Two-stage Off-Gel isoelectric focusing: protein followed by peptide fractionation and application to proteome analysis of human plasma

This paper presents the recently introduced Off-Gel electrophoresis (OGE) technology as a versatile tool to reproducibly fractionate intact proteins and peptides into discrete liquid fractions. The coupling of two stages of OGE, i.e., the separation of intact proteins in a first-stage followed by fractionation of peptides derived from each protein fraction after proteolysis in a second stage, results in an array of 15 x 15 fractions that are directly amenable to additional peptide fractionation like reverse-phase liquid chromatography (RPC). The analysis of all second-stage peptide fractions from only the first-stage protein fraction representing pH 5.0 -5.15 by on-line reverse-phase LC-tandem mass spectrometry resulted in the identification of 53 proteins (337 peptides), of which 10 were on different immunoglobulin (Ig) chains, with an input of only 1.5 mg human blood plasma proteins. Increasing the protein load to approximately 12 mg increased the number of identified proteins in the same protein fraction to 73 proteins (449 peptides), of which 15 were Ig-related. Immunodepletion of six of the most abundant proteins (albumin, transferrin, haptoglobin, IgG, IgA, and alpha-1-antitrypsin) prior to first-stage OGE with an input of 1.5 mg of protein (equivalent to approximately 10 mg nondepleted plasma) resulted in the identification of 81 proteins (660 peptides), of which three were still Ig fragments. The pI-based separation of peptides appears to be nonuniform based on the theoretically determined pI values of identified peptides. This observation specifically accounts for the neutral zone (pI 5-8) and can be accounted for by the physicochemical properties of the peptides given by their amino acid composition. The power of OGE separation of proteins and peptides is discussed with a focus on the use of the knowledge about the pI of proteins and peptides that assist the validation of correct identifications together with the retention time of peptides on RPC.     

Versatile palladium(II)-catalyzed Negishi coupling reactions with functionalized conjugated alkenyl chlorides

Under palladium catalysis, we found that organozincate reagents, generated in situ, by reaction of Grignard compounds with less than molar amounts of zinc chloride, in the presence of conjugated alkenyl chlorides, give rapidly and cleanly the corresponding coupling product in high yields. In this way, aryl as well as primary and secondary alkyl substituents have been introduced successfully. The selectivity of the reaction allows to prepare various functionalized conjugated enynes and dienes from chloroenyne and chlorodiene derivatives bearing a functional group.     

Synthesis of a Tetracyclo [4.4.0.02,4.03,8]decanone via Intramolecular Reductive Coupling

The reduction of cis-4 a-methyl-1,2,4a,7,8,8 a-hexahydronaphthalene-2,7-dione ( 1 ) was studied by cyclic voltammetry and product analysis. On a preparative scale, 6-hydroxy-3-methyltetracyclo[4.4.0.0^2,4.0^3,8]decan-10-one ( 2 ) was obtained in 22% yield via an intramolecular hydrodimerization/aldol reaction sequence. The CV. results (Hg, DMF) suggest that the cyclopropane ring is formed after the first electron transfer by coupling of the anion radical with the second C. C-double bond.     

LC-MS/MS Analysis and Comparison of Oxidative Damages on Peptides Induced by Pathogen Reduction Technologies for Platelets

Pathogen reduction technologies (PRT) are photochemical processes that use a combination of photosensitizers and UV-light to inactivate pathogens in platelet concentrates (PCs), a blood-derived product used to prevent hemorrhage. However, different studies have questioned the impact of PRT on platelet function and transfusion efficacy, and several proteomic analyses revealed possible oxidative damages to proteins. The present work focused on the oxidative damages produced by the two main PRT on peptides. Model peptides containing residues prone to oxidation (tyrosine, histidine, tryptophane, and cysteine) were irradiated with a combination of amotosalen/UVA (Intercept process) or riboflavin/UVB (Mirasol-like process). Modifications were identified and quantified by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Cysteine-containing peptides formed disulfide bridges (R-SS-R, ?2 Da; favored following amotosalen/UVA), sulfenic and sulfonic acids (R-SOH, +16 Da, R-SO₃H, +48 Da, favored following riboflavin/UVB) upon treatment and the other amino acids exhibited different oxidations revealed by mass shifts from +4 to +34 Da involving different mechanisms; no photoadducts were detected. These amino acids were not equally affected by the PRT and the combination riboflavin/UVB generated more oxidation than amotosalen/UVA. This work identifies the different types and sites of peptide oxidations under the photochemical treatments and demonstrates that the two PRT may behave differently. The potential impact on proteins and platelet functions may thus be PRT-dependent.

Gram‐Scale Enantioselective Formal Synthesis of Morphine through an ortho–para Oxidative Phenolic Coupling Strategy

A gram‐scale catalytic enantioselective formal synthesis of morphine is described. The key steps of the synthesis involve an ortho–para oxidative phenolic coupling and a highly diastereoselective “desymmetrization” of the resulting cyclohexadienone that generates three of the four morphinan ring junction stereocenters in one step. The stereochemistry is controlled from a single carbinol center installed through catalytic enantioselective hydrogenation. These transformations enabled the preparation of large quantities of key intermediates and could support a practical and scalable synthesis of morphine and related derivatives.     

Complexity of the Delaunay Triangulation of Points on Polyhedral Surfaces

It is well known that the complexity of the Delaunay triangulation of $n$ points in $\RR ^d$, i.e., the number of its simplices, can be $\Omega (n^{\lceil {d}/{2}\rceil })$. In particular, in $\RR ^3$, the number of tetrahedra can be quadratic. Put another way, if the points are uniformly distributed in a cube or a ball, the expected complexity of the Delaunay triangulation is only linear. The case of points distributed on a surface is of great practical importance in reverse engineering since most surface reconstruction algorithms first construct the Delaunay triangulation of a set of points measured on a surface. In this paper we bound the complexity of the Delaunay triangulation of points distributed on the boundary of a given polyhedron. Under a mild uniform sampling condition, we provide deterministic asymptotic bounds on the complexity of the three-dimensional Delaunay triangulation of the points when the sampling density increases. More precisely, we show that the complexity is $O(n^{1.8})$ for general polyhedral surfaces and $O(n\sqrt{n})$ for convex polyhedral surfaces. Our proof uses a geometric result of independent interest that states that the medial axis of a surface is well approximated by a subset of the Voronoi vertices of the sample points.     

The diversity of antigen-specific antibodies in humans and in two xenochimeric SCID mouse models

We applied two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) to study the repertoire of tetanus toxoid (TT)-specific antibodies produced after TT immunization in healthy humans and in severe combined immunodeficient mice xenotransplanted with either human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLe) or with human adult tonsil (hu-ton) pieces. Specific anti-TT antibodies, as well as total immunoglobulins (Ig), were purified by affinity chromatography on TT-Sepharose or Protein G-Sepharose, respectively. 2-DE unambiguously allowed us to differentiate between the specific humoral responses produced either by humans or by the two xenochimeric mouse models. Anti-TT antibodies produced by humans were polyclonal with a superimposed oligoclonality that was donor-dependent and that did not change upon time. By contrast, immunized hu-PBLe-SCID mice exhibited an evident clonal restriction of the Ig, which increased with time after boosting. Hu-ton-SCID mice showed a clonal diversity which was intermediate between those observed in humans and in hu-PBLe-SCID mice, and which was stable over time. In addition, information was gained by 2-DE, correlating with data obtained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), on the isotype composition of the anti-TT IgM response. Altogether, our results clearly demonstrated that the clonal diversity of monospecific antibodies can be appreciated by 2-DE, and that the largest diversity was found in humans when compared to that in xenochimeric models. In addition, mice implanted with pieces of lymphoid organs had the broadest anti-TT Ig diversity, an observation supporting the use of this model for the generation of antibodies with restricted specificity.     

Uncooled microbolometer detector: Recent developments at Ulis

Uncooled infrared focal plane arrays are being developed for a wide range of thermal imaging applications. Therefore, to answer these markets, a 35 μm pixel-pitch uncooled IR detector technology has been developed enabling high performance 160 × 120 and 384 × 288 arrays production. Besides a wide-band version from uncooled 320 × 240/45 μm array has been also developed in order to address process control and more precisely industrial furnaces control. The ULIS amorphous silicon technology is well adapted to manufacture low cost detector in mass production. After some brief microbolometer technological background, we present the characterization of 35 μm pixel-pitch detector as well as the wide-band 320 × 240 infrared focal plane arrays with a pixel pitch of 45 μm. Information on the new 640 × 480 array with a pixel pitch of 25 μm is also presented.     

Characterization of tetra,dodeca and tetradeca MoV polyoxometalate wheels structured by etidronate ligands

The reactivity of the [Mo^V₂O₄]²⁺ dinuclear unit with the [O₃P(C(CH₃)(OH))PO₃]^4? etidronate ligand has been investigated. Three complexes have been isolated and characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and single crystal X-Ray diffraction studies. Structural determination of the tetranuclear compound (CN₃H₆)₆[(Mo^V₂O₄)₂(O₃P(C(CH₃)O)PO₃)₂]·12H₂O (1) revealed that the hydroxo group of the etidronate ligand can be deprotonated in presence of Mo^V even in acidic media. It follows that its coordination mode thus differs from that of the methylenediphosphonate ligand [O₃P(CH₂)PO3]4?, which reactivity with Mo^V has been previously widely studied. In contrast, no such deprotonation of the hydroxo group is observed in the (NH₄)₁₈[(Mo^V₂O₄)₆(OH)₆(O₃P(C(CH₃)(OH))PO₃)₆]·35H₂O complex 2. This species contains a dodecanuclear core analogous to the one previously found in the [(Mo^V₂O₄)₆(OH)₆(O₃PCH₂PO₃)₆]^18? methylenediphosphonato polyanion. In 2, six interconnected {(Mo^V₂O₄)(O₃P(C(CH₃)(OH))PO₃)} units form a cyclohexane-like ring in a chair conformation. In the (CN₃H₆)₁₈Na₃[(Mo^V₂O₄)₇(O₃P(C(CH₃)(OH))PO₃)₇(CH₃COO)₇]·5CH₃COONa 52H₂O compound 3, seven {(Mo^V₂O₄)(O₃P(C(CH₃)(OH))PO₃)(CH₃COO)} units are connected, forming an almost planar tetradecanuclear wheel. This compound represents the largest homometallic Mo^V polyoxometalate cyclic system reported to date. Finally, ³¹P NMR studies revealed that only complex 1 is stable in aqueous solution.