卟啉儿荼酚,TPP-cat)的几何结构、电子结构、IR和Raman特性.用自然键轨道方法分析了电荷布居和成键性质.计算结果表明,最强的IR吸收峰位于1175.81 cm-1处,最强的Raman活性位于1587.18 cm-1处.采用含时密度泛函计算了TPP-cat在水溶液中的电子吸收谱,其Soret带和Q带均指认为π→π*跃迁,在大约354 cm-1处的跃迁与一个光诱导分子内电荷转移过程有关.