The effect of a cystamine derivative, bis[2-(E-2-hexenoylamino)ethyl] disulfide, on rat platelet aggregation

Bis[2-(E-2-alkenoylamino)ethyl] disulfides (compds. I), synthesized from cystamine and 2-trans fatty acids, inhibited collagen-induced rat and rabbit platelet aggregation. The most potent compound was bis[2-(E-2-hexenoylamino)ethyl] disulfide (compd. I-1), and this compound suppressed thromboxane B2 formation from arachidonic acid in rat platelets. The results suggested that compd. I-1 has an inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase.     

Engineered synapse model cell: genetic construction and chemical evaluation for reproducible high-throughput analysis

Bioassay models of neural functions must lend themselves to high-throughput analysis in neural drug discovery. However, smart analysis methods for these functions have not yet been fully established. Here, we describe the development of a synapse model for cell-based biosensing. The engineered synapse model cell expresses ionotropic glutamate receptor on its surface, like the neural postsynaptic membrane. The advantages of the model cell are the ease of handling and reproducibility as compared with the cultured neural cell, and it can be employed to evaluate receptor function through ion flux analysis. The agonist-induced sodium influx was monitored as an agonist concentration-dependent increase in the observed fluorescence signal. Furthermore, we found that our model cell enables the correction of uneven cellular signal levels using a reporter system. Our engineered synapse model cell can be employed as a powerful tool for the screening of lead substances in pharmaceutical high-throughput analysis.     

Cellular biosensing: chemical and genetic approaches

Biosensors have been developed to determine the concentration of specific compounds in situ. They are already widely employed as a practical technology in the clinical and healthcare fields. Recently, another concept of biosensing has been receiving attention: biosensing for the evaluation of molecular potency. The development of this novel concept has been supported by the development of related technologies, as such as molecular design, molecular biology (genetic engineering) and cellular/tissular engineering. This review is addresses this new concept of biosensing and its application to the evaluation of the potency of chemicals in biological systems, in the field of cellular/tissular engineering. Cellular biosensing may provide information on both pharmaceutical and chemical safety, and on drug efficacy in vitro as a screening tool.     

Effect of cationic surfactant on the formation of ferron complexes

In the spectrophotometric determination of aluminium and iron with ferron (7-iodo-8-quinolinol-5-sulphonic acid, H(2)L), the addition of cationic surfactants greatly improves the linearity of the calibration curve and widens the useful pH range. The effect of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMAC) on the stepwise stability constants (K(1),K(2) and K(3)) of the ferron complexes of aluminium and iron (ML(+), ML(-)(2) and ML(3-)(3)) and on the acid-dissociation constants (K(a1) and K(a2)) of ferron has been studied in connection with the role of the surfactant. CTMAC greatly increases the value of K(3) while exerting little effect on K(1) and K(2), thus rendering ML(3-)(3) the predominant species even at very low concentration of free L(2-). It also has some effect on the acid-dissociation constants of ferron, but sometimes it acts to decrease the free L(2-) concentration. At is therefore concluded that the improvements due to addition of surfactant should be attributed to the increased K(3) value. The presence of surfactant micelles is not essential, because the surfactant has a favourable effect when present at well below its critical micelle concentration, and because the continuous variations plots show a peak at a point corresponding to the composition M: L: Q (Q = cationic surfactant) = 1:3:3.     

Ordered nano-structure of a stamped self-organized protein layer on a HOPG surface using a HFB carrier

A groundbreaking method for ordered molecular layer preparation on a solid surface employing the drop-stamp method has been developed by us taking advantage of the characteristics of the HFB molecule as a self-organizer/adsorption carrier. It is a smart method which can be used to prepare a self-organized protein layer on a solid surface without unspecific adsorption or defects. In our previous report, we clarified the self-organizing nature of HFB-tagged protein molecules on a surface of a solution droplet. In this report, a protein layer was prepared on a HOPG surface by using the drop-stamp method with a maltose binding protein (MBP)-tagged HFBII molecule. The structure of the stamped protein layer was investigated using frequency modulation atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM) in a liquid condition. The FM-AFM images show that the drop-stamp method can prepare an ordered protein layer on a solid surface smartly. The drop-stamp method using a HFB carrier is a practical method which can be used to prepare an ordered protein layer on a solid substrate surface without unspecific adsorption defects.     

Superconductivity in entirely end-bonded multiwalled carbon nanotubes

We report that entirely end-bonded multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) can exhibit superconductivity with a transition temperature (T(c)) as high as 12 K, which is approximately 30 times greater than T(c) reported for ropes of single-walled nanotubes. We find that the emergence of this superconductivity is highly sensitive to the junction structures of the Au electrode/MWNTs. This reveals that only MWNTs with optimal numbers of electrically activated shells, which are realized by end bonding, can allow superconductivity due to intershell effects.     

Contribution of Discharge Excited Atomic N,N2*, and N2+ to a Plasma/Liquid Interfacial Reaction as Suggested by Quantitative Analysis

Electric-discharge nitrogen comprises three main types of excited nitrogen species-atomic nitrogen (N_atom), excited nitrogen molecules (N₂*), and nitrogen ions (N₂⁺) – which have different lifetimes and reactivities. In particular, the interfacial reaction locus between the discharged nitrogen and the water phase produces nitrogen compounds such as ammonia and nitrate ions (denoted as N-compounds generically); this is referred to as the plasma/liquid interfacial (P/L) reaction. The N_atom amount was analyzed quantitatively to clarify the contribution of N_atom to the P/L reaction. We focused on the quantitative relationship between N_atom and the produced N-compounds, and found that both N₂* and N₂⁺, which are active species other than N_atom, contributed to P/L reaction. The production of N-compounds from N₂* and N₂⁺ was enhanced upon UV irradiation of the water phase, but the production of N-compounds from N_atom did not increase by UV irradiation. These results revealed that the P/L reactions starting from N_atom and those starting from N₂^* and N₂⁺ follow different mechanisms.