Cyclic trihydroxamic acid derivatives

In the crystal structures of two cyclic trihydroxamic acid derivatives containing the same substructure unit, viz. 1,3,5‐trihydroxy‐1,3,5‐triazinane‐2,4,6‐trione dihydrate, C₃H₃N₃O₆·2H₂O, (I), and 1,3,5‐benz­yloxy‐1,3,5‐triazinane‐2,4,6‐trione, C₂₄H₂₁N₃O₆, (II), there is no significant difference in the geometric parameters. In (I), there are 11 hydrogen bonds of the O—H⋯O type inter­connecting the mol­ecules in a three‐dimensional network, while in (II) there are only two weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The results of IR spectroscopic analysis are in good agreement with the crystallographic study.     

Excluded volume driven counterion condensation inside nanotubes in a concave electrical double layer model

The physical properties of organic nanotubes attract increasing attention due to their potential benefit in technology, biology and medicine. We study the effect of ion size on the electrical properties of cylindrical nanotubes filled with electrolyte solution within a modified Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) approach. For comparison purposes, small hollow nanospheres filled with electrolyte solution are considered. The finite size of the particles in the inner electrolyte solution is described by the excluded volume effect within a lattice statistics approach. We found that an increased ion size reduces the number of counterions near the charged inner surface of the nanotube, leading to an enlarged electrostatic surface potential. The concentration of counterions close to the inner surface saturates for higher surface charge densities and larger ions. In the case of saturation, the closest counterion packing is achieved, all lattice sites near the surface are occupied and an actual counterion condensation is observed. By contrast, the counterion concentration at the axis of the nanotube steadily increases with increasing surface charge density. This growth is more pronounced for smaller nanotube radii and larger ions. At larger nanotube radii for small ion size counterion condensation may also be observed according to the Tsao criterion, i.e. the counterion concentration at the centre is independent of the number of counterions in the system. With decreasing radius the Tsao condensation effect is shifted towards physiologically unrealistic surface charge densities.     

Determination of heavy metal concentrations in plants exposed to different degrees of pollution using ICP-AES

Plant samples (Plantago lanceolata - narrow leaf plantain and Cichorium endiviae - endive) were collected in the surroundings of heavy metal emission sources and in other less contaminated areas. After digestion in a closed microwave system using HNO(3), the concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determined using ICP-AES. Detection limits for all the elements of interest are given. Differences in heavy metal uptake rate between both plant species were observed. The uptake is more intensive for endive than for narrow leaf plantain. High concentrations of some heavy metals were determined in the unwashed plant samples as a result of exposure to aerosols. Tukey's statistical test was used to confirm the discrepancy of Cr concentration in plant samples from various areas. Washing the leaves with water was found to remove a large amount of water-soluble aerosols.     

Studies on the chromatographic fractionation of Trichoderma reesei cellulases by hydrophobic interaction

This work reports new studies on cellulases fractionation by hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The purification procedure for the Trichoderma reesei cellulase complex consists of gel permeation chromatography on Sephadex G-25M followed by an ultrafiltration step. The concentrated enzyme solution was then fractionated on Sepharose CL-6B modified by covalent immobilization of 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether. The influence of the mobile phase composition on the chromatographic behaviour of the T. reesei cellulase complex was investigated. By using 13% (w/v) ammonium sulphate in eluent buffer, a selective separation of beta-glucosidase with a two-fold increase in specific activity and a recovery of 60% cellobiase activity were obtained. Other commercial hydrophobic supports (octyl- and phenyl-Sepharose) were also tested and compared under the same conditions.     

The use of the DPE radical polymerization method for the synthesis of chromophore-labelled polymers and block copolymers

Two analogues of diphenylethene carrying phenanthrene (1-(9-phenanthryl)-1-phenylethene (PPE)) and anthracene (1-(2-anthryl)-1-phenylethene (APE)) units were used in radical polymerization of styrene (St) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) at 80 °C using AIBN as initiator. Because of the nature of the polymerization, the resulting polymers possess the corresponding chromophoric groups. Using the methodology of a DPE system, these labelled polymers were further used for the synthesis of block copolymers. In this way poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(styrene) and poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(acrylonitrile) with molar masses of 60,000-90,000 g/mol were synthesized. Incorporation of the chromophoric groups into both homo- and block copolymers was confirmed by spectral measurements.     

Relativistic virial theorem for diatomic molecules. Application to H 2 +

Summary The virial theorem for a molecule in the relativistic clamped-nuclei approximation is derived. The individual energy contributionsA (momentum energy),B (mass energy),T=A+B (kinetic energy) andV (potential energy) are expressed in terms ofE, E/R (derivate w.r.t. the nuclear coordinates) and the relativistic correction E/² (derivative w.r.t. Sommerfield's fine-structure constant ). IfE and E/R are known as functions of , then all individual energy terms are also known as functions of . As an example, numerical results for H ₂ ⁺ are presented. The relativistic and nonrelativistic potential energy curves and the paradoxical behavior of their different contributions are analyzed and interpreted in both the largeR and shortR ranges.Dedicated to Professor W. Kutzelnigg on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Interaction and lipid-induced conformation of two cecropin-melittin hybrid peptides depend on peptide and membrane composition

The interaction of two hybrid peptides of cecropin A and melittin [CA(1-8)M(1-18) and CA(1-7)M(2-9)] with liposomes was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), circular dichroism (CD), and quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS). The study was carried out with large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) of three different lipid compositions: 1,2-dimyristoil-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC), 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-rac-(1-glycerol) (DMPG) and a binary mixture of DMPC/DMPG, in a wide range of peptide-to-lipid (P:L) molar ratios (0 to 1:7). DSC results indicate that, for both peptides, the interaction depends on membrane composition, with very different behavior for zwitterionic and anionic membranes. CD data show that, although the two peptides have different secondary structures in buffer (random coil for CA(1-7)M(2-9) and predominantly beta-sheet for CA(1-8)M(1-18)), they both adopt an alpha-helical structure in the presence of the membranes. Overall, results are compatible with a model involving a strong electrostatic surface interaction between the peptides and the negatively charged liposomes, which gives place to aggregation in the gel phase and precipitation after a threshold peptide concentration. In the case of zwitterionic membranes, a progressive surface coverage with peptide molecules destabilizes the membrane, eventually leading to membrane disruption. Moreover, delicate modulations in behavior were observed depending on the peptide.     

A simple adsorptive chronopotentiometric stripping method for determination of vitamin B 1 in pharmaceutical products

A new electroanalytical method for vitamin B1 determination, based on adsorptive chronopotentiometric stripping analysis and non-specific adsorption onto mercury film electrode, was developed and validated. Stripping chronopotentiograms showed a single well-defined oxidation wave corresponding to vitamin B1 at about − 0.43 V in citrate buffer pH 6.0. The most important experimental factors affecting the monitored electroanalytical response of vitamin B1 were investigated and optimised. Under the optimal experimental conditions, linear response of vitamin B1 was obtained in the concentration range of 5–50 mg dm−3, with the achieved limit of detection of 1.64 mg dm−3, and the limit of quantitation of 4.97 mg dm−3. A mean recovery of 97.1% and relative standard deviations of 3.75% were achieved. The developed electrochemical procedure was successfully applied for the determination of vitamin B1 in pharmaceutical products. The results of the proposed method were in good agreement with those obtained by parallel HPLC analyses, confirming an accuracy of the developed method.     

PATTERNS OF NUCLEIC ACID AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS DURING MODIFICATION OF LETHAL ULTRAVIOLET LESION

Abstract— We have shown previously that the viability of E. coli B.U.^- and E. coli B. try^-could be restored after u.v.-irradiation if post-irradiation incubation took place in the presence of chloramphenicol or in the absence of an essential metabolite. By way of contrast, the viability of the u.v.-irradiated E. coli K.₁₂ meth^- decreased rapidly during post-irradiation incubation in the presence of chloramphenicol or in the absence of methionine. During the study of the biosynthesis of nucleic acids and protein in the above strains we made the following observations.
Protein synthesis was permanently inhibited in both amino acid requiring strains during post-irradiation incubation in the absence of the respective essential metabolite. In E. coli B.U.^- a slow synthesis of protein could be observed even if post-irradiation incubation took place in the absence of uracil.
DNA synthesis was completely and permanently inhibited in both E. coli B. try^- and E. coli K.₁₂ meth^- during post-irradiation incubation in the absence of the respective essential amino acid. In E. coli B.U.^-, however, DNA synthesis resumed after a prolonged lag even if the bacteria were incubated after u.v.-irradiation in the absence of uracil.
RNA synthesis was completely and permanently inhibited in both E. coli B. mutants, the uracil requiring and the tryptophan requiring, if they were incubated after irradiation in the absence of uracil and tryptophan respectively. In E. coli K.₁₂ meth^- a small amount of RNA is synthesized during post-irradiation incubation in the absence of the essential amino acid.     

A comparative study of mid-infrared diffuse reflection (DR) and attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy for the detection of fungal infection on RWA2-corn

An investigation into the rapid detection of mycotoxin-producing fungi on corn by two mid-infrared spectroscopic techniques was undertaken. Corn samples from a single genotype (RWA2, blanks, and contaminated with Fusarium graminearum) were ground, sieved and, after appropriate sample preparation, subjected to mid-infrared spectroscopy using two different accessories (diffuse reflection and attenuated total reflection). The measured spectra were evaluated with principal component analysis (PCA) and the blank and contaminated samples were classified by cluster analysis. Reference data for fungal metabolites were obtained with conventional methods. After extraction and clean-up, each sample was analyzed for the toxin deoxynivalenol (DON) by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) and ergosterol (a parameter for the total fungal biomass) by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The concentration ranges for contaminated samples were 880–3600 g/kg for ergosterol and 300–2600 g/kg for DON. Classification efficiency was 100% for ATR spectra. DR spectra did not show as obvious a clustering of contaminated and blank samples. Results and trends were also observed in single spectra plots. Quantification using a PLS1 regression algorithm showed good correlation with DON reference data, but a rather high standard error of prediction (SEP) with 600 g/kg (DR) and 490 g/kg (ATR), respectively, for ergosterol. Comparing measurement procedures and results showed advantages for the ATR technique, mainly owing to its ease of use and the easier interpretation of results that were better with respect to classification and quantification.