High-throughput protein crystallography and drug discovery

Single crystal X-ray diffraction is the technique of choice for studying the interactions of small organic molecules with proteins by determining their three-dimensional structures; however the requirement for highly purified protein and lack of process automation have traditionally limited its use in this field. Despite these shortcomings, the use of crystal structures of therapeutically relevant drug targets in pharmaceutical research has increased significantly over the last decade. The application of structure-based drug design has resulted in several marketed drugs and is now an established discipline in most pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, the recently published full genome sequences of Homo sapiens and a number of micro-organisms have provided a plethora of new potential drug targets that could be utilised in structure-based drug design programs. In order to take maximum advantage of this explosion of information, techniques have been developed to automate and speed up the various procedures required to obtain protein crystals of suitable quality, to collect and process the raw X-ray diffraction data into usable structural information, and to use three-dimensional protein structure as a basis for drug discovery and lead optimisation.This tutorial review covers the various technologies involved in the process pipeline for high-throughput protein crystallography as it is currently being applied to drug discovery. It is aimed at synthetic and computational chemists, as well as structural biologists, in both academia and industry, who are interested in structure-based drug design.     

Simultaneous Determination of α- and γ-Mangostins in Mouse Plasma by HPLC–MS/MS Method: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study of Mangosteen Extract in Mouse

Recently, extracts from the pericarp of mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana L., exhibited various pharmacological properties such as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and chemopreventive activities. Albeit it has diverse application, there is little information about its pharmacokinetic aspects. Thus, the present study was undertaken to develop the simultaneous determination of α- and γ-mangostins (α- and γ-MG), major and active compounds, from extracts for the application of pharmacokinetic studies in mice using combined liquid chromatography–tandem mass-spectrometry and microsampling systems. The intra- and inter-validation, precision, accuracy, stability, recovery and matrix effects of α- and γ-MG were conducted in mouse plasma. Based on the developed analytical methods, pharmacokinetic parameters of α- and γ-MG after intravenous and oral administration of mangosteen extract were calculated. In sample preparation steps, the biological samples were deproteinized by acetonitrile and chromatographic separation was accomplished on a C₁₈ column. The detection was accomplished by multiple-reaction monitoring scanning after electrospray ionization source in the positive ionization mode. The optimized mass transition ion pairs (m/z) for quantitation were 411.062 → 354.900, 397.384 → 340.900, and 808.379 → 527.200 for α- and γ-MG and docetaxel (internal standard), respectively. The total run time was 5 min. The results provided a meaningful basis for the preclinical and clinical application of mangosteen extract.     

环的自映射的最少周期点数

设Ｘ是一个紧致连通的ＡＮＲ＇ｓ，ｆ：Ｘ→Ｘ是连续映射。于是ｆ有Ｎｉｅｌｓｅｎ型数，ＮＦｎ（ｆ），它是数集｛＃Ｆｉｘ（ｇ＾ｎ）ｇ－ｆ｝的下界。本文在Ｘ是环时，给出ＮＦｎ（ｆ）是该数集的下确界，即存在连续映射ｇ＝ｆ，使得＃Ｆｉｘ（ｇ＾ｎ）＝ＮＦｎ（ｆ）的一个充分条件。     

A review on immobilised aptamers for high throughput biomolecular detection and screening

The discovery of Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) assay has led to the generation of aptamers from libraries of nucleic acids. Concomitantly, aptamer-target recognition and its potential biomedical applications have become a major research endeavour. Aptamers possess unique properties that make them superior biological receptors to antibodies with a plethora of target molecules. Some specific areas of opportunities explored for aptamer-target interactions include biochemical analysis, cell signalling and targeting, biomolecular purification processes, pathogen detection and, clinical diagnosis and therapy. Most of these potential applications rely on the effective immobilisation of aptamers on support systems to probe target species. Hence, recent research focus is geared towards immobilising aptamers as oligosorbents for biodetection and bioscreening. This article seeks to review advances in immobilised aptameric binding with associated successful milestones and respective limitations. A proposal for high throughput bioscreening using continuous polymeric adsorbents is also presented.     

苝四甲酸二酐在Au(111)表面的取向生长及电子结构研究

利用X射线光电子能谱(XPS),同步辐射紫外光电子能谱(SRUPS),近边X射线吸收精细结构(NEXAFS)以及原子力显微镜(AFM)等技术研究了苝四甲酸二酐(PTCDA)与Au(111)的界面电子结构、PTCDA分子取向及有机薄膜的表面形貌.SRUPS价带谱显示,伴随PTCDA分子的微量沉积(0·5ML),位于费米能级附近Au的表面电子态迅速消失,但却观察不到明显的界面杂化态,这说明PTCDA分子和Au(111)界面间存在弱电子传输过程,但并没有发生明显的化学反应.角分辨NEXAFS以及SRUPS结果证明PTCDA分子是平铺在衬底表面.根据Au4f7/2和C1s峰积分强度随薄膜厚度的变化以及AFM图像可知,PTCDA分子在Au(111)表面是一种典型的Stranski-Krastanov生长模式,即先层状生长,再岛状生长,并且在层状生长到岛状生长的转变过程中,存在有机分子的去润湿过程.     

Phosphonioalkylthiosulfate zwitterions--new masked thiol ligands for the formation of cationic functionalised gold nanoparticles

We report the synthesis and structural characterisation of a new family of stable phosphonioalkylthiosulfate zwitterions, R3P+ (CH2)nS2O3- (R = Ph or Bu, n = 3,4,6, 8 or 10) which behave as cationic masked thiolate ligands with applications in the functionalisation of gold nanoparticles, having potential as new diagnostic biorecognition systems. The ligands were prepared by treatment of omega-bromoalkylphosphonium salts with sodium thiosulfate. The crystal and molecular structures of the zwitterions (R = Ph, n = 3) and (R = Bu, n = 3) were determined. A series of phosphonioalkanethiolate-capped gold nanoparticles dispersed in water was prepared by borohydride reduction of potassium tetrachloroaurate in the presence of the zwitterions in a dichloromethane-water system. UV-visible spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron-microscopy indicated that capped nanoparticles of ca. 5 nm diameter were present.     

On algebras with a generalized implication

We introduce the notion of gi-algebra as a generalization of dual BCK-algebra, and define the notions of strong, commutative and transitive gi-algebra, and then we show that an interval ↑l = {a ∈ P | l ≤ a} in a strong and commutative gi-algebra P is a lattice. Also, we define a congruence relation ～ _D on a transitive gi-algebra P and show that the quotient set P/～ _D is a gi-algebra and a dual BCK-algebra.