Thiol-ene reaction: a versatile tool in site-specific labelling of proteins with chemically inert tags for paramagnetic NMR

Site-specific tagging of proteins with paramagnetic lanthanides generates valuable long-range structure restraints for structural biology by NMR spectroscopy. We show that the thiol-ene addition reaction offers a powerful tool for tagging proteins in a chemically stable manner with very small lanthanide tags.     

Thermodiffusion motion of electrically charged nanoparticles

The present work deals with experimental studies to examine the theoretical model of thermodiffusion of electrically charged nanoparticles. Three different ionic magnetic colloid samples have been synthesized and profoundly analyzed. The theoretical model is a classical one, based on the calculation of the temperature and the electric potential distribution around nanoparticles. The discrepancy between experimental data and theory turns out not to exceed 20%. We focus on applying different approximations between calculated electrical double layer in the theoretical model and experimental determination of the surface charge density of colloidal particles. We assume this is the main reason for obtained discrepancy.     

4,4'-dithiobisdipicolinic acid: a small and convenient lanthanide binding tag for protein NMR spectroscopy

Pseudocontact shifts (PCS) from paramagnetic lanthanide ions present powerful long-range structure restraints for studies of proteins by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. To elicit PCSs, the lanthanide must be attached site-specifically to the target protein. In addition, it needs to be attached rigidly to avoid averaging of the PCSs due to mobility with respect to the protein and it must not interfere with the function of the protein. Here, we present a dipicolinic acid reagent that spontaneously forms a disulfide bond with thiol groups of accessible cysteine residues. A minimal number of rotatable bonds between the cysteine side chain and the tag helps to minimise mobility. Combined with the small size of the tag and quantitative tagging yields, these features make it a highly attractive tool for generating structure restraints by paramagnetic lanthanides.     

Fixed space of positive trace-preserving super-operators

We examine the fixed space of positive trace-preserving super-operators. We describe a specific structure that this space must have and what the projection onto it must look like. We show how these results, in turn, lead to an alternative proof of the complete characterization of the fixed space of completely positive trace-preserving super-operators.     

Engineering of a bis-chelator motif into a protein α-helix for rigid lanthanide binding and paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy

Attachment of two nitrilotriacetic acid-based ligands to a protein α-helix in an i, i + 4 configuration produces an octadentate chelating motif that is able to bind paramagnetic lanthanide ions rigidly and with high affinity, leading to large pseudocontact shifts and residual dipolar couplings in the NMR spectrum.     

Non-isothermal mass transfer of ferrocolloids through porous membrane

The present paper deals with transport properties of ferrofluid nanoparticles in non-isothermal capillary-porous layer. Experiment establishes that the temperature difference, which is applied across the layer, induces a thermoosmotic pressure gradient directed toward increasing temperature. The measurement results are interpreted in a frame of phenomenology of linear irreversible thermodynamics. The transport coefficients are evaluated comparing the measured separation curves with approximate solution of the corresponding mass transfer problem.