A new biomaterial,hen egg shell membrane,to eliminate heavy metal ion from their dilute waste solution

The egg shell membrane (ESM) is an intricate lattice network of stable and water-insoluble fibers with high surface area. ESM accumulates and eliminates various heavy metal ions from dilute aqueous solution with high affinity and in short contact time, depending on pH and characteristics of the individual ion. Under certain conditions, the level of precious ions, Au, Pt, and Pd accumulation approaches 55, 25, and 22% of dry wt of ESM, respectively. Also uranium uptake 30% of that of ESM. Experiments suggested that ESM is promising to use for the purpose of removal/recovery of metals and water pollution control.     

The application of the genetic algorithm to the minimization of potential energy functions

We adapted the genetic algorithm to minimize the AMBER potential energy function. We describe specific recombination and mutation operators for this task. Next we use our algorithm to locate low energy conformation of three polypeptides (AGAGAGAGA, A9, and [Met]-enkephalin) which are probably the global minimum conformations. Our potential energy minima are –94.71, –98.50, and –48.94 kcal/mol respectively. Next, we applied our algorithm to the 46 amino acid protein crambin and located a non-native conformation which had an AMBER potential energy 150 kcal/mol lower than the native conformation. This is not necessarily the global minimum conformation, but it does illustrate problems with the AMBER potential energy function. We believe this occurred because the AMBER potential energy function does not account for hydration.     

Beiträge zur Chemie der Pyrrolpigmente, 70. Mitt.: Zum aktiven Transport mit tripyrrinoiden Liganden

The tripyrrin carboxylic acid6 exhibits a pronounced efficiency for carrier mediated proton driven secondary active transport (counter transport) for a series of toxic or valuable cations in a bulk chloroform membrane. In case of Zn⁺⁺ ions the mechanism including complete concentration profiles forNerst diffusion layers and bulk phase have been established. This compound might be used for detoxification or enrichment of precious metals using membrane separation systems.

Herrn Prof. Dr.A. Neckel mit den besten Wünschen zum 60. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Theoretical approach and the practice to the evaluation of structural parameters characterizing concentration polarization alongside ion-exchange membranes by means of dielectric measurement

As the application of a dielectric theory proposed previously (J Membrane Sci 64:153–161 (1991)), theoretical formulation and the practical procedure of dielectric analysis are developed to calculate the structural parameters such as the conductivity gradient and the thickness of the concentration polarization layer, the capacitances and the conductances of the two adjoining aqueous phases from the observed dielectric parameters. The procedure of calculation consequent upon the theoretical formulation was applied to double relaxation data observed for cation-exchange membrane systems under application of d.c. bias voltage. As a consequence, the structural parameters of concentration polarization were readily obtained with accuracy.     

Preprocessing of rotamers for protein design calculations

We have developed a process that significantly reduces the number of rotamers in computational protein design calculations. This process, which we call Vegas, results in dramatic computational performance increases when used with algorithms based on the dead-end elimination (DEE) theorem. Vegas estimates the energy of each rotamer at each position by fixing each rotamer in turn and utilizing various search algorithms to optimize the remaining positions. Algorithms used for this context specific optimization can include Monte Carlo, self-consistent mean field, and the evaluation of an expression that generates a lower bound energy for the fixed rotamer. Rotamers with energies above a user-defined cutoff value are eliminated. We found that using Vegas to preprocess rotamers significantly reduced the calculation time of subsequent DEE-based algorithms while retaining the global minimum energy conformation. For a full boundary design of a 51 amino acid fragment of engrailed homeodomain, the total calculation time was reduced by 12-fold.     

Preparation and properties of insoluble films of cyclodextrin condensation polymers

The preparation and properties of smooth and stable films of cyclodextrin polymers are described. The commercially available water soluble prepolymers of-, -, and-cyclodextrin of low molecular masses were crosslinked with glutaric dialdehyde. Side-chain unreacted aldehyde groups were reduced with sodium borohydride. For the-cyclodextrin polymer, optimum film performance was found for a 1:10 mass ratio of glutaric dialdehyde to prepolymer, which corresponds to a molar ratio of glutaric dialdehyde to cyclodextrin units of about 1.75: 1. Such films, of thickness 2.4 µm, were prepared on metallic or glassy-carbon substrates for characterization by scanning-electron microscopy, and for studies with the electrochemical quartz-crystal microbalance.     

Evaluation of recombinant green fluorescent protein, under various culture conditions and purification with HiTrap hydrophobic interaction chromatography resins

To determine the influence of various culture conditions, transformed cells of Escherichia coli expressing recombinant green fluorescent protein (GFPuv) were grown in nine cultures with four variable conditions (storage of inoculated broth at 4°C prior to incubation, agitation speed, isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside [IPTG] concentration, and induction time). The pelleted cells were resuspended in extraction buffer and subjected to the three-phase partitioning (TPP) extraction method. To determine the most appropriate purification resin, protein extracts were eluted through one of four types of HiTrap hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) columns prepacked with methyl, butyl, octyl, or phenyl resins and analyzed further on a 12% sodium dodecylsulfatepolyacrylamidegel. With Coomassie staining, a single band between 27 (standard GFPuv) and 29 kDa (molecular weight standard) was visualized for every HIC column sample. TPP extraction with HIC elution provided about 90% of the GFPuv recovered and eight-fold GFPuv enrichment related to the specific mass. Rotary speed and IPTG concentration showed, respectively, greater negative and positive influences on GFPuv expression at the beginning of the logarithmic phase for the set culture conditions (37°C, 24-h incubation).     

Adsorption of an amphipatic copolymer on a kidney dialysis membrane

We have studied the adsorption of a copolymer of acrylonitrile and methacrylate of nonaethyleneglycol on a kidney dialysis membrane, which contains mostly nitrile groups. The kinetics study reveals at first a rapid increase of the adsorbance, followed by slow variations suggesting rearrangements at the interface. The isotherms do not present a true plateau at high concentration. The high adsorbance observed at low pH or high salt concentration could be related to the ability of polyethyleneoxide to form a complex with cations.     

Amperometry of Heparin Polyion Using a Rotating Disk Electrode Coated with a Plasticized PVC Membrane

Electrochemical method of detection of heparin polyion was developed based on voltammetry of heparin on a rotating glassy carbon (GC) electrode coated with a plasticized PVC membrane. The membrane was deposited on the GC disk by spin‐coating technique using a mixture of solutions of PVC in tetrahydrofuran, and 1,1′‐dimethylferrocene (DMFc) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium tetrakis(4‐chlorophenyl)borate (HTMATPBCl) in o‐nitrophenyl octyl ether. UV/vis reflection spectrometry was used to evaluate the membrane thickness, which exhibits a linear correlation with the membrane resistance measured by impedance spectroscopy. It is shown that this electrode can be used for amperometric or coulometric detection of heparin in aqueous samples of medically relevant concentrations (1–10 U mL^?1), with a detection limit of 1.4 U mL^?1. Evidence is provided indicating that the current determining step is the reversible adsorption of the ion‐pair of heparin polyion with HTMA⁺ cation at the membrane/aqueous electrolyte interface, which is driven by oxidation of DMFc at the GC/membrane interface.