Packings and stationary phases for biopolymer separations by HPLC

Summary Packings and stationary phases applied to high resolution separations of proteins, enzymes, and nucleic acids must satisfy a series of distinct criteria that are different from those usually required by HPLC of low molecular weight non-biologically active analytes. These requirements have been met through substantial improvements in classical gel media together with novel developments in silica supports, and have led to a family of products with tailor-made and reproducible properties. Supports consisting of cross-linked organic gels, and inorganic materials (mostly silicas) are now available with graduated particle sizes, pore sizes, porosities and surface areas as well as non-porous beads. A whole range of stationary phases, such as reversed phase, hydrophobic interaction, ion exchanger and affinity packings, were designed for application as chemical sensors for biopolymer recognition in adsorptive chromatography. The phase systems are operated in the gradient mode, giving high resolution and high peak capacities. In addition, aqueous liquid-liquid partitioning systems have been developed for the fractionation of proteins and nucleic acids. Size exclusion media complete the set of HPLC variants enabling a discrimination of proteins according to their size and shape in an isocratic elution mode. Basically, protein purification and isolation is a multistage process where-by the HPLC variants are combined in a logistic sequence, utilizing the different selectivities of the phase systems and thus maximising resolution, speed and throughput.     

Origin of visible-light-driven photocatalysis: A comparative study on N/F-doped and N-F-codoped TiO2 powders by means of experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations

An overall comparative study was carried out on N-doped, F-doped, and N-F-codoped TiO₂ powders (NTO, FTO, NFTO) synthesized by spray pyrolysis in order to elucidate the origin of their visible-light-driven photocatalysis. The comparisons in their experimentally obtained characteristics were based on the analysis of XPS, UV-Vis, PL, NH₃-TPD and ESR spectra. The comparisons in their theoretically predicted properties were based on the analysis of the calculated electronic structures. As the results, N-doping into TiO₂ resulted in not only the improvement in visible-light absorption but also the creation of surface oxygen vacancies. F-doping produced several beneficial effects including the creation of surface oxygen vacancies, the enhancement of surface acidity and the increase of Ti³⁺ ions. Doped N atoms formed a localized energy state above the valence band of TiO₂, whereas doped F atoms themselves had no influence on the band structure. The photocatalytic tests indicated that the NFTO demonstrated the highest visible-light activity for decompositions of both acetaldehyde and trichloroethylene. This high activity was ascribed to a synergetic consequence of several beneficial effects induced by the N-F-codoping.     

Band splitting in overloaded isocratic elution chromatography I. The experimental evidence

A series of samples of increasing volume (from 0.001 to 4.0 cm3), containing the same constant concentration (40 g/l) of two simple compounds, ethylbenzoate and 4-tert.-butylphenol were injected on a Kromasil-C18 column with methanol-water (62:38. v/v) as the mobile phase. Complex band profiles were observed when the volume of the sample became large enough and strong band interference took place. The analysis of the fractions collected during the elution of the mixed band demonstrates that, for samples larger than 2 cm3, the band of 4-tert.-butylphenol is split into two separate bands, one eluted before and the other eluted after the band of ethylbenzoate. Such a phenomenon has never been observed yet in RPLC, under isocratic elution conditions.     

Structure,Chemical Bonding,and Properties of Sc2Ni2In

Sc₂Ni₂In was prepared by a reaction of the elemental components in an are furnace and subsequent annealing at 1070 K. Sc₂Ni₂In is a Pauli paramagnet and a poor metallic conductor with a specific resistivity of 224 mΩcm at room temperature. Its crystal structure was refined from X-ray powder data: P4/mbm, a = 716.79(1) pm, c = 333.154(8) pm, Z = 2, R_wp = 0.040, and R_B(I) = 0.026. Sc₂Ni₂In crystallizes with a ternary ordered version of the U₃Si₂-type structure. The nickel and indium atoms occupy [NiSc₆] trigonal prisms and [InSc₈] square prisms, respectively. These structural fragments are derived from the AlB₂ and CsCl-type structures. Semi-empirical band structure calculations reveal Sc₂Ni₂In to be a nickelide, and the strongest bonding interactions are found for the Sc? Ni contacts, followed by Sc? In and Ni? In. A rigidband model suggests the existence of the isotypic phase Sc₂Ni₂Sb.     

一种新型极性脲丙基-C30固定相的制备和性能评价

以3-脲丙基三甲氧基硅烷为偶联剂，制备了一种新型极性脲丙基-C30（TPU-C30）反相色谱固定相。采用扫描电子显微镜、元素分析、红外光谱和热分析等对该固定相进行表征。结果表明，TPU-C30固定相已成功制备，连续制备3次固定相，其元素含量的相对偏差均小于5%，说明该合成工艺重复性良好。以不同极性、位置异构、碱性化合物为溶质探针，以传统的C18色谱柱与C30色谱柱为参比，对制备的固定相的色谱性能进行了研究。研究结果表明，TPU-C30固定相具有不同于传统C18柱、C30柱的选择性和更优的择形性，明显改善了碱性物质的峰形，其具有广阔的应用空间。     

Ternary silicides M2Cr4Si5 (M=Ti, Zr, Hf): filled variants of the Ta4SiTe4 structure type

The isostructural ternary silicides M₂Cr₄Si₅ (M=Ti, Zr, Hf) were prepared by arc-melting of the elemental components. The single-crystal structure of Zr₂Cr₄Si₅ was determined by X-ray diffraction (Pearson symbol oI44, orthorhombic, space group Ibam, Z=4, a=7.6354(12) Å, b=16.125(3) Å, c=5.0008(8) Å). Zr₂Cr₄Si₅ adopts the Nb₂Cr₄Si₅-type structure, an ordered variant of the V₆Si₅-type structure. It consists of square antiprisms that have Zr and Cr atoms at the corners and Si atoms at the centers; they share opposite faces to form one-dimensional chains _∞¹[Zr_4/2Cr_4/2Si] surrounded by additional Si atoms and extending along the c direction. In a new interpretation of the structure, additional Cr atoms occupy interstitial octahedral sites between these chains, clarifying the relation between this structure and that of Ta₄SiTe₄. The formation of short Si-Si bonds in Zr₂Cr₄Si₅ is contrasted with the absence of Te-Te bonds in Ta₄SiTe₄. The compounds M₂Cr₄Si₅ (M=Ti, Zr, Hf) exhibit metallic behavior and essentially temperature-independent paramagnetism. Bonding interactions were analyzed by band structure calculations, which confirm the importance of Si-Si bonding in these metal-rich compounds.     

Z-scan analysis and ab initio studies of β-BaTeMo2O9 single crystal

The Z-scan measurements for the non-centrosymmetric optical crystals β-BaTeMo₂O₉ (BTMO) were performed. The corresponding experiments were carried out using the 5 ns pulses of the second harmonic of a nanosecond Nd:YAG laser at the 532 nm wavelength. It was shown that the studied crystals possess promising third-order optical susceptibilities, which allow to use the crystal as optical limiters. The comparison with other oxide materials is presented. To clarify the origin of the observed effect, the electronic and optical properties of BTMO were calculated using the density functional theory (DFT)-based method. The performed calculations of the electronic and optical properties revealed certain peculiar features that can be suitable for the nonlinear optical applications. The relation between the observed nonlinear optical features and the calculated band structure is emphasized. The values of the calculated band gap and refractive index for β-BaTeMo₂O₉ are also reported.     

Single-Round DNA Aptamer Selection by Combined Use of Capillary Electrophoresis and Next Generation Sequencing: An Aptaomics Approach for Identifying Unique Functional Protein-Binding DNA Aptamers

In DNA aptamer selection, existing methods do not discriminate aptamer sequences based on their binding affinity and function and the reproducibility of the selection is often poor, even for the selection of well-known aptamers like those that bind the commonly used model protein thrombin. In the present study, a novel single-round selection method (SR-CE selection) was developed by combining capillary electrophoresis (CE) with next generation sequencing. Using SR-CE selection, a successful semi-quantitative and semi-comprehensive aptamer selection for thrombin was demonstrated with high reproducibility for the first time. Selection rules based on dissociation equilibria and kinetics were devised to obtain families of analogous sequences. Selected sequences of the same family were shown to bind thrombin with high affinity. Furthermore, data acquired from SR-CE selection was mined by creating sub-libraries that were categorized by the functionality of the aptamers (e. g., pre-organized aptamers versus structure-induced aptamers). Using this approach, a novel fluorescent molecular recognition sensor for thrombin with nanomolar detection limits was discovered. Thus, in this proof-of-concept report, we have demonstrated the potential of a “DNA Aptaomics” approach to systematically design functional aptamers as well as to obtain high affinity aptamers.     

Random frog: An efficient reversible jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo-like approach for variable selection with applications to gene selection and disease classification

The identification of disease-relevant genes represents a challenge in microarray-based disease diagnosis where the sample size is often limited. Among established methods, reversible jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJMCMC) methods have proven to be quite promising for variable selection. However, the design and application of an RJMCMC algorithm requires, for example, special criteria for prior distributions. Also, the simulation from joint posterior distributions of models is computationally extensive, and may even be mathematically intractable. These disadvantages may limit the applications of RJMCMC algorithms. Therefore, the development of algorithms that possess the advantages of RJMCMC methods and are also efficient and easy to follow for selecting disease-associated genes is required. Here we report a RJMCMC-like method, called random frog that possesses the advantages of RJMCMC methods and is much easier to implement. Using the colon and the estrogen gene expression datasets, we show that random frog is effective in identifying discriminating genes. The top 2 ranked genes for colon and estrogen are Z50753, U00968, and Y10871_at, Z22536_at, respectively. (The source codes with GNU General Public License Version 2.0 are freely available to non-commercial users at: http://code.google.com/p/randomfrog/.)