Exciplex Formation in Lipid-bound Escherichia coli Flavohemoglobin

Flavohemoglobins have the particular capability of binding unsaturated and cyclopropanated fatty acids as free acids or phospholipids. Fatty acid binding to the ferric heme results in a weak but direct bonding interaction. Ferrous and ferric protein, in presence or absence of a bound lipid molecule, have been characterized by transient absorption spectroscopy. Measurements have been also carried out both on the ferrous deoxygenated and on the CO bound protein to investigate possible long-range interaction between the lipid acyl chain moiety and the ferrous heme. After excitation of the deoxygenated derivatives the relaxation process reveals a slow dynamics (350 ps) in lipid-bound protein but is not observed in the lipid-free protein. The latter feature and the presence of an extra contribution in the absorption spectrum, indicates that the interaction of iron heme with the acyl chain moiety occurs only in the excited electronic state and not in the ground electronic state. Data analysis highlights the formation of a charge-transfer complex in which the iron ion of the lipid-bound protein in the expanded electronic excited state, possibly represented by a high spin Fe III intermediate, is able to bind to the sixth coordination ligand placed at a distance of at 3.5 Å from the iron. A very small nanosecond geminate rebinding is observed for CO adduct in lipid-free but not in the lipid-bound protein. The presence of the lipid thus appears to inhibit the mobility of CO in the heme pocket.     

Structure-based virtual screening of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors and their in vitro analysis

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most widely prevalent metabolic disorders with no cure to date thus remains the most challenging task in the current drug discovery. Therefore, the only strategy to control diabetes prevalence is to develop novel efficacious therapeutics. Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are currently used as anti-diabetic drugs for the inhibition of incretins. This study aims to construct the chemical feature based on pharmacophore models for dipeptidyl peptidase IV. The structure-based pharmacophore modeling has been employed to evaluate new inhibitors of DPP-4. A four-featured pharmacophore model was developed from crystal structure of DPP-4 enzyme with 4-(2-aminoethyl) benzenesulfonyl fluoride in its active site via pharmacophore constructing tool of Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) consisting F1 Hyd (hydrophobic region), F2 Hyd|Cat|Don (hydrophobic cationic and donor region), F3 Acc (acceptor region) and F4 Hyd (hydrophobic region). The generated pharmacophore model was used for virtual screening of in-house compound library (the available compounds which were used for initial screening to get the few compounds for the current studies). The resultant selected compounds, after virtual screening were further validated using in vitro assay. Furthermore, structure-activity relationship was carried out for the compounds possessing significant inhibition potential after docking studies. The binding free energy of analogs was evaluated via molecular mechanics generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) and Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) methods using AMBER 16 as a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation package. Based on potential findings, we report that selected candidates are more likely to be used as DPP-4 inhibitors or as starting leads for the development of novel and potent DPP-4 inhibitors.     

Fitting of deuterium quadrupole echo spectra with multiple motional models

Dynamic information is generally extracted from deuterium quadrupole echo spectra by matching a spectrum calculated for a particular motional model to the experimental spectrum. In this work, a set of computer programs has been written to facilitate fitting of calculated spectra to experimental spectra that represent from one to five motional models. The fitting program requires pre-calculated libraries of spectra for the models of interest, and accomplishes the fitting either by a systematic method or by simulated annealing. The systematic method is convenient for fitting with one or two motional models, but the simulated annealing method is faster for two or more models, if the libraries are made up of hundreds of spectra. The parameter Q, with the standard deviation of the spectral points estimated as the standard deviation of the baseline noise, provides a stringent measure of goodness of fit. Acceptable fits of experimental data as judged by this criterion have not been found, even in the case of ring flip motion in phenylalanine-d(5) in which the fit may be judged acceptable by eye. An example of fitting with isotropic and methyl rotation motional models of alanine-d(3), which have distinct spectral patterns, shows that it is possible to obtain reasonably accurate estimates of the relative amounts of deuterium representing the different models, even from poorly fitted spectra.     

Modeling DNA beacons at the mesoscopic scale

We report model calculations on DNA single strands which describe the equilibrium dynamics and kinetics of hairpin formation and melting. Modeling is at the level of single bases. Strand rigidity is described in terms of simple polymer models; alternative calculations performed using the freely rotating chain and the discrete Kratky-Porod models are reported. Stem formation is modeled according to the Peyrard-Bishop-Dauxois Hamiltonian. The kinetics of opening and closing is described in terms of a diffusion-controlled motion in an effective free-energy landscape. Melting profiles, dependence of melting temperature on loop length, and kinetic time scales are in semiquantitative agreement with experimental data obtained from fluorescent DNA beacons forming poly(T) loops. Variation in strand rigidity is not sufficient to account for the large activation enthalpy of closing and the strong loop length dependence observed in hairpins forming poly(A) loops. Implications for modeling single strands of DNA or RNA are discussed.     

Granular flows in a rotating drum: the scaling law between velocity and thickness of the flow

The flow of dry granular material in a half-filled rotating drum is studied. The thickness of the flowing zone is measured for several rotation speeds, drum sizes and beads sizes (size ratio between drum and beads ranging from 47 to 7400). Varying the rotation speed, a scaling law linking mean velocity vs. thickness of the flow, v∼h^m, is deduced for each couple (beads, drum). The obtained exponent m is not always equal to 1, the value previously reported for a drum in litterature, but varies with the geometry of the system. For small size ratios, exponents higher than 1 are obtained due to a saturation of the flowing zone thickness. The exponent of the power law decreases with the size ratio, leading to exponents lower than 1 for high size ratios. These exponents imply that the velocity gradient of a dry granular flow in a rotating drum is not constant. More fundamentally, these results show that the flow of a granular material in a rotating drum is very sensible to the geometry, and that the deduction of the “rheology” of a granular medium flowing in such a geometry is not obvious.     

Engineering lattice defects in 2D nanomaterials for enhancing biomedical performances

2D nanomaterials are widely investigated for biomedical applications, attributed to their large specific surface area, high therapeutic loading capacity, and unique optical, thermal, and/or electronic characteristics. Lattice defects affect the theranostic performance of 2D nanomaterials significantly by altering their electronic properties and chemical binding. Recent investigations have shown that defect-rich 2D nanomaterials are capable of enhancing tumor treatment through efficient drug delivery, photothermal and photodynamic therapies (PTT and PDT), and improving diagnostics via computed tomography (CT), photoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging. This review summarizes recent progresses, including synthesis, characterization approach, and applications of defect-engineered 2D nanomaterials that are potentially useful in cancer treatment. The expert opinions are also proposed as the conclusion.     

密闭高温高压溶样ICP-MS测定24个国际地质标样中的Sb和Bi

研究了ICP-MS分析中Bi,Sb,Te和As产生的记忆效应,其记忆效应Bi>Sb>Te>As。在低浓度硝酸介质中(0.01%～1%),贮存样品的聚丙烯瓶和ICP-MS的进样管道会对Bi元素产生严重的吸附作用。0.1%氢氟酸的清洗效果优于6%的硝酸,而6%的硝酸的清洗效果要优于0.1%高氯酸。在给定的仪器操作条件下,Sb和Bi的检出限分别为0.001和0.000 1 ng·mL-1。采用该清洗方法,结合密闭高温高压溶样,测定了24个国际地质标样中的Bi和Sb。大部分标样的测定结果与已有参考值吻合较好。文章还给出了国际标样AGV-2(安山岩)、BHVO-2(玄武岩)和BCR-2(玄武岩)中Bi和Sb的测定值。     

混合工质HFC134a/HCs替代R502的性能分析

针对目前R502主流替代工质R507和R404A存在的温室效应指数高、与矿物油互溶性差等缺点,提出了环保性能更好的三组近共沸混合工质R134a/R290、R134a/R1270和R134a/R290/R1270作为R502新型替代工质;并对其热物性、循环性能、安全性能和溶油性进行了计算分析。结果表明：除了压缩机排气温度偏高,这三组R134a/HCs混合工质的其它主要循环性能参数如压缩机压力比、容积制冷量和系统性能系数COP都优于R507和R404A,并且从理论上讲不存在可燃可爆的危险,同时可以与矿物油互溶,在替代R502方面更具有优势,其中R134a/R290/R1270在高热负荷下的综合性能最优良。     

尿液中的纳米微晶及其与尿石形成的关系

尿石症是一种世界范围的常见病和多发病,其主要的矿物成分为草酸钙(CaOxa)等[1-2]。但至今为止,尿石症形成过程中的许多化学及物理问题尚不清楚:尿液中的微晶是怎样生长和聚集?随后又是怎样黏附到尿路细胞膜上而形成结石?正常人与尿石患者尿液中微晶的数量和尺寸等存在什么样的     

地质样品中岩性自动分类X－射线荧光光谱分析研究

鉴于地质样品岩性变化大，容易引起对Ｘ－射线荧光分析准确度的影响，尤其是主、次量元素受影响更大，因此，作者提出了岩性自动分类，交互有效－基本参数法分析地质样品中主、次量元素，并与原有的经验系数和其它方法进行了比较．结果表明本方法的准确度更好些，对岩性的变化具有更好的适应能力