Consistency of surface mechanical properties of spread protein layers at the liquid–air interface at different spreading conditions

Π/A isotherms of spread β-lactoglobulin and β-casein at the air–water interface are measured under different spreading conditions. While the isotherms do not show drastic effects of the spreading concentration and the compression rate the interfacial shear rheological behaviour is significantly influenced. In particular, the shear viscosity of β-lactoglobulin layers depend directly on the spreading concentration. Significant viscosity increase is obtained at larger surface pressures when the spreading concentration is increased. In contrast the shear rheology of the spread β-casein layers can be normalised by plotting the viscosities as a function of the surface pressure Π. The different behaviour is discussed in terms of denaturation of the β-lactoglobulin during the monolayer formation process by adsorption from the spread thin protein solution layer.     

Effect of surface character of filler particles on rheology of heat-set whey protein emulsion gels

Small-deformation and large-deformation rheological properties of heat-set whey protein emulsion gels containing active and inactive filler particles have been investigated using a controlled stress rheometer. The results suggest that the contributions to the gel network are quite different for pure protein gels and emulsion gels having similar storage moduli. An emulsion gel containing inactive filler has a larger phase angle due to the energy dissipation at the ‘slippery’ droplet surface under the influence of the applied shear stress. The large-deformation rheology of the heat-set protein gel has behaviour intermediate between that for an entropic biopolymer gel and that for a particle gel. Emulsion gels containing active or inactive fillers behave more like typical particle gel systems.     

MCDOCK: A Monte Carlo simulation approach to the molecular docking problem

Prediction of the binding mode of a ligand (a drug molecule) to its macromolecular receptor, or molecular docking, is an important problem in rational drug design. We have developed a new docking method in which a non-conventional Monte Carlo (MC) simulation technique is employed. A computer program, MCDOCK, was developed to carry out the molecular docking operation automatically. The current version of the MCDOCK program (version 1.0) allows for the full flexibility of ligands in the docking calculations. The scoring function used in MCDOCK is the sum of the interaction energy between the ligand and its receptor, and the conformational energy of the ligand. To validate the MCDOCK method, 19 small ligands, the binding modes of which had been determined experimentally using X-ray diffraction, were docked into their receptor binding sites. To produce statistically significant results, 20 MCDOCK runs were performed for each protein–ligand complex. It was found that a significant percentage of these MCDOCK runs converge to the experimentally observed binding mode. The root-mean-square (rms) of all non-hydrogen atoms of the ligand between the predicted and experimental binding modes ranges from 0.25 to 1.84 Å for these 19 cases. The computational time for each run on an SGI Indigo2/R10000 varies from less than 1 min to 15 min, depending upon the size and the flexibility of the ligands. Thus MCDOCK may be used to predict the precise binding mode of ligands in lead optimization and to discover novel lead compounds through structure-based database searching.     

Scoring functions: A view from the bench

Computational approaches to drug design are presently hindered by the complexity of the physical chemistry which underlies weak, non- covalent interactions between protein targets and small molecule ligands. Although a number of programs are now available for the design of novel potential ligands, it remains a key problem to rank these rapidly and reliably by estimated binding affinity. Such a step is necessary to select only the most promising candidates for synthesis and experimental characterisation. To calculate ligand affinity quickly and reliably is an extremely difficult problem, but it may well prove possible to estimate sufficiently accurately given an appropriate set of parameters to score individual protein–ligand interactions. Improvements in the situation will require a wider set of thermodynamically characterised systems than is currently available.     

Preserving the activity of cellulase in a batch foam fractionation process

Foam fractionation isone of the low operating-cost techniques for removing proteins from a dilute solution. The initial bulk solution pH and air superficial velocity play an importantrole in the foam-fractionation process. Denaturation of proteins (enzymes) can occur, however, during the foamfractionation process from the shear forces resulting from bursting air bubbles. At the extreme bulk solution pHs (lower than 3.0 and higher than 10.0), the en zymatic activity of cellulase in the foamate phase drops significantly. Within these two pH boundsan increase in the air superficial velocity, V_o, and a decrease in the bulk solution pH leads to a decrease in the separation ratio (SR), defined as theratio of the protein concentration in the foamate to the protein concentration in the residue. On the other hand, an increase in V_o provides a higher foamate-protein recovery. The process efficiency is defined as the product of foamate-protein recovery times the SR times the cellulase activity. The optimal operating condition of the cellulase foamfractionation process is taken into account at the maximum value of the processefficiency. In this study, that optimal condition is atan air superficial velocity of 32 cm/min and a bulk-solution pH of 10.0. At this condition, the recovered foamate is about 80% of the original protein mass, the SR is about 12, and the en zymatic activity is about 60% of the original cellulase activity.     

凤凰木种子毒蛋白的高效凝胶过滤色谱分析

介绍用ＨＰＧＦＣ（高效凝胶过滤色谱）对凤凰木种子中提取的３种毒蛋白分别进行色谱分析。并对分离的蛋白峰进行紫外光谱扫描来确认蛋白的纯度。根椐标准相对分子质量曲线,分别得到它们的相对分子质量并与ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＦ（十二烷基磺酸钠－聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳）所得结果进行比较,用柱后衍生法测定了３个蛋白各自的氨基酸组成。     

HPLC of antibiotics. 1. Streptolydigin and related compounds

Two new acyltetramic acids related to streptolydigin have been isolated from fermentations of Streptomyces lydicus. The principal members of this complex were resolved by TLC on silica gel. However, the methods of detection, permanganate spray or bioautography, were not suitable for both crude fermentation broths and purified extracts. Gas chromatography is unsuitable for the detection of either underivatized or silylated streptolydigins. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) particularly on triethylaminoethyl cellulose is rapid and sensitive and is the method of choice for the analysis of both crude and purified samples. Using high performance liquid chromatography, two components were detected in the complex, which are not observed using any of the other chromatographic procedures.     

Conformational Studies on Polytripeptides as a Model of Collagen

To study the role of glycine residues in stabilizing the collagen triple helix, the glycine residues in the polytripeptide (Pro-Ala-Gly)_n were partially replaced by alanine. The proline content was kept constant. The stability of the helical conformation of these polypeptides was studied by IR- and X-ray measurements in the solid state and by ORD, CD and viscometry in solution. The renaturation was followed as a function of time. All the polytripeptides studied, with the exception of (-Pro-Ala-Ala-)_n attained the polyproline II conformation. However the stability decreased with increasing alanine content. Obviously the molecules of (-Pro-Ala-Gly-) are highly associated by intermolecular hydrogen bonds and one may therefore suppose that a triple-stranded helix aggregation occurs. The results of the refolding process show that the stability of the helices seems to also affect the refolding rate in terms of the optical rotation, Two transitions appeared: the first one is responsible for a rapid reversible change in conformation and the second one for a further slow and irreversible change in the hydrodynamic shape. The latter seems to be due to the partial helical nature, leading to higher chain mobility.