Intermolecular crosslinks mediate aggregation of phospholipid vesicles by pulmonary surfactant-associated protein SAP-35

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, G.R.; Sawyer, J.; Whitsett, J.

1987-01-01

Pulmonary surfactant-associated protein, Mr=35,000 (SAP-35) is known to bind phospholipids and is hypothesized to function in the organization of surfactant lipid membranes. SAP-35 has been observed to accelerate the calcium-induced aggregation of phospholipid vesicles. In order to define the molecular domains of SAP-35 which function in phospholipid aggregation, they have measured the light scattering properties (400nm) of purified canine SAP-35-phospholipid vesicle suspensions. Accelerated aggregation of unilamellar vesicles, requires SAP-35 and at least 2mM free calcium. The initial rate of A 400 change is proportional to the amount of native SAP-35 added over lipid:protein molar ratios ranging from 100:1 to 5000:1. Removal of the SAP-35 collagen-like domain and a specific cysteine residue involved in intermolecular disulfide bonding by bacterial collagenase digestion destroys the protein's lipid aggregation activity. Pre-incubation of SAP-35 with dithiothreitol (DTT) under nondenaturing conditions also results in a time-dependent loss of aggregation activity. Sucrose density gradient floatation of SAP-35 with 14 C dipalmitoyl phosphatidycholine labelled vesicles in the absence or presence of DTT suggests retention of SAP-35 lipid binding capacity. These data demonstrate the importance of SAP-35 triple helix and disulfide crosslinking integrity for the aggregation of unilamellar phospholipid vesicles

Selective disulfide reduction for labeling and enhancement of Fab antibody fragments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirley, Terence L.; Greis, Kenneth D.; Norman, Andrew B.

2016-01-01

Many methods have been developed for chemical labeling and enhancement of the properties of antibodies and their common fragments, including the Fab and F(ab’) 2 fragments. Somewhat selective reduction of some antibody disulfide bonds has been previously achieved, yielding antibodies and antibody fragments that can be labeled at defined sites, enhancing their utility and properties. Selective reduction of the two hinge disulfide bonds present in F(ab’) 2 fragments using mild reduction has been useful. However, such reduction is often not quantitative and results in the reduction of multiple disulfide bonds, and therefore subsequent multiple labeling or conjugation sites are neither homogenous nor stoichiometric. Here, a simple and efficient selective reduction of the single disulfide bond linking the partial heavy chain and the intact light chain which compose the Fab fragment is accomplished utilizing tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) immobilized on agarose beads. The resultant reduced cysteine residues were labeled with several cysteine-selective fluorescent reagents, as well as by cysteine-directed PEGylation. These two cysteine residues can also be re-ligated by means of a bifunctional cysteine cross-linking agent, dibromobimane, thereby both restoring a covalent linkage between the heavy and light chains at this site, far removed from the antigen binding site, and also introducing a fluorescent probe. There are many other research and clinical uses for these selectively partially reduced Fab fragments, including biotinylation, toxin and drug conjugation, and incorporation of radioisotopes, and this technique enables simple generation of very useful Fab fragment derivatives with many potential applications. - Highlights: • TCEP agarose is effective for selective reduction of a single Fab disulfide bond. • This disulfide is solvent accessible and distant from the antigen binding site. • A variety of buffers of varying pHs can be used, simplifying

Digital communication through intermolecular fluorescence modulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Raymo, F M; Giordani, S

2001-06-14

[see reaction]. Ultraminiaturized processors incorporating molecular components can be developed only after devising efficient strategies to communicate signals at the molecular level. We have demonstrated that a three-state molecular switch responds to ultraviolet light, visible light, and H+, attenuating the emission intensity of a fluorescent probe. Intermolecular communication is responsible for the transduction of three input signals into a single optical output. The behavior of the communicating ensemble of molecules corresponds to that of a logic circuit incorporating seven gates.

Intradomain Confinement of Disulfides in the Folding of Two Consecutive Modules of the LDL Receptor.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Martínez-Oliván

Full Text Available The LDL receptor internalizes circulating LDL and VLDL particles for degradation. Its extracellular binding domain contains ten (seven LA and three EGF cysteine-rich modules, each bearing three disulfide bonds. Despite the enormous number of disulfide combinations possible, LDLR oxidative folding leads to a single native species with 30 unique intradomain disulfides. Previous folding studies of the LDLR have shown that non native disulfides are initially formed that lead to compact species. Accordingly, the folding of the LDLR has been described as a "coordinated nonvectorial" reaction, and it has been proposed that early compaction funnels the reaction toward the native structure. Here we analyze the oxidative folding of LA4 and LA5, the modules critical for ApoE binding, isolated and in the LA45 tandem. Compared to LA5, LA4 folding is slow and inefficient, resembling that of LA5 disease-linked mutants. Without Ca++, it leads to a mixture of many two-disulfide scrambled species and, with Ca++, to the native form plus two three-disulfide intermediates. The folding of the LA45 tandem seems to recapitulate that of the individual repeats. Importantly, although the folding of the LA45 tandem takes place through formation of scrambled isomers, no interdomain disulfides are detected, i.e. the two adjacent modules fold independently without the assistance of interdomain covalent interactions. Reduction of incredibly large disulfide combinatorial spaces, such as that in the LDLR, by intradomain confinement of disulfide bond formation might be also essential for the efficient folding of other homologous disulfide-rich receptors.

Electrostatic influence of local cysteine environments on disulfide exchange kinetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, G H; Cennerazzo, M J; Karalis, A J; Field, D

1981-11-10

The ionic strength dependence of the bimolecular rate constant for reaction of the negative disulfide 5,5'-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) with cysteines in fragments of naturally occurring proteins was determined by stopped-flow spectroscopy. The Debye-Hückel relationship was applied to determine the effective charge at the cysteine and thereby determine the extent to which nearby neighbors in the primary sequence influence the kinetics. Corrections for the secondary salt effect on cysteine pKs were determined by direct spectrometric pH titration of sulfhydryl groups or by observation of the ionic strength dependence of kinetics of cysteine reaction with the neutral disulfide 2,2'-dithiodipyridine. Quantitative expressions was verified by model studies with N-acetyl-cystein. At ionic strengths equal to or greater than 20 mM, the net charge at the polypeptide cysteine site is the sum of the single negative charge of the thiolate anion and the charges of the amino acids immediately preceding and following the cysteine in the primary sequence. At lower ionic strengths, more distant residues influence kinetics. At pH 7.0, 23 degree C, and an ionic strength of 20 mM, rate constants for reaction of the negative disulfide with a cysteine having two positive neighbors, one positive and one neutral neighbor, or two neutral neighbors are 132000, 3350, and 367 s-1 M-1, respectively. This corresponds to a contribution to the activation energy of 0.65- 1.1 kcal/mol per ion pair involved in collision between the cysteine and disulfide regions. The results permit the estimation that cysteine local environments may provide a means of achieving a 10(6)-fold range in rate constants in disulfide exchange reactions in random-coil proteins. This range may prove useful in developing strategies for directing disulfide pairing in synthetic proteins.

Desensitization of metastable intermolecular composites

Science.gov (United States)

Busse, James R [South Fork, CO; Dye, Robert C [Los Alamos, NM; Foley, Timothy J [Los Alamos, NM; Higa, Kelvin T [Ridgecrest, CA; Jorgensen, Betty S [Jemez Springs, NM; Sanders, Victor E [White Rock, NM; Son, Steven F [Los Alamos, NM

2011-04-26

A method to substantially desensitize a metastable intermolecular composite material to electrostatic discharge and friction comprising mixing the composite material with an organic diluent and removing enough organic diluent from the mixture to form a mixture with a substantially putty-like consistency, as well as a concomitant method of recovering the metastable intermolecular composite material.

Intermolecular failure of L-type Ca2+ channel and ryanodine receptor signaling in hypertrophy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Xu

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Pressure overload-induced hypertrophy is a key step leading to heart failure. The Ca(2+-induced Ca(2+ release (CICR process that governs cardiac contractility is defective in hypertrophy/heart failure, but the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. To examine the intermolecular aspects of CICR during hypertrophy, we utilized loose-patch confocal imaging to visualize the signaling between a single L-type Ca(2+ channel (LCC and ryanodine receptors (RyRs in aortic stenosis rat models of compensated (CHT and decompensated (DHT hypertrophy. We found that the LCC-RyR intermolecular coupling showed a 49% prolongation in coupling latency, a 47% decrease in chance of hit, and a 72% increase in chance of miss in DHT, demonstrating a state of "intermolecular failure." Unexpectedly, these modifications also occurred robustly in CHT due at least partially to decreased expression of junctophilin, indicating that intermolecular failure occurs prior to cellular manifestations. As a result, cell-wide Ca(2+ release, visualized as "Ca(2+ spikes," became desynchronized, which contrasted sharply with unaltered spike integrals and whole-cell Ca(2+ transients in CHT. These data suggested that, within a certain limit, termed the "stability margin," mild intermolecular failure does not damage the cellular integrity of excitation-contraction coupling. Only when the modification steps beyond the stability margin does global failure occur. The discovery of "hidden" intermolecular failure in CHT has important clinical implications.

Thiol-Disulfide Exchange between Glutaredoxin and Glutathione

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Rasmus; Andersen, Peter Anders; Jensen, Kristine Steen

2010-01-01

Glutaredoxins are ubiquitous thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases which catalyze the reduction of glutathione-protein mixed disulfides. Belonging to the thioredoxin family, they contain a conserved active site CXXC motif. The N-proximal active site cysteine can form a mixed disulfide with glutathione ...... has been replaced with serine. The exchange reaction between the reduced protein and oxidized glutathione leading to formation of the mixed disulfide could readily be monitored by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) due to the enthalpic contributions from the noncovalent interactions...

Dissociation pathways of a single dimethyl disulfide on Cu(111): Reaction induced by simultaneous excitation of two vibrational modes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Motobayashi, Kenta, E-mail: kmotobayashi@cat.hokudai.ac.jp [Catalysis Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021 (Japan); Department of Advanced Materials Science, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8561 (Japan); Surface and Interface Science Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako 351-0198 (Japan); Kim, Yousoo [Surface and Interface Science Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako 351-0198 (Japan); Arafune, Ryuichi [International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba 305-0044 (Japan); Ohara, Michiaki; Ueba, Hiromu; Kawai, Maki, E-mail: maki@k.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Advanced Materials Science, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8561 (Japan)

2014-05-21

We present a novel reaction mechanism for a single adsorbed molecule that proceeds via simultaneous excitation of two different vibrational modes excited by inelastic tunneling electrons from a scanning tunneling microscope. Specifically, we analyze the dissociation of a single dimethyl disulfide (DMDS, (CH{sub 3}S){sub 2}) molecule on Cu(111) by using a versatile theoretical method, which permits us to simulate reaction rates as a function of sample bias voltage. The reaction is induced by the excitation of C-H stretch and S-S stretch modes by a two-electron process at low positive bias voltages. However, at increased voltages, the dissociation becomes a single-electron process that excites a combination mode of these stretches, where excitation of the C-H stretch is the energy source and excitation of the S-S stretch mode enhances the anharmonic coupling rate. A much smaller dissociation yield (few orders of magnitude) at negative bias voltages is understood in terms of the projected density of states of a single DMDS on Cu(111), which reflects resonant excitation through the molecular orbitals.

Multiple ways to make disulfides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bulleid, Neil J; Ellgaard, Lars

2011-01-01

Our concept of how disulfides form in proteins entering the secretory pathway has changed dramatically in recent years. The discovery of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) oxidoreductin 1 (ERO1) was followed by the demonstration that this enzyme couples oxygen reduction to de novo formation of disulfides...

Characterizing the Polymer:Fullerene Intermolecular Interactions

KAUST Repository

Sweetnam, Sean

2016-02-02

Polymer:fullerene solar cells depend heavily on the electronic coupling of the polymer and fullerene molecular species from which they are composed. The intermolecular interaction between the polymer and fullerene tends to be strong in efficient photovoltaic systems, as evidenced by efficient charge transfer processes and by large changes in the energetics of the polymer and fullerene when they are molecularly mixed. Despite the clear presence of these strong intermolecular interactions between the polymer and fullerene, there is not a consensus on the nature of these interactions. In this work, we use a combination of Raman spectroscopy, charge transfer state absorption, and density functional theory calculations to show that the intermolecular interactions do not appear to be caused by ground state charge transfer between the polymer and fullerene. We conclude that these intermolecular interactions are primarily van der Waals in nature. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

Widespread Disulfide Bonding in Proteins from Thermophilic Archaea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julien Jorda

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Disulfide bonds are generally not used to stabilize proteins in the cytosolic compartments of bacteria or eukaryotic cells, owing to the chemically reducing nature of those environments. In contrast, certain thermophilic archaea use disulfide bonding as a major mechanism for protein stabilization. Here, we provide a current survey of completely sequenced genomes, applying computational methods to estimate the use of disulfide bonding across the Archaea. Microbes belonging to the Crenarchaeal branch, which are essentially all hyperthermophilic, are universally rich in disulfide bonding while lesser degrees of disulfide bonding are found among the thermophilic Euryarchaea, excluding those that are methanogenic. The results help clarify which parts of the archaeal lineage are likely to yield more examples and additional specific data on protein disulfide bonding, as increasing genomic sequencing efforts are brought to bear.

Widespread disulfide bonding in proteins from thermophilic archaea.

Science.gov (United States)

Jorda, Julien; Yeates, Todd O

2011-01-01

Disulfide bonds are generally not used to stabilize proteins in the cytosolic compartments of bacteria or eukaryotic cells, owing to the chemically reducing nature of those environments. In contrast, certain thermophilic archaea use disulfide bonding as a major mechanism for protein stabilization. Here, we provide a current survey of completely sequenced genomes, applying computational methods to estimate the use of disulfide bonding across the Archaea. Microbes belonging to the Crenarchaeal branch, which are essentially all hyperthermophilic, are universally rich in disulfide bonding while lesser degrees of disulfide bonding are found among the thermophilic Euryarchaea, excluding those that are methanogenic. The results help clarify which parts of the archaeal lineage are likely to yield more examples and additional specific data on protein disulfide bonding, as increasing genomic sequencing efforts are brought to bear.

Intermolecular and surface forces

CERN Document Server

Israelachvili, Jacob N

2011-01-01

This reference describes the role of various intermolecular and interparticle forces in determining the properties of simple systems such as gases, liquids and solids, with a special focus on more complex colloidal, polymeric and biological systems. The book provides a thorough foundation in theories and concepts of intermolecular forces, allowing researchers and students to recognize which forces are important in any particular system, as well as how to control these forces. This third edition is expanded into three sections and contains five new chapters over the previous edition.· starts fr

CuI-Catalyzed: One-Pot Synthesis of Diaryl Disulfides from Aryl Halides and Carbon Disulfide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Soleiman-Beigi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A new application of carbon disulfide in the presence of KF/Al2O3 is reported for the synthesis of organic symmetrical diaryl disulfides. These products were synthesized by one-pot reaction of aryl halides with the in situ generated trithiocarbonate ion in the presence of copper under air atmosphere.

Photoinduced Cross-Linking of Dynamic Poly(disulfide) Films via Thiol Oxidative Coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Feillée, Noémi; Chemtob, Abraham; Ley, Christian; Croutxé-Barghorn, Céline; Allonas, Xavier; Ponche, Arnaud; Le Nouen, Didier; Majjad, Hicham; Jacomine, Léandro

2016-01-01

Initially developed as an elastomer with an excellent record of barrier and chemical resistance properties, poly(disulfide) has experienced a revival linked to the dynamic nature of the S-S covalent bond. A novel photobase-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of multifunctional thiols to poly(disulfide) network is reported. Based solely on air oxidation, the single-step process is triggered by the photodecarboxylation of a xanthone acetic acid liberating a strong bicyclic guanidine base. Starting with a 1 μm thick film based on trithiol poly(ethylene oxide) oligomer, the UV-mediated oxidation of thiols to disulfides occurs in a matter of minutes both selectively, i.e., without overoxidation, and quantitatively as assessed by a range of spectroscopic techniques. Thiolate formation and film thickness determine the reaction rates and yield. Spatial control of the photopolymerization serves to generate robust micropatterns, while the reductive cleavage of S-S bridges allows the recycling of 40% of the initial thiol groups. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

How thioredoxin dissociates its mixed disulfide.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goedele Roos

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The dissociation mechanism of the thioredoxin (Trx mixed disulfide complexes is unknown and has been debated for more than twenty years. Specifically, opposing arguments for the activation of the nucleophilic cysteine as a thiolate during the dissociation of the complex have been put forward. As a key model, the complex between Trx and its endogenous substrate, arsenate reductase (ArsC, was used. In this structure, a Cys29(Trx-Cys89(ArsC intermediate disulfide is formed by the nucleophilic attack of Cys29(Trx on the exposed Cys82(ArsC-Cys89(ArsC in oxidized ArsC. With theoretical reactivity analysis, molecular dynamics simulations, and biochemical complex formation experiments with Cys-mutants, Trx mixed disulfide dissociation was studied. We observed that the conformational changes around the intermediate disulfide bring Cys32(Trx in contact with Cys29(Trx. Cys32(Trx is activated for its nucleophilic attack by hydrogen bonds, and Cys32(Trx is found to be more reactive than Cys82(ArsC. Additionally, Cys32(Trx directs its nucleophilic attack on the more susceptible Cys29(Trx and not on Cys89(ArsC. This multidisciplinary approach provides fresh insights into a universal thiol/disulfide exchange reaction mechanism that results in reduced substrate and oxidized Trx.

Radioiodine-labeled disulfide: a novel radiotracer for evaluation of tumor uptake

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryu, E. K.; Choi, Y. S.; Byun, S. S.; Baek, J. Y.; Lee, K. H.; Kim, S. E.; Choi, Y.; Kim, B. T. [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2002-07-01

Diallyl disulfide found in garlic has been known to inhibit the growth of various cancer cells. In this study, iodine-substituted disulfides were synthesized and their growth inhibitory effects on cancer cells (SUN C5 and MCF-7) were investigated. Dibenzyl disulfide was labeled with {sup 123}I/{sup 125}I for evaluation of tumor uptake. Halogen-substituted disulfides were synthesized using 2,2'-dithiobis(benzothiazole) and one equivalent each of the corresponding thiols. Growth inhibition studies were performed on cancer cells that were grown at 37 .deg. C for 48 hr prior to exposure to the disulfides. Radioiodine-labeled disulfide was prepared by halogen exchange reaction on the 4-bromodibenzyl disulfide in the presence of Na{sup 123}I/{sup 125}I and CuCl at 150 .deg. C for 60 min, followed by HPLC purification. Uptake of the radioactivity to SUN C5 cells was measured as a function of time, and inhibition studies were performed in the presence of either S-methyl methanethiosulfonate (MMTS) or diallyl disulfide. Disulfides were synthesized in the high yields (90%). Tumor growth inhibition studies by the 3 iododisulfides showed the inhibition (>95%) comparable to diallyl disulfide (100%). Cu(I)-assisted radioiodination gave 4-{sup 123}I/{sup 125}I-iododibenzyl disulfide in overall 30-40% radiochemical yield and with high specific activity. Cell uptake studies of the radiolabeled disulfide showed a time-dependent increase of the uptake (4-fold increase from 15 min to 2 hr). Both MMTS, a glutathione depleting agent, and diallyl disulfide reduced the uptake of the radioactivity in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition studies suggest that uptake of disulfide to the tumor cells could be mediated by thiol-disulfide exchange. This study demonstrates that radioiodine-labeled dibenzyl disulfide may be useful for evaluation of tumor uptake.

Domain architecture of protein-disulfide isomerase facilitates its dual role as an oxidase and an isomerase in Ero1p-mediated disulfide formation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kulp, M. S.; Frickel, E. M.; Ellgaard, Lars

2006-01-01

reduction/rearrangement of non-native disulfides is poorly understood. We analyzed the role of individual PDI domains in disulfide bond formation in a reaction driven by their natural oxidant, Ero1p. We found that Ero1p oxidizes the isolated PDI catalytic thioredoxin domains, A and A' at the same rate......Native disulfide bond formation in eukaryotes is dependent on protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) and its homologs, which contain varying combinations of catalytically active and inactive thioredoxin domains. However, the specific contribution of PDI to the formation of new disulfides versus...... catalytic (A) domain. The specific order of thioredoxin domains in PDI is important in establishing the asymmetry in the rate of oxidation of the two active sites thus allowing A and A', two thioredoxin domains that are similar in sequence and structure, to serve opposing functional roles as a disulfide...

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry with diselenides and disulfides in water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Brian; Sørensen, Anne; Gotfredsen, Henrik

2014-01-01

Diselenide exchange is introduced as a reversible reaction in dynamic combinatorial chemistry in water. At neutral pH, diselenides are found to mix with disulfides and form dynamic combinatorial libraries of diselenides, disulfides, and selenenylsulfides. This journal is......Diselenide exchange is introduced as a reversible reaction in dynamic combinatorial chemistry in water. At neutral pH, diselenides are found to mix with disulfides and form dynamic combinatorial libraries of diselenides, disulfides, and selenenylsulfides. This journal is...

Rapid expansion of the protein disulfide isomerase gene family facilitates the folding of venom peptides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Safavi-Hemami, Helena; Li, Qing; Jackson, Ronneshia L.

2016-01-01

Formation of correct disulfide bonds in the endoplasmic reticulum is a crucial step for folding proteins destined for secretion. Protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) play a central role in this process. We report a previously unidentified, hypervariable family of PDIs that represents the most...... diverse gene family of oxidoreductases described in a single genus to date. These enzymes are highly expressed specifically in the venom glands of predatory cone snails, animals that synthesize a remarkably diverse set of cysteine-rich peptide toxins (conotoxins). Enzymes in this PDI family, termed...

Soft Computing Methods for Disulfide Connectivity Prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Márquez-Chamorro, Alfonso E; Aguilar-Ruiz, Jesús S

2015-01-01

The problem of protein structure prediction (PSP) is one of the main challenges in structural bioinformatics. To tackle this problem, PSP can be divided into several subproblems. One of these subproblems is the prediction of disulfide bonds. The disulfide connectivity prediction problem consists in identifying which nonadjacent cysteines would be cross-linked from all possible candidates. Determining the disulfide bond connectivity between the cysteines of a protein is desirable as a previous step of the 3D PSP, as the protein conformational search space is highly reduced. The most representative soft computing approaches for the disulfide bonds connectivity prediction problem of the last decade are summarized in this paper. Certain aspects, such as the different methodologies based on soft computing approaches (artificial neural network or support vector machine) or features of the algorithms, are used for the classification of these methods.

The synthesis of unsymmetric disulfides for use as radio-protectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, S.H.H.

1988-01-01

Unsymmetric disulfides with radioprotective potential were synthesized by linking biomolecules, and related substances, to known radio-protective aminothiols via a disulfide bond. The biomolecules used in this research include mercaptoalcohols, mercaptopyridines and mercaptophenothiazines. Unsymmetric disulfides were synthesized by reacting two thiols with diethyl azodicarboxylate sequentially at low temperature. The reactions of thiols with thiosulfinate were studied as an alternative for synthesizing disulfides. A cross-linked polystyrene was thiolated by different reagents. The thiolation of polymers is part of a methodological study using solid phase synthesis to synthesize unsymmetric disulfides

Widespread Disulfide Bonding in Proteins from Thermophilic Archaea

OpenAIRE

Jorda, Julien; Yeates, Todd O.

2011-01-01

Disulfide bonds are generally not used to stabilize proteins in the cytosolic compartments of bacteria or eukaryotic cells, owing to the chemically reducing nature of those environments. In contrast, certain thermophilic archaea use disulfide bonding as a major mechanism for protein stabilization. Here, we provide a current survey of completely sequenced genomes, applying computational methods to estimate the use of disulfide bonding across the Archaea. Microbes belonging to the Crenarchaea...

Thiol-disulfide exchange in peptides derived from human growth hormone.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandrasekhar, Saradha; Epling, Daniel E; Sophocleous, Andreas M; Topp, Elizabeth M

2014-04-01

Disulfide bonds stabilize proteins by cross-linking distant regions into a compact three-dimensional structure. They can also participate in hydrolytic and oxidative pathways to form nonnative disulfide bonds and other reactive species. Such covalent modifications can contribute to protein aggregation. Here, we present experimental data for the mechanism of thiol-disulfide exchange in tryptic peptides derived from human growth hormone in aqueous solution. Reaction kinetics was monitored to investigate the effect of pH (6.0-10.0), temperature (4-50°C), oxidation suppressants [ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and N2 sparging], and peptide secondary structure (amide cyclized vs. open form). The concentrations of free thiol containing peptides, scrambled disulfides, and native disulfide-linked peptides generated via thiol-disulfide exchange and oxidation reactions were determined using reverse-phase HPLC and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Concentration versus time data were fitted to a mathematical model using nonlinear least squares regression analysis. At all pH values, the model was able to fit the data with R(2) ≥ 0.95. Excluding oxidation suppressants (EDTA and N2 sparging) resulted in an increase in the formation of scrambled disulfides via oxidative pathways but did not influence the intrinsic rate of thiol-disulfide exchange. In addition, peptide secondary structure was found to influence the rate of thiol-disulfide exchange. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Study of the helium cross-section of unsymmetric disulfide self-assembled monolayers on Au(111)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albayrak, Erol [Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Ahi Evran University, Kırşehir 40000 (Turkey); Karabuga, Semistan [Department of Chemistry, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Kahramanmaraş 46030 (Turkey); Bracco, Gianangelo [CNR-IMEM and Department of Physics, University of Genoa, Via Dodecaneso 33, Genoa 16146 (Italy); Danışman, M. Fatih, E-mail: danisman@metu.edu.tr [Department of Chemistry, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800 (Turkey)

2016-12-30

Highlights: • Unsymmetrtic disulfide (HDD and HOD) self assembled monolayers were grown on Au(111) by supersonic molecular beam deposition. • Helium scattering cross sections for these two different unsymmetric disulfides were determined. • A common low temperature film phase was observed for the studied disulfides. - Abstract: We have investigated the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 11-hydroxyundecyl decyl disulfide (CH{sub 3}-(CH{sub 2}){sub 9}-S-S-(CH{sub 2}){sub 11}-OH, HDD) and 11-hydroxyundecyl octadecyl disulfide (CH{sub 3}-(CH{sub 2}){sub 17}-S-S-(CH{sub 2}){sub 11}-OH, HOD) produced by supersonic molecular beam deposition (SMBD). The study has been carried out by means of helium diffraction at very low film coverage. In this regime helium single molecule cross sections have been estimated in a temperature range between 100 K and 450 K. The results show a different behavior above 300 K that has been interpreted as the starting of mobility with the formation of two thiolate moieties either linked by a gold adatom or distant enough to prevent cross section overlapping. Finally, helium diffraction patterns measured at 80 K for the SAMs grown at 200 K are discussed and the results support the proposed hypothesis of molecular dissociation based on the cross section data.

Desensitization and recovery of metastable intermolecular composites

Science.gov (United States)

Busse, James R [South Fork, CO; Dye, Robert C [Los Alamos, NM; Foley, Timothy J [Los Alamos, NM; Higa, Kelvin T [Ridgecrest, CA; Jorgensen, Betty S [Jemez Springs, NM; Sanders, Victor E [White Rock, NM; Son, Steven F [Los Alamos, NM

2010-09-07

A method to substantially desensitize a metastable intermolecular composite material to electrostatic discharge and friction comprising mixing the composite material with an organic diluent and removing enough organic diluent from the mixture to form a mixture with a substantially putty-like consistency, as well as a concomitant method of recovering the metastable intermolecular composite material.

Kinetic and Thermodynamic Aspects of Cellular Thiol-Disulfide Redox Regulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kristine Steen; Hansen, Rosa Erritzøe; Winther, Jakob R

2009-01-01

. In the cytosol regulatory disulfide bonds are typically formed in spite of the prevailing reducing conditions and may thereby function as redox switches. Such disulfide bonds are protected from enzymatic reduction by kinetic barriers and are thus allowed to exist long enough to elicit the signal. Factors......Regulation of intracellular thiol-disulfide redox status is an essential part of cellular homeostasis. This involves the regulation of both oxidative and reductive pathways, production of oxidant scavengers and, importantly, the ability of cells to respond to changes in the redox environment...... that affect the rate of thiol-disulfide exchange and stability of disulfide bonds are discussed within the framework of the underlying chemical foundations. This includes the effect of thiol acidity (pKa), the local electrostatic environment, molecular strain and entropy. Even though a thiol-disulfide...

Single Layer Molybdenum Disulfide under Direct Out-of-Plane Compression: Low-Stress Band-Gap Engineering

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Álvarez, M. P.; del Corro, Elena; Morales-García, A.; Kavan, Ladislav; Kalbáč, Martin; Frank, Otakar

2015-01-01

Roč. 15, č. 5 (2015), s. 3139-3146 ISSN 1530-6984 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-15357S; GA MŠk LL1301 Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : Molybdenum disulfide * band gap engineering * out-of-plane compression Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 13.779, year: 2015

Step-wise addition of disulfide bridge in firefly luciferase controls color shift through a flexible loop: a thermodynamic perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazari, Mahboobeh; Hosseinkhani, Saman; Hassani, Leila

2013-02-01

Multi-color bioluminescence is developed using the introduction of single/double disulfide bridges in firefly luciferase. The bioluminescence reaction, which uses luciferin, Mg(2+)-ATP and molecular oxygen to yield an electronically excited oxyluciferin, is carried out by the luciferase and emits visible light. The bioluminescence color of firefly luciferases is determined by the luciferase sequence and assay conditions. It has been proposed that the stability of a protein may increase through the introduction of a disulfide bridge that decreases the configurational entropy of unfolding. Single and double disulfide bridges are introduced into Photinus pyralis firefly luciferase to make separate mutant enzymes with a single/double bridge (C(81)-A(105)C, L(306)C-L(309)C, P(451)C-V(469)C; C(81)-A(105)C/P(451)C-V(469)C, and A(296)C-A(326)C/P(451)C-V(469)C). By introduction of disulfide bridges using site-directed mutagenesis in Photinus pyralis luciferase the color of emitted light was changed to red or kept in different extents. The bioluminescence color shift occurred with displacement of a critical loop in the luciferase structure without any change in green emitter mutants. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that among mutants, L(306)C-L(309)C shows a remarkable stability against urea denaturation and also a considerable increase in kinetic stability and a clear shift in bioluminescence spectra towards red.

Selective disulfide reduction for labeling and enhancement of Fab antibody fragments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirley, Terence L; Greis, Kenneth D; Norman, Andrew B

2016-11-25

Many methods have been developed for chemical labeling and enhancement of the properties of antibodies and their common fragments, including the Fab and F(ab') 2 fragments. Somewhat selective reduction of some antibody disulfide bonds has been previously achieved, yielding antibodies and antibody fragments that can be labeled at defined sites, enhancing their utility and properties. Selective reduction of the two hinge disulfide bonds present in F(ab') 2 fragments using mild reduction has been useful. However, such reduction is often not quantitative and results in the reduction of multiple disulfide bonds, and therefore subsequent multiple labeling or conjugation sites are neither homogenous nor stoichiometric. Here, a simple and efficient selective reduction of the single disulfide bond linking the partial heavy chain and the intact light chain which compose the Fab fragment is accomplished utilizing tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) immobilized on agarose beads. The resultant reduced cysteine residues were labeled with several cysteine-selective fluorescent reagents, as well as by cysteine-directed PEGylation. These two cysteine residues can also be re-ligated by means of a bifunctional cysteine cross-linking agent, dibromobimane, thereby both restoring a covalent linkage between the heavy and light chains at this site, far removed from the antigen binding site, and also introducing a fluorescent probe. There are many other research and clinical uses for these selectively partially reduced Fab fragments, including biotinylation, toxin and drug conjugation, and incorporation of radioisotopes, and this technique enables simple generation of very useful Fab fragment derivatives with many potential applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Steric effects in peptide and protein exchange with activated disulfides.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Jason; Schlosser, Jessica L; Griffin, Donald R; Wong, Darice Y; Kasko, Andrea M

2013-08-12

Disulfide exchange is an important bioconjugation tool, enabling chemical modification of peptides and proteins containing free cysteines. We previously reported the synthesis of a macromer bearing an activated disulfide and its incorporation into hydrogels. Despite their ability to diffuse freely into hydrogels, larger proteins were unable to undergo in-gel disulfide exchange. In order to understand this phenomenon, we synthesized four different activated disulfide-bearing model compounds (Mn = 300 Da to 10 kDa) and quantified their rate of disulfide exchange with a small peptide (glutathione), a moderate-sized protein (β-lactoglobulin), and a large protein (bovine serum albumin) in four different pH solutions (6.0, 7.0, 7.4, and 8.0) to mimic biological systems. Rate constants of exchange depend significantly on the size and accessibility of the thiolate. pH also significantly affects the rate of reaction, with the faster reactions occurring at higher pH. Surprisingly, little difference in exchange rates is seen between macromolecular disulfides of varying size (Mn = 2 kDa - 10 kDa), although all undergo exchange more slowly than their small molecule analogue (MW = 300 g/mol). The maximum exchange efficiencies (% disulfides exchanged after 24 h) are not siginificantly affected by thiol size or pH, but somewhat affected by disulfide size. Therefore, while all three factors investigated (pH, disulfide size, and thiolate size) can influence the exchange kinetics and extent of reaction, the size of the thiolate and its accessibility plays the most significant role.

Chemoreactomic analysis of thiamine disulfide, thiamine hydrochloride, and benfotiamine molecules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. A. Gromova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to analyze the interactions that could indicate the potential pharmacological properties of the molecules of thiamin, thiamine disulfide, and others.Material and methods. The investigators simulated the properties of thiamine disulfide (bistiamin versus those of the reference molecules of thiamin hydrochloride and benfotiamine. The study was performed using chemoreactomic simulation that is the newest area in post-genome pharmacology.Results and discussion. Chemoreactomic analysis has shown that thiamine disulfide can inhibit the molecular receptors involved in blood pressure regulation: adrenoceptors, vasopressin receptor, and angiotensin receptor. Thiamine disulfide can inhibit the reuptake of serotonin, increase its levels, inhibit benzodiazepine receptor and dopamine reuptake, and enhance neuronal acetylcholine release to a large extent than benfotiamine. These molecular effects are consistent with the sedative and anticonvulsant action profile of thiamine disulfide. Simulation has indicated that thiamine disulfide has neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, normolipidemic, and antitumor activities.Conclusion. The simulation results are confirmed by the available clinical and experimental findings and indicate the virtually unstudied molecular mechanisms of action of thiamine disulfide, benfotiamine, and thiamin hydrochloride. 

Impaired Thiol-Disulfide Balance in Acute Brucellosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolgelier, Servet; Ergin, Merve; Demir, Lutfi Saltuk; Inkaya, Ahmet Cagkan; Aktug Demir, Nazlim; Alisik, Murat; Erel, Ozcan

2017-05-24

The objective of this study was to examine a novel profile: thiol-disulfide homeostasis in acute brucellosis. The study included 90 patients with acute brucellosis, and 27 healthy controls. Thiol-disulfide profile tests were analyzed by a recently developed method, and ceruloplasmin levels were determined. Native thiol levels were 256.72 ± 48.20 μmol/L in the acute brucellosis group and 461.13 ± 45.37 μmol/L in the healthy group, and total thiol levels were 298.58 ± 51.78 μmol/L in the acute brucellosis group and 504.83 ± 51.05 μmol/L in the healthy group (p brucellosis than in the healthy controls (p brucellosis. The strong associations between thiol-disulfide parameters and a positive acute-phase reactant reflected the disruption of the balance between the antioxidant and oxidant systems. Since thiol groups act as anti-inflammatory mediators, the alteration in the thiol-disulfide homeostasis may be involved in brucellosis.

Regional cerebral blood flow after long-term exposure to carbon disulfide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aaserud, O.; Russell, D.; Nyberg-Hansen, R.; Joergensen, E.B.; Gjerstad, L.; Rootwelt, K.; Nakstad, P.; Hommeren, O.J.; Tvedt, B.

1992-01-01

Sixteen former rayon viscose workers were investigated four years after the exposure to carbon disulfide was discontinued. Median age was 58 years (range 43-65 years), median exposure time was 17 years (range 10-35 years). Encephalopathy was diagnosed in altogether 14 workers. To further explore pathophysiological mechanisms, cerebrovascular investigations were employed. Doppler ultrasound examination of the precerebral vessels in 15 workers showed a slight stenosis of the left internal carotid artery in one. Regional cerebral blood flow investigation (rCBF) with single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) with Xenon-133 gas was performed in 14. There was no significant difference from a control group. Regional side-to-side asymmetries beyond reference limits were demonstrated in eight workers. The abnormalities were modest, but may indicate a tendency toward focal blood flow disturbances in workers with long-term exposure to carbon disulfide. (au)

On the photostability of the disulfide bond

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stephansen, Anne Boutrup; Larsen, Martin Alex Bjørn; Klein, Liv Bærenholdt

2014-01-01

Photostability is an essential property of molecular building blocks of nature. Disulfides are central in the structure determination of proteins, which is in striking contradiction to the result that the S-S bond is a photochemically labile structural entity that cleaves to form free radicals upon...... on a sub 50 fs timescale without further ado. In a cyclic motif resembling the cysteine-disulfide bond in proteins, light can perturb the S-S bond to generate short-lived diradicaloid species, but the sulfur atoms are conformationally restricted by the ring that prevents the sulfur atoms from flying apart...... the photostability of disulfide-bonds must be ascribed a cyclic structural arrangement....

Regulation of interleukin-4 signaling by extracellular reduction of intramolecular disulfides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curbo, Sophie; Gaudin, Raphael; Carlsten, Mattias; Malmberg, Karl-Johan; Troye-Blomberg, Marita; Ahlborg, Niklas; Karlsson, Anna; Johansson, Magnus; Lundberg, Mathias

2009-01-01

Interleukin-4 (IL-4) contains three structurally important intramolecular disulfides that are required for the bioactivity of the cytokine. We show that the cell surface of HeLa cells and endotoxin-activated monocytes can reduce IL-4 intramolecular disulfides in the extracellular space and inhibit binding of IL-4 to the IL-4Rα receptor. IL-4 disulfides were in vitro reduced by thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) and protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). Reduction of IL-4 disulfides by the cell surface of HeLa cells was inhibited by auranofin, an inhibitor of thioredoxin reductase that is an electron donor to both Trx1 and PDI. Both Trx1 and PDI have been shown to be located at the cell surface and our data suggests that these enzymes are involved in catalyzing reduction of IL-4 disulfides. The pro-drug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) that promotes T-helper type 1 responses was also shown to mediate the reduction of IL-4 disulfides. Our data provides evidence for a novel redox dependent pathway for regulation of cytokine activity by extracellular reduction of intramolecular disulfides at the cell surface by members of the thioredoxin enzyme family.

Brain MRI findings of carbon disulfide poisoning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Joo Hee; Kim, Mi Jung; Yim, Sang Hyuk; Kim, Sam Soo; Han, Heon; Kim, Rok Ho

2002-01-01

To evaluate the findings of brain MRI in patients with carbon disulfide poisoning. Ninety-one patients who had suffered carbon disulfide poisoning [male:female=87:4; age, 32-74 (mean 53.3) years] were included in this study. To determine the extent of white matter hyperintensity (Grade 0-V) and lacunar infarction, T2-weighted MR imaging of the brain was performed. T2-weighted images depicted white matter hyperintensity in 70 patients (76.9%) and lacunar infarcts in 27 (29.7%). In these patients, the prevalent findings at T2-weighted MR imaging of the brain were white matter hyperintensity and lacunar infarcts. Disturbance of the cardiovascular system by carbon disulfide might account for these results

Systematic study on intermolecular valence-band dispersion in molecular crystalline films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamane, Hiroyuki; Kosugi, Nobuhiro

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Intermolecular valence-band dispersion of crystalline films of phthalocyanines. • Intermolecular transfer integral versus lattice constant. • Site-specific intermolecular interaction and resultant valence-band dispersion. • Band narrowing effect induced by elevated temperature. - Abstract: Functionalities of organic semiconductors are governed not only by individual properties of constituent molecules but also by solid-state electronic states near the Fermi level such as frontier molecular orbitals, depending on weak intermolecular interactions in various conformations. The individual molecular property has been widely investigated in detail; on the other hand, the weak intermolecular interaction is difficult to investigate precisely due to the presence of the structural and thermal energy broadenings in organic solids. Here we show quite small but essential intermolecular valence band dispersions and their temperature dependence of sub-0.1-eV scale in crystalline films of metal phthalocyanines (H_2Pc, ZnPc, CoPc, MnPc, and F_1_6ZnPc) by using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) with synchrotron radiation. The observed bands show intermolecular and site dependent dispersion widths, phases, and periodicities, for different chemical substitution of terminal groups and central metals in the phthalocyanine molecule. The precise and systematic band-dispersion measurement would be a credible approach toward the comprehensive understanding of intermolecular interactions and resultant charge transport properties as well as their tuning by substituents in organic molecular systems.

Intermolecular interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaplan, I.G.; Rodimova, O.B.; AN SSSR, Tomsk. Inst. Optiki Atmosfery)

1978-01-01

The present state of the intermolecular interaction theory is described. The general physical picture of the molecular interactions is given, the relative contributions of interactions of different types are analyzed (electrostatic, resonance, induction, dispersion, relativistic, magnetostatic and exchange), and the main ones in each range of separations are picked out. The methods of the potential curve calculations are considered, specific for definite separations between the interacting systems. The special attention is paid to the analysis of approximations used in different theoretical calculation methods

Recent mass spectrometry-based techniques and considerations for disulfide bond characterization in proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Lakbub, Jude C; Shipman, Joshua T; Desaire, Heather

2018-04-01

Disulfide bonds are important structural moieties of proteins: they ensure proper folding, provide stability, and ensure proper function. With the increasing use of proteins for biotherapeutics, particularly monoclonal antibodies, which are highly disulfide bonded, it is now important to confirm the correct disulfide bond connectivity and to verify the presence, or absence, of disulfide bond variants in the protein therapeutics. These studies help to ensure safety and efficacy. Hence, disulfide bonds are among the critical quality attributes of proteins that have to be monitored closely during the development of biotherapeutics. However, disulfide bond analysis is challenging because of the complexity of the biomolecules. Mass spectrometry (MS) has been the go-to analytical tool for the characterization of such complex biomolecules, and several methods have been reported to meet the challenging task of mapping disulfide bonds in proteins. In this review, we describe the relevant, recent MS-based techniques and provide important considerations needed for efficient disulfide bond analysis in proteins. The review focuses on methods for proper sample preparation, fragmentation techniques for disulfide bond analysis, recent disulfide bond mapping methods based on the fragmentation techniques, and automated algorithms designed for rapid analysis of disulfide bonds from liquid chromatography-MS/MS data. Researchers involved in method development for protein characterization can use the information herein to facilitate development of new MS-based methods for protein disulfide bond analysis. In addition, individuals characterizing biotherapeutics, especially by disulfide bond mapping in antibodies, can use this review to choose the best strategies for disulfide bond assignment of their biologic products. Graphical Abstract This review, describing characterization methods for disulfide bonds in proteins, focuses on three critical components: sample preparation, mass

Measurement of glutathione-protein mixed disulfides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livesey, J.C.; Reed, D.J.

1984-01-01

The development of a sensitive and highly specific assay for the presence of mixed disulfides between protein thiol groups and endogenous thiols has been undertaken. Previous investigations on the concentrations of glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and protein glutathione mixed disulfides (ProSSG) have been of limited usefulness because of the poor specificity of the assays used. Our assay for these forms of glutathione is based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and is an extension of an earlier method. After perchloric acid precipitation, the protein sample is washed with an organic solvent to fully denature the protein. Up to a 10-fold increase in GSH released from fetal bovine serum (FBS) protein has been found when the protein precipitate is washed with ethanol rather than ether, as earlier suggested. Similar effects have been observed with an as yet unidentified thiol which elutes in the chromatography system with a retention volume similar to cysteine

Determination of Disulfide Bond Connectivity of Cysteine-rich Peptide IpTx{sub a}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Chul Won; Kim, Jim Il [Chonnam National Univ., Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Sato, Kazuki [Fukuoka Women' s Univ., Fukuoka (Japan)

2013-06-15

Cysteine-rich peptides stabilized by intramolecular disulfide bonds have often been isolated from venoms of microbes, animals and plants. These peptides typically have much higher stability and improved biopharmaceutical properties compared to their linear counterparts. Therefore the correct disulfide bond formation of small proteins and peptides has been extensively studied for a better understanding of their folding mechanism and achieving efficient generation of the naturally occurring biologically active product. Imperatoxin A (IpTx{sub a}), a peptide toxin containing 6 cysteine residues, was isolated from the venom of scorpion Pandinus imperator, selectively binds the ryanodine receptors and activates Ca{sup 2+} release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). IpTx{sub a} increases the binding of ryanodine to ryanodine receptors (RyRs) and encourages reconstituted single channel to induce subconductance states.

Structures and related properties of helical, disulfide-stabilized peptides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pagel, Mark D. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

1993-11-01

The three dimensional structure of several peptides were determined by NMR spectroscopy and distance geometry calculations. Each peptide formed a predictable, rigid structure, consisting of an α-helix, a "scaffold" region which packed along one face of the helix, and two disulfide bridges which covalently connect the helix and scaffold regions. The peptide Apa-M5 was designed to constrain the M5 peptide from MLCK in a helical geometry using the apamin disulfide scaffold. This scaffold constrains the N- terminal end of the helix with two disulfide bridges and a reverse turn. Like the M5 peptide, Apa-M5 was found to bind calmodulin in a Ca²⁺-dependent 1:1 stoichiometry. However, the dissociation constant of the (Apa-M5)-calmodulin complex, 107 nM, was 100-fold higher than the dissociation constant of the M5-calmodulin complex. This difference was due to a putative steric overlap between the Apa-M5 scaffold and calmodulin. The peptide Apa-Cro was designed to replace the large structural protein matrix of λ Cro with the apamin disulfide scaffold. However, Apa-Cro did not bind the consensus DNA operator half-site of λ Cro, probably due to a steric overlap between the Apa-Cro disulfide framework and the DNA. The amino acid sequence of the scaffold-disulfide bridge arrangement of the peptide Max was derived from the core sequence of scyllatoxin, which contains an α-helix constrained at the C-terminal end by two disulfide bridges and a two-stranded βsheet scaffold. Max was shown to fold with >84% yield to form a predictable, stable structure that is similar to scyllatoxin. The folding and stability properties of Max make this scaffold and disulfide bridge arrangement an ideal candidate for the development of hybrid sequence peptides. The dynamics of a fraying C-terminal end of the helix of the peptide Apa-AlaN was determined by analysis of ¹⁵N NMR relaxation properties.

Landau-Zener tunneling in the presence of weak intermolecular interactions in a crystal of Mn4 single-molecule magnets

Science.gov (United States)

Wernsdorfer, W.; Bhaduri, S.; Vinslava, A.; Christou, G.

2005-12-01

A Mn4 single-molecule magnet (SMM), with a well-isolated spin ground state of S=9/2 , is used as a model system to study Landau-Zener (LZ) tunneling in the presence of weak intermolecular dipolar and exchange interactions. The anisotropy constants D and B are measured with minor hysteresis loops. A transverse field is used to tune the tunnel splitting over a large range. Using the LZ and inverse LZ method, it is shown that these interactions play an important role in the tunnel rates. Three regions are identified: (i) at small transverse fields, tunneling is dominated by single tunnel transitions, (ii) at intermediate transverse fields, the measured tunnel rates are governed by reshuffling of internal fields, and (iii) at larger transverse fields, the magnetization reversal starts to be influenced by the direct relaxation process, and many-body tunnel events may occur. The hole digging method is used to study the next-nearest-neighbor interactions. At small external fields, it is shown that magnetic ordering occurs which does not quench tunneling. An applied transverse field can increase the ordering rate. Spin-spin cross-relaxations, mediated by dipolar and weak exchange interactions, are proposed to explain additional quantum steps.

Combining biophysical methods to analyze the disulfide bond in SH2 domain of C-terminal Src kinase.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dongsheng; Cowburn, David

2016-01-01

The Src Homology 2 (SH2) domain is a structurally conserved protein domain that typically binds to a phosphorylated tyrosine in a peptide motif from the target protein. The SH2 domain of C-terminal Src kinase (Csk) contains a single disulfide bond, which is unusual for most SH2 domains. Although the global motion of SH2 domain regulates Csk function, little is known about the relationship between the disulfide bond and binding of the ligand. In this study, we combined X-ray crystallography, solution NMR, and other biophysical methods to reveal the interaction network in Csk. Denaturation studies have shown that disulfide bond contributes significantly to the stability of SH2 domain, and crystal structures of the oxidized and C122S mutant showed minor conformational changes. We further investigated the binding of SH2 domain to a phosphorylated peptide from Csk-binding protein upon reduction and oxidation using both NMR and fluorescence approaches. This work employed NMR, X-ray cryptography, and other biophysical methods to study a disulfide bond in Csk SH2 domain. In addition, this work provides in-depth understanding of the structural dynamics of Csk SH2 domain.

Defect-Mediated Lithium Adsorption and Diffusion on Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide

OpenAIRE

Sun, Xiaoli; Wang, Zhiguo; Fu, Yong Qing

2015-01-01

Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries because of its high capacities. In this work, first principle calculations based on spin density functional theory were performed to investigate adsorption and diffusion of lithium on monolayer MoS2 with defects, such as single- and few-atom vacancies, antisite, and grain boundary. The values of adsorption energies on the monolayer MoS2 with the defects were increased compared to those on the pristin...

Thiol/disulfide redox states in signaling and sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Go, Young-Mi; Jones, Dean P.

2015-01-01

Rapid advances in redox systems biology are creating new opportunities to understand complexities of human disease and contributions of environmental exposures. New understanding of thiol-disulfide systems have occurred during the past decade as a consequence of the discoveries that thiol and disulfide systems are maintained in kinetically controlled steady-states displaced from thermodynamic equilibrium, that a widely distributed family of NADPH oxidases produces oxidants that function in cell signaling, and that a family of peroxiredoxins utilize thioredoxin as a reductant to complement the well-studied glutathione antioxidant system for peroxide elimination and redox regulation. This review focuses on thiol/disulfide redox state in biologic systems and the knowledge base available to support development of integrated redox systems biology models to better understand the function and dysfunction of thiol-disulfide redox systems. In particular, central principles have emerged concerning redox compartmentalization and utility of thiol/disulfide redox measures as indicators of physiologic function. Advances in redox proteomics show that, in addition to functioning in protein active sites and cell signaling, cysteine residues also serve as redox sensors to integrate biologic functions. These advances provide a framework for translation of redox systems biology concepts to practical use in understanding and treating human disease. Biological responses to cadmium, a widespread environmental agent, are used to illustrate the utility of these advances to the understanding of complex pleiotropic toxicities. PMID:23356510

MTH1745, a protein disulfide isomerase-like protein from thermophilic archaea, Methanothermobacter thermoautotrophicum involving in stress response.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Xia; Lv, Zhen-Mei; Zhao, Yang; Min, Hang; Yang, Wei-Jun

2008-01-01

MTH1745 is a putative protein disulfide isomerase characterized with 151 amino acid residues and a CPAC active-site from the anaerobic archaea Methanothermobacter thermoautotrophicum. The potential functions of MTH1745 are not clear. In the present study, we show a crucial role of MTH1745 in protecting cells against stress which may be related to its functions as a disulfide isomerase and its chaperone properties. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses, the level of MTH1745 messenger RNA (mRNA) in the thermophilic archaea M. thermoautotrophicum was found to be stress-induced in that it was significantly higher under low (50 degrees C) and high (70 degrees C) growth temperatures than under the optimal growth temperature for the organism (65 degrees C). Additionally, the expression of MTH1745 mRNA was up-regulated by cold shock (4 degrees C). Furthermore, the survival of MTH1745 expressing Escherichia coli cells was markedly higher than that of control cells in response to heat shock (51.0 degrees C). These results indicated that MTH1745 plays an important role in the resistance of stress. By assay of enzyme activities in vitro, MTH1745 also exhibited a chaperone function by promoting the functional folding of citrate synthase after thermodenaturation. On the other hand, MTH1745 was also shown to function as a disulfide isomerase on the refolding of denatured and reduced ribonuclease A. On the basis of its single thioredoxin domain, function as a disulfide isomerase, and its chaperone activity, we suggest that MTH1745 may be an ancient protein disulfide isomerase. These studies may provide clues to the understanding of the function of protein disulfide isomerase in archaea.

A structural model of pestivirus E(rns) based on disulfide bond connectivity and homology modeling reveals an extremely rare vicinal disulfide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langedijk, J.P.M.; Veelen, van P.A.; Schaaper, W.M.M.; Ru, de A.H.; Meloen, R.H.; Hulst, M.M.

2002-01-01

Erns is a pestivirus envelope glycoprotein and is the only known viral surface protein with RNase activity. Erns is a disulfide-linked homodimer of 100 kDa; it is found on the surface of pestivirus-infected cells and is secreted into the medium. In this study, the disulfide arrangement of the nine

Quantifying the global cellular thiol-disulfide status

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Rosa E; Roth, Doris; Winther, Jakob R

2009-01-01

It is widely accepted that the redox status of protein thiols is of central importance to protein structure and folding and that glutathione is an important low-molecular-mass redox regulator. However, the total cellular pools of thiols and disulfides and their relative abundance have never been...... determined. In this study, we have assembled a global picture of the cellular thiol-disulfide status in cultured mammalian cells. We have quantified the absolute levels of protein thiols, protein disulfides, and glutathionylated protein (PSSG) in all cellular protein, including membrane proteins. These data...... cell types. However, when cells are exposed to a sublethal dose of the thiol-specific oxidant diamide, PSSG levels increase to >15% of all protein cysteine. Glutathione is typically characterized as the "cellular redox buffer"; nevertheless, our data show that protein thiols represent a larger active...

Conformational analysis and design of cross-strand disulfides in antiparallel β-sheets.

Science.gov (United States)

Indu, S; Kochat, V; Thakurela, S; Ramakrishnan, C; Varadarajan, Raghavan

2011-01-01

Cross-strand disulfides bridge two cysteines in a registered pair of antiparallel β-strands. A nonredundant data set comprising 5025 polypeptides containing 2311 disulfides was used to study cross-strand disulfides. Seventy-six cross-strand disulfides were found of which 75 and 1 occurred at non-hydrogen-bonded (NHB) and hydrogen-bonded (HB) registered pairs, respectively. Conformational analysis and modeling studies demonstrated that disulfide formation at HB pairs necessarily requires an extremely rare and positive χ¹ value for at least one of the cysteine residues. Disulfides at HB positions also have more unfavorable steric repulsion with the main chain. Thirteen pairs of disulfides were introduced in NHB and HB pairs in four model proteins: leucine binding protein (LBP), leucine, isoleucine, valine binding protein (LIVBP), maltose binding protein (MBP), and Top7. All mutants LIVBP T247C V331C showed disulfide formation either on purification, or on treatment with oxidants. Protein stability in both oxidized and reduced states of all mutants was measured. Relative to wild type, LBP and MBP mutants were destabilized with respect to chemical denaturation, although the sole exposed NHB LBP mutant showed an increase of 3.1°C in T(m). All Top7 mutants were characterized for stability through guanidinium thiocyanate chemical denaturation. Both exposed and two of the three buried NHB mutants were appreciably stabilized. All four HB Top7 mutants were destabilized (ΔΔG⁰ = -3.3 to -6.7 kcal/mol). The data demonstrate that introduction of cross-strand disulfides at exposed NHB pairs is a robust method of improving protein stability. All four exposed Top7 disulfide mutants showed mild redox activity. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A molybdenum disulfide/carbon nanotube heterogeneous complementary inverter.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jun; Somu, Sivasubramanian; Busnaina, Ahmed

2012-08-24

We report a simple, bottom-up/top-down approach for integrating drastically different nanoscale building blocks to form a heterogeneous complementary inverter circuit based on layered molybdenum disulfide and carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles. The fabricated CNT/MoS(2) inverter is composed of n-type molybdenum disulfide (MOS(2)) and p-type CNT transistors, with a high voltage gain of 1.3. The CNT channels are fabricated using directed assembly while the layered molybdenum disulfide channels are fabricated by mechanical exfoliation. This bottom-up fabrication approach for integrating various nanoscale elements with unique characteristics provides an alternative cost-effective methodology to complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors, laying the foundation for the realization of high performance logic circuits.

Conferring specificity in redox pathways by enzymatic thiol/disulfide exchange reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Netto, Luis Eduardo S; de Oliveira, Marcos Antonio; Tairum, Carlos A; da Silva Neto, José Freire

2016-01-01

Thiol-disulfide exchange reactions are highly reversible, displaying nucleophilic substitutions mechanism (S(N)2 type). For aliphatic, low molecular thiols, these reactions are slow, but can attain million times faster rates in enzymatic processes. Thioredoxin (Trx) proteins were the first enzymes described to accelerate thiol-disulfide exchange reactions and their high reactivity is related to the high nucleophilicity of the attacking thiol. Substrate specificity in Trx is achieved by several factors, including polar, hydrophobic, and topological interactions through a groove in the active site. Glutaredoxin (Grx) enzymes also contain the Trx fold, but they do not share amino acid sequence similarity with Trx. A conserved glutathione binding site is a typical feature of Grx that can reduce substrates by two mechanisms (mono and dithiol). The high reactivity of Grx enzymes is related to the very acid pK(a) values of reactive Cys that plays roles as good leaving groups. Therefore, although distinct oxidoreductases catalyze similar thiol–disulfide exchange reactions, their enzymatic mechanisms vary. PDI and DsbA are two other oxidoreductases, but they are involved in disulfide bond formation, instead of disulfide reduction, which is related to the oxidative environment where they are found. PDI enzymes and DsbC are endowed with disulfide isomerase activity, which is related with their tetra-domain architecture. As illustrative description of specificity in thiol-disulfide exchange, redox aspects of transcription activation in bacteria, yeast, and mammals are presented in an evolutionary perspective. Therefore, thiol-disulfide exchange reactions play important roles in conferring specificity to pathways, a required feature for signaling.

Quantifying intermolecular interactions of ionic liquids using cohesive energy densities

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

For ionic liquids (ILs), both the large number of possible cation + anion combinations and their ionic nature provide a unique challenge for understanding intermolecular interactions. Cohesive energy density, ced, is used to quantify the strength of intermolecular interactions for molecular liquids, and is determined using the enthalpy of vaporization. A critical analysis of the experimental challenges and data to obtain ced for ILs is provided. For ILs there are two methods to judge the strength of intermolecular interactions, due to the presence of multiple constituents in the vapour phase of ILs. Firstly, cedIP, where the ionic vapour constituent is neutral ion pairs, the major constituent of the IL vapour. Secondly, cedC+A, where the ionic vapour constituents are isolated ions. A cedIP dataset is presented for 64 ILs. For the first time an experimental cedC+A, a measure of the strength of the total intermolecular interaction for an IL, is presented. cedC+A is significantly larger for ILs than ced for most molecular liquids, reflecting the need to break all of the relatively strong electrostatic interactions present in ILs. However, the van der Waals interactions contribute significantly to IL volatility due to the very strong electrostatic interaction in the neutral ion pair ionic vapour. An excellent linear correlation is found between cedIP and the inverse of the molecular volume. A good linear correlation is found between IL cedIP and IL Gordon parameter (which are dependent primarily on surface tension). ced values obtained through indirect methods gave similar magnitude values to cedIP. These findings show that cedIP is very important for understanding IL intermolecular interactions, in spite of cedIP not being a measure of the total intermolecular interactions of an IL. In the outlook section, remaining challenges for understanding IL intermolecular interactions are outlined. PMID:29308254

Quantifying intermolecular interactions of ionic liquids using cohesive energy densities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lovelock, Kevin R J

2017-12-01

For ionic liquids (ILs), both the large number of possible cation + anion combinations and their ionic nature provide a unique challenge for understanding intermolecular interactions. Cohesive energy density, ced , is used to quantify the strength of intermolecular interactions for molecular liquids, and is determined using the enthalpy of vaporization. A critical analysis of the experimental challenges and data to obtain ced for ILs is provided. For ILs there are two methods to judge the strength of intermolecular interactions, due to the presence of multiple constituents in the vapour phase of ILs. Firstly, ced IP , where the ionic vapour constituent is neutral ion pairs, the major constituent of the IL vapour. Secondly, ced C+A , where the ionic vapour constituents are isolated ions. A ced IP dataset is presented for 64 ILs. For the first time an experimental ced C+A , a measure of the strength of the total intermolecular interaction for an IL, is presented. ced C+A is significantly larger for ILs than ced for most molecular liquids, reflecting the need to break all of the relatively strong electrostatic interactions present in ILs. However, the van der Waals interactions contribute significantly to IL volatility due to the very strong electrostatic interaction in the neutral ion pair ionic vapour. An excellent linear correlation is found between ced IP and the inverse of the molecular volume. A good linear correlation is found between IL ced IP and IL Gordon parameter (which are dependent primarily on surface tension). ced values obtained through indirect methods gave similar magnitude values to ced IP . These findings show that ced IP is very important for understanding IL intermolecular interactions, in spite of ced IP not being a measure of the total intermolecular interactions of an IL. In the outlook section, remaining challenges for understanding IL intermolecular interactions are outlined.

Direct measurements of intermolecular forces by chemical force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Vezenov, Dmitri Vitalievich

1999-12-01

changes in ionization state on SAM surfaces. The phase contrast in tapping mode AFM between chemically distinct monolayer regions and corresponding adhesion forces were found to be directly correlated. Thus, both friction and intermittent contact CFM images could be interpreted in terms of the strength of intermolecular interactions. CFM was also used to probe biomolecular interactions. Separation forces between complementary oligonucleotide strands were significantly larger than the forces measured between noncomplementary strands and were consistent with the unbinding of a single DNA duplex. CFM data provided a direct measure of the forces required to elastically deform, structurally-transform and separate well-defined, synthetic duplexes into single strand oligonucleotides.

UV Photofragmentation Dynamics of Protonated Cystine: Disulfide Bond Rupture.

Science.gov (United States)

Soorkia, Satchin; Dehon, Christophe; Kumar, S Sunil; Pedrazzani, Mélanie; Frantzen, Emilie; Lucas, Bruno; Barat, Michel; Fayeton, Jacqueline A; Jouvet, Christophe

2014-04-03

Disulfide bonds (S-S) play a central role in stabilizing the native structure of proteins against denaturation. Experimentally, identification of these linkages in peptide and protein structure characterization remains challenging. UV photodissociation (UVPD) can be a valuable tool in identifying disulfide linkages. Here, the S-S bond acts as a UV chromophore and absorption of one UV photon corresponds to a σ-σ* transition. We have investigated the photodissociation dynamics of protonated cystine, which is a dimer of two cysteines linked by a disulfide bridge, at 263 nm (4.7 eV) using a multicoincidence technique in which fragments coming from the same fragmentation event are detected. Two types of bond cleavages are observed corresponding to the disulfide (S-S) and adjacent C-S bond ruptures. We show that the S-S cleavage leads to three different fragment ions via three different fragmentation mechanisms. The UVPD results are compared to collision-induced dissociation (CID) and electron-induced dissociation (EID) studies.

The human protein disulfide isomerase gene family

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galligan James J

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Enzyme-mediated disulfide bond formation is a highly conserved process affecting over one-third of all eukaryotic proteins. The enzymes primarily responsible for facilitating thiol-disulfide exchange are members of an expanding family of proteins known as protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs. These proteins are part of a larger superfamily of proteins known as the thioredoxin protein family (TRX. As members of the PDI family of proteins, all proteins contain a TRX-like structural domain and are predominantly expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum. Subcellular localization and the presence of a TRX domain, however, comprise the short list of distinguishing features required for gene family classification. To date, the PDI gene family contains 21 members, varying in domain composition, molecular weight, tissue expression, and cellular processing. Given their vital role in protein-folding, loss of PDI activity has been associated with the pathogenesis of numerous disease states, most commonly related to the unfolded protein response (UPR. Over the past decade, UPR has become a very attractive therapeutic target for multiple pathologies including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease, and type-2 diabetes. Understanding the mechanisms of protein-folding, specifically thiol-disulfide exchange, may lead to development of a novel class of therapeutics that would help alleviate a wide range of diseases by targeting the UPR.

Similarity-transformed perturbation theory on top of truncated local coupled cluster solutions: Theory and applications to intermolecular interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Azar, Richard Julian, E-mail: julianazar2323@berkeley.edu; Head-Gordon, Martin, E-mail: mhg@cchem.berkeley.edu [Kenneth S. Pitzer Center for Theoretical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of California and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

2015-05-28

Your correspondents develop and apply fully nonorthogonal, local-reference perturbation theories describing non-covalent interactions. Our formulations are based on a Löwdin partitioning of the similarity-transformed Hamiltonian into a zeroth-order intramonomer piece (taking local CCSD solutions as its zeroth-order eigenfunction) plus a first-order piece coupling the fragments. If considerations are limited to a single molecule, the proposed intermolecular similarity-transformed perturbation theory represents a frozen-orbital variant of the “(2)”-type theories shown to be competitive with CCSD(T) and of similar cost if all terms are retained. Different restrictions on the zeroth- and first-order amplitudes are explored in the context of large-computation tractability and elucidation of non-local effects in the space of singles and doubles. To accurately approximate CCSD intermolecular interaction energies, a quadratically growing number of variables must be included at zeroth-order.

Modification of molybdenum disulfide in methanol solvent for hydrogen evolution reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Niyitanga, Theophile; Jeong, Hae Kyung

2018-05-01

Molybdenum disulfide is a promising catalyst to replace the expensive platinum as an electrocatalyst but needs to be modified to present excellent electrocatalytic properties. Herein, we successfully modify molybdenum disulfide in methanol solvent for hydrogen evolution reaction by using a simple hydrothermal method. Overpotential reduced to -0.6 V from -1.5 V, and energy band gap decreased from 1.73 eV to 1.58 eV after the modification. The modified molybdenum disulfide also demonstrated lower resistance (42 Ω) at high frequency (1000 kHz) compared with that (240 Ω) of the precursor, showing that conductivity of the modified molybdenum disulfide has improved.

Identification of Thioredoxin Target Disulfides Using Isotope-Coded Affinity Tags

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hägglund, Per; Bunkenborg, Jakob; Maeda, Kenji

2014-01-01

Thioredoxins (Trx) are small redox proteins that reduce disulfide bonds in various target proteins and maintain cellular thiol redox control. Here, a thiol-specific labeling and affinity enrichment approach for identification and relative quantification of Trx target disulfides in complex protein...... reduction is determined by LC-MS/MS-based quantification of tryptic peptides labeled with "light" (12C) and "heavy" (13C) ICAT reagents. The methodology can be adapted to monitor the effect of different reductants or oxidants on the redox status of thiol/disulfide proteomes in biological systems....... extracts is described. The procedure utilizes the isotope-coded affinity tag (ICAT) reagents containing a thiol reactive iodoacetamide group and a biotin affinity tag to target peptides containing reduced cysteine residues. The identification of substrates for Trx and the extent of target disulfide...

Electronic transitions and intermolecular forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hemert, M.C. van.

1981-01-01

This thesis describes two different subjects - electronic transitions and intermolecular forces - that are related mainly by the following observation: The wavenumber at which an electronic transition in an atom or molecule occurs, depends on the environment of that atom or molecule. This implies, for instance, that when a molecule becomes solvated its absorption spectrum may be shifted either to the blue or to the red side of the original gasphase spectrum. In part I attention is paid to the experimental aspects of VUV spectroscopy, both in the gasphase and in the condensed phase. In part II a series of papers are presented, dealing with the calculation of intermolecular forces (and some related topics) both for the ground state and for the excited state interactions, using different non-empirical methods. The calculations provide, among other results, a semiquantitative interpretation of the spectral blue shifts encountered in our experiments. (Auth.)

Thermodynamic and mechanical effects of disulfide bonds in CXCLl7 chemokine

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Christopher

Chemokines are a family of signaling proteins mainly responsible for the chemotaxis of leukocytes, where their biological activity is modulated by their oligomerization state. Here, the dynamics and thermodynamic stability are characterized in monomer and homodimer structures of CXCL7, one of the most abundant platelet chemokines. The effects of dimerization and disulfide bond formation are investigated using computational methods that include molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the Distance Constraint Model (DCM). A consistent picture emerges for the effect of dimerization and role of the Cys5-Cys31 and Cys7- Cys47 disulfide bonds. Surprisingly, neither disulfide bond is critical for maintaining structural stability in the monomer or dimer, although the monomer is destabilized more than the dimer upon removal of disulfide bonds. Instead, it is found that disulfide bonds influence the native state dynamics as well as modulates the relative stability between monomer and dimer. The combined analysis elucidates how CXCL7 is mechanically stable as a monomer, and how upon dimerization flexibly correlated motions are induced between the 30s and 50s loop within each monomer and across the dimer interface. Interestingly, the greatest gain in flexibility upon dimerization occurs when both disulfide bonds are present in each domain, and the homodimer is least stable relative to its two monomers. These results suggest the highly conserved disulfide bonds in chemokines facilitate a structural mechanism for distinguishing functional characteristics between monomer and dimer.

Studying Chemical Reactions, One Bond at a Time, with Single Molecule AFM Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Julio M.

2008-03-01

The mechanisms by which mechanical forces regulate the kinetics of a chemical reaction are unknown. In my lecture I will demonstrate how we use single molecule force-clamp spectroscopy and protein engineering to study the effect of force on the kinetics of thiol/disulfide exchange. Reduction of disulfide bond via the thiol/disulfide exchange chemical reaction is crucial in regulating protein function and is of common occurrence in mechanically stressed proteins. While reduction is thought to proceed through a substitution nucleophilic bimolecular (SN2) reaction, the role of a mechanical force in modulating this chemical reaction is unknown. We apply a constant stretching force to single engineered disulfide bonds and measure their rate of reduction by dithiothreitol (DTT). We find that while the reduction rate is linearly dependent on the concentration of DTT, it is exponentially dependent on the applied force, increasing 10-fold over a 300 pN range. This result predicts that the disulfide bond lengthens by 0.34 å at the transition state of the thiol/disulfide exchange reaction. In addition to DTT, we also study the reduction of the engineered disulfide bond by the E. coli enzyme thioredoxin (Trx). Thioredoxins are enzymes that catalyze disulfide bond reduction in all organisms. As before, we apply a mechanical force in the range of 25-450 pN to the engineered disulfide bond substrate and monitor the reduction of these bonds by individual enzymes. In sharp contrast with the data obtained with DTT, we now observe two alternative forms of the catalytic reaction, the first requiring a reorientation of the substrate disulfide bond, causing a shortening of the substrate polypeptide by 0.76±0.07 å, and the second elongating the substrate disulfide bond by 0.21±0.01 å. These results support the view that the Trx active site regulates the geometry of the participating sulfur atoms, with sub-ångström precision, in order to achieve efficient catalysis. Single molecule

Protein disulfide bond generation in Escherichia coli DsbB–DsbA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inaba, Kenji

2008-01-01

The crystal structure of the DsbB–DsbA–ubiquinone ternary complex has revealed a mechanism of protein disulfide bond generation in Escherichia coli. Protein disulfide bond formation is catalyzed by a series of Dsb enzymes present in the periplasm of Escherichia coli. The crystal structure of the DsbB–DsbA–ubiquinone ternary complex provided important insights into mechanisms of the de novo disulfide bond generation cooperated by DsbB and ubiquinone and of the disulfide bond shuttle from DsbB to DsbA. The structural basis for prevention of the crosstalk between the DsbA–DsbB oxidative and the DsbC–DsbD reductive pathways has also been proposed

The effect of tensile stress on the conformational free energy landscape of disulfide bonds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Padmesh Anjukandi

Full Text Available Disulfide bridges are no longer considered to merely stabilize protein structure, but are increasingly recognized to play a functional role in many regulatory biomolecular processes. Recent studies have uncovered that the redox activity of native disulfides depends on their C-C-S-S dihedrals, χ2 and χ'2. Moreover, the interplay of chemical reactivity and mechanical stress of disulfide switches has been recently elucidated using force-clamp spectroscopy and computer simulation. The χ2 and χ'2 angles have been found to change from conformations that are open to nucleophilic attack to sterically hindered, so-called closed states upon exerting tensile stress. In view of the growing evidence of the importance of C-C-S-S dihedrals in tuning the reactivity of disulfides, here we present a systematic study of the conformational diversity of disulfides as a function of tensile stress. With the help of force-clamp metadynamics simulations, we show that tensile stress brings about a large stabilization of the closed conformers, thereby giving rise to drastic changes in the conformational free energy landscape of disulfides. Statistical analysis shows that native TDi, DO and interchain Ig protein disulfides prefer open conformations, whereas the intrachain disulfide bridges in Ig proteins favor closed conformations. Correlating mechanical stress with the distance between the two a-carbons of the disulfide moiety reveals that the strain of intrachain Ig protein disulfides corresponds to a mechanical activation of about 100 pN. Such mechanical activation leads to a severalfold increase of the rate of the elementary redox S(N2 reaction step. All these findings constitute a step forward towards achieving a full understanding of functional disulfides.

Determination of disulfide bridges of two spider toxins: hainantoxin-III and hainantoxin-IV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W Wang

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Peptide toxins are usually highly bridged proteins with multipairs of intrachain disulfide bonds. Analysis of disulfide connectivity is an important facet of protein structure determination. In this paper, we successfully assigned the disulfide linkage of two novel peptide toxins, called HNTX-III and HNTX-IV, isolated from the venom of Ornithoctonus hainana spider. Both peptides are useful inhibitors of TTX-sensitive voltage-gated sodium channels and are composed of six cysteine residues that form three disulfide bonds, respectively. Firstly, the peptides were partially reduced by tris(2-carboxyethyl-phosphine (TCEP in 0.1 M citrate buffer containing 6 M guanidine-HCl at 40° C for ten minutes. Subsequently, the partially reduced intermediates containing free thiols were separated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC and alkylated by rapid carboxamidomethylation. Then, the disulfide bonds of the intermediates were analyzed by Edman degradation. By using the strategy above, disulfide linkages of HNTX-III and HNTX-IV were determined as I-IV, II-V and III-VI pattern. In addition, this study also showed that this method may have a great potential for determining the disulfide bonds of spider peptide toxins.

In-Depth Characterization of Protein Disulfide Bonds by Online Liquid Chromatography-Electrochemistry-Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Switzar, Linda; Nicolardi, Simone; Rutten, Julie W.; Oberstein, Saskia A. J. Lesnik; Aartsma-Rus, Annemieke; van der Burgt, Yuri E. M.

2016-01-01

Disulfide bonds are an important class of protein post-translational modifications, yet this structurally crucial modification type is commonly overlooked in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics approaches. Recently, the benefits of online electrochemistry-assisted reduction of protein S-S bonds prior to MS analysis were exemplified by successful characterization of disulfide bonds in peptides and small proteins. In the current study, we have combined liquid chromatography (LC) with electrochemistry (EC) and mass analysis by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) MS in an online LC-EC-MS platform to characterize protein disulfide bonds in a bottom-up proteomics workflow. A key advantage of a LC-based strategy is the use of the retention time in identifying both intra- and interpeptide disulfide bonds. This is demonstrated by performing two sequential analyses of a certain protein digest, once without and once with electrochemical reduction. In this way, the "parent" disulfide-linked peptide detected in the first run has a retention time-based correlation with the EC-reduced peptides detected in the second run, thus simplifying disulfide bond mapping. Using this platform, both inter- and intra-disulfide-linked peptides were characterized in two different proteins, ß-lactoglobulin and ribonuclease B. In order to prevent disulfide reshuffling during the digestion process, proteins were digested at a relatively low pH, using (a combination of) the high specificity proteases trypsin and Glu-C. With this approach, disulfide bonds in ß-lactoglobulin and ribonuclease B were comprehensively identified and localized, showing that online LC-EC-MS is a useful tool for the characterization of protein disulfide bonds.

The same number of optimized parameters scheme for determining intermolecular interaction energies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Kasper; Ettenhuber, Patrick; Eriksen, Janus Juul

2015-01-01

We propose the Same Number Of Optimized Parameters (SNOOP) scheme as an alternative to the counterpoise method for treating basis set superposition errors in calculations of intermolecular interaction energies. The key point of the SNOOP scheme is to enforce that the number of optimized wave...... as numerically. Numerical results for second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) and coupled-cluster with single, double, and approximate triple excitations (CCSD(T)) show that the SNOOP scheme in general outperforms the uncorrected and counterpoise approaches. Furthermore, we show that SNOOP...

Large area synthesis, characterization, and anisotropic etching of two dimensional tungsten disulfide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mutlu, Zafer; Ozkan, Mihrimah; Ozkan, Cengiz S.

2016-01-01

Emergent properties of tungsten disulfide at the quantum confinement limit hold promise for electronic and optoelectronic applications. Here we report on the large area synthesis of atomically thin tungsten disulfide films with strong photoluminescence properties via sulfurization of the pre-deposited tungsten films. Detailed characterization of the pre-deposited tungsten films and tungsten disulfide films are performed using microscopy and spectroscopy methods. By directly heating tungsten disulfide films in air, we have shown that the films tend to be etched into a series of triangular shaped pits with the same orientations, revealing the anisotropic etching behavior of tungsten disulfide edges. Moreover, the dimensions of the triangular pits increase with the number of layers, suggesting a thickness dependent behavior of etching in tungsten disulfide films. This method offers a promising new avenue for engineering the edge structures of tungsten disulfide films. - Highlights: • Large-scale synthesis of WS_2 films is achieved via sulfurization of W films. • Annealing of W films leads to a substantial improvement in the quality of WS_2 films. • WS_2 films show laser power dependent photoluminescence characteristics. • WS_2 films are etched with well-oriented triangular pits upon annealing in air. • Anisotropic oxidative etching is greatly affected by the thickness of WS_2 films.

Characterizing the Polymer:Fullerene Intermolecular Interactions

KAUST Repository

Sweetnam, Sean; Vandewal, Koen; Cho, Eunkyung; Risko, Chad; Coropceanu, Veaceslav; Salleo, Alberto; Bredas, Jean-Luc; McGehee, Michael D.

2016-01-01

the polymer and fullerene, there is not a consensus on the nature of these interactions. In this work, we use a combination of Raman spectroscopy, charge transfer state absorption, and density functional theory calculations to show that the intermolecular

Dissulfeto de molibdênio, um material multifuncional e surpreendente Molybdenum disulfide, a multifunctional and remarkable material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Wypych

2002-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to review the chemical and physical properties of layered molybdenum disulfide. The three polymorphic/polytypic modifications of the compound were found, the polytypes 2H (molybdenite and 3R are semiconductors while the polymorph 1T is an electronic conductor. 2H-MoS2 has several important industrial applications as hydrotreatment catalysts, energy storage devices, solar cells, solid lubricants, among others. When intercalated, the 2H phase changes to a distorted 1T phase, producing unstable intercalation compounds that can be exfoliated in solution, producing single layers and consequently nanocomposites. The direct synthesis of the 1T phase produces stable intercalation compounds. Recently molybdenum disulfide was prepared as nanotubes and fulerene-like structures that bring new insights in the investigation of this important material.

Analysis of Disulfide Bond Formation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Braakman, Ineke; Lamriben, Lydia; van Zadelhoff, Guus; Hebert, Daniel N.

2017-01-01

In this unit, protocols are provided for detection of disulfide bond formation in cultures of intact cells and in an in vitro translation system containing isolated microsomes or semi-permeabilized cells. First, the newly synthesized protein of interest is biosynthetically labeled with radioactive

He-, Ne-, and Ar-phosgene intermolecular potential energy surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munteanu, Cristian R.; Henriksen, Christian; Felker, Peter M.

2013-01-01

Using the CCSD(T) model, we evaluated the intermolecular potential energy surfaces of the He-, Ne-, and Ar-phosgene complexes. We considered a representative number of intermolecular geometries for which we calculated the corresponding interaction energies with the augmented (He complex) and doub...... of the complexes, providing valuable results for future experimental investigations. Comparing our results to those previously available for other phosgene complexes, we suggest that the results for Cl2-phosgene should be revised....

Intermolecular cleavage by UmuD-like mutagenesis proteins

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, John P.; Frank, Ekaterina G.; Levine, Arthur S.; Woodgate, Roger

1998-01-01

The activity of a number of proteins is regulated by self-processing reactions. Elegant examples are the cleavage of the prokaryotic LexA and λCI transcriptional repressors and the UmuD-like mutagenesis proteins. Various studies support the hypothesis that LexA and λCI cleavage reactions are predominantly intramolecular in nature. The recently described crystal structure of the Escherichia coli UmuD′ protein (the posttranslational cleavage product of the UmuD protein) suggests, however, that the region of the protein corresponding to the cleavage site is at least 50 Å away from the catalytic active site. We considered the possibility, therefore, that the UmuD-like proteins might undergo self-processing that, in contrast to LexA and λCI, occurs via an intermolecular rather than intramolecular reaction. To test this hypothesis, we introduced into E. coli compatible plasmids with mutations at either the cleavage or the catalytic site of three UmuD-like proteins. Cleavage of these proteins only occurs in the presence of both plasmids, indicating that the reaction is indeed intermolecular in nature. Furthermore, this intermolecular reaction is completely dependent upon the multifunctional RecA protein and leads to the restoration of cellular mutagenesis in nonmutable E. coli strains. Intermolecular cleavage of a biotinylated UmuD active site mutant was also observed in vitro in the presence of the wild-type UmuD′ protein, indicating that in addition to the intact UmuD protein, the normal cleavage product (UmuD′) can also act as a classical enzyme. PMID:9465040

Structural basis for target protein recognition by the protein disulfide reductase thioredoxin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maeda, Kenji; Hägglund, Per; Finnie, Christine

2006-01-01

Thioredoxin is ubiquitous and regulates various target proteins through disulfide bond reduction. We report the structure of thioredoxin (HvTrxh2 from barley) in a reaction intermediate complex with a protein substrate, barley alpha-amylase/subtilisin inhibitor (BASI). The crystal structure...... of this mixed disulfide shows a conserved hydrophobic motif in thioredoxin interacting with a sequence of residues from BASI through van der Waals contacts and backbone-backbone hydrogen bonds. The observed structural complementarity suggests that the recognition of features around protein disulfides plays...... a major role in the specificity and protein disulfide reductase activity of thioredoxin. This novel insight into the function of thioredoxin constitutes a basis for comprehensive understanding of its biological role. Moreover, comparison with structurally related proteins shows that thioredoxin shares...

Edge eigen-stress and eigen-displacement of armchair molybdenum disulfide nanoribbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Quan; Li, Xi [Corrosion and Protection Center, Key Laboratory for Environmental Fracture (MOE), University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Volinsky, Alex A., E-mail: volinsky@usf.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620 (United States); Su, Yanjing, E-mail: yjsu@ustb.edu.cn [Corrosion and Protection Center, Key Laboratory for Environmental Fracture (MOE), University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China)

2017-05-10

Edge effects on mechanical properties of armchair molybdenum disulfide nanoribbons were investigated using first principles calculations. The edge eigen-stress model was applied to explain the relaxation process of forming molybdenum disulfide nanoribbon. Edge effects on surface atoms fluctuation degree were obtained from each fully relaxed nanoribbon with different width. Changes of the relaxed armchair molybdenum disulfide nanoribbons structure can be expressed using hexagonal perimeters pattern. Based on the thickness change, relaxed armchair molybdenum disulfide nanoribbons tensile/compression tests were simulated, providing intrinsic edge elastic parameters, such as eigen-stress, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio. - Highlights: • Edge effects on mechanical properties of armchair MoS{sub 2} nanoribbons were investigated. • Structure changes of different width armchair MoS{sub 2} nanoribbons were obtained. • Tensile/compressive tests were conducted to determine elastic constants. • Mechanical properties are compared for two and three dimensional conditions.

Quantitation of a PEGylated protein in monkey serum by UHPLC-HRMS using a surrogate disulfide-containing peptide: A new approach to bioanalysis and in vivo stability evaluation of disulfide-rich protein therapeutics.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Naiyu; Zeng, Jianing; Manney, Amy; Williams, Lakenya; Aubry, Anne-Françoise; Voronin, Kimberly; Buzescu, Adela; Zhang, Yan J; Allentoff, Alban; Xu, Carrie; Shen, Hongwu; Warner, William; Arnold, Mark E

2016-04-15

To quantify a therapeutic PEGylated protein in monkey serum as well as to monitor its potential in vivo instability and methionine oxidation, a novel ultra high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometric (UHPLC-HRMS) assay was developed using a surrogate disulfide-containing peptide, DCP(SS), and a confirmatory peptide, CP, a disulfide-free peptide. DCP(SS) was obtained by eliminating the step of reduction/alkylation before trypsin digestion. It contains an intact disulfide linkage between two peptide sequences that are essential for drug function but susceptible to potential in vivo cleavages. HRMS-based single ion monitoring (SIM) on a Q Exactive™ mass spectrometer was employed to improve assay specificity and sensitivity for DCP(SS) due to its poor fragmentation and low sensitivity with SRM detection. The assay has been validated for the protein drug in monkey serum using both surrogate peptides with excellent accuracy (within ±4.4%Dev) and precision (within 7.5%CV) with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) at 10 ng mL(-1). The protein concentrations in monkey serum obtained from the DCP(SS)-based assay not only provided important pharmacokinetic parameters, but also confirmed in vivo stability of the peptide regions of interest by comparing drug concentrations with those obtained from the CP-based assay or from a ligand-binding assay (LBA). Furthermore, UHPLC-HRMS allowed simultaneous monitoring of the oxidized forms of both surrogate peptides to evaluate potential ex vivo/in vivo oxidation of one methionine present in each of both surrogate peptides. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of using a surrogate disulfide-containing peptide for LC-MS bioanalysis of a therapeutic protein. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observation of aggregation triggered by Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) induced intermolecular pairing force.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Xiaoyong; Wang, Weizhi; Ke, Lin; Zhang, Nan

2017-07-20

In this report, we showed the existence of RET induced intermolecular pairing force by comparing their fluorescence behaviors under room illumination vs standing in dark area for either PFluAnt solution or PFluAnt&PFOBT mixture. Their prominent emission attenuation under room illumination brought out the critical role of photo, i.e. RET induced intermolecular pairing force in induction of polymer aggregation. Constant UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectra in terms of both peak shapes and maximum wavelengths implied no chemical decomposition was involved. Recoverable fluorescence intensity, fluorescence lifetime as well as NMR spectra further exclude photo induced decomposition. The controllable on/off state of RET induced intermolecular pairing force was verified by the masking effect of outside PFluAnt solution which function as filter to block the excitation of inside PFluAnt and thus off the RET induced intermolecular pairing force. Theoretical calculation suggest that magnitude of RET induced intermolecular pairing force is on the same scale as that of van der Waals interaction. Although the absolute magnitude of RET induced intermolecular pairing force was not tunable, its effect can be magnified by intentionally turn it "on", which was achieved by irradiance with 5 W desk lamp in this report.

Positions of disulfide bonds in rye (Secale cereale) seed chitinase-a.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamagami, T; Funatsu, G; Ishiguro, M

2000-06-01

The positions of disulfide bonds of rye seed chitinase-a (RSC-a) were identified by the isolation of disulfide-containing peptides produced with enzymatic and/or chemical cleavages of RSC-a, followed by sequencing them. An unequivocal assignment of disulfide bonds in this enzyme was as follows: Cys3-Cysl8, Cys12-Cys24, Cys15-Cys42, Cys17-Cys31, and Cys35-Cys39 in the chitin-binding domain (CB domain), Cys82-Cys144, Cys156-Cys164, and Cys282-Cys295 in the catalytic domain (Cat domain), and Cys263 was a free form.

Disulfide bond within mu-calpain active site inhibits activity and autolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lametsch, René; Lonergan, Steven; Huff-Lonergan, Elisabeth

2008-09-01

Oxidative processes have the ability to influence mu-calpain activity. In the present study the influence of oxidation on activity and autolysis of mu-calpain was examined. Furthermore, LC-MS/MS analysis was employed to identify and characterize protein modifications caused by oxidation. The results revealed that the activity of mu-calpain is diminished by oxidation with H2O2 in a reversible manner involving cysteine and that the rate of autolysis of mu-calpain concomitantly slowed. The LC-MS/MS analysis of the oxidized mu-calpain revealed that the amino acid residues 105-133 contained a disulfide bond between Cys(108) and Cys(115). The finding that the active site cysteine in mu-calpain is able to form a disulfide bond has, to our knowledge, not been reported before. This could be part of a unique oxidation mechanism for mu-calpain. The results also showed that the formation of the disulfide bond is limited in the control (no oxidant added), and further limited in a concentration-dependent manner when beta-mercaptoethanol is added. However, the disulfide bond is still present to some extent in all conditions indicating that the active site cysteine is potentially highly susceptible to the formation of this intramolecular disulfide bond.

Determination of intermolecular transfer integrals from DFT calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baumeier, Bjoern; Andrienko, Denis [Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz (Germany)

2010-07-01

Theoretical studies of charge transport in organic conducting systems pose a unique challenge since they require multiscale schemes that combine quantum-chemical, molecular dynamics and kinetic Monte-Carlo calculations. The description of the mobility of electrons and holes in the hopping regime relies on the determination of intermolecular hopping rates in large scale morphologies. Using Marcus theory these rates can be calculated from intermolecular transfer integrals and on-site energies. Here we present a detailed computational study on the accuracy and efficiency of density-functional theory based approaches to the determination of intermolecular transfer integrals. First, it is demonstrated how these can be obtained from quantum-chemistry calculations by forming the expectation value of a dimer Fock operator with frontier orbitals of two neighboring monomers based on a projective approach. We then consider the prototypical example of one pair out of a larger morphology of Tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminium (Alq3) and study the influence of computational parameters, e.g. the choice of basis sets, exchange-correlation functional, and convergence criteria, on the calculated transfer integrals. The respective accuracies and efficiencies are compared in order to derive an optimal strategy for future simulations based on the full morphology.

The yeast cell fusion protein Prm1p requires covalent dimerization to promote membrane fusion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Engel

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Prm1p is a multipass membrane protein that promotes plasma membrane fusion during yeast mating. The mechanism by which Prm1p and other putative regulators of developmentally controlled cell-cell fusion events facilitate membrane fusion has remained largely elusive. Here, we report that Prm1p forms covalently linked homodimers. Covalent Prm1p dimer formation occurs via intermolecular disulfide bonds of two cysteines, Cys-120 and Cys-545. PRM1 mutants in which these cysteines have been substituted are fusion defective. These PRM1 mutants are normally expressed, retain homotypic interaction and can traffic to the fusion zone. Because prm1-C120S and prm1-C545S mutants can form covalent dimers when coexpressed with wild-type PRM1, an intermolecular C120-C545 disulfide linkage is inferred. Cys-120 is adjacent to a highly conserved hydrophobic domain. Mutation of a charged residue within this hydrophobic domain abrogates formation of covalent dimers, trafficking to the fusion zone, and fusion-promoting activity. The importance of intermolecular disulfide bonding informs models regarding the mechanism of Prm1-mediated cell-cell fusion.

Enhancing Protein Disulfide Bond Cleavage by UV Excitation and Electron Capture Dissociation for Top-Down Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Wongkongkathep, Piriya; Li, Huilin; Zhang, Xing; Loo, Rachel R Ogorzalek; Julian, Ryan R; Loo, Joseph A

2015-11-15

The application of ion pre-activation with 266 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation combined with electron capture dissociation (ECD) is demonstrated to enhance top-down mass spectrometry sequence coverage of disulfide bond containing proteins. UV-based activation can homolytically cleave a disulfide bond to yield two separated thiol radicals. Activated ECD experiments of insulin and ribonuclease A containing three and four disulfide bonds, respectively, were performed. UV-activation in combination with ECD allowed the three disulfide bonds of insulin to be cleaved and the overall sequence coverage to be increased. For the larger sized ribonuclease A with four disulfide bonds, irradiation from an infrared laser (10.6 µm) to disrupt non-covalent interactions was combined with UV-activation to facilitate the cleavage of up to three disulfide bonds. Preferences for disulfide bond cleavage are dependent on protein structure and sequence. Disulfide bonds can reform if the generated radicals remain in close proximity. By varying the time delay between the UV-activation and the ECD events, it was determined that disulfide bonds reform within 10-100 msec after their UV-homolytic cleavage.

Structure of α-conotoxin BuIA: influences of disulfide connectivity on structural dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craik David J

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background α-Conotoxins have exciting therapeutic potential based on their high selectivity and affinity for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The spacing between the cysteine residues in α-conotoxins is variable, leading to the classification of sub-families. BuIA is the only α-conotoxin containing a 4/4 cysteine spacing and thus it is of significant interest to examine the structure of this conotoxin. Results In the current study we show the native globular disulfide connectivity of BuIA displays multiple conformations in solution whereas the non-native ribbon isomer has a single well-defined conformation. Despite having multiple conformations in solution the globular form of BuIA displays activity at the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, contrasting with the lack of activity of the structurally well-defined ribbon isomer. Conclusion These findings are opposite to the general trends observed for α-conotoxins where the native isomers have well-defined structures and the ribbon isomers are generally disordered. This study thus highlights the influence of the disulfide connectivity of BuIA on the dynamics of the three-dimensional structure.

The Raman and vibronic activity of intermolecular vibrations in aromatic-containing complexes and clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maxton, P.M.; Schaeffer, M.W.; Ohline, S.M.; Kim, W.; Venturo, V.A.; Felker, P.M.

1994-01-01

Theoretical and experimental results pertaining to the excitation of intermolecular vibrations in the Raman and vibronic spectra of aromatic-containing, weakly bound complexes and clusters are reported. The theoretical analysis of intermolecular Raman activity is based on the assumption that the polarizability tensor of a weakly bound species is given by the sum of the polarizability tensors of its constituent monomers. The analysis shows that the van der Waals bending fundamentals in aromatic--rare gas complexes may be expected to be strongly Raman active. More generally, it predicts strong Raman activity for intermolecular vibrations that involve the libration or internal rotation of monomer moieties having appreciable permanent polarizability anisotropies. The vibronic activity of intermolecular vibrations in aromatic-rare gas complexes is analyzed under the assumption that every vibronic band gains its strength from an aromatic-localized transition. It is found that intermolecular vibrational excitations can accompany aromatic-localized vibronic excitations by the usual Franck--Condon mechanism or by a mechanism dependent on the librational amplitude of the aromatic moiety during the course of the pertinent intermolecular vibration. The latter mechanism can impart appreciable intensity to bands that are forbidden by rigid-molecule symmetry selection rules. The applicability of such rules is therefore called into question. Finally, experimental spectra of intermolecular transitions, obtained by mass-selective, ionization-detected stimulated Raman spectroscopies, are reported for benzene--X (X=Ar, --Ar 2 , N 2 , HCl, CO 2 , and --fluorene), fluorobenzene--Ar and --Kr, aniline--Ar, and fluorene--Ar and --Ar 2 . The results support the conclusions of the theoretical analyses and provide further evidence for the value of Raman methods in characterizing intermolecular vibrational level structures

Modulation of Thiol-Disulfide Oxidoreductases for Increased Production of Disulfide-Bond-Containing Proteins in Bacillus subtilis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kouwen, Thijs R. H. M.; Dubois, Jean-Yves F.; Freudl, Roland; Quax, Wim J.; van Dijl, Jan Maarten

2008-01-01

Disulfide bonds are important for the correct folding, structural integrity, and activity of many biotechnologically relevant proteins. For synthesis and subsequent secretion of these proteins in bacteria, such as the well-known "cell factory" Bacillus subtilis, it is often the correct formation of

Morse-Morse-Spline-Van der Waals intermolecular potential suitable for hexafluoride gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coroiu, Ilioara

2004-01-01

Several effective isotopic pair potential functions have been proposed to characterize the bulk properties of quasispherical molecules, in particular the hexafluorides, but none got a success. Unfortunately, these potentials have repulsive walls steeper than those which describe the hexafluorides. That these intermolecular potentials are not quite adequate is shown by the lack of complete agreement between theory and experiment even for the rare gases. Not long ago, R. A. Aziz et al. have constructed a Morse-Morse-Spline-Van der Waals (MMSV) potential. The MMSV potential incorporates the determination of C 6 dispersion coefficient and it reasonably correlates second virial coefficients and viscosity data of sulphur hexafluoride at the same time. None of the potential functions previously proposed in literature could predict these properties simultaneously. We calculated the second virial coefficients and a large number of Chapman-Cowling collision integrals for this improved intermolecular potential, the MMSV potential. The results were tabulated for a large reduced temperature range, kT/ε from 0.1 to 100. The treatment was entirely classical and no corrections for quantum effects were made. The higher approximations to the transport coefficients and the isotopic thermal diffusion factor were also calculated and tabulated for the same range. In this paper we present the evaluation of the uranium hexafluoride potential parameters for the MMSV intermolecular potential. To find a single set of potential parameters which could predict all the transport properties (viscosity, thermal conductivity, self diffusion, etc.), as well as the second virial coefficients, simultaneously, the method suggested by Morizot and a large assortment of literature data were used. Our results emphasized that the Morse-Morse-Spline-Van der Waals potential have the best overall predictive ability for gaseous hexafluoride data, certain for uranium hexafluoride. (author)

Inhibition of carbon disulfide on bio-desulfurization in the process of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Biological desulfurization is a novel technology for the removal of hydrogen sulfide from some biogas or sour gas, in which there are always a certain amounts of carbon disulfide together with much hydrogen sulfide. Nowadays, carbon disulfide is found to have negative effect on the biological desulfurization, but seldom ...

Insulin analog with additional disulfide bond has increased stability and preserved activity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinther, Tine N.; Norrman, Mathias; Ribel, Ulla

2013-01-01

Insulin is a key hormone controlling glucose homeostasis. All known vertebrate insulin analogs have a classical structure with three 100% conserved disulfide bonds that are essential for structural stability and thus the function of insulin. It might be hypothesized that an additional disulfide...... bond may enhance insulin structural stability which would be highly desirable in a pharmaceutical use. To address this hypothesis, we designed insulin with an additional interchain disulfide bond in positions A10/B4 based on Cα-Cα distances, solvent exposure, and side-chain orientation in human insulin...... (HI) structure. This insulin analog had increased affinity for the insulin receptor and apparently augmented glucodynamic potency in a normal rat model compared with HI. Addition of the disulfide bond also resulted in a 34.6°C increase in melting temperature and prevented insulin fibril formation...

Disulfide Bridges: Bringing Together Frustrated Structure in a Bioactive Peptide.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yi; Schulten, Klaus; Gruebele, Martin; Bansal, Paramjit S; Wilson, David; Daly, Norelle L

2016-04-26

Disulfide bridges are commonly found covalent bonds that are usually believed to maintain structural stability of proteins. Here, we investigate the influence of disulfide bridges on protein dynamics through molecular dynamics simulations on the cysteine-rich trypsin inhibitor MCoTI-II with three disulfide bridges. Correlation analysis of the reduced cyclic peptide shows that two of the three disulfide distances (Cys(11)-Cys(23) and Cys(17)-Cys(29)) are anticorrelated within ∼1 μs of bridge formation or dissolution: when the peptide is in nativelike structures and one of the distances shortens to allow bond formation, the other tends to lengthen. Simulations over longer timescales, when the denatured state is less structured, do not show the anticorrelation. We propose that the native state contains structural elements that frustrate one another's folding, and that the two bridges are critical for snapping the frustrated native structure into place. In contrast, the Cys(4)-Cys(21) bridge is predicted to form together with either of the other two bridges. Indeed, experimental chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance data show that an engineered peptide with the Cys(4)-Cys(21) bridge deleted can still fold into its near-native structure even in its noncyclic form, confirming the lesser role of the Cys(4)-Cys(21) bridge. The results highlight the importance of disulfide bridges in a small bioactive peptide to bring together frustrated structure in addition to maintaining protein structural stability. Copyright © 2016 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intermolecular effects on the radiogenic formation of electron-capture phosphorus-centered radicals. A single-crystal ESR study of diastereoisomeric precursors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aagaard, O.M.; Janssen, R.A.J.; de Waal, B.F.M.; Buck, H.M. (Eindhoven Univ. of Technology (Netherlands))

1990-01-31

ESR experiments on X-irradiated single crystals of the 2R,4S,5R and 2S,4S,5R diastereoisomers of 2-chloro-3,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine 2-sulfide reveal that the yield of radiogenic electron-capture reactions in the solid state strongly depends on intermolecular interactions in the crystal. In the present case a high yield of P-Cl three-electron-bond phosphoranyl radical anions is found in crystals of the 2R,4S,5R isomer, whereas no radical formation can be detected for the 2S,4S,5R isomer. An analysis of nonbonded interactions with neighboring molecules reveals that the geometry relaxation necessary for the radical stabilization is easily accommodated in crystals of the 2R,4S,SR isomer but not in the 2S,4S,5R isomer, explaining the observed difference in electron-capture efficiency. Experiments on radical formation in a MeTHF host matrix give further insight into the importance of the environment on radiogenic radical formation. The possible concurrent effect of the matrix on the electronic configuration and spin density distribution of the resulting phosphoranyl radical is discussed.

Intermolecular effects on the radiogenic formation of electron-capture phosphorus-centered radicals. A single-crystal ESR study of diastereoisomeric precursors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aagaard, O.M.; Janssen, R.A.J.; de Waal, B.F.M.; Buck, H.M.

1990-01-01

ESR experiments on X-irradiated single crystals of the 2R,4S,5R and 2S,4S,5R diastereoisomers of 2-chloro-3,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine 2-sulfide reveal that the yield of radiogenic electron-capture reactions in the solid state strongly depends on intermolecular interactions in the crystal. In the present case a high yield of P-Cl three-electron-bond phosphoranyl radical anions is found in crystals of the 2R,4S,5R isomer, whereas no radical formation can be detected for the 2S,4S,5R isomer. An analysis of nonbonded interactions with neighboring molecules reveals that the geometry relaxation necessary for the radical stabilization is easily accommodated in crystals of the 2R,4S,SR isomer but not in the 2S,4S,5R isomer, explaining the observed difference in electron-capture efficiency. Experiments on radical formation in a MeTHF host matrix give further insight into the importance of the environment on radiogenic radical formation. The possible concurrent effect of the matrix on the electronic configuration and spin density distribution of the resulting phosphoranyl radical is discussed

Chemoreactomic analysis of thiamine disulfide, thiamine hydrochloride, and benfotiamine molecules

OpenAIRE

O. A. Gromova; I. Yu. Torshin; L. V. Stakhovskaya; L. E. Fedotova

2017-01-01

Objective: to analyze the interactions that could indicate the potential pharmacological properties of the molecules of thiamin, thiamine disulfide, and others.Material and methods. The investigators simulated the properties of thiamine disulfide (bistiamin) versus those of the reference molecules of thiamin hydrochloride and benfotiamine. The study was performed using chemoreactomic simulation that is the newest area in post-genome pharmacology.Results and discussion. Chemoreactomic analysis...

Identification of thioredoxin target disulfides in proteins released from barley aleurone layers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hägglund, Per; Bunkenborg, J.; Yang, Fen

2010-01-01

Thioredoxins are ubiquitous disulfide reductases involved in a wide range of cellular processes including DNA synthesis, oxidative stress response and apoptosis. In cereal seeds thioredoxins are proposed to facilitate the germination process by reducing disulfide bonds in storage proteins and other...

Competing Intramolecular vs. Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonds in Solution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter I. Nagy

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A hydrogen bond for a local-minimum-energy structure can be identified according to the definition of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC recommendation 2011 or by finding a special bond critical point on the density map of the structure in the framework of the atoms-in-molecules theory. Nonetheless, a given structural conformation may be simply favored by electrostatic interactions. The present review surveys the in-solution competition of the conformations with intramolecular vs. intermolecular hydrogen bonds for different types of small organic molecules. In their most stable gas-phase structure, an intramolecular hydrogen bond is possible. In a protic solution, the intramolecular hydrogen bond may disrupt in favor of two solute-solvent intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The balance of the increased internal energy and the stabilizing effect of the solute-solvent interactions regulates the new conformer composition in the liquid phase. The review additionally considers the solvent effects on the stability of simple dimeric systems as revealed from molecular dynamics simulations or on the basis of the calculated potential of mean force curves. Finally, studies of the solvent effects on the type of the intermolecular hydrogen bond (neutral or ionic in acid-base complexes have been surveyed.

Kinetic analysis of the mechanism and specificity of protein-disulfide isomerase using fluorescence-quenched peptides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westphal, V; Spetzler, J C; Meldal, M

1998-01-01

Protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) is an abundant folding catalyst in the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotic cells. PDI introduces disulfide bonds into newly synthesized proteins and catalyzes disulfide bond isomerizations. We have synthesized a library of disulfide-linked fluorescence......-quenched peptides, individually linked to resin beads, for two purposes: 1) to probe PDI specificity, and 2) to identify simple, sensitive peptide substrates of PDI. Using this library, beads that became rapidly fluorescent by reduction by human PDI were selected. Amino acid sequencing of the bead-linked peptides...

Characterization of Disulfide-Linked Peptides Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Automated Data Analysis Software

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Zhidan; McGuinness, Kenneth N.; Crespo, Alejandro; Zhong, Wendy

2018-05-01

Disulfide bond formation is critical for maintaining structure stability and function of many peptides and proteins. Mass spectrometry has become an important tool for the elucidation of molecular connectivity. However, the interpretation of the tandem mass spectral data of disulfide-linked peptides has been a major challenge due to the lack of appropriate tools. Developing proper data analysis software is essential to quickly characterize disulfide-linked peptides. A thorough and in-depth understanding of how disulfide-linked peptides fragment in mass spectrometer is a key in developing software to interpret the tandem mass spectra of these peptides. Two model peptides with inter- and intra-chain disulfide linkages were used to study fragmentation behavior in both collisional-activated dissociation (CAD) and electron-based dissociation (ExD) experiments. Fragments generated from CAD and ExD can be categorized into three major types, which result from different S-S and C-S bond cleavage patterns. DiSulFinder is a computer algorithm that was newly developed based on the fragmentation observed in these peptides. The software is vendor neutral and capable of quickly and accurately identifying a variety of fragments generated from disulfide-linked peptides. DiSulFinder identifies peptide backbone fragments with S-S and C-S bond cleavages and, more importantly, can also identify fragments with the S-S bond still intact to aid disulfide linkage determination. With the assistance of this software, more comprehensive disulfide connectivity characterization can be achieved. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Characterization of Disulfide-Linked Peptides Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Automated Data Analysis Software.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Zhidan; McGuinness, Kenneth N; Crespo, Alejandro; Zhong, Wendy

2018-01-25

Disulfide bond formation is critical for maintaining structure stability and function of many peptides and proteins. Mass spectrometry has become an important tool for the elucidation of molecular connectivity. However, the interpretation of the tandem mass spectral data of disulfide-linked peptides has been a major challenge due to the lack of appropriate tools. Developing proper data analysis software is essential to quickly characterize disulfide-linked peptides. A thorough and in-depth understanding of how disulfide-linked peptides fragment in mass spectrometer is a key in developing software to interpret the tandem mass spectra of these peptides. Two model peptides with inter- and intra-chain disulfide linkages were used to study fragmentation behavior in both collisional-activated dissociation (CAD) and electron-based dissociation (ExD) experiments. Fragments generated from CAD and ExD can be categorized into three major types, which result from different S-S and C-S bond cleavage patterns. DiSulFinder is a computer algorithm that was newly developed based on the fragmentation observed in these peptides. The software is vendor neutral and capable of quickly and accurately identifying a variety of fragments generated from disulfide-linked peptides. DiSulFinder identifies peptide backbone fragments with S-S and C-S bond cleavages and, more importantly, can also identify fragments with the S-S bond still intact to aid disulfide linkage determination. With the assistance of this software, more comprehensive disulfide connectivity characterization can be achieved. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

The Chemistry of Alk-1-yn-1-yl DisulfidesA Review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Senning, Alexander Erich Eugen

2009-01-01

The preparation and the properties of the elusive alk-1-yn-1-yl disulfides are reviewed, including the most recent quantum chemical findings with regard to their reactivity.......The preparation and the properties of the elusive alk-1-yn-1-yl disulfides are reviewed, including the most recent quantum chemical findings with regard to their reactivity....

Piezoelectricity in two dimensions: Graphene vs. molybdenum disulfide

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiaoxue; Hui, Fei; Knobloch, Theresia; Wang, Bingru; Fan, Zhongchao; Grasser, Tibor; Jing, Xu; Shi, Yuanyuan; Lanza, Mario

2017-08-01

The synthesis of piezoelectric two-dimensional (2D) materials is very attractive for implementing advanced energy harvesters and transducers, as these materials provide enormously large areas for the exploitation of the piezoelectric effect. Among all 2D materials, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has shown the largest piezoelectric activity. However, all research papers in this field studied just a single material, and this may raise concerns because different setups could provide different values depending on experimental parameters (e.g., probes used and areas analyzed). By using conductive atomic force microscopy, here we in situ demonstrate that the piezoelectric currents generated in MoS2 are gigantic (65 mA/cm2), while the same experiments in graphene just showed noise currents. These results provide the most reliable comparison yet reported on the piezoelectric effect in graphene and MoS2.

A simple and reliable approach to docking protein-protein complexes from very sparse NOE-derived intermolecular distance restraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Chun; Clore, G. Marius

2006-01-01

A simple and reliable approach for docking protein-protein complexes from very sparse NOE-derived intermolecular distance restraints (as few as three from a single point) in combination with a novel representation for an attractive potential between mapped interaction surfaces is described. Unambiguous assignments of very sparse intermolecular NOEs are obtained using a reverse labeling strategy in which one the components is fully deuterated with the exception of selective protonation of the δ-methyl groups of isoleucine, while the other component is uniformly 13 C-labeled. This labeling strategy can be readily extended to selective protonation of Ala, Leu, Val or Met. The attractive potential is described by a 'reduced' radius of gyration potential applied specifically to a subset of interfacial residues (those with an accessible surface area ≥ 50% in the free proteins) that have been delineated by chemical shift perturbation. Docking is achieved by rigid body minimization on the basis of a target function comprising the sparse NOE distance restraints, a van der Waals repulsion potential and the 'reduced' radius of gyration potential. The method is demonstrated for two protein-protein complexes (EIN-HPr and IIA Glc -HPr) from the bacterial phosphotransferase system. In both cases, starting from 100 different random orientations of the X-ray structures of the free proteins, 100% convergence is achieved to a single cluster (with near identical atomic positions) with an overall backbone accuracy of ∼2 A. The approach described is not limited to NMR, since interfaces can also be mapped by alanine scanning mutagenesis, and sparse intermolecular distance restraints can be derived from double cycle mutagenesis, cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry, or fluorescence energy transfer

Complete Mapping of Complex Disulfide Patterns with Closely-Spaced Cysteines by In-Source Reduction and Data-Dependent Mass Spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cramer, Christian N; Kelstrup, Christian D; Olsen, Jesper V

2017-01-01

bonds are present in complicated patterns. This includes the presence of disulfide bonds in nested patterns and closely spaced cysteines. Unambiguous mapping of such disulfide bonds typically requires advanced MS approaches. In this study, we exploited in-source reduction (ISR) of disulfide bonds during...... the electrospray ionization process to facilitate disulfide bond assignments. We successfully developed a LC-ISR-MS/MS methodology to use as an online and fully automated partial reduction procedure. Postcolumn partial reduction by ISR provided fast and easy identification of peptides involved in disulfide bonding......Mapping of disulfide bonds is an essential part of protein characterization to ensure correct cysteine pairings. For this, mass spectrometry (MS) is the most widely used technique due to fast and accurate characterization. However, MS-based disulfide mapping is challenged when multiple disulfide...

Efficient soluble expression of disulfide bonded proteins in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli in fed-batch fermentations on chemically defined minimal media.

Science.gov (United States)

Gąciarz, Anna; Khatri, Narendar Kumar; Velez-Suberbie, M Lourdes; Saaranen, Mirva J; Uchida, Yuko; Keshavarz-Moore, Eli; Ruddock, Lloyd W

2017-06-15

The production of recombinant proteins containing disulfide bonds in Escherichia coli is challenging. In most cases the protein of interest needs to be either targeted to the oxidizing periplasm or expressed in the cytoplasm in the form of inclusion bodies, then solubilized and re-folded in vitro. Both of these approaches have limitations. Previously we showed that soluble expression of disulfide bonded proteins in the cytoplasm of E. coli is possible at shake flask scale with a system, known as CyDisCo, which is based on co-expression of a protein of interest along with a sulfhydryl oxidase and a disulfide bond isomerase. With CyDisCo it is possible to produce disulfide bonded proteins in the presence of intact reducing pathways in the cytoplasm. Here we scaled up production of four disulfide bonded proteins to stirred tank bioreactors and achieved high cell densities and protein yields in glucose fed-batch fermentations, using an E. coli strain (BW25113) with the cytoplasmic reducing pathways intact. Even without process optimization production of purified human single chain IgA 1 antibody fragment reached 139 mg/L and hen avidin 71 mg/L, while purified yields of human growth hormone 1 and interleukin 6 were around 1 g/L. Preliminary results show that human growth hormone 1 was also efficiently produced in fermentations of W3110 strain and when glucose was replaced with glycerol as the carbon source. Our results show for the first time that efficient production of high yields of soluble disulfide bonded proteins in the cytoplasm of E. coli with the reducing pathways intact is feasible to scale-up to bioreactor cultivations on chemically defined minimal media.

PDILT, a divergent testis-specific protein disulfide isomerase with a non-classical SXXC motif that engages in disulfide-dependent interactions in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Science.gov (United States)

van Lith, Marcel; Hartigan, Nichola; Hatch, Jennifer; Benham, Adam M

2005-01-14

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is the archetypal enzyme involved in the formation and reshuffling of disulfide bonds in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). PDI achieves its redox function through two highly conserved thioredoxin domains, and PDI can also operate as an ER chaperone. The substrate specificities and the exact functions of most other PDI family proteins remain important unsolved questions in biology. Here, we characterize a new and striking member of the PDI family, which we have named protein disulfide isomerase-like protein of the testis (PDILT). PDILT is the first eukaryotic SXXC protein to be characterized in the ER. Our experiments have unveiled a novel, glycosylated PDI-like protein whose tissue-specific expression and unusual motifs have implications for the evolution, catalytic function, and substrate selection of thioredoxin family proteins. We show that PDILT is an ER resident glycoprotein that liaises with partner proteins in disulfide-dependent complexes within the testis. PDILT interacts with the oxidoreductase Ero1alpha, demonstrating that the N-terminal cysteine of the CXXC sequence is not required for binding of PDI family proteins to ER oxidoreductases. The expression of PDILT, in addition to PDI in the testis, suggests that PDILT performs a specialized chaperone function in testicular cells. PDILT is an unusual PDI relative that highlights the adaptability of chaperone and redox function in enzymes of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Solvent Induced Disulfide Bond Formation in 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole

OpenAIRE

Palanisamy Kalimuthu; Palraj Kalimuthu; S. Abraham John

2007-01-01

Disulfide bond formation is the decisive event in the protein folding to determine the conformation and stability of protein. To achieve this disulfide bond formation in vitro, we took 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (DMcT) as a model compound. We found that disulfide bond formation takes place between two sulfhydryl groups of DMcT molecules in methanol. UV-Vis, FT-IR and mass spectroscopic as well as cyclic voltammetry were used to monitor the course of reaction. We proposed a mechanism for...

Selective removal of heavy metal ions by disulfide linked polymer networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ko, Dongah [Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Lee, Joo Sung [Graduate School of EEWS, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of); Patel, Hasmukh A. [Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Jakobsen, Mogens H. [Department of Micro and Nano technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, 345B, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Hwang, Yuhoon [Department of Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongreung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811 (Korea, Republic of); Yavuz, Cafer T. [Graduate School of EEWS, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of); Hansen, Hans Chr. Bruun [Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C (Denmark); Andersen, Henrik R., E-mail: henrik@ndersen.net [Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Disulfide/thiol polymer networks are promising as sorbent for heavy metals. • Rapid sorption and high Langmuir affinity constant (a{sub L}) for stormwater treatment. • Selective sorption for copper, cadmium, and zinc in the presence of calcium. • Reusability likely due to structure stability of disulfide linked polymer networks. - Abstract: Heavy metal contaminated surface water is one of the oldest pollution problems, which is critical to ecosystems and human health. We devised disulfide linked polymer networks and employed as a sorbent for removing heavy metal ions from contaminated water. Although the polymer network material has a moderate surface area, it demonstrated cadmium removal efficiency equivalent to highly porous activated carbon while it showed 16 times faster sorption kinetics compared to activated carbon, owing to the high affinity of cadmium towards disulfide and thiol functionality in the polymer network. The metal sorption mechanism on polymer network was studied by sorption kinetics, effect of pH, and metal complexation. We observed that the metal ions–copper, cadmium, and zinc showed high binding affinity in polymer network, even in the presence of competing cations like calcium in water.

Electrochemistry-assisted top-down characterization of disulfide-containing proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yun; Cui, Weidong; Zhang, Hao; Dewald, Howard D; Chen, Hao

2012-04-17

Covalent disulfide bond linkage in a protein represents an important challenge for mass spectrometry (MS)-based top-down protein structure analysis as it reduces the backbone cleavage efficiency for MS/MS dissociation. This study presents a strategy for solving this critical issue via integrating electrochemistry (EC) online with a top-down MS approach. In this approach, proteins undergo electrolytic reduction in an electrochemical cell to break disulfide bonds and then undergo online ionization into gaseous ions for analysis by electron-capture dissociation (ECD) and collision-induced dissociation (CID). The electrochemical reduction of proteins allows one to remove disulfide bond constraints and also leads to increased charge numbers of the resulting protein ions. As a result, sequence coverage was significantly enhanced, as exemplified by β-lactoglobulin A (24 vs 75 backbone cleavages before and after electrolytic reduction, respectively) and lysozyme (5 vs 66 backbone cleavages before and after electrolytic reduction, respectively). This methodology is fast and does not need chemical reductants, which would have an important impact in high-throughput proteomics research.

Raman study of supported molybdenum disulfide single layers

Science.gov (United States)

Durrer, William; Manciu, Felicia; Afanasiev, Pavel; Berhault, Gilles; Chianelli, Russell

2008-10-01

Owing to the increasing demand for clean transportation fuels, highly dispersed single layer transition metal sulfides such as MoS2-based catalysts play an important role in catalytic processes for upgrading and removing sulfur from heavy petroleum feed. In its crystalline bulk form, MoS2 is chemically rather inactive due to a strong tendency to form highly stacked layers, but, when dispersed as single-layer nanoclusters on a support, the MoS2 becomes catalytically active in the hydrogenolysis of sulphur and nitrogen from organic compounds (hydrotreating catalysis). In the present studies alumina-supported MoS2 samples were analyzed by confocal Raman spectroscopy. Evidence of peaks at 152 cm-1, 234 cm-1, and 336 cm-1, normally not seen in the Raman spectrum of the standard bulk crystal, confirms the formation of single layers of MoS2. Furthermore, the presence of the 383 cm-1 Raman line suggests the trigonal prismatic coordination of the formed MoS2 single layers. Depending on the sample preparation method, a restacking of MoS2 layers is also observed, mainly for ex-thiomolybdate samples sulfided at 550 C.

All rights reserved Intermolecular Model Potentials and Virial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

Intermolecular Model Potentials and Virial Coefficients from Acoustic Data. 1* ... method of cluster expansion. Its merit is that, ... their determination is by the analyses of isothermal p- ρ-y data ... Carlo simulation method to calculate volumetric.

A simple and reliable approach to docking protein-protein complexes from very sparse NOE-derived intermolecular distance restraints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, Chun; Clore, G. Marius [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States)], E-mail: mariusc@intra.niddk.nih.gov

2006-09-15

A simple and reliable approach for docking protein-protein complexes from very sparse NOE-derived intermolecular distance restraints (as few as three from a single point) in combination with a novel representation for an attractive potential between mapped interaction surfaces is described. Unambiguous assignments of very sparse intermolecular NOEs are obtained using a reverse labeling strategy in which one the components is fully deuterated with the exception of selective protonation of the {delta}-methyl groups of isoleucine, while the other component is uniformly {sup 13}C-labeled. This labeling strategy can be readily extended to selective protonation of Ala, Leu, Val or Met. The attractive potential is described by a 'reduced' radius of gyration potential applied specifically to a subset of interfacial residues (those with an accessible surface area {>=} 50% in the free proteins) that have been delineated by chemical shift perturbation. Docking is achieved by rigid body minimization on the basis of a target function comprising the sparse NOE distance restraints, a van der Waals repulsion potential and the 'reduced' radius of gyration potential. The method is demonstrated for two protein-protein complexes (EIN-HPr and IIA{sup Glc}-HPr) from the bacterial phosphotransferase system. In both cases, starting from 100 different random orientations of the X-ray structures of the free proteins, 100% convergence is achieved to a single cluster (with near identical atomic positions) with an overall backbone accuracy of {approx}2 A. The approach described is not limited to NMR, since interfaces can also be mapped by alanine scanning mutagenesis, and sparse intermolecular distance restraints can be derived from double cycle mutagenesis, cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry, or fluorescence energy transfer.

Electrochemical reduction of disulfide-containing proteins for hydrogen/deuterium exchange monitored by mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mysling, Simon; Salbo, Rune; Ploug, Michael

2014-01-01

Characterization of disulfide bond-containing proteins by hydrogen/deuterium exchange monitored by mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) requires reduction of the disulfide bonds under acidic and cold conditions, where the amide hydrogen exchange reaction is quenched (pH 2.5, 0 °C). The reduction typically...... of TCEP. In the present study, we explore the feasibility of using electrochemical reduction as a substitute for TCEP in HDX-MS analyses. Our results demonstrate that efficient disulfide bond reduction is readily achieved by implementing an electrochemical cell into the HDX-MS workflow. We also identify...... some challenges in using electrochemical reduction in HDX-MS analyses and provide possible conditions to attenuate these limitations. For example, high salt concentrations hamper disulfide bond reduction, necessitating additional dilution of the sample with aqueous acidic solution at quench conditions....

Generation of a Multicomponent Library of Disulfide Donor-Acceptor Architectures Using Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Drożdż, Wojciech; Kołodziejski, Michał; Markiewicz, Grzegorz; Jenczak, Anna; Stefankiewicz, Artur R

2015-07-17

We describe here the generation of new donor-acceptor disulfide architectures obtained in aqueous solution at physiological pH. The application of a dynamic combinatorial chemistry approach allowed us to generate a large number of new disulfide macrocyclic architectures together with a new type of [2]catenanes consisting of four distinct components. Up to fifteen types of structurally-distinct dynamic architectures have been generated through one-pot disulfide exchange reactions between four thiol-functionalized aqueous components. The distribution of disulfide products formed was found to be strongly dependent on the structural features of the thiol components employed. This work not only constitutes a success in the synthesis of topologically- and morphologically-complex targets, but it may also open new horizons for the use of this methodology in the construction of molecular machines.

Dissecting the role of disulfide bonds on the amyloid formation of insulin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Yang; Gong, Hao; Sun, Yue; Yan, Juan; Cheng, Biao; Zhang, Xin; Huang, Jing; Yu, Mengying; Guo, Yu; Zheng, Ling; Huang, Kun

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We dissect how individual disulfide bond affects the amyloidogenicity of insulin. ► A controlled reduction system for insulin is established in this study. ► Disulfide breakage is associated with unfolding and increased amyloidogenicity. ► Breakage of A6-A11 is associated with significantly increased cytotoxicity. ► Analogs without A6-A11 have a higher potency to form high order toxic oligomers. -- Abstract: Disulfide bonds play a critical role in the stability and folding of proteins. Here, we used insulin as a model system, to investigate the role of its individual disulfide bond during the amyloid formation of insulin. Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) was applied to reduce two of the three disulfide bonds in porcine insulin and the reduced disulfide bonds were then alkylated by iodoacetamide. Three disulfide bond-modified insulin analogs, INS-2 (lack of A6-A11), INS-3 (lack of A7-B7) and INS-6 (lack of both A6-A11 and A7-B7), were obtained. Far-UV circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy results indicated that the secondary structure of INS-2 was the closest to insulin under neutral conditions, followed by INS-3 and INS-6, whereas in an acidic solution all analogs were essentially unfolded. To test how these modifications affect the amyloidogenicity of insulin, thioflavin-T (ThT) fluorescence and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) were performed. Our results showed that all analogs were more prone to aggregation than insulin, with the order of aggregation rates being INS-6 > INS-3 > INS-2. Cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP) assay results showed that analogs without A6-A11 (INS-2 and INS-6) have a higher potential for oligomerization than insulin and INS-3, which is accompanied with a higher cytotoxicity as the hemolytic assays of human erythrocytes suggested. The results indicated that breakage of A7-B7 induced more unfolding of the insulin structure and a higher amyloidogenicity than breakage of A6-A11, but breakage of A6

Crystal structures and intermolecular interactions of two novel antioxidant triazolyl-benzimidazole compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karayel, A.; Özbey, S.; Ayhan-Kılcıgil, G.; Kuş, C.

2015-01-01

The crystal structures of 5-(2-(p-chlorophenylbenzimidazol-1-yl-methyl)-4-(3-fluorophenyl)-2, 4-dihydro-[1,2,4]-triazole-3-thione (G6C) and 5-(2-(p-chlorophenylbenzimidazol-1-yl-methyl)-4-(2-methylphenyl)-2, 4-dihydro-[1,2,4]-triazole-3-thione (G4C) have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Benzimidazole ring systems in both molecules are planar. The triazole part is almost perpendicular to the phenyl and the benzimidazole parts of the molecules in order to avoid steric interactions between the rings. The crystal structures are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the amino group of the triazole and the nitrogen atom of benzimidazole of a neighboring molecule

Effect of disulfide and sulfhydryl reagents on abortive and productive elongation catalyzed by ''Escheridia coli'' RNA polymerase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radlowski, M.; Job, D.

1994-01-01

The effect of disulfide and sulfhydryl reagents on the rate of abortive and productive elongation has been studied using ''Escherichia coli'' RNA polymerase holoenzyme and poly[d(A-T)] as template. In the presence of UTP as a single substrate and UpA as a primer, the enzyme catalyzed efficiently the synthesis of the trinucleotide product UpApU. Incubation of RNA polymerase with 1 mM 2-mercaptoethanol resulted in a 5-fold increase of the rate of UpApU synthesis. In contrast, incubation of the enzyme with 1 mM 5,5'-dithio-bis(2-nitrobenzoic) acid resulted in a 6-fold decrease of the rate of abortive elongation. Determination of the steady state kinetic constants associated with UpApU synthesis disclosed that the disulfide and sulfhydryl reagents mainly affected the rate of UpApU release from the ternary transcription complexes and therefore influenced the stability of such complexes. (author). 15 refs, 1 fig., 1 tab

Cytoplasmic glutathione redox status determines survival upon exposure to the thiol-oxidant 4,4'-dipyridyl disulfide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

López-Mirabal, H Reynaldo; Thorsen, Michael; Kielland-Brandt, Morten C

2007-01-01

Dipyridyl disulfide (DPS) is a highly reactive thiol oxidant that functions as electron acceptor in thiol-disulfide exchange reactions. DPS is very toxic to yeasts, impairing growth at low micromolar concentrations. The genes TRX2 (thioredoxin), SOD1 (superoxide dismutase), GSH1 (gamma-glutamyl-c......Dipyridyl disulfide (DPS) is a highly reactive thiol oxidant that functions as electron acceptor in thiol-disulfide exchange reactions. DPS is very toxic to yeasts, impairing growth at low micromolar concentrations. The genes TRX2 (thioredoxin), SOD1 (superoxide dismutase), GSH1 (gamma...... antioxidant pools of glutathione (GSH) and thioredoxin are required for resistance to DPS. We found that DPS-sensitive mutants display increases in the disulfide form of GSH (GSSG) during DPS exposure that roughly correlate with their more oxidizing GSH redox potential in the cytosol and their degree of DPS...

Design and introduction of a disulfide bridge in firefly luciferase: increase of thermostability and decrease of pH sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Imani, Mehdi; Hosseinkhani, Saman; Ahmadian, Shahin; Nazari, Mahboobeh

2010-08-01

The thermal sensitivity and pH-sensitive spectral properties of firefly luciferase have hampered its application in a variety of fields. It is proposed that the stability of a protein can be increased by introduction of disulfide bridge that decreases the configurational entropy of unfolding. A disulfide bridge is introduced into Photinus pyralis firefly luciferase to make two separate mutant enzymes with a single bridge. Even though the A103C/S121C mutant showed remarkable thermal stability, its specific activity decreased, whereas the A296C/A326C mutant showed tremendous thermal stability, relative pH insensitivity and 7.3-fold increase of specific activity. Moreover, the bioluminescence emission spectrum of A296C/A326C was resistant against higher temperatures (37 degrees C). Far-UV CD analysis showed slight secondary structure changes for both mutants. Thermal denaturation analysis showed that conformational stabilities of A103C/S121C and A296C/A326C are more than native firefly luciferase. It is proposed that since A296 and A326 are situated in the vicinity of the enzyme active site microenvironment in comparison with A103 and S121, the formation of a disulfide bridge in this region has more impact on enzyme kinetic characteristics.

The significance of disulfide bonding in biological activity of HB-EGF, a mutagenesis approach

OpenAIRE

Hoskins, J.T.; Zhou, Z.; Harding, P.A.

2008-01-01

A site-directed mutagenesis approach was taken to disrupt each of 3 disulfide bonds within human HB-EGF by substituting serine for both cysteine residues that contribute to disulfide bonding. Each HB-EGF disulfide analogue (HB-EGF-Cys/Ser108/121, HB-EGF-Cys/Ser116/132, and HB-EGF-Cys/Ser134/143) was cloned under the regulation of the mouse metallothionein (MT) promoter and stably expressed in mouse fibroblasts. HB-EGF immunoreactive proteins with Mr of 6.5, 21 and 24kDa were observed from lys...

Intermolecular interactions between σ- and π-holes of bromopentafluorobenzene and pyridine: computational and experimental investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Fang-Ling; Yang, Xing; Wu, Rui-Zhi; Yan, Chao-Xian; Yang, Fan; Ye, Weichun; Zhang, Liang-Wei; Zhou, Pan-Pan

2018-04-25

The characters of σ- and π-holes of bromopentafluorobenzene (C6F5Br) enable it to interact with an electron-rich atom or group like pyridine which possesses an electron lone-pair N atom and a π ring. Theoretical studies of intermolecular interactions between C6F5Br and C5H5N have been carried out at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVDZ level without and with the counterpoise method, together with single point calculations at M06-2X/TZVP, wB97-XD/aug-cc-pVDZ and CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ levels. The σ- and π-holes of C6F5Br exhibiting positive electrostatic potentials make these sites favorably interact with the N atom and the π ring of C5H5N with negative electrostatic potentials, leading to five different dimers connected by a σ-holen bond, a σ-holeπ bond or a π-holeπ bond. Their geometrical structures, characteristics, nature and spectroscopy behaviors were systematically investigated. EDA analyses reveal that the driving forces in these dimers are different. NCI, QTAIM and NBO analyses confirm the existence of intermolecular interactions formed via σ- and π-holes of C6F5Br and the N atom and the π ring of C5H5N. The experimental IR and Raman spectra gave us important information about the formation of molecular complexes between C6F5Br and C5H5N. We expect that the results could provide valuable insights into the investigation of intermolecular interactions involving σ- and π-holes.

An analytic study of molybdenum disulfide nanofluids using the modern approach of Atangana-Baleanu fractional derivatives

Science.gov (United States)

Ali Abro, Kashif; Hussain, Mukkarum; Mahmood Baig, Mirza

2017-10-01

The significance of the different shapes of molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles contained in ethylene glycol has recently attracted researchers, because of the numerical or experimental analyses on the shapes of molybdenum disulfide and the lack of fractionalized analytic approaches. This work is dedicated to examining the shape impacts of molybdenum disulfide nanofluids in the mixed convection flow with magnetic field and a porous medium. Ethylene glycol is chosen as the base fluid in which molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles are suspended. Non-spherically shaped molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles, namely, platelet, blade, cylinder and brick, are utilized in this analysis. The modeling of the problem is characterized by employing the modern approach of Atangana-Baleanu fractional derivatives and the governing partial differential equations are solved via Laplace transforms with inversion. Solutions are obtained for temperature distribution and velocity field and expressed in terms of compact form of M-function, Mba(T) . In the end, a figures are drawn to compare the different non-spherically shaped molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles. Furthermore, the Atangana-Baleanu fractional derivatives model has been compared with ordinary derivatives models and discussed graphically by setting various rheological parameters.

Synthesis of tetraalkyl thiuram disulfides using different oxidants in recycling solvent mixture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milosavljević Milutin M.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A new optimized laboratory synthesis of tetraalkyl thiuram disulfides, starting from dialkyl amines and carbon disulfide in presence of three oxidants (hydrogen peroxide, potassium peroxodisulfate and sodium hypochlorite and appropriate reaction medium: two mixtures of isopropyl alcohol - water used in two consecutive syntheses, was presented in this work. First synthesis was performed in a recycled azeotropic mixture of isopropyl alcohol - water 87.7% - 12.3%, and second in a filtrate obtained after first synthesis, which was a mixture of isopropyl alcohol - water 70.4% - 29.6%. After the second synthesis and filtration, recycled azeotropic mixture isopropyl alcohol - water 87.7% - 12.3% was regenerated from the filtrate by rectification. Considering this, the technology for beneficial use of recycling isopropyl alcohol - water mixture as reaction medium for tetraalkyl thiuram disulfides synthesis was developed. Such concept contributes to extraordinary economical benefit of implemented optimal laboratory synthesis at semi-industrial level. High yields of tetraalkyl thiuram disulfides syntheses were obtained at both laboratory and semiindustrial level. Structure and purity of synthesized compounds were confirmed by elemental analysis, as well as FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR, and MS spectral data.

Ab initio and Gordon--Kim intermolecular potentials for two nitrogen molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ree, F.H.; Winter, N.W.

1980-01-01

Both ab initio MO--LCAO--SCF and the electron-gas (or Gordon--Kim) methods have been used to compute the intermolecular potential (Phi) of N 2 molecules for seven different N 2 --N 2 orientations. The ab initio calculations were carried out using a [4s3p] contracted Gaussian basis set with and without 3d polarization functions. The larger basis set provides adequate results for Phi>0.002 hartree or intermolecular separations less than 6.5--7 bohr. We use a convenient analytic expression to represent the ab initio data in terms of the intermolecular distance and three angles defining the orientations of the two N 2 molecules. The Gordon--Kim method with Rae's self-exchange correction yields Phi, which agrees reasonably well over a large repulsive range. However, a detailed comparison of the electron kinetic energy contributions shows a large difference between the ab initio and the Gordon--Kim calculations. Using the ab initio data we derive an atom--atom potential of the two N 2 molecules. Although this expression does not accurately fit the data at some orientations, its spherical average agrees with the corresponding average of the ab initio Phi remarkably well. The spherically averaged ab initio Phi is also compared with the corresponding quantities derived from experimental considerations. The approach of the ab initio Phi to the classical quadrupole--quadrupole interaction at large intermolecular separation is also discussed

On the relevance of sophisticated structural annotations for disulfide connectivity pattern prediction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julien Becker

Full Text Available Disulfide bridges strongly constrain the native structure of many proteins and predicting their formation is therefore a key sub-problem of protein structure and function inference. Most recently proposed approaches for this prediction problem adopt the following pipeline: first they enrich the primary sequence with structural annotations, second they apply a binary classifier to each candidate pair of cysteines to predict disulfide bonding probabilities and finally, they use a maximum weight graph matching algorithm to derive the predicted disulfide connectivity pattern of a protein. In this paper, we adopt this three step pipeline and propose an extensive study of the relevance of various structural annotations and feature encodings. In particular, we consider five kinds of structural annotations, among which three are novel in the context of disulfide bridge prediction. So as to be usable by machine learning algorithms, these annotations must be encoded into features. For this purpose, we propose four different feature encodings based on local windows and on different kinds of histograms. The combination of structural annotations with these possible encodings leads to a large number of possible feature functions. In order to identify a minimal subset of relevant feature functions among those, we propose an efficient and interpretable feature function selection scheme, designed so as to avoid any form of overfitting. We apply this scheme on top of three supervised learning algorithms: k-nearest neighbors, support vector machines and extremely randomized trees. Our results indicate that the use of only the PSSM (position-specific scoring matrix together with the CSP (cysteine separation profile are sufficient to construct a high performance disulfide pattern predictor and that extremely randomized trees reach a disulfide pattern prediction accuracy of [Formula: see text] on the benchmark dataset SPX[Formula: see text], which corresponds to

A novel engineered interchain disulfide bond in the constant region enhances the thermostability of adalimumab Fab.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Hitomi; Oda-Ueda, Naoko; Ueda, Tadashi; Ohkuri, Takatoshi

2018-01-01

We constructed a system for expressing the Fab of the therapeutic human monoclonal antibody adalimumab at a yield of 20 mg/L in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. To examine the contribution of interchain disulfide bonds to conformational stability, we prepared adalimumab Fab from which the interchain disulfide bond at the C-terminal region at both the CH 1 and CL domains was deleted by substitution of Cys with Ala (Fab ΔSS ). DSC measurements showed that the Tm values of Fab ΔSS were approximately 5 °C lower than those of wild-type Fab, suggesting that the interchain disulfide bond contributes to conformational thermostability. Using computer simulations, we designed a novel interchain disulfide bond outside the C-terminal region to increase the stability of Fab ΔSS . The resulting Fab (mutSS Fab ΔSS ) had the mutations H:V177C and L:Q160C in Fab ΔSS , confirming the formation of the disulfide bond between CH 1 and CL. The thermostability of mutSS Fab ΔSS was approximately 5 °C higher than that of Fab ΔSS . Therefore, the introduction of the designed interchain disulfide bond enhanced the thermostability of Fab ΔSS and mitigated the destabilization caused by partial reduction of the interchain disulfide bond at the C-terminal region, which occurs in site-specific modification such as PEGylation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conformational analysis by quantitative NOE measurements of the β-proton pairs across individual disulfide bonds in proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, Mitsuhiro; Terauchi, Tsutomu; Kainosho, Masatsune

2012-01-01

NOEs between the β-protons of cysteine residues across disulfide bonds in proteins provide direct information on the connectivities and conformations of these important cross-links, which are otherwise difficult to investigate. With conventional [U- 13 C, 15 N]-proteins, however, fast spin diffusion processes mediated by strong dipolar interactions between geminal β-protons prohibit the quantitative measurements and thus the analyses of long-range NOEs across disulfide bonds. We describe a robust approach for alleviating such difficulties, by using proteins selectively labeled with an equimolar mixture of (2R, 3S)-[β- 13 C; α,β- 2 H 2 ] Cys and (2R, 3R)-[β- 13 C; α,β- 2 H 2 ] Cys, but otherwise fully deuterated. Since either one of the prochiral methylene protons, namely β2 (proS) or β3 (proR), is always replaced with a deuteron and no other protons remain in proteins prepared by this labeling scheme, all four of the expected NOEs for the β-protons across disulfide bonds could be measured without any spin diffusion interference, even with long mixing times. Therefore, the NOEs for the β2 and β3 pairs across each of the disulfide bonds could be observed at high sensitivity, even though they are 25% of the theoretical maximum for each pair. With the NOE information, the disulfide bond connectivities can be unambiguously established for proteins with multiple disulfide bonds. In addition, the conformations around disulfide bonds, namely χ 2 and χ 3 , can be determined based on the precise proton distances of the four β-proton pairs, by quantitative measurements of the NOEs across the disulfide bonds. The feasibility of this method is demonstrated for bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, which has three disulfide bonds.

Cohesion: a scientific history of intermolecular forces

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rowlinson, J. S

2002-01-01

.... The final section gives an account of the successful use in the 20th century of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics to resolve most of the remaining problems. Throughout the last 300 years there have been periods of tremendous growth in our understanding of intermolecular forces but such interest proved to be unsustainable, and long periods of...

Alpha-cyclodextrins reversibly capped with disulfide bonds

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kumprecht, Lukáš; Buděšínský, Miloš; Bouř, Petr; Kraus, Tomáš

2010-01-01

Roč. 34, č. 10 (2010), s. 2254-2260 ISSN 1144-0546 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA400550810 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : cyclodextrins * disulfide bond * dynamic covalent bond Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 2.631, year: 2010

Photo-reduction on the rupture of disulfide bonds and the related protein assembling

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei

It has been found that many proteins can self-assemble into nanoscale assemblies when they unfold or partially unfold under harsh conditions, such as low pH, high temperature, or the presence of denaturants, and so on. These nanoscale assemblies can have some applications such as the drug-delivery systems (DDSs). Here we report a study that a very physical way, the UV illumination, can be used to facilitate the formation of protein fibrils and nanoparticles under native conditions by breaking disulfide bonds in some disulfide-containing proteins. By controlling the intensity of UV light and the illumination time, we realized the preparation of self-assembly nanoparticles which encapsulate the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) and can be used as the DDS for inhibiting the growth of tumor. The formation of fibrillary assemblies was also observed. The rupture of disulfide bonds through photo-reduction process due to the effect of tryptophan and tyrosine was studied, and the physical mechanism of the assembling of the related disulfide-containing proteins was also discussed. We thank the financial support from NSF of China and the 973 project.

Compact conformations of human protein disulfide isomerase.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shang Yang

Full Text Available Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI composed of four thioredoxin-like domains a, b, b', and a', is a key enzyme catalyzing oxidative protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum. Large scale molecular dynamics simulations starting from the crystal structures of human PDI (hPDI in the oxidized and reduced states were performed. The results indicate that hPDI adopts more compact conformations in solution than in the crystal structures, which are stabilized primarily by inter-domain interactions, including the salt bridges between domains a and b' observed for the first time. A prominent feature of the compact conformations is that the two catalytic domains a and a' can locate close enough for intra-molecular electron transfer, which was confirmed by the characterization of an intermediate with a disulfide between the two domains. Mutations, which disrupt the inter-domain interactions, lead to decreased reductase activity of hPDI. Our molecular dynamics simulations and biochemical experiments reveal the intrinsic conformational dynamics of hPDI and its biological impact.

The significance of disulfide bonding in biological activity of HB-EGF, a mutagenesis approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoskins, J.T.; Zhou, Z.; Harding, P.A.

2008-01-01

A site-directed mutagenesis approach was taken to disrupt each of 3 disulfide bonds within human HB-EGF by substituting serine for both cysteine residues that contribute to disulfide bonding. Each HB-EGF disulfide analogue (HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 108/121 , HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 116/132 , and HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 134/143 ) was cloned under the regulation of the mouse metallothionein (MT) promoter and stably expressed in mouse fibroblasts. HB-EGF immunoreactive proteins with M r of 6.5, 21 and 24 kDa were observed from lysates of HB-EGF and each HB-EGF disulfide analogue. HB-EGF immunohistochemical analyses of each HB-EGF stable cell line demonstrated ubiquitous protein expression except HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 108/121 and HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 116/132 stable cell lines which exhibited accumulated expression immediately outside the nucleus. rHB-EGF, HB-EGF, and HB-EGF 134/143 proteins competed with 125 I-EGF in an A431 competitive binding assay, whereas HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 108/121 and HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 116/132 failed to compete. Each HB-EGF disulfide analogue lacked the ability to stimulate tyrosine phosphorylation of the 170 kDa EGFR. These results suggest that HB-EGF-Cys/Ser 134/143 antagonizes EGFRs

The iodine molecule insights into intra- and intermolecular perturbation in diatomic molecules

CERN Document Server

Lukashov, Sergey; Pravilov, Anatoly

2018-01-01

This book presents experimental and theoretical spectroscopic studies performed over the last 25 years on the iodine molecule’s excited states and their perturbations. It is going to be of interest to researchers who study intra- and intermolecular perturbations in diatomic molecules and more complex systems. The book offers a detailed treatment of the nonadiabatic perturbations of valence, ion pair and Rydberg states induced by intramolecular as well as intermolecular interactions in collisions or in weakly-bound complexes. It also provides an overview of current instrumentation and techniques as well as theoretical approaches describing intra- and intermolecular perturbations. The authors are experts in the use of spectroscopy for the study of intrinsic and collision-induced perturbations in diatomic iodine. They introduced new methods of two- and three-step optical population of the iodine ion-pair states. The iodine molecule has 23 valence states correlating with three dissociation limits, 20 so-called ...

Novel Roles of the Non-catalytic Elements of Yeast Protein-disulfide Isomerase in Its Interplay with Endoplasmic Reticulum Oxidoreductin 1*

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Yingbo; Zhang, Lihui; Yu, Jiaojiao; Wang, Chih-chen; Wang, Lei

2016-01-01

The formation of disulfide bonds in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of eukaryotic cells is catalyzed by the sulfhydryl oxidase, ER oxidoreductin 1 (Ero1), and protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI). PDI is oxidized by Ero1 to continuously introduce disulfides into substrates, and feedback regulates Ero1 activity by manipulating the regulatory disulfides of Ero1. In this study we find that yeast Ero1p is enzymatically active even with its regulatory disulfides intact, and further activation of Ero1p by reduction of the regulatory disulfides requires the reduction of non-catalytic Cys90-Cys97 disulfide in Pdi1p. The principal client-binding site in the Pdi1p b′ domain is necessary not only for the functional Ero1p-Pdi1p disulfide relay but also for the activation of Ero1p. We also demonstrate by complementary activation assays that the regulatory disulfides in Ero1p are much more stable than those in human Ero1α. These new findings on yeast Ero1p-Pdi1p interplay reveal significant differences from our previously identified mode of human Ero1α-PDI interplay and provide insights into the evolution of the eukaryotic oxidative protein folding pathway. PMID:26846856

Functional differences in yeast protein disulfide isomerases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, P; Westphal, V; Tachibana, C

2001-01-01

PDI1 is the essential gene encoding protein disulfide isomerase in yeast. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, however, contains four other nonessential genes with homology to PDI1: MPD1, MPD2, EUG1, and EPS1. We have investigated the effects of simultaneous deletions of these genes. In several...

Improvement in the thermostability of chitosanase from Bacillus ehimensis by introducing artificial disulfide bonds.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Jun; Ji, Xiaofeng; Zheng, Yuan; Wang, Zhipeng; Sun, Mi

2016-10-01

To determine the effects of artificial disulfide bridges on the thermostability and catalytic efficiency of chitosanase EAG1. Five artificial disulfide bridges were designed based on the structural information derived from the three-dimensional (3-D) model of chitosanase EAG1. Two beneficial mutants (G113C/D116C, A207C-L286C) were located in the flexible surface loop region, whereas the similar substitutions introduced in α-helices regions had a negligible effect. Mut5, the most active mutant, had a longer half-life at 50 °C (from 10.5 to 69.3 min) and a 200 % higher catalytic efficiency (K cat/K m) than that of the original EAG1. The contribution of disulfide bridges to enzyme thermostability is mainly dependent on its location within the polypeptide chain. Strategical placement of a disulfide bridge in flexible regions provides a rigid support and creation of a protected microenvironment, which is effective in improving enzyme's thermostability and catalytic efficiency.

Intra-/Intermolecular Bifurcated Chalcogen Bonding in Crystal Structure of Thiazole/Thiadiazole Derived Binuclear (DiaminocarbenePdII Complexes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander S. Mikherdov

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The coupling of cis-[PdCl2(CNXyl2] (Xyl = 2,6-Me2C6H3 with 4-phenylthiazol-2-amine in molar ratio 2:3 at RT in CH2Cl2 leads to binuclear (diaminocarbenePdII complex 3c. The complex was characterized by HRESI+-MS, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and its structure was elucidated by single-crystal XRD. Inspection of the XRD data for 3c and for three relevant earlier obtained thiazole/thiadiazole derived binuclear diaminocarbene complexes (3a EYOVIZ; 3b: EYOWAS; 3d: EYOVOF suggests that the structures of all these species exhibit intra-/intermolecular bifurcated chalcogen bonding (BCB. The obtained data indicate the presence of intramolecular S•••Cl chalcogen bonds in all of the structures, whereas varying of substituent in the 4th and 5th positions of the thiazaheterocyclic fragment leads to changes of the intermolecular chalcogen bonding type, viz. S•••π in 3a,b, S•••S in 3c, and S•••O in 3d. At the same time, the change of heterocyclic system (from 1,3-thiazole to 1,3,4-thiadiazole does not affect the pattern of non-covalent interactions. Presence of such intermolecular chalcogen bonding leads to the formation of one-dimensional (1D polymeric chains (for 3a,b, dimeric associates (for 3c, or the fixation of an acetone molecule in the hollow between two diaminocarbene complexes (for 3d in the solid state. The Hirshfeld surface analysis for the studied X-ray structures estimated the contributions of intermolecular chalcogen bonds in crystal packing of 3a–d: S•••π (3a: 2.4%; 3b: 2.4%, S•••S (3c: less 1%, S•••O (3d: less 1%. The additionally performed DFT calculations, followed by the topological analysis of the electron density distribution within the framework of Bader’s theory (AIM method, confirm the presence of intra-/intermolecular BCB S•••Cl/S•••S in dimer of 3c taken as a model system (solid state geometry. The AIM analysis demonstrates the presence of appropriate bond critical points for these

Increasing the reactivity of an artificial dithiol-disulfide pair through modification of the electrostatic milieu

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Rosa E; Østergaard, Henrik; Winther, Jakob R

2005-01-01

K(a) value of Cys149, as well as favorable electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged reagents. The results presented here show that the electrostatic milieu of cysteine thiols in proteins can have substantial effects on the rates of the thiol-disulfide exchange reactions.......The thiol-disulfide exchange reaction plays a central role in the formation of disulfide bonds in newly synthesized proteins and is involved in many aspects of cellular metabolism. Because the thiolate form of the cysteine residue is the key reactive species, its electrostatic milieu is thought...... surface. We have studied properties of vicinal cysteine residues in proteins using a model system based on redox-sensitive yellow fluorescent protein (rxYFP). In this system, the formation of a disulfide bond between two cysteines Cys149 and Cys202 is accompanied by a 2.2-fold decrease in fluorescence...

Orientation correlation and intermolecular structure of GeCl4, VCl4 and other tetrachloride liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nath, P.P.; Sarkar, S.; Joarder, R.N.

2007-01-01

The intermolecular structure and correlation of GeCl 4 , VCl 4 and other tetrachloride liquids can be well described by Misawa's orientation correlation model originally applied to liquid CCl 4 . The model supports on average a specific 'corner' to 'face' correlation, but evidently very different from 'Apollo' type model. The Misawa model appears to work, in some respect, even better than reference interaction site model (RISM) used for long to describe intermolecular structure of such molecular systems. The test and comparison are made through the calculation of small asymmetric part of the intermolecular structure and evaluation of partial atom-atom distribution functions

Dancing Crystals: A Dramatic Illustration of Intermolecular Forces

Science.gov (United States)

Mundell, Donald W.

2007-01-01

Crystals of naphthalene form on the surface of an acetone solution and dance about in an animated fashion illustrating surface tension, crystallization, and intermolecular forces. Additional experiments reveal the properties of the solution. Flows within the solutions can be visualized by various means. Previous demonstrations of surface motion…

Identification of Thioredoxin Disulfide Targets Using a Quantitative Proteomics Approach Based on Isotope-Coded Affinity Tags

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hägglund, Per; Bunkenborg, Jakob; Maeda, Kenji

2008-01-01

Thioredoxin (Trx) is a ubiquitous protein disulfide reductase involved in a wide range of cellular redox processes. A large number of putative target proteins have been identified using proteomics approaches, but insight into target specificity at the molecular level is lacking since the reactivity...... of Trx toward individual disulfides has not been quantified. Here, a novel proteomics procedure is described for quantification of Trx-mediated target disulfide reduction based on thiol-specific differential labeling with the iodoacetamide-based isotope-coded affinity tag (ICAT) reagents. Briefly......, protein extract of embryos from germinated barley seeds was treated +/- Trx, and thiols released from target protein disulfides were irreversibly blocked with iodoacetamide. The remaining cysteine residues in the Trx-treated and the control (-Trx) samples were then chemically reduced and labeled...

Inactivation of human DGAT2 by oxidative stress on cysteine residues

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Kwangman; Kwon, Eun Bin; Kang, Mingu; Kim, Dong-eun; Jeong, Hyejeong; Kim, Janghwan; Kim, Jong Heon; Kim, Mun Ock; Han, Sang-Bae

2017-01-01

Diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) have a crucial role in the biosynthesis of triacylglycerol (TG), the major storage form of metabolic energy in eukaryotic organisms. Even though DGAT2, one of two distinct DGATs, has a vital role in TG biosynthesis, little is known about the regulation of DGAT2 activity. In this study, we examined the role of cysteine and its oxidation in the enzymatic activity of human DGAT2 in vitro. Human DGAT2 activity was considerably inhibited not only by thiol-modifying reagents (NEM and IA) but also by ROS-related chemicals (H2O2 and β-lapachone), while human DGAT1 and GPAT1 were little affected. Particularly, ROS-related chemicals concomitantly induced intermolecular disulfide crosslinking of human DGAT2. Both the oxidative inactivation and disulfide crosslinking were almost completely reversed by the treatment with DTT, a disulfide-reducing agent. These results clearly demonstrated the significant role of ROS-induced intermolecular crosslinking in the inactivation of human DGAT2 and also suggested DGAT2 as a redox-sensitive regulator in TG biosynthesis. PMID:28700690

Structural variability and the nature of intermolecular interactions in Watson-Crick B-DNA base pairs.

Science.gov (United States)

Czyznikowska, Z; Góra, R W; Zaleśny, R; Lipkowski, P; Jarzembska, K N; Dominiak, P M; Leszczynski, J

2010-07-29

A set of nearly 100 crystallographic structures was analyzed using ab initio methods in order to verify the effect of the conformational variability of Watson-Crick guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine base pairs on the intermolecular interaction energy and its components. Furthermore, for the representative structures, a potential energy scan of the structural parameters describing mutual orientation of the base pairs was carried out. The results were obtained using the hybrid variational-perturbational interaction energy decomposition scheme. The electron correlation effects were estimated by means of the second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory and coupled clusters with singles and doubles method adopting AUG-cc-pVDZ basis set. Moreover, the characteristics of hydrogen bonds in complexes, mimicking those appearing in B-DNA, were evaluated using topological analysis of the electron density. Although the first-order electrostatic energy is usually the largest stabilizing component, it is canceled out by the associated exchange repulsion in majority of the studied crystallographic structures. Therefore, the analyzed complexes of the nucleic acid bases appeared to be stabilized mainly by the delocalization component of the intermolecular interaction energy which, in terms of symmetry adapted perturbation theory, encompasses the second- and higher-order induction and exchange-induction terms. Furthermore, it was found that the dispersion contribution, albeit much smaller in terms of magnitude, is also a vital stabilizing factor. It was also revealed that the intermolecular interaction energy and its components are strongly influenced by four (out of six) structural parameters describing mutual orientation of bases in Watson-Crick pairs, namely shear, stagger, stretch, and opening. Finally, as a part of a model study, much of the effort was devoted to an extensive testing of the UBDB databank. It was shown that the databank quite successfully reproduces the

Solubilization and folding of a fully active recombinant Gaussia luciferase with native disulfide bonds by using a SEP-Tag.

Science.gov (United States)

Rathnayaka, Tharangani; Tawa, Minako; Nakamura, Takashi; Sohya, Shihori; Kuwajima, Kunihiro; Yohda, Masafumi; Kuroda, Yutaka

2011-12-01

Gaussia luciferase (GLuc) is the smallest known bioluminescent protein and is attracting much attention as a potential reporter protein. However, its 10 disulfide bond forming cysteines have hampered the efficient production of recombinant GLuc and thus limited its use in bio-imaging application. Here, we demonstrate that the addition of a short solubility enhancement peptide tag (SEP-Tag) to the C-terminus of GLuc (GLuc-C9D) significantly increased the fraction of soluble protein at a standard expression temperature. The expression time was much shorter, and the final yield of GLuc-C9D was significantly higher than with our previous pCold expression system. Reversed phase HPLC indicated that the GLuc-C9D variant folded with a single disulfide bond pattern after proper oxidization. Further, the thermal denaturation of GLuc-C9D was completely reversible, and its secondary structure content remained unchanged until 40°C as assessed by CD spectroscopy. The (1)H-NMR spectrum of GLuc indicated sharp well dispersed peaks typical for natively folded proteins. GLuc-C9D bioluminescence activity was strong and fully retained even after incubation at high temperatures. These results suggest that solubilization using SEP-Tags can be useful for producing large quantities of proteins containing multiple disulfide bonds. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Lattice and Molecular Vibrations in Single Crystal I2 at 77 K by Inelastic Neutron Scattering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smith, H. G.; Nielsen, Mourits; Clark, C. B.

1975-01-01

Phonon dispersion curves of single crystal iodine at 77 K have been measured by one-phonon coherent inelastic neutron scattering techniques. The data are analysed in terms of two Buckingham-six intermolecular potentials; one to represent the shortest intermolecular interaction (3.5 Å) and the other...

Phase transitions in liquids with directed intermolecular bonding

OpenAIRE

Son, L.; Ryltcev, R.

2005-01-01

Liquids with quasi - chemical bonding between molecules are described in terms of vertex model. It is shown that this bonding results in liquid - liquid phase transition, which occurs between phases with different mean density of intermolecular bonds. The transition may be suggested to be a universal phenomena for those liquids.

Rational Design of Disulfide Bonds Increases Thermostability of a Mesophilic 1,3-1,4-β-Glucanase from Bacillus terquilensis.

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Chengtuo Niu

Full Text Available 1,3-1,4-β-glucanase is an important biocatalyst in brewing industry and animal feed industry, while its low thermostability often reduces its application performance. In this study, the thermostability of a mesophilic β-glucanase from Bacillus terquilensis was enhanced by rational design and engineering of disulfide bonds in the protein structure. Protein spatial configuration was analyzed to pre-exclude the residues pairs which negatively conflicted with the protein structure and ensure the contact of catalytic center. The changes in protein overall and local flexibility among the wild-type enzyme and the designated mutants were predicted to select the potential disulfide bonds for enhancement of thermostability. Two residue pairs (N31C-T187C and P102C-N125C were chosen as engineering targets and both of them were proved to significantly enhance the protein thermostability. After combinational mutagenesis, the double mutant N31C-T187C/P102C-N125C showed a 48.3% increase in half-life value at 60°C and a 4.1°C rise in melting temperature (Tm compared to wild-type enzyme. The catalytic property of N31C-T187C/P102C-N125C mutant was similar to that of wild-type enzyme. Interestingly, the optimal pH of double mutant was shifted from pH6.5 to pH6.0, which could also increase its industrial application. By comparison with mutants with single-Cys substitutions, the introduction of disulfide bonds and the induced new hydrogen bonds were proved to result in both local and overall rigidification and should be responsible for the improved thermostability. Therefore, the introduction of disulfide bonds for thermostability improvement could be rationally and highly-effectively designed by combination with spatial configuration analysis and molecular dynamics simulation.

Disruption of reducing pathways is not essential for efficient disulfide bond formation in the cytoplasm of E. coli

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Hatahet Feras

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The formation of native disulfide bonds is a complex and essential post-translational modification for many proteins. The large scale production of these proteins can be difficult and depends on targeting the protein to a compartment in which disulfide bond formation naturally occurs, usually the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotes or the periplasm of prokaryotes. It is currently thought to be impossible to produce large amounts of disulfide bond containing protein in the cytoplasm of wild-type bacteria such as E. coli due to the presence of multiple pathways for their reduction. Results Here we show that the introduction of Erv1p, a sulfhydryl oxidase and FAD-dependent catalyst of disulfide bond formation found in the inter membrane space of mitochondria, allows the efficient formation of native disulfide bonds in heterologously expressed proteins in the cytoplasm of E. coli even without the disruption of genes involved in disulfide bond reduction, for example trxB and/or gor. Indeed yields of active disulfide bonded proteins were higher in BL21 (DE3 pLysSRARE, an E. coli strain with the reducing pathways intact, than in the commercial Δgor ΔtrxB strain rosetta-gami upon co-expression of Erv1p. Conclusions Our results refute the current paradigm in the field that disruption of at least one of the reducing pathways is essential for the efficient production of disulfide bond containing proteins in the cytoplasm of E. coli and open up new possibilities for the use of E. coli as a microbial cell factory.

Intermolecular spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelbart, W.M.

1980-01-01

In this article some of the theoretical background is presented for the following papers on 'Intermolecular Spectroscopy and Dynamical Properties of Dense Systems'. In Section 1 we outline a simple semi-classical description of the interaction between optical radiation and matter. The motion of a many-body polarizability is introduced; limiting forms of this complicated quantity lead to the familiar cases of light scattering spectra. In Section 2 we consider the linear response approximation, and the equation of motion for the many-body density matrix is solved to first order in the matter-radiation interaction. The often quoted fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the time-dependent, equilibrium correlation functions are discussed. Section 3 treats the problem of the local field. In Section 4 we consider the special case of collision-induced light scattering by atomic fluids in the low-density limit. This allows us to focus on determining the interaction polarizability for simple gases. Finally, in Section 5 we distinguish between collision-induced and multiple light scattering, and discuss the double-light-scattering analyses which provide new information about critical and thermodynamically unstable fluids. (KBE)

Enhancing Protein Disulfide Bond Cleavage by UV Excitation and Electron Capture Dissociation for Top-Down Mass Spectrometry

OpenAIRE

Wongkongkathep, Piriya; Li, Huilin; Zhang, Xing; Loo, Rachel R. Ogorzalek; Julian, Ryan R.; Loo, Joseph A.

2015-01-01

The application of ion pre-activation with 266 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation combined with electron capture dissociation (ECD) is demonstrated to enhance top-down mass spectrometry sequence coverage of disulfide bond containing proteins. UV-based activation can homolytically cleave a disulfide bond to yield two separated thiol radicals. Activated ECD experiments of insulin and ribonuclease A containing three and four disulfide bonds, respectively, were performed. UV-activation in comb...

Photodegradable, Photoadaptable Hydrogels via Radical-Mediated Disulfide Fragmentation Reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fairbanks, Benjamin D; Singh, Samir P; Bowman, Christopher N; Anseth, Kristi S

2011-04-26

Various techniques have been adopted to impart a biological responsiveness to synthetic hydrogels for the delivery of therapeutic agents as well as the study and manipulation of biological processes and tissue development. Such techniques and materials include polyelectrolyte gels that swell and deswell with changes in pH, thermosensitive gels that contract at physiological temperatures, and peptide cross-linked hydrogels that degrade upon peptidolysis by cell-secreted enzymes. Herein we report a unique approach to photochemically deform and degrade disulfide cross-linked hydrogels, mitigating the challenges of light attenuation and low quantum yield, permitting the degradation of hydrogels up to 2 mm thick within 120 s at low light intensities (10 mW/cm(2) at 365 nm). Hydrogels were formed by the oxidation of thiol-functionalized 4-armed poly(ethylene glycol) macromolecules. These disulfide cross-linked hydrogels were then swollen in a lithium acylphosphinate photoinitiator solution. Upon exposure to light, photogenerated radicals initiate multiple fragmentation and disulfide exchange reactions, permitting and promoting photodeformation, photowelding, and photodegradation. This novel, but simple, approach to generate photoadaptable hydrogels portends the study of cellular response to mechanically and topographically dynamic substrates as well as novel encapsulations by the welding of solid substrates. The principles and techniques described herein hold implications for more than hydrogel materials but also for photoadaptable polymers more generally.

Single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation and solvochromic luminescence of a dinuclear gold(I)-(aza-[18]crown-6)dithiocarbamate compound.

Science.gov (United States)

Tzeng, Biing-Chiau; Chao, An

2015-01-26

The treatment of [AuCl(SMe2 )] with an equimolar amount of NaO5 NCS2 (O5 NCS2 =(aza-[18]crown-6)dithiocarbamate) in CH3 CN gave [Au2 (O5 NCS2 )2 ]⋅2 CH3 CN (2⋅2 CH3 CN), and its crystal structure displays a dinuclear gold(I)-azacrown ether ring and an intermolecular gold(I)⋅⋅⋅gold(I) contact of 2.8355(3) Å in crystal lattices. It is noted that two other single crystals of 2⋅tert-butylbenzene⋅H2 O and 2⋅0.5 m-xylene can be successfully obtained from a single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) transformation process by immersing single crystals of 2⋅2 CH3 CN in the respective solvents, and both also show intermolecular gold(I)⋅⋅⋅gold(I) contacts of 2.9420(5) and 2.890(2)-2.902(2) Å, respectively. Significantly, the emissions of all three 2⋅solvates are well correlated with their respective intermolecular gold(I)⋅⋅⋅gold(I) contacts, where such contacts increase with 2⋅2 CH3 CN (2.8355(3) Å)energies increase with 2⋅2 CH3 CN (602 nm)<2⋅0.5 m-xylene (583 nm)<2⋅tert-butylbenzene⋅H2 O (546 nm) as well. In this regard, we further examine the solvochromic luminescence for some other aromatics, and finally their emissions are within 546-602 nm. Obviously, the above results are mostly ascribed to the occurrence of intermolecular gold(I)⋅⋅⋅gold(I) contacts in 2⋅solvates, which are induced by the presence of various solvates in the solid state, as a key role to be responsible for their solvochromic luminescence. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The Disulfide Bond Cys255-Cys279 in the Immunoglobulin-Like Domain of Anthrax Toxin Receptor 2 Is Required for Membrane Insertion of Anthrax Protective Antigen Pore.

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Pedro Jacquez

Full Text Available Anthrax toxin receptors act as molecular clamps or switches that control anthrax toxin entry, pH-dependent pore formation, and translocation of enzymatic moieties across the endosomal membranes. We previously reported that reduction of the disulfide bonds in the immunoglobulin-like (Ig domain of the anthrax toxin receptor 2 (ANTXR2 inhibited the function of the protective antigen (PA pore. In the present study, the disulfide linkage in the Ig domain was identified as Cys255-Cys279 and Cys230-Cys315. Specific disulfide bond deletion mutants were achieved by replacing Cys residues with Ala residues. Deletion of the disulfide bond C255-C279, but not C230-C315, inhibited the PA pore-induced release of the fluorescence dyes from the liposomes, suggesting that C255-C279 is essential for PA pore function. Furthermore, we found that deletion of C255-C279 did not affect PA prepore-to-pore conversion, but inhibited PA pore membrane insertion by trapping the PA membrane-inserting loops in proteinaceous hydrophobic pockets. Fluorescence spectra of Trp59, a residue adjacent to the PA-binding motif in von Willebrand factor A (VWA domain of ANTXR2, showed that deletion of C255-C279 resulted in a significant conformational change on the receptor ectodomain. The disulfide deletion-induced conformational change on the VWA domain was further confirmed by single-particle 3D reconstruction of the negatively stained PA-receptor heptameric complexes. Together, the biochemical and structural data obtained in this study provides a mechanistic insight into the role of the receptor disulfide bond C255-C279 in anthrax toxin action. Manipulation of the redox states of the receptor, specifically targeting to C255-C279, may become a novel strategy to treat anthrax.

Structural Basis of a Thiol-Disulfide Oxidoreductase in the Hedgehog-Forming Actinobacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii.

Science.gov (United States)

Luong, Truc Thanh; Tirgar, Reyhaneh; Reardon-Robinson, Melissa E; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Osipiuk, Jerzy; Ton-That, Hung

2018-05-01

The actinobacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii has been implicated in nucleation of oral microbial consortia leading to biofilm formation. Due to the lack of genetic tools, little is known about basic cellular processes, including protein secretion and folding, in this organism. We report here a survey of the C. matruchotii genome, which encodes a large number of exported proteins containing paired cysteine residues, and identified an oxidoreductase that is highly homologous to the Corynebacterium diphtheriae thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase MdbA (MdbA Cd ). Crystallization studies uncovered that the 1.2-Å resolution structure of C. matruchotii MdbA (MdbA Cm ) possesses two conserved features found in actinobacterial MdbA enzymes, a thioredoxin-like fold and an extended α-helical domain. By reconstituting the disulfide bond-forming machine in vitro , we demonstrated that MdbA Cm catalyzes disulfide bond formation within the actinobacterial pilin FimA. A new gene deletion method supported that mdbA is essential in C. matruchotii Remarkably, heterologous expression of MdbA Cm in the C. diphtheriae Δ mdbA mutant rescued its known defects in cell growth and morphology, toxin production, and pilus assembly, and this thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase activity required the catalytic motif CXXC. Altogether, the results suggest that MdbA Cm is a major thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase, which likely mediates posttranslocational protein folding in C. matruchotii by a mechanism that is conserved in Actinobacteria IMPORTANCE The actinobacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii has been implicated in the development of oral biofilms or dental plaque; however, little is known about the basic cellular processes in this organism. We report here a high-resolution structure of a C. matruchotii oxidoreductase that is highly homologous to the Corynebacterium diphtheriae thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase MdbA. By biochemical analysis, we demonstrated that C. matruchotii MdbA catalyzes disulfide

Simultaneous electrochemical determination of L-cysteine and L-cysteine disulfide at carbon ionic liquid electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Safavi, Afsaneh; Ahmadi, Raheleh; Mahyari, Farzaneh Aghakhani

2014-04-01

A linear sweep voltammetric method is used for direct simultaneous determination of L-cysteine and L-cysteine disulfide (cystine) based on carbon ionic liquid electrode. With carbon ionic liquid electrode as a high performance electrode, two oxidation peaks for L-cysteine (0.62 V) and L-cysteine disulfide (1.3 V) were observed with a significant separation of about 680 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) in phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.0). The linear ranges were obtained as 1.0-450 and 5.0-700 μM and detection limits were estimated to be 0.298 and 4.258 μM for L-cysteine and L-cysteine disulfide, respectively. This composite electrode was applied for simultaneous determination of L-cysteine and L-cysteine disulfide in two real samples, artificial urine and nutrient broth. Satisfactory results were obtained which clearly indicate the applicability of the proposed electrode for simultaneous determination of these compounds in complex matrices.

Intermolecular interactions in the condensed phase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Anders S.; Kromann, Jimmy Charnley; Jensen, Jan Halborg

2017-01-01

To facilitate further development of approximate quantum mechanical methods for condensed phase applications, we present a new benchmark dataset of intermolecular interaction energies in the solution phase for a set of 15 dimers, each containing one charged monomer. The reference interaction energy...... and solution phases. As most approximate QM methods are parametrized and evaluated using data measured or calculated in the gas phase, the dataset represents an important first step toward calibrating QM based methods for application in the condensed phase where polarization and exchange repulsion need...

The road to the first, fully active and more stable human insulin variant with an additional disulfide bond

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinther, Tine N.; Kjeldsen, Thomas B.; Jensen, Knud Jørgen

2015-01-01

Insulin, a small peptide hormone, is crucial in maintaining blood glucose homeostasis. The stability and activity of the protein is directed by an intricate system involving disulfide bonds to stabilize the active monomeric species and by their non-covalent oligomerization. All known insulin...... variants in vertebrates consist of two peptide chains and have six cysteine residues, which form three disulfide bonds, two of them link the two chains and a third is an intra-chain bond in the A-chain. This classical insulin fold appears to have been conserved over half a billion years of evolution. We...... addressed the question whether a human insulin variant with four disulfide bonds could exist and be fully functional. In this review, we give an overview of the road to engineering four-disulfide bonded insulin analogs. During our journey, we discovered several active four disulfide bonded insulin analogs...

New analogs of the CART peptide with anorexigenic potency: the importance of individual disulfide bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

Blechová, Miroslava; Nagelová, Veronika; Záková, Lenka; Demianová, Zuzana; Zelezná, Blanka; Maletínská, Lenka

2013-01-01

The CART (cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript) peptide is an anorexigenic neuropeptide that acts in the hypothalamus. The receptor and the mechanism of action of this peptide are still unknown. In our previous study, we showed that the CART peptide binds specifically to PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells in both the native and differentiated into neuronal phenotype. Two biologically active forms, CART(55-102) and CART(61-102), with equal biological activity, contain three disulfide bridges. To clarify the importance of each of these disulfide bridges in maintaining the biological activity of CART(61-102), an Ala scan at particular S-S bridges forming cysteines was performed, and analogs with only one or two disulfide bridges were synthesized. In this study, a stabilized CART(61-102) analog with norleucine instead of methionine at position 67 was also prepared and was found to bind to PC12 cells with an anorexigenic potency similar to that of CART(61-102). The binding study revealed that out of all analogs tested, [Ala(68,86)]CART(61-102), which contains two disulfide bridges (positions 74-94 and 88-101), preserved a high affinity to both native PC12 cells and those that had been differentiated into neurons. In food intake and behavioral tests with mice after intracerebroventricular administration, this analog showed strong and long-lasting anorexigenic potency. Therefore, the disulfide bridge between cysteines 68 and 86 in CART(61-102) can be omitted without a loss of biological activity, but the preservation of two other disulfide bridges and the full-length peptide are essential for biological activity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A novel disulfide bond in the SH2 Domain of the C-terminal Src kinase controls catalytic activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Jamie E; Whitford, Paul C; Shaffer, Jennifer; Onuchic, Jose N; Adams, Joseph A; Jennings, Patricia A

2007-02-02

The SH2 domain of the C-terminal Src kinase [Csk] contains a unique disulfide bond that is not present in other known SH2 domains. To investigate whether this unusual disulfide bond serves a novel function, the effects of disulfide bond formation on catalytic activity of the full-length protein and on the structure of the SH2 domain were investigated. The kinase activity of full-length Csk decreases by an order of magnitude upon formation of the disulfide bond in the distal SH2 domain. NMR spectra of the fully oxidized and fully reduced SH2 domains exhibit similar chemical shift patterns and are indicative of similar, well-defined tertiary structures. The solvent-accessible disulfide bond in the isolated SH2 domain is highly stable and far from the small lobe of the kinase domain. However, reduction of this bond results in chemical shift changes of resonances that map to a cluster of residues that extend from the disulfide bond across the molecule to a surface that is in direct contact with the small lobe of the kinase domain in the intact molecule. Normal mode analyses and molecular dynamics calculations suggest that disulfide bond formation has large effects on residues within the kinase domain, most notably within the active-site cleft. Overall, the data indicate that reversible cross-linking of two cysteine residues in the SH2 domain greatly impacts catalytic function and interdomain communication in Csk.

Shedding light on disulfide bond formation: engineering a redox switch in green fluorescent protein

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, H.; Henriksen, A.; Hansen, Flemming G.

2001-01-01

To visualize the formation of disulfide bonds in living cells, a pair of redox-active cysteines was introduced into the yellow fluorescent variant of green fluorescent protein. Formation of a disulfide bond between the two cysteines was fully reversible and resulted in a >2-fold decrease...... in the intrinsic fluorescence. Inter conversion between the two redox states could thus be followed in vitro as well as in vivoby non- invasive fluorimetric measurements. The 1.5 Angstrom crystal structure of the oxidized protein revealed a disulfide bond- induced distortion of the beta -barrel, as well...... the physiological range for redox-active cysteines. In the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli, the protein was a sensitive probe for the redox changes that occur upon disruption of the thioredoxin reductive pathway....

Role of protein disulfide isomerase and other thiol-reactive proteins in HIV-1 envelope protein-mediated fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ou Wu; Silver, Jonathan

2006-01-01

Cell-surface protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) has been proposed to promote disulfide bond rearrangements in HIV-1 envelope protein (Env) that accompany Env-mediated fusion. We evaluated the role of PDI in ways that have not been previously tested by downregulating PDI with siRNA and by overexpressing wild-type or variant forms of PDI in transiently and stably transfected cells. These manipulations, as well as treatment with anti-PDI antibodies, had only small effects on infection or cell fusion mediated by NL4-3 or AD8 strains of HIV-1. However, the cell-surface thiol-reactive reagent 5, 5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) had a much stronger inhibitory effect in our system, suggesting that cell-surface thiol-containing molecules other than PDI, acting alone or in concert, have a greater effect than PDI on HIV-1 Env-mediated fusion. We evaluated one such candidate, thioredoxin, a PDI family member reported to reduce a labile disulfide bond in CD4. We found that the ability of thioredoxin to reduce the disulfide bond in CD4 is enhanced in the presence of HIV-1 Env gp120 and that thioredoxin also reduces disulfide bonds in gp120 directly in the absence of CD4. We discuss the implications of these observations for identification of molecules involved in disulfide rearrangements in Env during fusion

Effect of heating cast kafirin films on their functional properties

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Byaruhanga, YB

2007-01-01

Full Text Available of heated plasticized films showed more wrinkled structures compared to non-heated films, whereas the non-plasticized films appeared more brittle with heating. The results indicate that heat-induced intermolecular disulfide cross-linking was involved...

Changes in Thiol-Disulfide Homeostasis of the Body to Surgical Trauma in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Polat, Murat; Ozcan, Onder; Sahan, Leyla; Üstündag-Budak, Yasemin; Alisik, Murat; Yilmaz, Nigar; Erel, Özcan

2016-12-01

We aimed to investigate the short-term effect of laparoscopic surgery on serum thiol-disulfide homeostasis levels as a marker of oxidant stress of surgical trauma in elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients. Venous blood samples were collected, and levels of native thiols, total thiols, and disulfides were determined with a novel automated assay. Total antioxidant capacity (measured as the ferric-reducing ability of plasma) and serum ischemia modified albumin, expressed as absorbance units assayed by the albumin cobalt binding test, were determined. The major findings of the present study were that native thiol (283 ± 45 versus 241 ± 61 μmol/L), total thiol (313 ± 49 versus 263 ± 67 μmol/L), and disulfide (14.9 ± 4.6 versus 11.0 ± 6.1 μmol/L) levels were decreased significantly during operation and although they increased, they did not return to preoperation levels 24 hours after laparoscopic surgery compared to the levels at baseline. Disulfide/native thiol and disulfide/total thiol levels did not change during laparoscopic surgery. The decrease in plasma level of native and total thiol groups suggests impairment of the antioxidant capacity of plasma; however, the delicate balance between the different redox forms of thiols was maintained during surgery.

Intermolecular interaction potentials of the methane dimer from the local density approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xiangrong; Bai Yulin; Zhu Jun; Yang Xiangdong

2004-01-01

The intermolecular interaction potentials of methane (CH 4 ) dimer are calculated within the density functional theory in the local density approximation (LDA). It is found that the calculated potentials have minima when the intermolecular distance of CH 4 dimer is about 7.0 a.u., which is in good agreement with the experiment. The depth of the potential is 0.017 eV. The results obtained by our LDA calculations seem to agree well with those obtained by MP2, MP3, and CCSD from the Moeller-Plesset and coupled cluster methods by Tsuzuki et al. and with the experimental data

Study of intermolecular interactions in binary mixtures of ethanol in methanol

Science.gov (United States)

Maharolkar, Aruna P.; Khirade, P. W.; Murugkar, A. G.

2016-05-01

Present paper deals with study of physicochemical properties like viscosity, density and refractive index for the binary mixtures of ethanol and methanol over the entire concentration range were measured at 298.15 K. The experimental data further used to determine the excess properties viz. excess molar volume, excess viscosity, excess molar refraction. The values of excess properties further fitted with Redlich-Kister (R-K Fit) equation to calculate the binary coefficients and standard deviation. The resulting excess parameters are used to indicate the presence of intermolecular interactions and strength of intermolecular interactions between the molecules in the binary mixtures. Excess parameters indicate structure making factor in the mixture predominates in the system.

Dissecting molecular interactions involved in recognition of target disulfides by the barley thioredoxin system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Björnberg, Olof; Maeda, Kenji; Svensson, Birte

2012-01-01

Thioredoxin reduces disulfide bonds, thus regulating activities of target proteins in various biological systems, e.g., inactivation of inhibitors of starch hydrolases and proteases in germinating plant seeds. In the three-dimensional structure of a complex with barley α-amylase/subtilisin inhibi......Thioredoxin reduces disulfide bonds, thus regulating activities of target proteins in various biological systems, e.g., inactivation of inhibitors of starch hydrolases and proteases in germinating plant seeds. In the three-dimensional structure of a complex with barley α...... thioredoxin reductase. HvTrxh2 M88G and M88A adjacent to the invariant cis-proline lost efficiency in both BASI disulfide reduction and recycling by thioredoxin reductase. These effects were further pronounced in M88P lacking a backbone NH group. Remarkably, HvTrxh2 E86R in the same loop displayed overall...... retained catalytic properties, with the exception of a 3-fold increased activity toward BASI. From the 104VGA106 loop, a backbone hydrogen bond donated by A106 appears to be important for target disulfide recognition as A106P lost 90% activity toward BASI but was efficiently recycled by thioredoxin...

Thiol/Disulfide system plays a crucial role in redox protection in the acidophilic iron-oxidizing bacterium Leptospirillum ferriphilum.

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Javiera Norambuena

Full Text Available Thiol/disulfide systems are involved in the maintenance of the redox status of proteins and other molecules that contain thiol/disulfide groups. Leptospirillum ferriphilum DSM14647, an acidophilic bacterium that uses Fe(2+ as electron donor, and withstands very high concentrations of iron and other redox active metals, is a good model to study how acidophiles preserve the thiol/disulfide balance. We studied the composition of thiol/disulfide systems and their role in the oxidative stress response in this extremophile bacterium. Bioinformatic analysis using genomic data and enzymatic assays using protein extracts from cells grown under oxidative stress revealed that the major thiol/disulfide system from L. ferriphilum are a cytoplasmic thioredoxin system (composed by thioredoxins Trx and thioredoxin reductase TR, periplasmic thiol oxidation system (DsbA/DsbB and a c-type cytochrome maturation system (DsbD/DsbE. Upon exposure of L. ferriphilum to reactive oxygen species (ROS-generating compounds, transcriptional activation of the genes encoding Trxs and the TR enzyme, which results in an increase of the corresponding activity, was observed. Altogether these data suggest that the thioredoxin-based thiol/disulfide system plays an important role in redox protection of L. ferriphilum favoring the survival of this microorganism under extreme environmental oxidative conditions.

Evaluation of dynamic serum thiol/disulfide homeostasis in locally advanced and metastatic gastric cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mutlu Hizal

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Gastric cancer is one the most diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer worldwide. As an indicator of antioxidant capacity thiol/disulfide homeostasis regulates detoxification, cell signal mechanisms, apoptosis, transcription and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Disregulation of thiol/disulfide homeostasis identified in other cancer types by recent data. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the thiol/disulfide homeostasis in advanced gastric cancer patients. Methods: The patients who diagnosed with gastric cancer and healthy control subjects were included to study. Serum samples for the thiol-disulphide test were obtained at the time of diagnosis. Thiol-disulphide homeostasis tests were measured by the automated spectrophotometric method. Thiol-disulphide homeostasis was also measured according to clinical and laboratory features. Results: Thirty newly diagnosed advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients and 28 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The native thiol (NT and total thiol (TT levels of patients' group were significantly lower compared with controls (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001. In the CEA high (≥5.4 ng/ml group, DS/NT ratio were higher compared with CEA low (<5.4 ng/ml group (p = 0.024. In CA.19-9 high (≥28.3 kU/L group, both DS and DS/NT ratio were significantly higher compared with a CA19-9 low(<28.3 kU/L group (p < 0.05 both. The correlation between CEA and DS levels was also significant (p = 0.02. There was also a positive correlation between CEA levels and DS/NT ratio (p = 0.01. Conclusion: Derangements of thiol/disulfide homeostasis may have a role in gastric cancer pathogenesis and the higher level of oxidative stress may relate to extensive and aggressiveness of the advanced disease. The diagnostic and prognostic values of thiol/disulfide products need to identify with further studies. Keywords: Thiol, Disulfide, Oxidative stress, Gastric cancer, Metastatic

Photo-responsive liquid crystalline epoxy networks with exchangeable disulfide bonds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Yuzhan [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Zhang, Yuehong [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Rios, Orlando [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Keum, Jong K. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Kessler, Michael R. [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); North Dakota State Univ., Fargo, ND (United States)

2017-07-27

The increasing demand for intelligent materials has driven the development of polymers with a variety of functionalities. However, combining multiple functionalities within one polymer is still challenging because of the difficulties encountered in coordinating different functional building blocks during fabrication. In this work, we demonstrate the fabrication of a multifunctional liquid crystalline epoxy network (LCEN) using the combination of thermotropic liquid crystals, photo-responsive azobenzene molecules, and exchangeable disulfide bonds. In addition to shape memory behavior enabled by the reversible liquid crystalline phase transition and photo-induced bending behavior resulting from the photo-responsive azobenzene molecules, the introduction of dynamic disulfide bonds into the LCEN resulted in a structurally dynamic network, allowing the reshaping, repairing, and recycling of the material.

Inactivation of barley limit dextrinase inhibitor by thioredoxin-catalysed disulfide reduction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Johanne Mørch; Hägglund, Per; Christensen, Hans Erik Mølager

2012-01-01

and one glutathionylated cysteine. Here, thioredoxin is shown to progressively reduce disulfide bonds in LDI accompanied by loss of activity. A preferential reduction of the glutathionylated cysteine, as indicated by thiol quantification and molecular mass analysis using electrospray ionisation mass......Barley limit dextrinase (LD) that catalyses hydrolysis of α-1,6 glucosidic linkages in starch-derived dextrins is inhibited by limit dextrinase inhibitor (LDI) found in mature seeds. LDI belongs to the chloroform/methanol soluble protein family (CM-protein family) and has four disulfide bridges...... spectrometry, was not related to LDI inactivation. LDI reduction is proposed to cause conformational destabilisation leading to loss of function....

Modeling Adsorption-Desorption Processes at the Intermolecular Interactions Level

Science.gov (United States)

Varfolomeeva, Vera V.; Terentev, Alexey V.

2018-01-01

Modeling of the surface adsorption and desorption processes, as well as the diffusion, are of considerable interest for the physical phenomenon under study in ground tests conditions. When imitating physical processes and phenomena, it is important to choose the correct parameters to describe the adsorption of gases and the formation of films on the structural materials surface. In the present research the adsorption-desorption processes on the gas-solid interface are modeled with allowance for diffusion. Approaches are proposed to describe the adsorbate distribution on the solid body surface at the intermolecular interactions level. The potentials of the intermolecular interaction of water-water, water-methane and methane-methane were used to adequately modeling the real physical and chemical processes. The energies calculated by the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ method. Computational algorithms for determining the average molecule area in a dense monolayer, are considered here. Differences in modeling approaches are also given: that of the proposed in this work and the previously approved probabilistic cellular automaton (PCA) method. It has been shown that the main difference is due to certain limitations of the PCA method. The importance of accounting the intermolecular interactions via hydrogen bonding has been indicated. Further development of the adsorption-desorption processes modeling will allow to find the conditions for of surface processes regulation by means of quantity adsorbed molecules control. The proposed approach to representing the molecular system significantly shortens the calculation time in comparison with the use of atom-atom potentials. In the future, this will allow to modeling the multilayer adsorption at a reasonable computational cost.

Disulfide bond effects on protein stability: designed variants of Cucurbita maxima trypsin inhibitor-V.

Science.gov (United States)

Zavodszky, M; Chen, C W; Huang, J K; Zolkiewski, M; Wen, L; Krishnamoorthi, R

2001-01-01

Attempts to increase protein stability by insertion of novel disulfide bonds have not always been successful. According to the two current models, cross-links enhance stability mainly through denatured state effects. We have investigated the effects of removal and addition of disulfide cross-links, protein flexibility in the vicinity of a cross-link, and disulfide loop size on the stability of Cucurbita maxima trypsin inhibitor-V (CMTI-V; 7 kD) by differential scanning calorimetry. CMTI-V offers the advantage of a large, flexible, and solvent-exposed loop not involved in extensive intra-molecular interactions. We have uncovered a negative correlation between retention time in hydrophobic column chromatography, a measure of protein hydrophobicity, and melting temperature (T(m)), an indicator of native state stabilization, for CMTI-V and its variants. In conjunction with the complete set of thermodynamic parameters of denaturation, this has led to the following deductions: (1) In the less stable, disulfide-removed C3S/C48S (Delta Delta G(d)(50 degrees C) = -4 kcal/mole; Delta T(m) = -22 degrees C), the native state is destabilized more than the denatured state; this also applies to the less-stable CMTI-V* (Delta Delta G(d)(50 degrees C) = -3 kcal/mole; Delta T(m) = -11 degrees C), in which the disulfide-containing loop is opened by specific hydrolysis of the Lys(44)-Asp(45) peptide bond; (2) In the less stable, disulfide-inserted E38C/W54C (Delta Delta G(d)(50 degrees C) = -1 kcal/mole; Delta T(m) = +2 degrees C), the denatured state is more stabilized than the native state; and (3) In the more stable, disulfide-engineered V42C/R52C (Delta Delta G(d)(50 degrees C) = +1 kcal/mole; Delta T(m) = +17 degrees C), the native state is more stabilized than the denatured state. These results show that a cross-link stabilizes both native and denatured states, and differential stabilization of the two states causes either loss or gain in protein stability. Removal of hydrogen

Interchange reaction of disulfides and denaturation of oxytocin by copper(II)/ascorbic acid/O2 system.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, H; Hirobe, M

1987-05-29

The interchange reaction of disulfides was caused by the copper(II)/ascorbic acid/O2 system. The incubation of two symmetric disulfides, L-cystinyl-bis-L-phenylalanine (PP) and L-cystinyl-bis-L-tyrosine (TT), with L-ascorbic acid and CuSO4 in potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.2, 50 mM) resulted in the formation of an asymmetric disulfide, L-cystinyl-L-phenylalanine-L-tyrosine (PT), and the final ratio of PP:PT:TT was 1:2:1. As the reaction was inhibited by catalase and DMSO only at the initial time, hydroxyl radical generated by the copper(II)/ascorbic acid/O2 system seemed to be responsible for the initiation of the reaction. Oxytocin and insulin were denatured by this system, and catalase and DMSO similarly inhibited these denaturations. As the composition of amino acids was unchanged after the reaction, hydroxyl radical was thought to cause the cleavage and/or interchange reaction of disulfides to denature the peptides.

Electrical Transport Properties of Polycrystalline Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide

Science.gov (United States)

2014-07-14

Lou, Sina Najmaei, Matin Amani, Matthew L. Chin, Zheng Se. TASK NUMBER Liu Sf. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAMES AND ADDRESSES 8...Transport Properties of Polycrystalline Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide Sina Najmaei,t.§ Matin Ama ni,M Matthew L. Chin,* Zhe ng liu/ ·"·v: A. Gle n

Kinetics and mechanisms of thiol-disulfide exchange covering direct substitution and thiol oxidation-mediated pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagy, Péter

2013-05-01

Disulfides are important building blocks in the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, serving as inter- and intra-subunit cross links. Disulfides are also the major products of thiol oxidation, a process that has primary roles in defense mechanisms against oxidative stress and in redox regulation of cell signaling. Although disulfides are relatively stable, their reduction, isomerisation, and interconversion as well as their production reactions are catalyzed by delicate enzyme machineries, providing a dynamic system in biology. Redox homeostasis, a thermodynamic parameter that determines which reactions can occur in cellular compartments, is also balanced by the thiol-disulfide pool. However, it is the kinetic properties of the reactions that best represent cell dynamics, because the partitioning of the possible reactions depends on kinetic parameters. This review is focused on the kinetics and mechanisms of thiol-disulfide substitution and redox reactions. It summarizes the challenges and advances that are associated with kinetic investigations in small molecular and enzymatic systems from a rigorous chemical perspective using biological examples. The most important parameters that influence reaction rates are discussed in detail. Kinetic studies of proteins are more challenging than small molecules, and quite often investigators are forced to sacrifice the rigor of the experimental approach to obtain the important kinetic and mechanistic information. However, recent technological advances allow a more comprehensive analysis of enzymatic systems via using the systematic kinetics apparatus that was developed for small molecule reactions, which is expected to provide further insight into the cell's machinery.

Quantitative assessment of intermolecular interactions by atomic force microscopy imaging using copper oxide tips

Science.gov (United States)

Mönig, Harry; Amirjalayer, Saeed; Timmer, Alexander; Hu, Zhixin; Liu, Lacheng; Díaz Arado, Oscar; Cnudde, Marvin; Strassert, Cristian Alejandro; Ji, Wei; Rohlfing, Michael; Fuchs, Harald

2018-05-01

Atomic force microscopy is an impressive tool with which to directly resolve the bonding structure of organic compounds1-5. The methodology usually involves chemical passivation of the probe-tip termination by attaching single molecules or atoms such as CO or Xe (refs 1,6-9). However, these probe particles are only weakly connected to the metallic apex, which results in considerable dynamic deflection. This probe particle deflection leads to pronounced image distortions, systematic overestimation of bond lengths, and in some cases even spurious bond-like contrast features, thus inhibiting reliable data interpretation8-12. Recently, an alternative approach to tip passivation has been used in which slightly indenting a tip into oxidized copper substrates and subsequent contrast analysis allows for the verification of an oxygen-terminated Cu tip13-15. Here we show that, due to the covalently bound configuration of the terminal oxygen atom, this copper oxide tip (CuOx tip) has a high structural stability, allowing not only a quantitative determination of individual bond lengths and access to bond order effects, but also reliable intermolecular bond characterization. In particular, by removing the previous limitations of flexible probe particles, we are able to provide conclusive experimental evidence for an unusual intermolecular N-Au-N three-centre bond. Furthermore, we demonstrate that CuOx tips allow the characterization of the strength and configuration of individual hydrogen bonds within a molecular assembly.

Antagonistic effect of disulfide-rich peptide aptamers selected by cDNA display on interleukin-6-dependent cell proliferation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemoto, Naoto; Tsutsui, Chihiro; Yamaguchi, Junichi; Ueno, Shingo; Machida, Masayuki; Kobayashi, Toshikatsu; Sakai, Takafumi

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Disulfide-rich peptide aptamer inhibits IL-6-dependent cell proliferation. ► Disulfide bond of peptide aptamer is essential for its affinity to IL-6R. ► Inhibitory effect of peptide depends on number and pattern of its disulfide bonds. -- Abstract: Several engineered protein scaffolds have been developed recently to circumvent particular disadvantages of antibodies such as their large size and complex composition, low stability, and high production costs. We previously identified peptide aptamers containing one or two disulfide-bonds as an alternative ligand to the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R). Peptide aptamers (32 amino acids in length) were screened from a random peptide library by in vitro peptide selection using the evolutionary molecular engineering method “cDNA display”. In this report, the antagonistic activity of the peptide aptamers were examined by an in vitro competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an IL-6-dependent cell proliferation assay. The results revealed that a disulfide-rich peptide aptamer inhibited IL-6-dependent cell proliferation with similar efficacy to an anti-IL-6R monoclonal antibody.

Two-dimensional tantalum disulfide: controlling structure and properties via synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Rui; Grisafe, Benjamin; Krishna Ghosh, Ram; Holoviak, Stephen; Wang, Baoming; Wang, Ke; Briggs, Natalie; Haque, Aman; Datta, Suman; Robinson, Joshua

2018-04-01

Tantalum disulfide (TaS2) is a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) that exhibits phase transition induced electronic property modulation at low temperature. However, the appropriate phase must be grown to enable the semiconductor/metal transition that is of interest for next generation electronic applications. In this work, we demonstrate direct and controllable synthesis of ultra-thin 1T-TaS2 and 2H-TaS2 on a variety of substrates (sapphire, SiO2/Si, and graphene) via powder vapor deposition. The synthesis process leads to single crystal domains ranging from 20 to 200 nm thick and 1-10 µm on a side. The TaS2 phase (1T or 2H) is controlled by synthesis temperature, which subsequently is shown to control the electronic properties. Furthermore, this work constitutes the first demonstration of a metal-insulator phase transition in directly synthesized 1T-TaS2 films and domains by electronic means.

Engineering an improved IgG4 molecule with reduced disulfide bond heterogeneity and increased Fab domain thermal stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Shirley J; Smales, C Mark; Henry, Alistair J; Stephens, Paul E; West, Shauna; Humphreys, David P

2012-07-13

The integrity of antibody structure, stability, and biophysical characterization are becoming increasingly important as antibodies receive increasing scrutiny from regulatory authorities. We altered the disulfide bond arrangement of an IgG4 molecule by mutation of the Cys at the N terminus of the heavy chain constant domain 1 (C(H)1) (Kabat position 127) to a Ser and introduction of a Cys at a variety of positions (positions 227-230) at the C terminus of C(H)1. An inter-LC-C(H)1 disulfide bond is thus formed, which mimics the disulfide bond arrangement found in an IgG1 molecule. The antibody species present in the supernatant following transient expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells were analyzed by immunoblot to investigate product homogeneity, and purified product was analyzed by a thermofluor assay to determine thermal stability. We show that the light chain can form an inter-LC-C(H)1 disulfide bond with a Cys when present at several positions on the upper hinge (positions 227-230) and that such engineered disulfide bonds can consequently increase the Fab domain thermal stability between 3 and 6.8 °C. The IgG4 disulfide mutants displaying the greatest increase in Fab thermal stability were also the most homogeneous in terms of disulfide bond arrangement and antibody species present. Importantly, mutations did not affect the affinity for antigen of the resultant molecules. In combination with the previously described S241P mutation, we present an IgG4 molecule with increased Fab thermal stability and reduced product heterogeneity that potentially offers advantages for the production of IgG4 molecules.

Production of recombinant disulfide-rich venom peptides for structural and functional analysis via expression in the periplasm of E. coli.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie K Klint

Full Text Available Disulfide-rich peptides are the dominant component of most animal venoms. These peptides have received much attention as leads for the development of novel therapeutic agents and bioinsecticides because they target a wide range of neuronal receptors and ion channels with a high degree of potency and selectivity. In addition, their rigid disulfide framework makes them particularly well suited for addressing the crucial issue of in vivo stability. Structural and functional characterization of these peptides necessitates the development of a robust, reliable expression system that maintains their native disulfide framework. The bacterium Escherichia coli has long been used for economical production of recombinant proteins. However, the expression of functional disulfide-rich proteins in the reducing environment of the E. coli cytoplasm presents a significant challenge. Thus, we present here an optimised protocol for the expression of disulfide-rich venom peptides in the periplasm of E. coli, which is where the endogenous machinery for production of disulfide-bonds is located. The parameters that have been investigated include choice of media, induction conditions, lysis methods, methods of fusion protein and peptide purification, and sample preparation for NMR studies. After each section a recommendation is made for conditions to use. We demonstrate the use of this method for the production of venom peptides ranging in size from 2 to 8 kDa and containing 2-6 disulfide bonds.

Boiling points of halogenated ethanes: an explanatory model implicating weak intermolecular hydrogen-halogen bonding.

Science.gov (United States)

Beauchamp, Guy

2008-10-23

This study explores via structural clues the influence of weak intermolecular hydrogen-halogen bonds on the boiling point of halogenated ethanes. The plot of boiling points of 86 halogenated ethanes versus the molar refraction (linked to polarizability) reveals a series of straight lines, each corresponding to one of nine possible arrangements of hydrogen and halogen atoms on the two-carbon skeleton. A multiple linear regression model of the boiling points could be designed based on molar refraction and subgroup structure as independent variables (R(2) = 0.995, standard error of boiling point 4.2 degrees C). The model is discussed in view of the fact that molar refraction can account for approximately 83.0% of the observed variation in boiling point, while 16.5% could be ascribed to weak C-X...H-C intermolecular interactions. The difference in the observed boiling point of molecules having similar molar refraction values but differing in hydrogen-halogen intermolecular bonds can reach as much as 90 degrees C.

Abiotic synthesis of organic compounds from carbon disulfide under hydrothermal conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Rushdi, Ahmed I; Simoneit, Bernd R T

2005-12-01

Abiotic formation of organic compounds under hydrothermal conditions is of interest to bio, geo-, and cosmochemists. Oceanic sulfur-rich hydrothermal systems have been proposed as settings for the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds. Carbon disulfide is a common component of magmatic and hot spring gases, and is present in marine and terrestrial hydrothermal systems. Thus, its reactivity should be considered as another carbon source in addition to carbon dioxide in reductive aqueous thermosynthesis. We have examined the formation of organic compounds in aqueous solutions of carbon disulfide and oxalic acid at 175 degrees C for 5 and 72 h. The synthesis products from carbon disulfide in acidic aqueous solutions yielded a series of organic sulfur compounds. The major compounds after 5 h of reaction included dimethyl polysulfides (54.5%), methyl perthioacetate (27.6%), dimethyl trithiocarbonate (6.8%), trithianes (2.7%), hexathiepane (1.4%), trithiolanes (0.8%), and trithiacycloheptanes (0.3%). The main compounds after 72 h of reaction consisted of trithiacycloheptanes (39.4%), pentathiepane (11.6%), tetrathiocyclooctanes (11.5%), trithiolanes (10.6%), tetrathianes (4.4%), trithianes (1.2%), dimethyl trisulfide (1.1%), and numerous minor compounds. It is concluded that the abiotic formation of aliphatic straight-chain and cyclic polysulfides is possible under hydrothermal conditions and warrants further studies.

Kinetic study of the interaction of glutathione with four antitumor disulfides: possible mechanism for cellular glutathione depletion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkpatrick, D L

1989-01-01

The reactions between the cellular tripeptide, glutathione (GSH) and four disulfide derivatives of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and 6-thioguanine (6-TG) (compounds 1-4) were studied kinetically. The decyl and phenyl derivatives of 6-MP and 6-TG were reacted with GSH in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4 or 6.0) at 25.0 degrees C and were monitored spectrophotometrically by observing the release of 6-MP and 6-TG. Second order kinetics were observed, with rate constants of 142, 564, 4174 and 429 M-1 s-1 being measured for compounds 1-4, respectively. When the reactions were carried out in the presence of GSH-S-transferase the rates were enhanced 1.3-5.4 times those observed in the absence of enzyme. Products of the reactions were isolated by chromatography and tentatively identified by TLC or fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. It was observed that GSH reacted with each disulfide in a 1:1 manner, forming a mixed disulfide between GSH and decanethiol or thiophenol while releasing 6-MP or 6-TG. It was concluded that the reported depletion of GSH from EMT6 cells after exposure to these disulfides could be due to their reaction with GSH, and the formation of the mixed disulfides.

Simultaneous Disulfide and Boronic Acid Ester Exchange in Dynamic Combinatorial Libraries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanna L. Diemer

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Dynamic combinatorial chemistry has emerged as a promising tool for the discovery of complex receptors in supramolecular chemistry. At the heart of dynamic combinatorial chemistry are the reversible reactions that enable the exchange of building blocks between library members in dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs ensuring thermodynamic control over the system. If more than one reversible reaction operates in a single dynamic combinatorial library, the complexity of the system increases dramatically, and so does its possible applications. One can imagine two reversible reactions that operate simultaneously or two reversible reactions that operate independently. Both these scenarios have advantages and disadvantages. In this contribution, we show how disulfide exchange and boronic ester transesterification can function simultaneous in dynamic combinatorial libraries under appropriate conditions. We describe the detailed studies necessary to establish suitable reaction conditions and highlight the analytical techniques appropriate to study this type of system.

Nanofibers made of globular proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Dror, Yael; Ziv, Tamar; Makarov, Vadim; Wolf, Hila; Admon, Arie; Zussman, Eyal

2008-10-01

Strong nanofibers composed entirely of a model globular protein, namely, bovine serum albumin (BSA), were produced by electrospinning directly from a BSA solution without the use of chemical cross-linkers. Control of the spinnability and the mechanical properties of the produced nanofibers was achieved by manipulating the protein conformation, protein aggregation, and intra/intermolecular disulfide bonds exchange. In this manner, a low-viscosity globular protein solution could be modified into a polymer-like spinnable solution and easily spun into fibers whose mechanical properties were as good as those of natural fibers made of fibrous protein. We demonstrate here that newly formed disulfide bonds (intra/intermolecular) have a dominant role in both the formation of the nanofibers and in providing them with superior mechanical properties. Our approach to engineer proteins into biocompatible fibrous structures may be used in a wide range of biomedical applications such as suturing, wound dressing, and wound closure.

Chemical origin of blue- and redshifted hydrogen bonds: intramolecular hyperconjugation and its coupling with intermolecular hyperconjugation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, An Yong

2007-04-21

Upon formation of a H bond Y...H-XZ, intramolecular hyperconjugation n(Z)-->sigma*(X-H) of the proton donor plays a key role in red- and blueshift characters of H bonds and must be introduced in the concepts of hyperconjugation and rehybridization. Intermolecular hyperconjugation transfers electron density from Y to sigma*(X-H) and causes elongation and stretch frequency redshift of the X-H bond; intramolecular hyperconjugation couples with intermolecular hyperconjugation and can adjust electron density in sigma*(X-H); rehybridization causes contraction and stretch frequency blueshift of the X-H bond on complexation. The three factors--intra- and intermolecular hyperconjugations and rehybridization--determine commonly red- or blueshift of the formed H bond. A proton donor that has strong intramolecular hyperconjugation often forms blueshifted H bonds.

Structure of conkunitzin-S1, a neurotoxin and Kunitz-fold disulfide variant from cone snail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dy, Catherine Y.; Buczek, Pawel; Imperial, Julita S.; Bulaj, Grzegorz; Horvath, Martin P.

2006-01-01

Most Kunitz proteins like BPTI and α-dendrotoxin are stabilized by three disulfide bonds. The crystal structure shows how subtle repacking of non-covalent interactions may compensate for disulfide bond loss in a naturally occurring two-disulfide variant, conkunitzin-S1, the first discovered member of a new conotoxin family. Cone snails (Conus) are predatory marine mollusks that immobilize prey with venom containing 50–200 neurotoxic polypeptides. Most of these polypeptides are small disulfide-rich conotoxins that can be classified into families according to their respective ion-channel targets and patterns of cysteine–cysteine disulfides. Conkunitzin-S1, a potassium-channel pore-blocking toxin isolated from C. striatus venom, is a member of a newly defined conotoxin family with sequence homology to Kunitz-fold proteins such as α-dendrotoxin and bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI). While conkunitzin-S1 and α-dendrotoxin are 42% identical in amino-acid sequence, conkunitzin-S1 has only four of the six cysteines normally found in Kunitz proteins. Here, the crystal structure of conkunitzin-S1 is reported. Conkunitzin-S1 adopts the canonical 3 10 –β–β–α Kunitz fold complete with additional distinguishing structural features including two completely buried water molecules. The crystal structure, although completely consistent with previously reported NMR distance restraints, provides a greater degree of precision for atomic coordinates, especially for S atoms and buried solvent molecules. The region normally cross-linked by cysteines II and IV in other Kunitz proteins retains a network of hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions comparable to those found in α-dendrotoxin and BPTI. In conkunitzin-S1, glycine occupies the sequence position normally reserved for cysteine II and the special steric properties of glycine allow additional van der Waals contacts with the glutamine residue substituting for cysteine IV. Evolution has thus defrayed the

Gold-catalyzed intermolecular coupling of sulfonylacetylene with allyl ethers: [3,3]- and [1,3]-rearrangements

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Jungho Jun

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Gold-catalyzed intermolecular couplings of sulfonylacetylenes with allyl ethers are reported. A cooperative polarization of alkynes both by a gold catalyst and a sulfonyl substituent resulted in an efficient intermolecular tandem carboalkoxylation. Reactions of linear allyl ethers are consistent with the [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement mechanism, while those of branched allyl ethers provided [3,3]- and [1,3]-rearrangement products through the formation of a tight ion–dipole pair.

SHuffle, a novel Escherichia coli protein expression strain capable of correctly folding disulfide bonded proteins in its cytoplasm

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Lobstein Julie

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Production of correctly disulfide bonded proteins to high yields remains a challenge. Recombinant protein expression in Escherichia coli is the popular choice, especially within the research community. While there is an ever growing demand for new expression strains, few strains are dedicated to post-translational modifications, such as disulfide bond formation. Thus, new protein expression strains must be engineered and the parameters involved in producing disulfide bonded proteins must be understood. Results We have engineered a new E. coli protein expression strain named SHuffle, dedicated to producing correctly disulfide bonded active proteins to high yields within its cytoplasm. This strain is based on the trxB gor suppressor strain SMG96 where its cytoplasmic reductive pathways have been diminished, allowing for the formation of disulfide bonds in the cytoplasm. We have further engineered a major improvement by integrating into its chromosome a signal sequenceless disulfide bond isomerase, DsbC. We probed the redox state of DsbC in the oxidizing cytoplasm and evaluated its role in assisting the formation of correctly folded multi-disulfide bonded proteins. We optimized protein expression conditions, varying temperature, induction conditions, strain background and the co-expression of various helper proteins. We found that temperature has the biggest impact on improving yields and that the E. coli B strain background of this strain was superior to the K12 version. We also discovered that auto-expression of substrate target proteins using this strain resulted in higher yields of active pure protein. Finally, we found that co-expression of mutant thioredoxins and PDI homologs improved yields of various substrate proteins. Conclusions This work is the first extensive characterization of the trxB gor suppressor strain. The results presented should help researchers design the appropriate protein expression conditions using

Selenocysteine in thiol/disulfide-like exchange reactions.

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Hondal, Robert J; Marino, Stefano M; Gladyshev, Vadim N

2013-05-01

Among trace elements used as cofactors in enzymes, selenium is unique in that it is incorporated into proteins co-translationally in the form of an amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec). Sec differs from cysteine (Cys) by only one atom (selenium versus sulfur), yet this switch dramatically influences important aspects of enzyme reactivity. The main focus of this review is an updated and critical discussion on how Sec might be used to accelerate thiol/disulfide-like exchange reactions in natural selenoenzymes, compared with their Cys-containing homologs. We discuss in detail three major aspects associated with thiol/disulfide exchange reactions: (i) nucleophilicity of the attacking thiolate (or selenolate); (ii) electrophilicity of the center sulfur (or selenium) atom; and (iii) stability of the leaving group (sulfur or selenium). In all these cases, we analyze the benefits that selenium might provide in these types of reactions. It is the biological thiol oxidoreductase-like function that benefits from the use of Sec, since Sec functions to chemically accelerate the rate of these reactions. We review various hypotheses that could help explain why Sec is used in enzymes, particularly with regard to competitive chemical advantages provided by the presence of the selenium atom in enzymes. Ultimately, these chemical advantages must be connected to biological functions of Sec.

N-glycosylation and disulfide bonding affects GPRC6A receptor expression, function, and dimerization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørskov-Lauritsen, Lenea; Jørgensen, Stine; Bräuner-Osborne, Hans

2015-01-01

Investigation of post-translational modifications of receptor proteins is important for our understanding of receptor pharmacology and disease physiology. However, our knowledge about post-translational modifications of class C G protein-coupled receptors and how these modifications regulate expr...... covalently linked dimers through cysteine disulfide linkage in the extracellular amino-terminal domain and here we show that GPRC6A indeed is a homodimer and that a disulfide bridge between the C131 residues is formed....

Aggregation of bovine serum albumin upon cleavage of its disulfide bonds, studied by the time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering technique with synchrotron radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ueki, Tatzuo; Inoko, Yoji; Hiragi, Yuzuru; Kataoka, Mikio; Amemiya, Yoshiyuki; Izumi, Yoshinobu; Tagawa, Hiroyuki; Muroga, Yoshio

1985-11-01

A rapid mixing system of the stopped-flow type, used with small-angle X-ray scattering equipment using synchrotron radiation, is described. The process of aggregation of bovine serum albumin was traced with a time interval of 50s, initiated upon cleavage of its disulfide bonds by reduction with dithiothreitol. The results indicate that a 218-fold molar excess of dithiothreitol over the number of moles of disulfide bonds in bovine serum albumin is sufficient to initiate the reaction immediately after mixing, which reaches equilibrium in about 15 min. On the other hand, half this amount is not sufficient to initiate the reaction, so that the reaction is delayed by about 150s. Such a single-shot time-resolved experiment showed that experiments with a time interval of 100 ms are possible with repeated multi-shot runs. 26 refs.; 8 figs.

Aggregation of bovine serum albumin upon cleavage of its disulfide bonds, studied by the time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering technique with synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueki, Tatzuo; Inoko, Yoji; Izumi, Yoshinobu; Tagawa, Hiroyuki; Muroga, Yoshio

1985-01-01

A rapid mixing system of the stopped-flow type, used with small-angle X-ray scattering equipment using synchrotron radiation, is described. The process of aggregation of bovine serum albumin was traced with a time interval of 50 s, initiated upon cleavage of its disulfide bonds by reduction with dithiothreitol. The results indicate that a 218-fold molar excess of dithiothreitol over the number of moles of disulfide bonds in bovine serum albumin is sufficient to initiate the reaction immediately after mixing, which reaches equilibrium in about 15 min. On the other hand, half this amount is not sufficient to initiate the reaction, so that the reaction is delayed by about 150 s. Such a single-shot time-resolved experiment showed that experiments with a time interval of 100 ms are possible with repeated multi-shot runs. (Auth.)

Effects of sodium salt types on the intermolecular interaction of sodium alginate/antarctic krill protein composite fibers.

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Zhang, Rui; Guo, Jing; Liu, Yuanfa; Chen, Shuang; Zhang, Sen; Yu, Yue

2018-06-01

Sodium alginate (SA) and antarctic krill protein (AKP) were blended to fabricate the SA/AKP composite fibers by the conventional wet spinning method using 5% CaCl 2 as coagulation solution. The sodium salt was added to the SA/AKP solution to adjust the ionization degree and intermolecular interaction of composite system. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of sodium salt types (NaCl, CH 3 COONa, Na 2 SO 4 ) on the intermolecular interaction of SA/AKP composite fibers. The intermolecular interaction, morphology, crystallinity, thermal stability and mechanical properties of SA/AKP composite fibers were analyzed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that the types of sodium salt have obvious influences on the content of both β-sheet, intermolecular hydrogen bond, breaking strength and surface morphology in SA/AKP composite fibers, but have a negligible effect on the crystallinity and thermal stability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hindered disulfide bonds to regulate release rate of model drug from mesoporous silica.

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Nadrah, Peter; Maver, Uroš; Jemec, Anita; Tišler, Tatjana; Bele, Marjan; Dražić, Goran; Benčina, Mojca; Pintar, Albin; Planinšek, Odon; Gaberšček, Miran

2013-05-01

With the advancement of drug delivery systems based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), a simple and efficient method regulating the drug release kinetics is needed. We developed redox-responsive release systems with three levels of hindrance around the disulfide bond. A model drug (rhodamine B dye) was loaded into MSNs' mesoporous voids. The pore opening was capped with β-cyclodextrin in order to prevent leakage of drug. Indeed, in absence of a reducing agent the systems exhibited little leakage, while the addition of dithiothreitol cleaved the disulfide bonds and enabled the release of cargo. The release rate and the amount of released dye were tuned by the level of hindrance around disulfide bonds, with the increased hindrance causing a decrease in the release rate as well as in the amount of released drug. Thus, we demonstrated the ability of the present mesoporous systems to intrinsically control the release rate and the amount of the released cargo by only minor structural variations. Furthermore, an in vivo experiment on zebrafish confirmed that the present model delivery system is nonteratogenic.

Propagator formalism and computer simulation of restricted diffusion behaviors of inter-molecular multiple-quantum coherences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Congbo; Chen Zhong; Cai Shuhui; Zhong Jianhui

2005-01-01

In this paper, behaviors of single-quantum coherences and inter-molecular multiple-quantum coherences under restricted diffusion in nuclear magnetic resonance experiments were investigated. The propagator formalism based on the loss of spin phase memory during random motion was applied to describe the diffusion-induced signal attenuation. The exact expression of the signal attenuation under the short gradient pulse approximation for restricted diffusion between two parallel plates was obtained using this propagator method. For long gradient pulses, a modified formalism was proposed. The simulated signal attenuation under the effects of gradient pulses of different width based on the Monte Carlo method agrees with the theoretical predictions. The propagator formalism and computer simulation can provide convenient, intuitive and precise methods for the study of the diffusion behaviors

Altering intra- to inter-molecular hydrogen bonding by dimethylsulfoxide: A TDDFT study of charge transfer for coumarin 343

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Liu, Xiaochun; Yin, Hang; Li, Hui; Shi, Ying

2017-04-01

DFT and TDDFT methods were carried out to investigate the influences of intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding on excited state charge transfer for coumarin 343 (C343). Intramolecular hydrogen bonding is formed between carboxylic acid group and carbonyl group in C343 monomer. However, in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution, DMSO 'opens up' the intramolecular hydrogen bonding and forms solute-solvent intermolecular hydrogen bonded C343-DMSO complex. Analysis of frontier molecular orbitals reveals that intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) occurs in the first excited state both for C343 monomer and complex. The results of optimized geometric structures indicate that the intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction is strengthened while the intermolecular hydrogen bonding is weakened in excited state, which is confirmed again by monitoring the shifts of characteristic peaks of infrared spectra. We demonstrated that DMSO solvent can not only break the intramolecular hydrogen bonding to form intermolecular hydrogen bonding with C343 but also alter the mechanism of excited state hydrogen bonding strengthening.

Kinetics and Mechanisms of Thiol–Disulfide Exchange Covering Direct Substitution and Thiol Oxidation-Mediated Pathways

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Abstract Significance: Disulfides are important building blocks in the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, serving as inter- and intra-subunit cross links. Disulfides are also the major products of thiol oxidation, a process that has primary roles in defense mechanisms against oxidative stress and in redox regulation of cell signaling. Although disulfides are relatively stable, their reduction, isomerisation, and interconversion as well as their production reactions are catalyzed by delicate enzyme machineries, providing a dynamic system in biology. Redox homeostasis, a thermodynamic parameter that determines which reactions can occur in cellular compartments, is also balanced by the thiol–disulfide pool. However, it is the kinetic properties of the reactions that best represent cell dynamics, because the partitioning of the possible reactions depends on kinetic parameters. Critical Issues: This review is focused on the kinetics and mechanisms of thiol–disulfide substitution and redox reactions. It summarizes the challenges and advances that are associated with kinetic investigations in small molecular and enzymatic systems from a rigorous chemical perspective using biological examples. The most important parameters that influence reaction rates are discussed in detail. Recent Advances and Future Directions: Kinetic studies of proteins are more challenging than small molecules, and quite often investigators are forced to sacrifice the rigor of the experimental approach to obtain the important kinetic and mechanistic information. However, recent technological advances allow a more comprehensive analysis of enzymatic systems via using the systematic kinetics apparatus that was developed for small molecule reactions, which is expected to provide further insight into the cell's machinery. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 18, 1623–1641. PMID:23075118

Crystallographic Studies Evidencing the High Energy Tolerance to Disrupting the Interface Disulfide Bond of Thioredoxin 1 from White Leg Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

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Adam A. Campos-Acevedo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Thioredoxin (Trx is a small 12-kDa redox protein that catalyzes the reduction of disulfide bonds in proteins from different biological systems. A recent study of the crystal structure of white leg shrimp thioredoxin 1 from Litopenaeus vannamei (LvTrx revealed a dimeric form of the protein mediated by a covalent link through a disulfide bond between Cys73 from each monomer. In the present study, X-ray-induced damage in the catalytic and the interface disulfide bond of LvTrx was studied at atomic resolution at different transmission energies of 8% and 27%, 12.8 keV at 100 K in the beamline I-24 at Diamond Light Source. We found that at an absorbed dose of 32 MGy, the X-ray induces the cleavage of the disulfide bond of each catalytic site; however, the interface disulfide bond was cleaved at an X-ray adsorbed dose of 85 MGy; despite being the most solvent-exposed disulfide bond in LvTrx (~50 Å2. This result clearly established that the interface disulfide bond is very stable and, therefore, less susceptible to being reduced by X-rays. In fact, these studies open the possibility of the existence in solution of a dimeric LvTrx.

Crystallographic studies evidencing the high energy tolerance to disrupting the interface disulfide bond of thioredoxin 1 from white leg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

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Campos-Acevedo, Adam A; Rudiño-Piñera, Enrique

2014-12-15

Thioredoxin (Trx) is a small 12-kDa redox protein that catalyzes the reduction of disulfide bonds in proteins from different biological systems. A recent study of the crystal structure of white leg shrimp thioredoxin 1 from Litopenaeus vannamei (LvTrx) revealed a dimeric form of the protein mediated by a covalent link through a disulfide bond between Cys73 from each monomer. In the present study, X-ray-induced damage in the catalytic and the interface disulfide bond of LvTrx was studied at atomic resolution at different transmission energies of 8% and 27%, 12.8 keV at 100 K in the beamline I-24 at Diamond Light Source. We found that at an absorbed dose of 32 MGy, the X-ray induces the cleavage of the disulfide bond of each catalytic site; however, the interface disulfide bond was cleaved at an X-ray adsorbed dose of 85 MGy; despite being the most solvent-exposed disulfide bond in LvTrx (~50 Å2). This result clearly established that the interface disulfide bond is very stable and, therefore, less susceptible to being reduced by X-rays. In fact, these studies open the possibility of the existence in solution of a dimeric LvTrx.

Increased Functional Half-life of Fibroblast Growth Factor-1 by Recovering a Vestigial Disulfide Bond

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Jihun Lee

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The fibroblast growth factor (FGF family of proteins contains an absolutely conserved Cys residue at position 83 that is present as a buried free cysteine. We have previously shown that mutation of the structurally adjacent residue, Ala66, to cysteine results in the formation of a stabilizing disulfide bond in FGF-1. This result suggests that the conserved free cysteine residue at position 83 in the FGF family of proteins represents a vestigial half-cystine. Here, we characterize the functional half-life and mitogenic activity of the oxidized form of the Ala66Cys mutation to identify the effect of the recovered vestigial disulfide bond between Cys83 and Cys66 upon the cellular function of FGF-1. The results show that the mitogenic activity of this mutant is significantly increased and that its functional half-life is greatly extended. These favorable effects are conferred by the formation of a disulfide bond that simultaneously increases thermodynamic stability of the protein and removes a reactive buried thiol at position 83. Recovering this vestigial disulfide by introducing a cysteine at position 66 is a potentially useful protein engineering strategy to improve the functional half-life of other FGF family members.

Dynamic thiol/disulfide homeostasis and effects of smoking on homeostasis parameters in patients with psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Emre, Selma; Demirseren, Duriye Deniz; Alisik, Murat; Aktas, Akin; Neselioglu, Salim; Erel, Ozcan

2017-12-01

Recently, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduced antioxidant capacity, and oxidative stress have been suggested in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. The aim of this study to evaluate the thiol/disulfide homeostasis in patients with psoriasis. Ninety patients with psoriasis who did not receive any systemic treatment in the last six  months were included in the study. Seventy-six age and gender-matched healthy volunteers served as control group. Thiol/disulfide homeostasis was measured in venous blood samples obtained from patient and control groups. Native thiol and total thiol levels were significantly higher in patients than in control group. When thiol/disulfide hemostasis parameters and clinical and demographic characteristics were compared, a negative correlation was detected between native thiol and total thiol with age. The levels of total thiols had also negative correlation with PASI and duration of the disease. When we divided the patients into smokers and non-smokers, native thiol and total thiol levels were significantly higher in smokers than in controls, whereas native thiol and total thiol levels were comparable in non-smoker patients and controls. Thiol/disulfide balance shifted towards thiol in psoriasis patients and this may be responsible for increased keratinocyte proliferation in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.

Differential expression of disulfide reductase enzymes in a free-living platyhelminth (Dugesia dorotocephala.

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Alberto Guevara-Flores

Full Text Available A search of the disulfide reductase activities expressed in the adult stage of the free-living platyhelminth Dugesia dorotocephala was carried out. Using GSSG or DTNB as substrates, it was possible to obtain a purified fraction containing both GSSG and DTNB reductase activities. Through the purification procedure, both disulfide reductase activities were obtained in the same chromatographic peak. By mass spectrometry analysis of peptide fragments obtained after tryptic digestion of the purified fraction, the presence of glutathione reductase (GR, thioredoxin-glutathione reductase (TGR, and a putative thioredoxin reductase (TrxR was detected. Using the gold compound auranofin to selectively inhibit the GSSG reductase activity of TGR, it was found that barely 5% of the total GR activity in the D. dorotocephala extract can be assigned to GR. Such strategy did allow us to determine the kinetic parameters for both GR and TGR. Although It was not possible to discriminate DTNB reductase activity due to TrxR from that of TGR, a chromatofocusing experiment with a D. dorotocephala extract resulted in the obtention of a minor protein fraction enriched in TrxR, strongly suggesting its presence as a functional protein. Thus, unlike its parasitic counterparts, in the free-living platyhelminth lineage the three disulfide reductases are present as functional proteins, albeit TGR is still the major disulfide reductase involved in the reduction of both Trx and GSSG. This fact suggests the development of TGR in parasitic flatworms was not linked to a parasitic mode of life.

Characterization of cyclic peptides containing disulfide bonds

OpenAIRE

Johnson, Mindy; Liu, Mingtao; Struble, Elaine; Hettiarachchi, Kanthi

2015-01-01

Unlike linear peptides, analysis of cyclic peptides containing disulfide bonds is not straightforward and demands indirect methods to achieve a rigorous proof of structure. Three peptides that belong to this category, p-Cl-Phe-DPDPE, DPDPE, and CTOP, were analyzed and the results are presented in this paper. The great potential of two dimensional NMR and ESI tandem mass spectrometry was harnessed during the course of peptide characterizations. A new RP-HPLC method for the analysis of trifluor...

Theoretical studies for the N2–N2O van der Waals complex: The potential energy surface, intermolecular vibrations, and rotational transition frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Rui; Zheng, Limin; Yang, Minghui; Lu, Yunpeng

2015-01-01

Theoretical studies of the potential energy surface (PES) and bound states are performed for the N 2 –N 2 O van der Waals (vdW) complex. A four-dimensional intermolecular PES is constructed at the level of single and double excitation coupled-cluster method with a non-iterative perturbation treatment of triple excitations [CCSD(T)] with aug-cc-pVTZ basis set supplemented with bond functions. Two equivalent T-shaped global minima are located, in which the O atom of N 2 O monomer is near the N 2 monomer. The intermolecular fundamental vibrational states are assigned by inspecting the orientation of the nodal surface of the wavefunctions. The calculated frequency for intermolecular disrotation mode is 23.086 cm −1 , which is in good agreement with the available experimental data of 22.334 cm −1 . A negligible tunneling splitting with the value of 4.2 MHz is determined for the ground vibrational state and the tunneling splitting increases as the increment of the vibrational frequencies. Rotational levels and transition frequencies are calculated for both isotopomers 14 N 2 –N 2 O and 15 N 2 –N 2 O. The accuracy of the PES is validated by the good agreement between theoretical and experimental results for the transition frequencies and spectroscopic parameters

Connecting Protein Structure to Intermolecular Interactions: A Computer Modeling Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Abualia, Mohammed; Schroeder, Lianne; Garcia, Megan; Daubenmire, Patrick L.; Wink, Donald J.; Clark, Ginevra A.

2016-01-01

An understanding of protein folding relies on a solid foundation of a number of critical chemical concepts, such as molecular structure, intra-/intermolecular interactions, and relating structure to function. Recent reports show that students struggle on all levels to achieve these understandings and use them in meaningful ways. Further, several…

Chaperonin GroE-facilitated refolding of disulfide-bonded and reduced Taka-amylase A from Aspergillus oryzae.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawata, Y; Hongo, K; Mizobata, T; Nagai, J

1998-12-01

The refolding characteristics of Taka-amylase A (TAA) from Aspergillus oryzae in the presence of the chaperonin GroE were studied in terms of activity and fluorescence. Disulfide-bonded (intact) TAA and non-disulfide-bonded (reduced) TAA were unfolded in guanidine hydrochloride and refolded by dilution into buffer containing GroE. The intermediates of both intact and reduced enzymes were trapped by GroEL in the absence of nucleotide. Upon addition of nucleotides such as ATP, ADP, CTP or UTP, the intermediates were released from GroEL and recovery of activity was detected. In both cases, the refolding yields in the presence of GroEL and ATP were higher than spontaneous recoveries. Fluorescence studies of intrinsic tryptophan and a hydrophobic probe, 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate, suggested that the intermediates trapped by GroEL assumed conformations with different hydrophobic properties. The presence of protein disulfide isomerase or reduced and oxidized forms of glutathione in addition to GroE greatly enhanced the refolding reaction of reduced TAA. These findings suggest that GroE has an ability to recognize folding intermediates of TAA protein and facilitate refolding, regardless of the existence or absence of disulfide bonds in the protein.

Selective removal of heavy metal ions by disulfide linked polymer networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ko, Dongah; Sung Lee, Joo; Patel, Hasmukh A.

2017-01-01

Heavy metal contaminated surface water is one of the oldest pollution problems, which is critical to ecosystems and human health. We devised disulfide linked polymer networks and employed as a sorbent for removing heavy metal ions from contaminated water. Although the polymer network material has...... a moderate surface area, it demonstrated cadmium removal efficiency equivalent to highly porous activated carbon while it showed 16 times faster sorption kinetics compared to activated carbon, owing to the high affinity of cadmium towards disulfide and thiol functionality in the polymer network. The metal...... sorption mechanism on polymer network was studied by sorption kinetics, effect of pH, and metal complexation. We observed that the metal ions―copper, cadmium, and zinc showed high binding affinity in polymer network, even in the presence of competing cations like calcium in water....

CD44 Binding to Hyaluronic Acid Is Redox Regulated by a Labile Disulfide Bond in the Hyaluronic Acid Binding Site.

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Helena Kellett-Clarke

Full Text Available CD44 is the primary leukocyte cell surface receptor for hyaluronic acid (HA, a component of the extracellular matrix. Enzymatic post translational cleavage of labile disulfide bonds is a mechanism by which proteins are structurally regulated by imparting an allosteric change and altering activity. We have identified one such disulfide bond in CD44 formed by Cys77 and Cys97 that stabilises the HA binding groove. This bond is labile on the surface of leukocytes treated with chemical and enzymatic reducing agents. Analysis of CD44 crystal structures reveal the disulfide bond to be solvent accessible and in the-LH hook configuration characteristic of labile disulfide bonds. Kinetic trapping and binding experiments on CD44-Fc chimeric proteins show the bond is preferentially reduced over the other disulfide bonds in CD44 and reduction inhibits the CD44-HA interaction. Furthermore cells transfected with CD44 no longer adhere to HA coated surfaces after pre-treatment with reducing agents. The implications of CD44 redox regulation are discussed in the context of immune function, disease and therapeutic strategies.

Engineering a disulfide bond in the lid hinge region of Rhizopus chinensis lipase: increased thermostability and altered acyl chain length specificity.

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Xiao-Wei Yu

Full Text Available The key to enzyme function is the maintenance of an appropriate balance between molecular stability and structural flexibility. The lid domain which is very important for "interfacial activation" is the most flexible part in the lipase structure. In this work, rational design was applied to explore the relationship between lid rigidity and lipase activity by introducing a disulfide bond in the hinge region of the lid, in the hope of improving the thermostability of R. chinensis lipase through stabilization of the lid domain without interfering with its catalytic performance. A disulfide bridge between F95C and F214C was introduced into the lipase from R. chinensis in the hinge region of the lid according to the prediction of the "Disulfide by Design" algorithm. The disulfide variant showed substantially improved thermostability with an eleven-fold increase in the t(1/2 value at 60°C and a 7°C increase of T(m compared with the parent enzyme, probably contributed by the stabilization of the geometric structure of the lid region. The additional disulfide bond did not interfere with the catalytic rate (k(cat and the catalytic efficiency towards the short-chain fatty acid substrate, however, the catalytic efficiency of the disulfide variant towards pNPP decreased by 1.5-fold probably due to the block of the hydrophobic substrate channel by the disulfide bond. Furthermore, in the synthesis of fatty acid methyl esters, the maximum conversion rate by RCLCYS reached 95% which was 9% higher than that by RCL. This is the first report on improving the thermostability of the lipase from R. chinensis by introduction of a disulfide bond in the lid hinge region without compromising the catalytic rate.

Molecular Characterization and Analysis of a Novel Protein Disulfide Isomerase-Like Protein of Eimeria tenella

OpenAIRE

Han, Hongyu; Dong, Hui; Zhu, Shunhai; Zhao, Qiping; Jiang, Lianlian; Wang, Yange; Li, Liujia; Wu, Youlin; Huang, Bing

2014-01-01

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and PDI-like proteins are members of the thioredoxin superfamily. They contain thioredoxin-like domains and catalyze the physiological oxidation, reduction and isomerization of protein disulfide bonds, which are involved in cell function and development in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In this study, EtPDIL, a novel PDI-like gene of Eimeria tenella, was cloned using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) according to the expressed sequence tag (EST). The EtPDI...

Structural modeling and intermolecular correlation of liquid chlorine dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogata, Norio; Hironori, Shimakura; Kawakita, Yukinobu; Ohara, Yukoji; Kohara, Shinji; Takeda, Shinichi

2009-01-01

Chlorine dioxide (ClO 2 ) is water-soluble yellow gas at room temperature. It has long been used as a disinfectant of tap water and various commodities owing to its strong oxidizing activity against various microbial proteins. The oxidizing activity is believed to be due to the presence of unpaired electron in its molecular orbital. Despite wealth of physicochemical studies of gaseous ClO 2 , little is known about liquid ClO 2 , especially about fine molecular structure and intermolecular interactions of liquid ClO 2 . The purpose of this study is to elucidate the fine structure and intermolecular orientations of ClO 2 molecules in its liquid state using a high-energy X-ray diffraction technique. The measurements of liquid ClO 2 were carried out at -50 to 0 degree Celsius using a two-axis diffractometer installed at the BL04B2 beamline in the third-generation synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8 (Hyogo, Japan). The incident X-ray beamline was 113.4 keV in energy and 0.1093 Armstrong in wavelength from a Si(111) monochromator with the third harmonic reflection. Liquid ClO 2 held in a quartz capillary tube was placed in a temperature-controlled vacuum chamber. We obtained a structure factor S(Q) to a range of Q = 0.3-30 Amstrong -1 and a pair distribution function g(r) upon Fourier transform of the S(Q). The total g(r) showed peaks at 1.46, 2.08, 2.48, 3.16 and 4.24 Armstrong. From intramolecular bond lengths of 1.46 Armstrong for Cl-O and 2.48 Armstrong for O-O, O-Cl-O bond angle was estimated to be 116.1 degrees. Peaks at 3.16 and 4.24 Armstrong in the total g(r) strongly indicate presence of specific intermolecular orientations of ClO 2 molecules that are distinct from those observed as a dimer in the solid phase ClO 2 . This view was further supported by molecular simulation using a reverse Monte Carlo method (RMC). (author)

Role of the Disulfide Bond in Prion Protein Amyloid Formation: A Thermodynamic and Kinetic Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Honda, Ryo

2018-02-27

Prion diseases are associated with the structural conversion of prion protein (PrP) to a β-sheet-rich aggregate, PrP Sc . Previous studies have indicated that a reduction of the disulfide bond linking C179 and C214 of PrP yields an amyloidlike β-rich aggregate in vitro. To gain mechanistic insights into the reduction-induced aggregation, here I characterized how disulfide bond reduction modulates the protein folding/misfolding landscape of PrP, by examining 1) the equilibrium stabilities of the native (N) and aggregated states relative to the unfolded (U) state, 2) the transition barrier separating the U and aggregated states, and 3) the final structure of amyloidlike misfolded aggregates. Kinetic and thermodynamic experiments revealed that disulfide bond reduction decreases the equilibrium stabilities of both the N and aggregated states by ∼3 kcal/mol, without changing either the amyloidlike aggregate structure, at least at the secondary structural level, or the transition barrier of aggregation. Therefore, disulfide bond reduction modulates the protein folding/misfolding landscape by entropically stabilizing disordered states, including the U and transition state of aggregation. This also indicates that the equilibrium stability of the N state, but not the transition barrier of aggregation, is the dominant factor determining the reduction-induced aggregation of PrP. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conformational analysis of large and highly disulfide-stabilized proteins by integrating online electrochemical reduction into an optimized H/D exchange mass spectrometry workflow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trabjerg, Esben; Jakobsen, Rasmus Uffe; Mysling, Simon

2015-01-01

Analysis of disulfide-bonded proteins by HDX-MS requires effective and rapid reduction of disulfide bonds before enzymatic digestion in order to increase sequence coverage. In a conventional HDX-MS workflow, disulfide bonds are reduced chemically by addition of a reducing agent to the quench......-antibody, respectively. The presented results demonstrate the successful electrochemical reduction during HDX-MS analysis of both a small exceptional tightly disulfide-bonded protein (NGF) as well as the largest protein attempted to date (IgG1-antibody). We envision that online electrochemical reduction...... the electrochemical reduction efficiency during HDX-MS analysis of two particularly challenging disulfide stabilized proteins: a therapeutic IgG1-antibody and Nerve Growth Factor-β (NGF). Several different parameters (flow rate, applied square wave potential as well as the type of labeling- and quench buffer) were...

Rhodium-Catalyzed Insertion Reaction of PhP Group of Pentaphenylcyclopentaphosphine with Acyclic and Cyclic Disulfides.

Science.gov (United States)

Arisawa, Mieko; Sawahata, Kyosuke; Yamada, Tomoki; Sarkar, Debayan; Yamaguchi, Masahiko

2018-02-16

Organophosphorus compounds with a phosphorus atom attached to a phenyl group and two organothio/organoseleno groups were synthesized using the rhodium-catalyzed insertion reaction of the PhP group of pentaphenylcyclopentaphosphine (PhP) 5 with acyclic disulfides and diselenides. The method was applied to the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds containing the S-P-S group by the reaction of (PhP) 5 and cyclic disulfides such as 1,2-dithietes, 1,2-dithiocane, 1,4,5-dithiopane, and 1,2-dithiolanes.

Mechanism of thioredoxin-catalyzed disulfide reduction. Activation of the buried thiol and role of the variable active-site residues

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carvalho, A.P.; Swart, M.; van Stralen, J.N.P.; Fernandes, P.A.; Ramos, M.E.; Bickelhaupt, F.M.

2008-01-01

Thioredoxins (Trx) are enzymes with a characteristic CXYC active-site motif that catalyze the reduction of disulfide bonds in other proteins. We have theoretically explored this reaction mechanism, both in the gas phase and in water, using density functional theory. The mechanism of disulfide

Rethinking Cysteine Protective Groups: S-Alkylsulfonyl-l-Cysteines for Chemoselective Disulfide Formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schäfer, Olga; Huesmann, David; Muhl, Christian; Barz, Matthias

2016-12-12

The ability to reversibly cross-link proteins and peptides grants the amino acid cysteine its unique role in nature as well as in peptide chemistry. We report a novel class of S-alkylsulfonyl-l-cysteines and N-carboxy anhydrides (NCA) thereof for peptide synthesis. The S-alkylsulfonyl group is stable against amines and thus enables its use under Fmoc chemistry conditions and the controlled polymerization of the corresponding NCAs yielding well-defined homo- as well as block co-polymers. Yet, thiols react immediately with the S-alkylsulfonyl group forming asymmetric disulfides. Therefore, we introduce the first reactive cysteine derivative for efficient and chemoselective disulfide formation in synthetic polypeptides, thus bypassing additional protective group cleavage steps. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Autonomic healable waterborne organic-inorganic polyurethane hybrids based on aromatic disulfide moieties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. H. Aguirresarobe

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Aromatic disulfide dynamic structures were incorporated as chain extenders in waterborne organic-inorganic polyurethane hybrids in order to provide autonomic healable characteristics. The synthesis was carried out following the acetone process methodology and the influence of the introduction of the healing agents in the polymer dispersion stability was analyzed. After the crosslinking process at room temperature, organic-inorganic hybrid films, which presented autonomic healing characteristics, were obtained. These features were evaluated by means of stress-strain tests and the films showed repetitive healing abilities. Thus, the optimum healing time at room temperature (25 °C as well as the influence of different parameters in the healing efficiency, such the aromatic disulfide concentration or the physical properties of the polymer matrix were analyzed.

Catalytic Intermolecular Cross-Couplings of Azides and LUMO-Activated Unsaturated Acyl Azoliums

KAUST Repository

Li, Wenjun; Ajitha, Manjaly John; Lang, Ming; Huang, Kuo-Wei; Wang, Jian

2017-01-01

An example for the catalytic synthesis of densely functionalized 1,2,3-triazoles through a LUMO activation mode has been developed. The protocol is enabled by intermolecular cross coupling reactions of azides with in situ-generated alpha

Influence of Dimerization of Lipopeptide Laur-Orn-Orn-Cys-NH2 and an N-terminal Peptide of Human Lactoferricin on Biological Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamysz, Elżbieta; Sikorska, Emilia; Dawgul, Małgorzata; Tyszkowski, Rafał; Kamysz, Wojciech

Lactoferrin (LF) is a naturally occurring antimicrobial peptide that is cleaved by pepsin to lactoferricin (LFcin). LFcin has an enhanced antimicrobial activity as compared to that of LF. Recently several hetero- and homodimeric antimicrobial peptides stabilized by a single disulfide bond linking linear polypeptide chains have been discovered. We have demonstrated that the S-S bond heterodimerization of lipopeptide Laur-Orn-Orn-Cys-NH 2 (peptide III) and the synthetic N -terminal peptide of human lactoferricin (peptide I) yields a dimer (peptide V), which is almost as microbiologically active as the more active monomer and at the same time it is much less toxic. Furthermore, it has been found that the S-S bond homodimerization of both peptide I and peptide III did not affect antimicrobial and haemolytic activity of the compounds. The homo- and heterodimerization of peptides I and III resulted in either reduction or loss of antifungal activity. This work suggests that heterodimerization of antimicrobial lipopeptides via intermolecular disulfide bond might be a powerful modification deserving consideration in the design of antimicrobial peptides.

Differential Labeling of Free and Disulfide-Bound Thiol Functions in Proteins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seiwert, B.; Hayen, H.; Karst, U.

2008-01-01

A method for the simultaneous determination of the number of free cysteine groups and disulfide-bound cysteine groups in proteins has been developed based on the sequential labeling of free and bound thiol functionalities with two ferrocene-based maleimide reagents. Liquid

The effect of strong intermolecular and chemical interactions on the compatibility of polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Askadskii, Andrei A

1999-01-01

The data on compatibility and on the properties of polymer blends are generalised. The emphasis is placed on the formation of strong intermolecular interactions (dipole-dipole interaction and hydrogen bonding) between the components of blends, as well as on the chemical reactions between them. A criterion for the prediction of compatibility of polymers is described in detail. Different cases of compatibility are considered and the dependences of the glass transition temperatures on the composition of blends are analysed. The published data on the effect of strong intermolecular interactions between the blend components on the glass transition temperature are considered. The preparation of interpolymers is described whose macromolecules are composed of incompatible polymers, which leads to the so-called 'forced compatibility.' The bibliography includes 80 references.

Solid state synthesis, structural, physicochemical and optical properties of an inter-molecular compound: 2-hydroxy-1, 2-diphenylethanone-4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine system

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, U. S.; Singh, Manjeet; Rai, R. N.

2017-09-01

The phase diagram of 2-hydroxy-1, 2-diphenylethanone (HDPE)-4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NOPDA) system, determined by the thaw-melt method, gives two eutectics E1 (m p = 66.0 °C) and E2 (m p = 155.0 °C) with 0.30 and 0.55 mol fractions of NOPDA, respectively, and an 1:1 inter-molecular compound (IMC) (m p 162.0 °C). This IMC was synthesized by adopting the green synthetic method of solid state reaction. While its formation and structure were confirmed by the X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic methods, the ORTEP view gives mode of crystal packing, C‒H…O, C‒H…N, π-π stacking and the inter-molecular hydrogen bonding in the compound. The single crystal of the IMC shows 53% transmission and emits significantly higher dual fluorescence, and the band gap was computed to be 3.04 eV. The values of solubility of the IMC, measured in the temperature range 304-322 K, satisfy the mole fraction (X) and temperature equation: Xeq= 5.1324 × 10-7 e 0.01356T.

Noncovalent Intermolecular Interactions in Organic Electronic Materials: Implications for the Molecular Packing vs Electronic Properties of Acenes

KAUST Repository

Sutton, Christopher

2015-10-30

Noncovalent intermolecular interactions, which can be tuned through the toolbox of synthetic chemistry, determine not only the molecular packing but also the resulting electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of materials derived from π-conjugated molecules, oligomers, and polymers. Here, we provide an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of noncovalent intermolecular interactions and briefly discuss the computational chemistry approaches used to understand the magnitude of these interactions. These methodologies are then exploited to illustrate how noncovalent intermolecular interactions impact important electronic properties-such as the electronic coupling between adjacent molecules, a key parameter for charge-carrier transport-through a comparison between the prototype organic semiconductor pentacene with a series of N-substituted heteropentacenes. Incorporating an understanding of these interactions into the design of organic semiconductors can assist in developing novel materials systems from this fascinating molecular class. © 2015 American Chemical Society.

Ground state analytical ab initio intermolecular potential for the Cl2-water system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hormain, Laureline; Monnerville, Maurice; Toubin, Céline; Duflot, Denis; Pouilly, Brigitte; Briquez, Stéphane; Bernal-Uruchurtu, Margarita I.; Hernández-Lamoneda, Ramón

2015-01-01

The chlorine/water interface is of crucial importance in the context of atmospheric chemistry. Modeling the structure and dynamics at this interface requires an accurate description of the interaction potential energy surfaces. We propose here an analytical intermolecular potential that reproduces the interaction between the Cl 2 molecule and a water molecule. Our functional form is fitted to a set of high level ab initio data using the coupled-cluster single double (triple)/aug-cc-p-VTZ level of electronic structure theory for the Cl 2 − H 2 O complex. The potential fitted to reproduce the three minima structures of 1:1 complex is validated by the comparison of ab initio results of Cl 2 interacting with an increasing number of water molecules. Finally, the model potential is used to study the physisorption of Cl 2 on a perfectly ordered hexagonal ice slab. The calculated adsorption energy, in the range 0.27 eV, shows a good agreement with previous experimental results

Protein and non-protein sulfhydryls and disulfides in gastric mucosa and liver after gastrotoxic chemicals and sucralfate: possible new targets of pharmacologic agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagy, Lajos; Nagata, Miki; Szabo, Sandor

2007-04-14

To investigate the role of major non-protein and protein sulfhydryls and disulfides in chemically induced gastric hemorrhagic mucosal lesions (HML) and the mechanism of gastroprotective effect of sucralfate. Rats were given 1 mL of 75% ethanol, 25% NaCl, 0.6 mol/L HCl, 0.2 mol/L NaOH or 1% ammonia solutions intragastrically (i.g.) and sacrificed 1, 3, 6 or 12 min later. Total (reduced and oxidized) glutathione (GSH + GSSG), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), protein free sulfhydryls (PSH), protein-glutathione mixed disulfides (PSSG) and protein cystine disulfides (PSSP) were measured in gastric mucosa and liver. Reduced glutathione (GSH) was depleted in the gastric mucosa after ethanol, HCl or NaCl exposure, while oxidized glutathione (GSSG) concentrations increased, except by HCl and NaOH exposure. Decreased levels of PSH after exposure to ethanol were observed, NaCl or NaOH while the total protein disulfides were increased. Ratios of reduced to oxidized glutathione or sulfhydrils to disulfides were decreased by all chemicals. No changes in thiol homeostasis were detected in the liver after i.g. abbreviation should be spelled out the first time here administration of ethanol. Sucralfate increased the concentrations of GSH and PSH and prevented the ethanol-induced changes in gastric mucosal thiol concentrations. Our modified methods are now suitable for direct measurements of major protein and non-protein thiols/disulfides in the gastric mucosa or liver. A common element in the pathogenesis of chemically induced HML and in the mechanism of gastroprotective drugs seems to be the decreased ratios of reduced and oxidized glutathione as well as protein sulfhydryls and disulfides.

Protein and non-protein sulfhydryls and disulfides in gastric mucosa and liver after gastrotoxic chemicals and sucralfate: Possible new targets of pharmacologic agents

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Lajos Nagy; Miki Nagata; Sandor Szabo

2007-01-01

AIM: To investigate the role of major non-protein and protein sulfhydryls and disulfides in chemically induced gastric hemorrhagic mucosal lesions (HML) and the mechanism of gastroprotective effect of sucralfate.METHODS: Rats were given 1 mL of 75% ethanol, 25%NaCl, 0.6 mol/L HCI, 0.2 mol/L NaOH or 1% ammonia solutions intragastrically (i.g.) and sacrificed 1, 3, 6 or 12 min later. Total (reduced and oxidized) glutathione (GSH + GSSG), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), protein free sulfhydryls (PSH), protein-glutathione mixed disulfides (PSSG) and protein cystine disulfides (PSSP) were measured in gastric mucosa and liver.RESULTS: Reduced glutathione (GSH) was depleted in the gastric mucosa after ethanol, HCI or NaCl exposure,while oxidized glutathione (GSSG) concentrations increased, except by HCI and NaOH exposure. Decreased levels of PSH after exposure to ethanol were observed,NaCl or NaOH while the total protein disulfides were increased. Ratios of reduced to oxidized glutathione or sulfhydrils to disulfides were decreased by all chemicals.No changes in thiol homeostasis were detected in the liver after i.g. abbreviation should be spelled out the first time here administration of ethanol. Sucralfate increased the concentrations of GSH and PSH and prevented the ethanol-induced changes in gastric mucosal thiol concentrations.CONCLUSION: Our modified methods are now suitable for direct measurements of major protein and nonprotein thiols/disulfides in the gastric mucosa or liver.A common element in the pathogenesis of chemically induced HML and in the mechanism of gastroprotective drugs seems to be the decreased ratios of reduced and oxidized glutathione as well as protein sulfhydryls and disulfides.

Quantitative analysis of intermolecular interactions in orthorhombic rubrene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Venkatesha R. Hathwar

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Rubrene is one of the most studied organic semiconductors to date due to its high charge carrier mobility which makes it a potentially applicable compound in modern electronic devices. Previous electronic device characterizations and first principles theoretical calculations assigned the semiconducting properties of rubrene to the presence of a large overlap of the extended π-conjugated core between molecules. We present here the electron density distribution in rubrene at 20 K and at 100 K obtained using a combination of high-resolution X-ray and neutron diffraction data. The topology of the electron density and energies of intermolecular interactions are studied quantitatively. Specifically, the presence of Cπ...Cπ interactions between neighbouring tetracene backbones of the rubrene molecules is experimentally confirmed from a topological analysis of the electron density, Non-Covalent Interaction (NCI analysis and the calculated interaction energy of molecular dimers. A significant contribution to the lattice energy of the crystal is provided by H—H interactions. The electron density features of H—H bonding, and the interaction energy of molecular dimers connected by H—H interaction clearly demonstrate an importance of these weak interactions in the stabilization of the crystal structure. The quantitative nature of the intermolecular interactions is virtually unchanged between 20 K and 100 K suggesting that any changes in carrier transport at these low temperatures would have a different origin. The obtained experimental results are further supported by theoretical calculations.

Identification of a disulfide bridge important for transport function of SNAT4 neutral amino acid transporter.

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Rugmani Padmanabhan Iyer

Full Text Available SNAT4 is a member of system N/A amino acid transport family that primarily expresses in liver and muscles and mediates the transport of L-alanine. However, little is known about the structure and function of the SNAT family of transporters. In this study, we showed a dose-dependent inhibition in transporter activity of SNAT4 with the treatment of reducing agents, dithiothreitol (DTT and Tris(2-carboxyethylphosphine (TCEP, indicating the possible involvement of disulfide bridge(s. Mutation of residue Cys-232, and the two highly conserved residues Cys-249 and Cys-321, compromised the transport function of SNAT4. However, this reduction was not caused by the decrease of SNAT4 on the cell surface since the cysteine-null mutant generated by replacing all five cysteines with alanine was equally capable of being expressed on the cell surface as wild-type SNAT4. Interestingly, by retaining two cysteine residues, 249 and 321, a significant level of L-alanine uptake was restored, indicating the possible formation of disulfide bond between these two conserved residues. Biotinylation crosslinking of free thiol groups with MTSEA-biotin provided direct evidence for the existence of a disulfide bridge between Cys-249 and Cys-321. Moreover, in the presence of DTT or TCEP, transport activity of the mutant retaining Cys-249 and Cys-321 was reduced in a dose-dependent manner and this reduction is gradually recovered with increased concentration of H2O2. Disruption of the disulfide bridge also decreased the transport of L-arginine, but to a lesser degree than that of L-alanine. Together, these results suggest that cysteine residues 249 and 321 form a disulfide bridge, which plays an important role in substrate transport but has no effect on trafficking of SNAT4 to the cell surface.

Structural characterization of PTX3 disulfide bond network and its multimeric status in cumulus matrix organization.

Science.gov (United States)

Inforzato, Antonio; Rivieccio, Vincenzo; Morreale, Antonio P; Bastone, Antonio; Salustri, Antonietta; Scarchilli, Laura; Verdoliva, Antonio; Vincenti, Silvia; Gallo, Grazia; Chiapparino, Caterina; Pacello, Lucrezia; Nucera, Eleonora; Serlupi-Crescenzi, Ottaviano; Day, Anthony J; Bottazzi, Barbara; Mantovani, Alberto; De Santis, Rita; Salvatori, Giovanni

2008-04-11

PTX3 is an acute phase glycoprotein that plays key roles in resistance to certain pathogens and in female fertility. PTX3 exerts its functions by interacting with a number of structurally unrelated molecules, a capacity that is likely to rely on its complex multimeric structure stabilized by interchain disulfide bonds. In this study, PAGE analyses performed under both native and denaturing conditions indicated that human recombinant PTX3 is mainly composed of covalently linked octamers. The network of disulfide bonds supporting this octameric assembly was resolved by mass spectrometry and Cys to Ser site-directed mutagenesis. Here we report that cysteine residues at positions 47, 49, and 103 in the N-terminal domain form three symmetric interchain disulfide bonds stabilizing four protein subunits in a tetrameric arrangement. Additional interchain disulfide bonds formed by the C-terminal domain cysteines Cys(317) and Cys(318) are responsible for linking the PTX3 tetramers into octamers. We also identified three intrachain disulfide bonds within the C-terminal domain that we used as structural constraints to build a new three-dimensional model for this domain. Previously it has been shown that PTX3 is a key component of the cumulus oophorus extracellular matrix, which forms around the oocyte prior to ovulation, because cumuli from PTX3(-/-) mice show defective matrix organization. Recombinant PTX3 is able to restore the normal phenotype ex vivo in cumuli from PTX3(-/-) mice. Here we demonstrate that PTX3 Cys to Ser mutants, mainly assembled into tetramers, exhibited wild type rescue activity, whereas a mutant, predominantly composed of dimers, had impaired functionality. These findings indicate that protein oligomerization is essential for PTX3 activity within the cumulus matrix and implicate PTX3 tetramers as the functional molecular units required for cumulus matrix organization and stabilization.

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdTaO4 laser based on tungsten disulfide nanosheets saturable absorber at 1066 nm

Science.gov (United States)

Li, M. X.; Jin, G. Y.; Li, Y.

2018-05-01

In this paper, we investigated the passively Q-switched Nd:GdTaO4 laser based on tungsten disulfide (WS2) saturable absorber (SA). The preparation method of WS2 SA was to attach the WS2-alcohol dispersion onto the quartz substrates. The diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdTaO4 laser operated at a central wavelength of 1066 nm. The stable pulse output could be obtained at the single pulse width of 560 ns. In a word, WS2 seems to be a suitable saturable absorber for solid state lasers.

Folding and activity of hybrid sequence, disulfide-stabilized peptides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pease, J.H.B.; Storrs, R.W.; Wemmer, D.E. (Univ. of California, Berkeley (USA))

1990-08-01

Peptides have been synthesized that have hybrid sequences, partially derived from the bee venom peptide apamin and partially from the S peptide of ribonuclease A. The hybrid peptides were demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy to fold, forming the same disulfides and basic three-dimensional structure as native apamin, containing a {beta}-turn and an {alpha}-helix. These hybrids were active in complementing S protein, reactivating nuclease activity. In addition, the hybrid peptide was effective in inducing antibodies that cross-react with the RNase, without conjugation to a carrier protein. The stability of the folded structure of this peptide suggests that it should be possible to elicit antibodies that will react not only with a specific sequence, but also with a specific secondary structure. Hybrid sequence peptides also provide opportunities to study separately nucleation and propagation steps in formation of secondary structure. The authors show that in S peptide the {alpha}-helix does not end abruptly but rather terminates gradually over four or five residues. In general, these hybrid sequence peptides, which fold predictably because of disulfide bond formation, can provide opportunities for examining structure - function relationships for many biologically active sequences.

Folding and activity of hybrid sequence, disulfide-stabilized peptides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pease, J.H.B.; Storrs, R.W.; Wemmer, D.E.

1990-01-01

Peptides have been synthesized that have hybrid sequences, partially derived from the bee venom peptide apamin and partially from the S peptide of ribonuclease A. The hybrid peptides were demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy to fold, forming the same disulfides and basic three-dimensional structure as native apamin, containing a β-turn and an α-helix. These hybrids were active in complementing S protein, reactivating nuclease activity. In addition, the hybrid peptide was effective in inducing antibodies that cross-react with the RNase, without conjugation to a carrier protein. The stability of the folded structure of this peptide suggests that it should be possible to elicit antibodies that will react not only with a specific sequence, but also with a specific secondary structure. Hybrid sequence peptides also provide opportunities to study separately nucleation and propagation steps in formation of secondary structure. The authors show that in S peptide the α-helix does not end abruptly but rather terminates gradually over four or five residues. In general, these hybrid sequence peptides, which fold predictably because of disulfide bond formation, can provide opportunities for examining structure - function relationships for many biologically active sequences

Conversion of a disulfide bond into a thioacetal group during echinomycin biosynthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hotta, Kinya; Keegan, Ronan M.; Ranganathan, Soumya; Fang, Minyi; Bibby, Jaclyn; Winn, Martyn D.; Sato, Michio; Lian, Mingzhu; Watanabe, Kenji; Rigden, Daniel J.; Kim, Chu-Young (Liverpool); (Daresbury); (NU Singapore); (Shizuoka); (RAL)

2013-12-02

Echinomycin is a nonribosomal depsipeptide natural product with a range of interesting bioactivities that make it an important target for drug discovery and development. It contains a thioacetal bridge, a unique chemical motif derived from the disulfide bond of its precursor antibiotic triostin A by the action of an S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferase, Ecm18. The crystal structure of Ecm18 in complex with its reaction products S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine and echinomycin was determined at 1.50 Å resolution. Phasing was achieved using a new molecular replacement package called AMPLE, which automatically derives search models from structure predictions based on ab initio protein modelling. Structural analysis indicates that a combination of proximity effects, medium effects, and catalysis by strain drives the unique transformation of the disulfide bond into the thioacetal linkage.

Atomic-scale structure of single-layer MoS2 nanoclusters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helveg, S.; Lauritsen, J. V.; Lægsgaard, E.

2000-01-01

We have studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) the atomic-scale realm of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoclusters, which are of interest as a model system in hydrodesulfurization catalysis. The STM gives the first real space images of the shape and edge structure of single-layer MoS2...

Intermolecular cope-type hydroamination of alkenes and alkynes using hydroxylamines.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Joseph; Gorelsky, Serge I; Dimitrijevic, Elena; Lebrun, Marie-Eve; Bédard, Anne-Catherine; Séguin, Catherine; Beauchemin, André M

2008-12-31

The development of the Cope-type hydroamination as a method for the metal- and acid-free intermolecular hydroamination of hydroxylamines with alkenes and alkynes is described. Aqueous hydroxylamine reacts efficiently with alkynes in a Markovnikov fashion to give oximes and with strained alkenes to give N-alkylhydroxylamines, while unstrained alkenes are more challenging. N-Alkylhydroxylamines also display similar reactivity with strained alkenes and give modest to good yields with vinylarenes. Electron-rich vinylarenes lead to branched products while electron-deficient vinylarenes give linear products. A beneficial additive effect is observed with sodium cyanoborohydride, the extent of which is dependent on the structure of the hydroxylamine. The reaction conditions are found to be compatible with common protecting groups, free OH and NH bonds, as well as bromoarenes. Both experimental and theoretical results suggest the proton transfer step of the N-oxide intermediate is of vital importance in the intermolecular reactions of alkenes. Details are disclosed concerning optimization, reaction scope, limitations, and theoretical analysis by DFT, which includes a detailed molecular orbital description for the concerted hydroamination process and an exhaustive set of calculated potential energy surfaces for the reactions of various alkenes, alkynes, and hydroxylamines.

Instantaneous normal mode analysis for intermolecular and intramolecular vibrations of water from atomic point of view.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu-Chun; Tang, Ping-Han; Wu, Ten-Ming

2013-11-28

By exploiting the instantaneous normal mode (INM) analysis for models of flexible molecules, we investigate intermolecular and intramolecular vibrations of water from the atomic point of view. With two flexible SPC/E models, our investigations include three aspects about their INM spectra, which are separated into the unstable, intermolecular, bending, and stretching bands. First, the O- and H-atom contributions in the four INM bands are calculated and their stable INM spectra are compared with the power spectra of the atomic velocity autocorrelation functions. The unstable and intermolecular bands of the flexible models are also compared with those of the SPC/E model of rigid molecules. Second, we formulate the inverse participation ratio (IPR) of the INMs, respectively, for the O- and H-atom and molecule. With the IPRs, the numbers of the three species participated in the INMs are estimated so that the localization characters of the INMs in each band are studied. Further, by the ratio of the IPR of the H atom to that of the O atom, we explore the number of involved OH bond per molecule participated in the INMs. Third, by classifying simulated molecules into subensembles according to the geometry of their local environments or their H-bond configurations, we examine the local-structure effects on the bending and stretching INM bands. All of our results are verified to be insensible to the definition of H-bond. Our conclusions about the intermolecular and intramolecular vibrations in water are given.

Approach to characterization of the higher order structure of disulfide-containing proteins using hydrogen/deuterium exchange and top-down mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Guanbo; Kaltashov, Igor A

2014-08-05

Top-down hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) with mass spectrometric (MS) detection has recently matured to become a potent biophysical tool capable of providing valuable information on higher order structure and conformational dynamics of proteins at an unprecedented level of structural detail. However, the scope of the proteins amenable to the analysis by top-down HDX MS still remains limited, with the protein size and the presence of disulfide bonds being the two most important limiting factors. While the limitations imposed by the physical size of the proteins gradually become more relaxed as the sensitivity, resolution and dynamic range of modern MS instrumentation continue to improve at an ever accelerating pace, the presence of the disulfide linkages remains a much less forgiving limitation even for the proteins of relatively modest size. To circumvent this problem, we introduce an online chemical reduction step following completion and quenching of the HDX reactions and prior to the top-down MS measurements of deuterium occupancy of individual backbone amides. Application of the new methodology to the top-down HDX MS characterization of a small (99 residue long) disulfide-containing protein β2-microglobulin allowed the backbone amide protection to be probed with nearly a single-residue resolution across the entire sequence. The high-resolution backbone protection pattern deduced from the top-down HDX MS measurements carried out under native conditions is in excellent agreement with the crystal structure of the protein and high-resolution NMR data, suggesting that introduction of the chemical reduction step to the top-down routine does not trigger hydrogen scrambling either during the electrospray ionization process or in the gas phase prior to the protein ion dissociation.

Highly Stereoselective Intermolecular Haloetherification and Haloesterification of Allyl Amides

Science.gov (United States)

Soltanzadeh, Bardia; Jaganathan, Arvind; Staples, Richard J.

2016-01-01

An organocatalytic and highly regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective intermolecular haloetherification and haloesterification reaction of allyl amides is reported. A variety of alkene substituents and substitution patterns are compatible with this chemistry. Notably, electronically unbiased alkene substrates exhibit exquisite regio- and diastereoselectivity for the title transformation. We also demonstrate that the same catalytic system can be used in both chlorination and bromination reactions of allyl amides with a variety of nucleophiles with little or no modification. PMID:26110812

On the representation of the electric charge distribution in ethane for calculations of the molecular quadrupole moment and intermolecular electrostatic energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Flemming Yssing; Alldredge, G. P.; Bruch, L. W.

1985-01-01

and gives a repulsive rather than an attractive electrostatic interaction at typical intermolecular distances. In the local multipole model, the atom-site dipoles give the largest contribution to both the molecular quadrupole moment and the intermolecular interaction. The Journal of Chemical Physics...

Evaluation of coupling terms between intra- and intermolecular vibrations in coarse-grained normal-mode analysis: Does a stronger acid make a stiffer hydrogen bond?

Science.gov (United States)

Houjou, Hirohiko

2011-10-01

Using theory of harmonic normal-mode vibration analysis, we developed a procedure for evaluating the anisotropic stiffness of intermolecular forces. Our scheme for coarse-graining of molecular motions is modified so as to account for intramolecular vibrations in addition to relative translational/rotational displacement. We applied this new analytical scheme to four carboxylic acid dimers, for which coupling between intra- and intermolecular vibrations is crucial for determining the apparent stiffness of the intermolecular double hydrogen bond. The apparent stiffness constant was analyzed on the basis of a conjunct spring model, which defines contributions from true intermolecular stiffness and molecular internal stiffness. Consequently, the true intermolecular stiffness was in the range of 43-48 N m-1 for all carboxylic acids studied, regardless of the molecules' acidity. We concluded that the difference in the apparent stiffness can be attributed to differences in the internal stiffness of the respective molecules.

Solvation study of the non-specific lipid transfer protein from wheat by intermolecular NOEs with water and small organic molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liepinsh, Edvards; Sodano, Patrick; Tassin, Severine; Marion, Didier; Vovelle, Francoise; Otting, Gottfried

1999-01-01

Intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) were measured between the protons of various small solvent or gas molecules and the non-specific lipid transfer protein (ns-LTP) from wheat. Intermolecular NOEs were observed with the hydrophobic pocket in the interior of wheat ns-LTP, which grew in intensity in the order cyclopropane (saturated solution) < methane (140 bar) < ethane (40 bar) < acetonitrile (5% in water) < cyclohexane (saturated solution) < benzene (saturated solution). No intermolecular NOEs were observed with dioxane (5% in water). The intermolecular NOEs were negative for all of the organic molecules tested. Intermolecular NOEs between wheat ns-LTP and water were weak or could not be distinguished from exchange-relayed NOEs. As illustrated by the NOEs with cyclohexane versus dioxane, the hydrophobic pocket in wheat ns-LTP preferably binds non-polar molecules. Yet, polar molecules like acetonitrile can also be accommodated. The pressure dependence of the NOEs between methane and wheat ns-LTP indicated incomplete occupancy, even at 190 bar methane pressure. In general, NOE intensities increased with the size of the ligand molecule and its vapor pressure. NMR of the vapor phase showed excellent resolution between the signals from the gas phase and those from the liquid phase. The vapor concentration of cyclohexane was fivefold higher than that of the dioxane solution, supporting the binding of cyclohexane versus uptake of dioxane

Synthesis and studies on structural, optical and nonlinear optical properties of novel organic inter-molecular compounds: 4-chloro-3-nitroaniline-3-hydroxy benzaldehyde and urea-4-dimethylaminopyridine

Science.gov (United States)

Pandey, Priyanka; Rai, R. N.

2018-05-01

Two novel organic inter-molecular compounds (IMCs), (3-(4-chloro-3-nitrophenylimino) methyl) phenol) (CNMP) and urea ̶ 4-dimethylaminopyridine complex (UDMAP), have been synthesized by solid state reaction. These two IMCs were identified by phase diagram study of CNA-HB and U-DMAP systems. The single crystals of newly obtained IMCs were grown by slow solvent evaporation technique at room temperature. Both the IMCs were further studied for their thermal, spectral, single crystal XRD for their atomic packing in molecule, crystallinity, optical and nonlinear optical behaviour. In both the cases, melting point of inter-molecular compounds was found to be higher than that of their parent components, CNMP was found to be thermally stable up to 158 °C while UDMAP was stable up to 144 °C, which indicate their extra stability than their parents. The single crystal XRD studies confirmed that CNMP has crystallized in orthorhombic unit cell with non-centrosymmetric space group P212121 while UDMAP has crystallized in monoclinic unit cell with centrosymmetric space group C2/c. The absorption spectrum of CNMP was found to be in between the absorption of parents, while broadening of peak and red shift was observed in UDMAP as compared to the parents. Second order nonlinear optical property of CNMP and UDMAP was studied using Kurtz Perry powder technique and intense green light emission was observed with CNMP on excitation with 1064 nm of Nd:YAG laser while no emission was observed with UDMAP.

MLKL forms disulfide bond-dependent amyloid-like polymers to induce necroptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shuzhen; Liu, Hua; Johnston, Andrea; Hanna-Addams, Sarah; Reynoso, Eduardo; Xiang, Yougui; Wang, Zhigao

2017-09-05

Mixed-lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) is essential for TNF-α-induced necroptosis. How MLKL promotes cell death is still under debate. Here we report that MLKL forms SDS-resistant, disulfide bond-dependent polymers during necroptosis in both human and mouse cells. MLKL polymers are independent of receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 and 3 (RIPK1/RIPK3) fibers. Large MLKL polymers are more than 2 million Da and are resistant to proteinase K digestion. MLKL polymers are fibers 5 nm in diameter under electron microscopy. Furthermore, the recombinant N-terminal domain of MLKL forms amyloid-like fibers and binds Congo red dye. MLKL mutants that cannot form polymers also fail to induce necroptosis efficiently. Finally, the compound necrosulfonamide conjugates cysteine 86 of human MLKL and blocks MLKL polymer formation and subsequent cell death. These results demonstrate that disulfide bond-dependent, amyloid-like MLKL polymers are necessary and sufficient to induce necroptosis.

Structural Characterization and Disulfide Assignment of Spider Peptide Phα1β by Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Wormwood, Kelly L.; Ngounou Wetie, Armand Gatien; Gomez, Marcus Vinicius; Ju, Yue; Kowalski, Paul; Mihasan, Marius; Darie, Costel C.

2018-05-01

Native Phα1β is a peptide purified from the venom of the armed spider Phoneutria nigriventer that has been shown to have an extensive analgesic effect with fewer side effects than ω-conotoxin MVIIA. Recombinant Phα1β mimics the effects of the native Phα1β. Because of this, it has been suggested that Phα1β may have potential to be used as a therapeutic for controlling persistent pathological pain. The amino acid sequence of Phα1β is known; however, the exact structure and disulfide arrangement has yet to be determined. Determination of the disulfide linkages and exact structure could greatly assist in pharmacological analysis and determination of why this peptide is such an effective analgesic. Here, we used biochemical and mass spectrometry approaches to determine the disulfide linkages present in the recombinant Phα1β peptide. Using a combination of MALDI-MS, direct infusion ESI-MS, and nanoLC-MS/MS analysis of the undigested recombinant Phα1β peptide and digested with AspN, trypsin, or AspN/trypsin, we were able to identify and confirm all six disulfide linkages present in the peptide as Cys1-2, Cys3-4, Cys5-6, Cys7-8, Cys9-10, and Cys11-12. These results were also partially confirmed in the native Phα1β peptide. These experiments provide essential structural information about Phα1β and may assist in providing insight into the peptide's analgesic effect with very low side effects. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Structural Characterization and Disulfide Assignment of Spider Peptide Phα1β by Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Wormwood, Kelly L.; Ngounou Wetie, Armand Gatien; Gomez, Marcus Vinicius; Ju, Yue; Kowalski, Paul; Mihasan, Marius; Darie, Costel C.

2018-04-01

Native Phα1β is a peptide purified from the venom of the armed spider Phoneutria nigriventer that has been shown to have an extensive analgesic effect with fewer side effects than ω-conotoxin MVIIA. Recombinant Phα1β mimics the effects of the native Phα1β. Because of this, it has been suggested that Phα1β may have potential to be used as a therapeutic for controlling persistent pathological pain. The amino acid sequence of Phα1β is known; however, the exact structure and disulfide arrangement has yet to be determined. Determination of the disulfide linkages and exact structure could greatly assist in pharmacological analysis and determination of why this peptide is such an effective analgesic. Here, we used biochemical and mass spectrometry approaches to determine the disulfide linkages present in the recombinant Phα1β peptide. Using a combination of MALDI-MS, direct infusion ESI-MS, and nanoLC-MS/MS analysis of the undigested recombinant Phα1β peptide and digested with AspN, trypsin, or AspN/trypsin, we were able to identify and confirm all six disulfide linkages present in the peptide as Cys1-2, Cys3-4, Cys5-6, Cys7-8, Cys9-10, and Cys11-12. These results were also partially confirmed in the native Phα1β peptide. These experiments provide essential structural information about Phα1β and may assist in providing insight into the peptide's analgesic effect with very low side effects. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Defect-Mediated Lithium Adsorption and Diffusion on Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiaoli; Wang, Zhiguo; Fu, Y Q

2015-12-22

Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries because of its high capacities. In this work, first principle calculations based on spin density functional theory were performed to investigate adsorption and diffusion of lithium on monolayer MoS2 with defects, such as single- and few-atom vacancies, antisite, and grain boundary. The values of adsorption energies on the monolayer MoS2 with the defects were increased compared to those on the pristine MoS2. The presence of defects causes that the Li is strongly bound to the monolayer MoS2 with adsorption energies in the range between 2.81 and 3.80 eV. The donation of Li 2s electron to the defects causes an enhancement of adsorption of Li on the monolayer MoS2. At the same time, the presence of defects does not apparently affect the diffusion of Li, and the energy barriers are in the range of 0.25-0.42 eV. The presence of the defects can enhance the energy storage capacity, suggesting that the monolayer MoS2 with defects is a suitable anode material for the Li-ion batteries.

Nicotinamidase/pyrazinamidase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis forms homo-dimers stabilized by disulfide bonds.

Science.gov (United States)

Rueda, Daniel; Sheen, Patricia; Gilman, Robert H; Bueno, Carlos; Santos, Marco; Pando-Robles, Victoria; Batista, Cesar V; Zimic, Mirko

2014-12-01

Recombinant wild-pyrazinamidase from H37Rv Mycobacterium tuberculosis was analyzed by gel electrophoresis under differential reducing conditions to evaluate its quaternary structure. PZAse was fractionated by size exclusion chromatography under non-reducing conditions. PZAse activity was measured and mass spectrometry analysis was performed to determine the identity of proteins by de novo sequencing and to determine the presence of disulfide bonds. This study confirmed that M. tuberculosis wild type PZAse was able to form homo-dimers in vitro. Homo-dimers showed a slightly lower specific PZAse activity compared to monomeric PZAse. PZAse dimers were dissociated into monomers in response to reducing conditions. Mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the existence of disulfide bonds (C72-C138 and C138-C138) stabilizing the quaternary structure of the PZAse homo-dimer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Site-specific Isopeptide Bridge Tethering of Chimeric gp41 N-terminal Heptad Repeat Helical Trimers for the Treatment of HIV-1 Infection

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Li, Xue; Yu, Fei; Lu, Lu; Jiang, Xifeng; Xu, Xiaoyu; Wang, Huixin; Lai, Wenqing; Zhang, Tianhong; Zhang, Zhenqing; Ye, Ling; Jiang, Shibo; Liu, Keliang

2016-01-01

Peptides derived from the N-terminal heptad repeat (NHR) of HIV-1 gp41 can be potent inhibitors against viral entry when presented in a nonaggregating trimeric coiled-coil conformation via the introduction of exogenous trimerization motifs and intermolecular disulfide bonds. We recently discovered that crosslinking isopeptide bridges within the de novo helical trimers added exceptional resistance to unfolding. Herein, we attempted to optimize (CCIZN17)3, a representative disulfide bond-stabilized chimeric NHR-trimer, by incorporating site-specific interhelical isopeptide bonds as the redox-sensitive disulfide surrogate. In this process, we systematically examined the effect of isopeptide bond position and molecular sizes of auxiliary trimeric coiled-coil motif and NHR fragments on the antiviral potency of these NHR-trimers. Pleasingly, (IZ14N24N)3 possessed promising inhibitory activity against HIV-1 infection and markedly increased proteolytic stability relative to its disulfide-tethered counterpart, suggesting good potential for further development as an effective antiviral agent for treatment of HIV-1 infection. PMID:27562370

Conformational landscape and pathway of disulfide bond reduction of human alpha defensin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snijder, Joost; Van De Waterbeemd, Michiel; Glover, Matthew S.; Shi, Liuqing; Clemmer, David E.; Heck, Albert J R

2015-01-01

Human alpha defensins are a class of antimicrobial peptides with additional antiviral activity. Such antimicrobial peptides constitute a major part of mammalian innate immunity. Alpha defensins contain six cysteines, which form three well defined disulfide bridges under oxidizing conditions.

Disulfide-functional poly(amido amine)s with tunable degradability for gene delivery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elzes, M. Rachel; Akeroyd, Niels; Engbersen, Johan F. J.; Paulusse, Jos M. J.

2016-01-01

Controlled degradability in response to the local environment is one of the most effective strategies to achieve spatiotemporal release of genes from a polymeric carrier. Exploiting the differences in reduction potential between the extracellular and intracellular environment, disulfides are

Pharmaceutical cocrystals, salts and multicomponent systems; intermolecular interactions and property based design.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, David J; Steed, Jonathan W

2017-08-01

As small molecule drugs become harder to develop and less cost effective for patient use, efficient strategies for their property improvement become increasingly important to global health initiatives. Improvements in the physical properties of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), without changes in the covalent chemistry, have long been possible through the application of binary component solids. This was first achieved through the use of pharmaceutical salts, within the last 10-15years with cocrystals and more recently coamorphous systems have also been consciously applied to this problem. In order to rationally discover the best multicomponent phase for drug development, intermolecular interactions need to be considered at all stages of the process. This review highlights the current thinking in this area and the state of the art in: pharmaceutical multicomponent phase design, the intermolecular interactions in these phases, the implications of these interactions on the material properties and the pharmacokinetics in a patient. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Catalyst-Controlled and Tunable, Chemoselective Silver-Catalyzed Intermolecular Nitrene Transfer: Experimental and Computational Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolan, Nicholas S; Scamp, Ryan J; Yang, Tzuhsiung; Berry, John F; Schomaker, Jennifer M

2016-11-09

The development of new catalysts for selective nitrene transfer is a continuing area of interest. In particular, the ability to control the chemoselectivity of intermolecular reactions in the presence of multiple reactive sites has been a long-standing challenge in the field. In this paper, we demonstrate examples of silver-catalyzed, nondirected, intermolecular nitrene transfer reactions that are both chemoselective and flexible for aziridination or C-H insertion, depending on the choice of ligand. Experimental probes present a puzzling picture of the mechanistic details of the pathways mediated by [( t Bu 3 tpy)AgOTf] 2 and (tpa)AgOTf. Computational studies elucidate these subtleties and provide guidance for the future development of new catalysts exhibiting improved tunability in group transfer reactions.

Molecular simulation of fluids with non-identical intermolecular potentials: Thermodynamic properties of 10-5 + 12-6 Mie potential binary mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stiegler, Thomas; Sadus, Richard J.

2015-01-01

General methods for combining interactions between particles characterised by non-identical intermolecular potentials are investigated. The combination methods are tested by performing molecular dynamics simulations to determine the pressure, energy, isochoric and isobaric heat capacities, thermal expansion coefficient, isothermal compressibility, Joule-Thomson coefficient, and speed of sound of 10-5 + 12-6 Mie potential binary mixtures. In addition to the two non-identical Mie potentials, mixtures are also studied with non-identical intermolecular parameters. The combination methods are compared with results obtained by simply averaging the Mie exponents. When either the energy or size parameters are non-identical, very significant differences emerge in the thermodynamic properties predicted by the alternative combination methods. The isobaric heat capacity is the thermodynamic property that is most affected by the relative magnitude of the intermolecular potential parameters and the method for combining non-identical potentials. Either the arithmetic or geometric combination of potentials provides a simple and effective way of performing simulations involving mixtures of components characterised by non-identical intermolecular potentials, which is independent of their functional form

Mechanism of intermolecular hydroacylation of vinylsilanes catalyzed by a rhodium(I) olefin complex: a DFT study.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Qingxi; Shen, Wei; Li, Ming

2012-03-01

Density functional theory (DFT) was used to investigate the Rh(I)-catalyzed intermolecular hydroacylation of vinylsilane with benzaldehyde. All intermediates and transition states were optimized completely at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level (LANL2DZ(f) for Rh). Calculations indicated that Rh(I)-catalyzed intermolecular hydroacylation is exergonic, and the total free energy released is -110 kJ mol(-1). Rh(I)-catalyzed intermolecular hydroacylation mainly involves the active catalyst CA2, rhodium-alkene-benzaldehyde complex M1, rhodium-alkene-hydrogen-acyl complex M2, rhodium-alkyl-acyl complex M3, rhodium-alkyl-carbonyl-phenyl complex M4, rhodium-acyl-phenyl complex M5, and rhodium-ketone complex M6. The reaction pathway CA2 + R2 → M1b → T1b → M2b → T2b1 → M3b1 → T4b → M4b → T5b → M5b → T6b → M6b → P2 is the most favorable among all reaction channels of Rh(I)-catalyzed intermolecular hydroacylation. The reductive elimination reaction is the rate-determining step for this pathway, and the dominant product predicted theoretically is the linear ketone, which is consistent with Brookhart's experiments. Solvation has a significant effect, and it greatly decreases the free energies of all species. The use of the ligand Cp' (Cp' = C(5)Me(4)CF(3)) decreased the free energies in general, and in this case the rate-determining step was again the reductive elimination reaction.

Resolution of Disulfide Heterogeneity in Nogo Receptor 1 Fusion Proteins by Molecular Engineering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P Weinreb; D Wen; F Qian; C Wildes; E Garber; L Walus; M Jung; J Wang; J Relton; et al.

2011-12-31

NgRI (Nogo-66 receptor) is part of a signalling complex that inhibits axon regeneration in the central nervous system. Truncated soluble versions of NgRI have been used successfully to promote axon regeneration in animal models of spinal-cord injury, raising interest in this protein as a potential therapeutic target. The LRR (leucine-rich repeat) regions in NgRI are flanked by N- and C-terminal disulfide-containing 'cap' domains (LRRNT and LRRCT respectively). In the present work we show that, although functionally active, the NgRI(310)-Fc fusion protein contains mislinked and heterogeneous disulfide patterns in the LRRCT domain, and we report the generation of a series of variant molecules specifically designed to prevent this heterogeneity. Using these variants we explored the effects of modifying the NgRI truncation site or the spacing between the NgRI and Fc domains, or replacing cysteines within the NgRI or IgG hinge regions. One variant, which incorporates replacements of Cys{sup 266} and Cys{sup 309} with alanine residues, completely eliminated disulfide scrambling while maintaining functional in vitro and in vivo efficacy. This modified NgRI-Fc molecule represents a significantly improved candidate for further pharmaceutical development, and may serve as a useful model for the optimization of other IgG fusion proteins made from LRR proteins.

Characterization of intramolecular disulfide bonds and secondary modifications of the glycoprotein from viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, a fish rhabdovirus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Einer-Jensen, Katja; Nielsen, Thomas Krogh; Roepstorff, Peter

1998-01-01

were analyzed by mass spectrometry before and after chemical reduction, and six disulfide bonds were identified: Cys29-Cys339, Cys44-Cys295, Cys90-Cys132, Cys172-Cys177, Cys195-Cys265, and Cys231-CyS236. Mass spectrometric analysis in combination with glycosidases allowed characterization of the glycan...... of the protein, The present study was initiated to identify the disulfide bonds and other structural aspects relevant to vaccine design. The N-terminal amino acid residue was identified as being a pyroglutamic acid, corresponding to Gln21 of the primary transcript, Peptides from endoproteinase-degraded G protein...... cysteine residues are situated at conserved positions, This finding suggests that there might be some common disulfide bonding pattern among the six rhabdoviruses....

Atypical protein disulfide isomerases (PDI: Comparison of the molecular and catalytic properties of poplar PDI-A and PDI-M with PDI-L1A.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Selles

Full Text Available Protein disulfide isomerases are overwhelmingly multi-modular redox catalysts able to perform the formation, reduction or isomerisation of disulfide bonds. We present here the biochemical characterization of three different poplar PDI isoforms. PDI-A is characterized by a single catalytic Trx module, the so-called a domain, whereas PDI-L1a and PDI-M display an a-b-b'-a' and a°-a-b organisation respectively. Their activities have been tested in vitro using purified recombinant proteins and a series of model substrates as insulin, NADPH thioredoxin reductase, NADP malate dehydrogenase (NADP-MDH, peroxiredoxins or RNase A. We demonstrated that PDI-A exhibited none of the usually reported activities, although the cysteines of the WCKHC active site signature are able to form a disulfide with a redox midpoint potential of -170 mV at pH 7.0. The fact that it is able to bind a [Fe2S2] cluster upon Escherichia coli expression and anaerobic purification might indicate that it does not have a function in dithiol-disulfide exchange reactions. The two other proteins were able to catalyze oxidation or reduction reactions, PDI-L1a being more efficient in most cases, except that it was unable to activate the non-physiological substrate NADP-MDH, in contrast to PDI-M. To further evaluate the contribution of the catalytic domains of PDI-M, the dicysteinic motifs have been independently mutated in each a domain. The results indicated that the two a domains seem interconnected and that the a° module preferentially catalyzed oxidation reactions whereas the a module catalyzed reduction reactions, in line with the respective redox potentials of -170 mV and -190 mV at pH 7.0. Overall, these in vitro results illustrate that the number and position of a and b domains influence the redox properties and substrate recognition (both electron donors and acceptors of PDI which contributes to understand why this protein family expanded along evolution.

Removal of a C-terminal serine residue proximal to the inter-chain disulfide bond of a human IgG1 lambda light chain mediates enhanced antibody stability and antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yang; Zeng, Lin; Zhu, Aiping; Blanc, Tim; Patel, Dipa; Pennello, Anthony; Bari, Amtul; Ng, Stanley; Persaud, Kris; Kang, Yun (Kenneth); Balderes, Paul; Surguladze, David; Hindi, Sagit; Zhou, Qinwei; Ludwig, Dale L.; Snavely, Marshall

2013-01-01

Optimization of biophysical properties is a critical success factor for the developability of monoclonal antibodies with potential therapeutic applications. The inter-domain disulfide bond between light chain (Lc) and heavy chain (Hc) in human IgG1 lends structural support for antibody scaffold stability, optimal antigen binding, and normal Fc function. Recently, human IgG1λ has been suggested to exhibit significantly greater susceptibility to reduction of the inter Lc-Hc disulfide bond relative to the same disulfide bond in human IgG1κ. To understand the molecular basis for this observed difference in stability, the sequence and structure of human IgG1λ and human IgG1κ were compared. Based on this Lc comparison, three single mutations were made in the λ Lc proximal to the cysteine residue, which forms a disulfide bond with the Hc. We determined that deletion of S214 (dS) improved resistance of the association between Lc and Hc to thermal stress. In addition, deletion of this terminal serine from the Lc of IgG1λ provided further benefit, including an increase in stability at elevated pH, increased yield from transient transfection, and improved in vitro antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). These observations support the conclusion that the presence of the terminal serine of the λ Lc creates a weaker inter-chain disulfide bond between the Lc and Hc, leading to slightly reduced stability and a potential compromise in IgG1λ function. Our data from a human IgG1λ provide a basis for further investigation of the effects of deleting terminal serine from λLc on the stability and function of other human IgG1λ antibodies. PMID:23567210

CO2·- radical induced cleavage of disulfide bonds in proteins. A gamma-ray and pulse radiolysis mechanistic investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favaudon, V.; Tourbez, H.; Lhoste, J-M.; Houee-Levin, C.

1990-01-01

Disulfide bond reduction by the CO 2 ·- radical was investigated in aponeocarzinostatin, aporiboflavin-binding protein, and bovine immunoglobulin. Protein-bound cysteine free thiols were formed under γ-ray irradiation in the course of a pH-dependent and protein concentration dependent chain reaction. The chain efficiency increased upon acidification of the medium, with an apparent pK a around 5, and decreased abruptly below pH 3.6. It decreased also at neutral pH as cysteine accumulated. From pulse radiolysis analysis, CO 2 ·- proved able to induce rapid one-electron oxidation of thiols and of tyrosine phenolic groups in addition to one-electron donation to exposed disulfide bonds. The bulk rate constant of CO 2 ·- uptake by the native proteins was 5- to 10-fold faster at pH 3 than at pH 8, and the protonated form of the disulfide radical anion, appeared to be the major protein radical species formed under acidic conditions. Formation of the disulfide radical cation, phenoxyl radical Tyr-O · disproportionation, and phenoxyl radical induced oxidation of preformed thiol groups should also be taken into consideration to explain the fate of the oxygen-centered phenoxyl radical

Studying Intermolecular Forces with a Dual Gas Chromatography and Boiling Point Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, William Patrick; Xia, Ian; Wickline, Kaitlyn; Huitron, Eric Ivan Garcia; Heo, Jun

2018-01-01

A procedure for the study of structural differences and intermolecular attraction between ethanol and 1-butanol based in laboratory work is described. This study provides comparisons of data retrieved from both a determination of boiling point and gas chromatography traces for the mixture. The methodology reported here should provide instructors…

Contrasting intermolecular and intramolecular exciplex formation of a 1,4-dicyano-2-methylnaphthalene-N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine dyad.

Science.gov (United States)

Imoto, Mitsutaka; Ikeda, Hiroshi; Fujii, Takayuki; Taniguchi, Hisaji; Tamaki, Akihiro; Takeda, Motonori; Mizuno, Kazuhiko

2010-05-07

An intramolecular exciplex is formed upon excitation of the cyclohexane solution of the 1,4-dicyano-2-methylnaphthalene-N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine dyad, but little if any intramolecular CT complex exists in the ground state of this substance in solution. In contrast, in the crystalline state, the dyad forms an intermolecular mixed-stack CT complex in the ground state and an intermolecular exciplex when it is photoexcited.

Refined ab initio intermolecular ground-state potential energy surface for the He-C2H2 van der Waals complex

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernández, Berta; Henriksen, Christian; Farrelly, David

2013-01-01

A refined CCSD(T) intermolecular potential energy surface is developed for the He-C2H2 van der Waals complex. For this, 206 points on the intermolecular potential energy surface, evaluated using the CCSD(T) method and the aug-cc-pVQZ basis set extended with a set of 3s3p2d1f1g midbond functions...

Mutational analysis of Kex2 recognition sites and a disulfide bond in tannase from Aspergillus oryzae.

Science.gov (United States)

Koseki, Takuya; Otsuka, Motohiro; Mizuno, Toshiyuki; Shiono, Yoshihito

2017-01-22

Aspergillus oryzae tannase (AoTanA), which contains two Kex2 recognition sites at positions Arg311 and Arg316, consists of two subunits that are generated by the cleavage of tannase gene product by the Kex2 protease. Based on the crystal structure of feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus oryzae (AoFaeB), which has been classified as a member of the fungal tannase family, the catalytic triad residues of AoTanA are predicted to be Ser195, Asp455, and His501, with the serine and histidine residues brought together by a disulfide bond of the neighboring cysteines, Cys194 and Cys502. In this study, we investigated the functional role of the Kex2 recognition sites and disulfide bond between the neighboring cysteines in AoTanA. We constructed a double variant (R311A/R316A), a seven amino-acid deletion variant of region Lys310-Arg316 (ΔKR), and two single variants (C194A and C502A). While the R311A/R316A variant exhibited the two bands similar to wild type by SDS-PAGE after treatment with endoglycosidase H, the ΔKR variant exhibited only one band. R311A/R316A variation had no effect on tannase activity and stability. Meanwhile, the ΔKR variant exhibited higher activity compared to the wild-type. The activities of the C194A and C502A variants decreased considerably (<0.24% of the wild-type) toward methyl gallate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An optimized intermolecular force field for hydrogen-bonded organic molecular crystals using atomic multipole electrostatics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyzer-Knapp, Edward O.; Thompson, Hugh P. G.; Day, Graeme M.

2016-01-01

An empirically parameterized intermolecular force field is developed for crystal structure modelling and prediction. The model is optimized for use with an atomic multipole description of electrostatic interactions. We present a re-parameterization of a popular intermolecular force field for describing intermolecular interactions in the organic solid state. Specifically we optimize the performance of the exp-6 force field when used in conjunction with atomic multipole electrostatics. We also parameterize force fields that are optimized for use with multipoles derived from polarized molecular electron densities, to account for induction effects in molecular crystals. Parameterization is performed against a set of 186 experimentally determined, low-temperature crystal structures and 53 measured sublimation enthalpies of hydrogen-bonding organic molecules. The resulting force fields are tested on a validation set of 129 crystal structures and show improved reproduction of the structures and lattice energies of a range of organic molecular crystals compared with the original force field with atomic partial charge electrostatics. Unit-cell dimensions of the validation set are typically reproduced to within 3% with the re-parameterized force fields. Lattice energies, which were all included during parameterization, are systematically underestimated when compared with measured sublimation enthalpies, with mean absolute errors of between 7.4 and 9.0%

The Effect of Intermolecular Halogen Bond on 19F DNP Enhancement in 1, 4-Diiodotetrafluorobenzene/4-OH-TEMPO Supramolecular Assembly

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GAO Shan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Halogen bond, as hydrogen bond, is a non-covalent bond. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP technique has been used previously to study hydrogen bonds-mediated intermolecular interactions. However, no study has been carried out so far to study the halogen bond-mediated intermolecular interactions with DNP. In this work, 19F DNP polarization efficiency of the halogen bonds existing in supramolecular assembling by 4-OH-TEMPO and 1,4-diiodotetrafluorobenzene (DITFB was studied on a home-made DNP system. The formation of intermolecular halogen bonds appeared to increase 19F DNP polarization efficiency, suggesting that the spin-spin interactions among electrons were weakened by the halogen bonds, resulting in an increased T2e and a larger saturation factor.

The role of short-range Cys171-Cys178 disulfide bond in maintaining cutinase active site integrity: A molecular dynamics simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matak, Mehdi Youssefi; Moghaddam, Majid Erfani

2009-01-01

Understanding structural determinants in enzyme active site integrity can provide a good knowledge to design efficient novel catalytic machineries. Fusarium solani pisi cutinase with classic triad Ser-His-Asp is a promising enzyme to scrutinize these structural determinants. We performed two MD simulations: one, with the native structure, and the other with the broken Cys171-Cys178 disulfide bond. This disulfide bond stabilizes a turn in active site on which catalytic Asp175 is located. Functionally important H-bonds and atomic fluctuations in catalytic pocket have been changed. We proposed that this disulfide bond within active site can be considered as an important determinant of cutinase active site structural integrity.

Salting Effects as an Illustration of the Relative Strength of Intermolecular Forces

Science.gov (United States)

Person, Eric C.; Golden, Donnie R.; Royce, Brenda R.

2010-01-01

This quick and inexpensive demonstration of the salting of an alcohol out of an aqueous solution illustrates the impact of intermolecular forces on solubility using materials familiar to many students. Ammonium sulfate (fertilizer) is added to an aqueous 35% solution of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol and water) containing food coloring as a…

Oxidative protein folding: from thiol-disulfide exchange reactions to the redox poise of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, Devin A; Gannon, Shawn A; Thorpe, Colin

2015-03-01

This review examines oxidative protein folding within the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER) from an enzymological perspective. In protein disulfide isomerase-first (PDI-first) pathways of oxidative protein folding, PDI is the immediate oxidant of reduced client proteins and then addresses disulfide mispairings in a second isomerization phase. In PDI-second pathways the initial oxidation is PDI-independent. Evidence for the rapid reduction of PDI by reduced glutathione is presented in the context of PDI-first pathways. Strategies and challenges are discussed for determination of the concentrations of reduced and oxidized glutathione and of the ratios of PDI(red):PDI(ox). The preponderance of evidence suggests that the mammalian ER is more reducing than first envisaged. The average redox state of major PDI-family members is largely to almost totally reduced. These observations are consistent with model studies showing that oxidative protein folding proceeds most efficiently at a reducing redox poise consistent with a stoichiometric insertion of disulfides into client proteins. After a discussion of the use of natively encoded fluorescent probes to report the glutathione redox poise of the ER, this review concludes with an elaboration of a complementary strategy to discontinuously survey the redox state of as many redox-active disulfides as can be identified by ratiometric LC-MS-MS methods. Consortia of oxidoreductases that are in redox equilibrium can then be identified and compared to the glutathione redox poise of the ER to gain a more detailed understanding of the factors that influence oxidative protein folding within the secretory compartment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rational design of viscosity reducing mutants of a monoclonal antibody: hydrophobic versus electrostatic inter-molecular interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, Pilarin; Li, Li; Kumar, Sandeep; Buck, Patrick M; Singh, Satish K; Goswami, Sumit; Balthazor, Bryan; Conley, Tami R; Sek, David; Allen, Martin J

2015-01-01

High viscosity of monoclonal antibody formulations at concentrations ≥100 mg/mL can impede their development as products suitable for subcutaneous delivery. The effects of hydrophobic and electrostatic intermolecular interactions on the solution behavior of MAB 1, which becomes unacceptably viscous at high concentrations, was studied by testing 5 single point mutants. The mutations were designed to reduce viscosity by disrupting either an aggregation prone region (APR), which also participates in 2 hydrophobic surface patches, or a negatively charged surface patch in the variable region. The disruption of an APR that lies at the interface of light and heavy chain variable domains, VH and VL, via L45K mutation destabilized MAB 1 and abolished antigen binding. However, mutation at the preceding residue (V44K), which also lies in the same APR, increased apparent solubility and reduced viscosity of MAB 1 without sacrificing antigen binding or thermal stability. Neutralizing the negatively charged surface patch (E59Y) also increased apparent solubility and reduced viscosity of MAB 1, but charge reversal at the same position (E59K/R) caused destabilization, decreased solubility and led to difficulties in sample manipulation that precluded their viscosity measurements at high concentrations. Both V44K and E59Y mutations showed similar increase in apparent solubility. However, the viscosity profile of E59Y was considerably better than that of the V44K, providing evidence that inter-molecular interactions in MAB 1 are electrostatically driven. In conclusion, neutralizing negatively charged surface patches may be more beneficial toward reducing viscosity of highly concentrated antibody solutions than charge reversal or aggregation prone motif disruption.

Thiol/disulfide homeostasis in pregnant women with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Üstündağ, Yasemin; Demirci, Hakan; Balık, Rifat; Erel, Ozcan; Özaydın, Fahri; Kücük, Bilgen; Ertaş, Dilber; Ustunyurt, Emin

2017-11-27

Repetitive episodes of hypoxia and reoxygenation during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) resemble an ischemia-reperfusion injury. We aimed to test the hypothesis that oxidative stress occurs in pregnant women with OSAS. We also aimed to compare thiol/disulfide homeostasis with ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as markers of ischemia-reperfusion injury in pregnant women with and without OSAS and healthy control. This study included 29 pregnant women with OSAS, 30 women without OSAS in the third trimester applying for periodic examinations, and 30 healthy women. Serum IMA and TAC (using the ferric reducing power of plasma method) were measured. Serum thiol/disulfide homeostasis was determined by a novel automated method. The mean age of the pregnant women with OSAS was 31.0 ± 4.7 years with a mean gestational age of 36.5 ± 3.0 weeks. The mean age of pregnant women without OSAS was 29.8 ± 4.9 years with a mean gestational age of 36.9 ± 2.7 weeks. The mean age of the nonpregnant control group was 29.7 ± 6.4 years. Both native thiol (291 ± 29 μmol/L versus 314 ± 30 μmol/L; p = .018) and total thiol (325 ± 32 versus 350 ± 32, p = .025) levels were lower in pregnant women with OSAS compared to pregnant women without OSAS, respectively (p total thiol levels were lower in pregnant women with OSAS compared to those without OSAS. However, dynamic thiol/disulfide homeostasis parameters cannot provide valuable information to discriminate OSAS in pregnant women.

Strong Intermolecular Exciton Couplings in Solid-State Circular Dichroism of Aryl Benzyl Sulfoxides

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Padula, Daniele; Di Pietro, S.; Capozzi, M. A. M.; Cardellicchio, C.; Pescitelli, G.

2014-01-01

Roč. 26, č. 9 (2014), s. 462-470 ISSN 0899-0042 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : organic crystals * TDDFT CD calculations * pairwise additive approximation * two-body effects * intermolecular forces in crystal lattices Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 1.886, year: 2014

Modeling the intermolecular interactions: molecular structure of N-3-hydroxyphenyl-4-methoxybenzamide.

Science.gov (United States)

Karabulut, Sedat; Namli, Hilmi; Kurtaran, Raif; Yildirim, Leyla Tatar; Leszczynski, Jerzy

2014-03-01

The title compound, N-3-hydroxyphenyl-4-methoxybenzamide (3) was prepared by the acylation reaction of 3-aminophenol (1) and 4-metoxybenzoylchloride (2) in THF and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and elemental analysis. Molecular structure of the crystal was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and DFT calculations. 3 crystallizes in monoclinic P2₁/c space group. The influence of intermolecular interactions (dimerization and crystal packing) on molecular geometry has been evaluated by calculations performed for three different models; monomer (3), dimer (4) and dimer with added unit cell contacts (5). Molecular structure of 3, 4 and 5 was optimized by applying B3LYP method with 6-31G+(d,p) basis set in gas phase and compared with X-ray crystallographic data including bond lengths, bond angles and selected dihedral angles. It has been concluded that although the crystal packing and dimerization have a minor effect on bond lengths and angles, however, these interactions are important for the dihedral angles and the rotational conformation of aromatic rings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polymeric redox-responsive delivery systems bearing ammonium salts cross-linked via disulfides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Dollendorf

2013-08-01

Full Text Available A redox-responsive polycationic system was synthesized via copolymerization of N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEAAm and 2-(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA. N,N’-bis(4-chlorobutanoylcystamine was used as disulfide-containing cross-linker to form networks by the quaternization of tertiary amine groups. The insoluble cationic hydrogels become soluble by reduction of disulfide to mercaptanes by use of dithiothreitol (DTT, tris(2-carboxyethylphosphine (TCEP or cysteamine, respectively. The soluble polymeric system can be cross-linked again by using oxygen or hydrogen peroxide under basic conditions. The redox-responsive polymer networks can be used for molecular inclusion and controlled release. As an example, phenolphthalein, methylene blue and reactive orange 16 were included into the network. After treatment with DTT a release of the dye could be recognized. Physical properties of the cross-linked materials, e.g., glass transition temperature (Tg, swelling behavior and cloud points (Tc were investigated. Redox-responsive behavior was further analyzed by rheological measurements.

{sup 13}C-NMR studies on disulfide bond isomerization in bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takeda, Mitsuhiro [Kumamoto University, Department of Structural BioImaging, Faculty of Life Sciences (Japan); Miyanoiri, Yohei [Nagoya University, Structural Biology Research Center, Graduate School of Science (Japan); Terauchi, Tsutomu [Tokyo Metropolitan University, Graduate School of Science and Engineering (Japan); Kainosho, Masatsune, E-mail: kainosho@tmu.ac.jp [Nagoya University, Structural Biology Research Center, Graduate School of Science (Japan)

2016-09-15

Conformational isomerization of disulfide bonds is associated with the dynamics and thus the functional aspects of proteins. However, our understanding of the isomerization is limited by experimental difficulties in probing it. We explored the disulfide conformational isomerization of the Cys14–Cys38 disulfide bond in bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI), by performing an NMR line-shape analysis of its Cys carbon peaks. In this approach, 1D {sup 13}C spectra were recorded at small temperature intervals for BPTI samples selectively labeled with site-specifically {sup 13}C-enriched Cys, and the recorded peaks were displayed in the order of the temperature after the spectral scales were normalized to a carbon peak. Over the profile of the line-shape, exchange broadening that altered with temperature was manifested for the carbon peaks of Cys14 and Cys38. The Cys14–Cys38 disulfide bond reportedly exists in equilibrium between a high-populated (M) and two low-populated states (m{sub c14} and m{sub c38}). Consistent with the three-site exchange model, biphasic exchange broadening arising from the two processes was observed for the peak of the Cys14 α-carbon. As the exchange broadening is maximized when the exchange rate equals the chemical shift difference in Hz between equilibrating sites, semi-quantitative information that was useful for establishing conditions for {sup 13}C relaxation dispersion experiments was obtained through the carbon line-shape profile. With respect to the m{sub c38} isomerization, the {sup 1}H-{sup 13}C signals at the β-position of the minor state were resolved from the major peaks and detected by exchange experiments at a low temperature.

Hexa-histidin tag position influences disulfide structure but not binding behavior of in vitro folded N-terminal domain of rat corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 2a

OpenAIRE

Klose, Jana; Wendt, Norbert; Kubald, Sybille; Krause, Eberhard; Fechner, Klaus; Beyermann, Michael; Bienert, Michael; Rudolph, Rainer; Rothemund, Sven

2004-01-01

The oxidative folding, particularly the arrangement of disulfide bonds of recombinant extracellular N-terminal domains of the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 2a bearing five cysteines (C2 to C6), was investigated. Depending on the position of a His-tag, two types of disulfide patterns were found. In the case of an N-terminal His-tag, the disulfide bonds C2–C3 and C4–C6 were found, leaving C5 free, whereas the C-terminal position of the His-tag led to the disulfide pattern C2–C5 a...

UV-Photochemistry of the Disulfide Bond: Evolution of Early Photoproducts from Picosecond X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy at the Sulfur K-Edge.

Science.gov (United States)

Ochmann, Miguel; Hussain, Abid; von Ahnen, Inga; Cordones, Amy A; Hong, Kiryong; Lee, Jae Hyuk; Ma, Rory; Adamczyk, Katrin; Kim, Tae Kyu; Schoenlein, Robert W; Vendrell, Oriol; Huse, Nils

2018-05-30

We have investigated dimethyl disulfide as the basic moiety for understanding the photochemistry of disulfide bonds, which are central to a broad range of biochemical processes. Picosecond time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the sulfur K-edge provides unique element-specific insight into the photochemistry of the disulfide bond initiated by 267 nm femtosecond pulses. We observe a broad but distinct transient induced absorption spectrum which recovers on at least two time scales in the nanosecond range. We employed RASSCF electronic structure calculations to simulate the sulfur-1s transitions of multiple possible chemical species, and identified the methylthiyl and methylperthiyl radicals as the primary reaction products. In addition, we identify disulfur and the CH 2 S thione as the secondary reaction products of the perthiyl radical that are most likely to explain the observed spectral and kinetic signatures of our experiment. Our study underscores the importance of elemental specificity and the potential of time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy to identify short-lived reaction products in complex reaction schemes that underlie the rich photochemistry of disulfide systems.

Ab initio ground state phenylacetylene-argon intermolecular potential energy surface and rovibrational spectrum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cybulski, Hubert; Fernandez, Berta; Henriksen, Christian

2012-01-01

to the axis perpendicular to the phenylacetylene plane and containing the center of mass. The calculated interaction energy is -418.9 cm(-1). To check further the potential, we obtain the rovibrational spectrum of the complex and the results are compared to the available experimental data. (C) 2012 American......We evaluate the phenylacetylene-argon intermolecular potential energy surface by fitting a representative number of ab initio interaction energies to an analytic function. These energies are calculated at a grid of intermolecular geometries, using the CCSD(T) method and the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set...... extended with a series of 3s3p2d1flg midbond functions. The potential is characterized by two equivalent global minima where the Ar atom is located above and below the phenylacetylene plane at a distance of 3.5781 angstrom from the molecular center of mass and at an angle of 9.08 degrees with respect...

Protein binding of N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane via mixed disulfide formation after oral administration of WR 2721

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tabachnik, N.F.; Blackburn, P.; Peterson, C.M.; Cerami, A.

1982-02-01

Earlier studies have shown that WR 2721 (H2N-(CH2)3-NH(CH2)2SPO3H2) is converted to its free thiol form, N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane (MDP), at the acidic pH of the stomach. MDP is a radioprotective compound and a mucolytic agent capable of decreasing sputum viscosity in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. Conversion of WR 2721 and MDP to the corresponding sulfonic acid (MDP-SO3H) permits quantitative determination of these compounds in physiological fluids by use of an automatic amino acid analyzer. After oral administration of WR 2721 to human patients and rabbits it is converted to MDP and the free thiol form of the drug associates with plasma proteins by mixed disulfide linkage. The plasma proteins serve as a depot and reservoir of MDP for potential exchange at the tissues. When incubated with whole sputum or with purified mucin solutions in vitro, MDP decreased the viscosity of these solutions by reduction of the accessible disulfide bonds of the mucin molecule and was subsequently found in mixed disulfide association with the mucin molecule. The association of MDP with proteins via mixed disulfide linkage has important implications for the development of optimal dose regimens for administration of WR 2721 to patients.

Protein binding of N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane via mixed disulfide formation after oral administration of WR 2721

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabachnik, N.F.; Blackburn, P.; Peterson, C.M.; Cerami, A.

1982-01-01

Earlier studies have shown that WR 2721 [H2N-(CH2)3-NH(CH2)2SPO3H2] is converted to its free thiol form, N-2-mercaptoethyl-1,3-diaminopropane (MDP), at the acidic pH of the stomach. MDP is a radioprotective compound and a mucolytic agent capable of decreasing sputum viscosity in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. Conversion of WR 2721 and MDP to the corresponding sulfonic acid (MDP-SO3H) permits quantitative determination of these compounds in physiological fluids by use of an automatic amino acid analyzer. After oral administration of WR 2721 to human patients and rabbits it is converted to MDP and the free thiol form of the drug associates with plasma proteins by mixed disulfide linkage. The plasma proteins serve as a depot and reservoir of MDP for potential exchange at the tissues. When incubated with whole sputum or with purified mucin solutions in vitro, MDP decreased the viscosity of these solutions by reduction of the accessible disulfide bonds of the mucin molecule and was subsequently found in mixed disulfide association with the mucin molecule. The association of MDP with proteins via mixed disulfide linkage has important implications for the development of optimal dose regimens for administration of WR 2721 to patients

Disulfide bonds in folding and transport of the mouse hepatitis virus glycoproteins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horzinek, M.C.; Opstelten, D.-J.E.; Groote, P. de; Vennema, H.; Rottier, P.J.M.

1993-01-01

We have analyzed the effects of reducing conditions on the folding of the spike (S) protein and on the intracellular transport of the membrane (M) protein of the mouse hepatitis coronavirus. These proteins differ in their potential to form disulfide bonds in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum

Intermolecular and very strong intramolecular C-SeO/N chalcogen bonds in nitrophenyl selenocyanate crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hui; Liu, Ju; Wang, Weizhou

2018-02-14

Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that polymorphic ortho-nitrophenyl selenocyanate (o-NSC, crystals 1a and 1b) and monomorphic para-nitrophenyl selenocyanate (p-NSC, crystal 2) crystals are all stabilized mainly by intermolecular and very strong intramolecular C-SeO/N chalcogen bonds, as well as by other different interactions. Thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry thermogram (DSC) analyses show that the starting decomposition temperatures and melting points of the three crystals are different, following the order 1b > 1a > 2, which is consistent with the structural characteristics of the crystals. In addition, atoms in molecules (AIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses indicate that the total strengths of the C-SeO and C-SeN chalcogen bonds decrease in the order 1b > 1a > 2. This study could be significant for engineering functional crystals based on robust C-SeO and C-SeN chalcogen bonds, and for designing drugs containing selenium as well as understanding their interaction in biosystems.

Efficacy of HOCl scavenging by sulfur-containing compounds: antioxidant activity of glutathione disulfide?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Hartog, G.J.M.; Haenen, G.R.M.M.; Vegt, E.; van der Vijgh, W.J.F.; Bast, A.

2002-01-01

Efficacy of HOCl scavenging by sulfur-containing compounds: antioxidant activity of glutathione disulfide? den Hartog GJ, Haenen GR, Vegt E, van der Vijgh WJ, Bast A. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is a bactericidal

Catalytic Intermolecular Cross-Couplings of Azides and LUMO-Activated Unsaturated Acyl Azoliums

KAUST Repository

Li, Wenjun

2017-02-15

An example for the catalytic synthesis of densely functionalized 1,2,3-triazoles through a LUMO activation mode has been developed. The protocol is enabled by intermolecular cross coupling reactions of azides with in situ-generated alpha,beta-unsaturated acyl azoliums. High yields and broad scope as well as the investigation of reaction mechanism are reported.

A DFT comparative study of single and double SO2 adsorption on Pt-doped and Au-doped single-walled carbon nanotube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoosefian, Mehdi; Zahedi, Mansour; Mola, Adeleh; Naserian, Samira

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Investigation of the adsorption of SO 2 on Au/SWCNT and Pt/SWCNT. • SO 2 adsorbed on Au/SWCNT and Pt/SWCNT system demonstrate a strong chemisorption. • NBO analysis was done to reach more understanding about intermolecular interactions. - Abstract: Adsorption of single and double SO 2 gas molecule(s) on the surface of Pt-doped and Au-doped (5,5) single-walled carbon nanotubes (Pt/CNT-V and Au/CNT-V) were investigated by using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/LANL2DZ level. The results showed the following: firstly, adsorption on Au/CNT-V is independent of special orientation, secondly, SO 2 adsorption on Pt/CNT-V in single case is stronger than Au/CNT-V, and finally, adsorption of the first molecule influences adsorption of the second one. Upon adsorption of SO 2 molecule(s), the energy gap of Pt/CNT-V were considerably reduced, resulting in enhanced electrical conductivity but in Au/CNT-V, despite of adsorption energy similar to Pt/CNT-V, E g slightly increased. In order to consider the effect of adsorption on electronic properties, DOS and PDOS calculations were performed. Moreover, NBO analysis was done to reach more understanding about intermolecular interactions. In conclusion, chemical reactivity was investigated in terms of chemical hardness, softness and work function (ϕ)

A new manganese-based single-molecule magnet with a record-high antiferromagnetic phase transition temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui Yan; Li Yan-Rong; Li Rui-Yuan; Wang Yun-Ping

2014-01-01

We perform both dc and ac magnetic measurements on the single crystal of Mn 3 O(Et-sao) 3 (ClO 4 )(MeOH) 3 single-molecule magnet (SMM) when the sample is preserved in air for different durations. We find that, during the oxidation process, the sample develops into another SMM with a smaller anisotropy energy barrier and a stronger antiferromagnetic intermolecular exchange interaction. The antiferromagnetic transition temperature observed at 6.65 K in the new SMM is record-high for the antiferromagnetic phase transition in all the known SMMs. Compared to the original SMM, the only apparent change for the new SMM is that each molecule has lost three methyl groups as revealed by four-circle x-ray diffraction (XRD), which is thought to be the origin of the stronger antiferromagnetic intermolecular exchange interaction

Programmable display of DNA-protein chimeras for controlling cell-hydrogel interactions via reversible intermolecular hybridization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhaoyang; Li, Shihui; Chen, Niancao; Yang, Cheng; Wang, Yong

2013-04-08

Extensive studies have been recently carried out to achieve dynamic control of cell-material interactions primarily through physicochemical stimulation. The purpose of this study was to apply reversible intermolecular hybridization to program cell-hydrogel interactions in physiological conditions based on DNA-antibody chimeras and complementary oligonucleotides. The results showed that DNA oligonucleotides could be captured to and released from the immobilizing DNA-functionalized hydrogels with high specificity via DNA hybridization. Accordingly, DNA-antibody chimeras were captured to the hydrogels, successfully inducing specific cell attachment. The cell attachment to the hydrogels reached the plateau at approximately half an hour after the functionalized hydrogels and the cells were incubated together. The attached cells were rapidly released from the bound hydrogels when triggering complementary oligonucleotides were introduced to the system. However, the capability of the triggering complementary oligonucleotides in releasing cells was affected by the length of intermolecular hybridization. The length needed to be at least more than 20 base pairs in the current experimental setting. Notably, because the procedure of intermolecular hybridization did not involve any harsh condition, the released cells maintained the same viability as that of the cultured cells. The functionalized hydrogels also exhibited the potential to catch and release cells repeatedly. Therefore, this study demonstrates that it is promising to regulate cell-material interactions dynamically through the DNA-programmed display of DNA-protein chimeras.

Human DNA ligase III bridges two DNA ends to promote specific intermolecular DNA end joining

Science.gov (United States)

Kukshal, Vandna; Kim, In-Kwon; Hura, Gregory L.; Tomkinson, Alan E.; Tainer, John A.; Ellenberger, Tom

2015-01-01

Mammalian DNA ligase III (LigIII) functions in both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA metabolism. In the nucleus, LigIII has functional redundancy with DNA ligase I whereas LigIII is the only mitochondrial DNA ligase and is essential for the survival of cells dependent upon oxidative respiration. The unique LigIII zinc finger (ZnF) domain is not required for catalytic activity but senses DNA strand breaks and stimulates intermolecular ligation of two DNAs by an unknown mechanism. Consistent with this activity, LigIII acts in an alternative pathway of DNA double strand break repair that buttresses canonical non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and is manifest in NHEJ-defective cancer cells, but how LigIII acts in joining intermolecular DNA ends versus nick ligation is unclear. To investigate how LigIII efficiently joins two DNAs, we developed a real-time, fluorescence-based assay of DNA bridging suitable for high-throughput screening. On a nicked duplex DNA substrate, the results reveal binding competition between the ZnF and the oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding domain, one of three domains constituting the LigIII catalytic core. In contrast, these domains collaborate and are essential for formation of a DNA-bridging intermediate by adenylated LigIII that positions a pair of blunt-ended duplex DNAs for efficient and specific intermolecular ligation. PMID:26130724

Redox Reactivity of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Induces the Formation of Disulfide Bridges in Thiol-Containing Biomolecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Rollin-Genetet, Françoise; Seidel, Caroline; Artells, Ester; Auffan, Mélanie; Thiéry, Alain; Vidaud, Claude

2015-12-21

The redox state of disulfide bonds is implicated in many redox control systems, such as the cysteine-cystine couple. Among proteins, ubiquitous cysteine-rich metallothioneins possess thiolate metal binding groups susceptible to metal exchange in detoxification processes. CeO2 NPs are commonly used in various industrial applications due to their redox properties. These redox properties that enable dual oxidation states (Ce(IV)/Ce(III)) to exist at their surface may act as oxidants for biomolecules. The interaction among metallothioneins, cysteine, and CeO2 NPs was investigated through various biophysical approaches to shed light on the potential effects of the Ce(4+)/Ce(3+) redox system on the thiol groups of these biomolecules. The possible reaction mechanisms include the formation of a disulfide bridge/Ce(III) complex resulting from the interaction between Ce(IV) and the thiol groups, leading to metal unloading from the MTs, depending on their metal content and cluster type. The formation of stable Ce(3+) disulfide complexes has been demonstrated via their fluorescence properties. This work provides the first evidence of thiol concentration-dependent catalytic oxidation mechanisms between pristine CeO2 NPs and thiol-containing biomolecules.

An efficient algorithmic approach for mass spectrometry-based disulfide connectivity determination using multi-ion analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yen Ten-Yang

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Determining the disulfide (S-S bond pattern in a protein is often crucial for understanding its structure and function. In recent research, mass spectrometry (MS based analysis has been applied to this problem following protein digestion under both partial reduction and non-reduction conditions. However, this paradigm still awaits solutions to certain algorithmic problems fundamental amongst which is the efficient matching of an exponentially growing set of putative S-S bonded structural alternatives to the large amounts of experimental spectrometric data. Current methods circumvent this challenge primarily through simplifications, such as by assuming only the occurrence of certain ion-types (b-ions and y-ions that predominate in the more popular dissociation methods, such as collision-induced dissociation (CID. Unfortunately, this can adversely impact the quality of results. Method We present an algorithmic approach to this problem that can, with high computational efficiency, analyze multiple ions types (a, b, bo, b*, c, x, y, yo, y*, and z and deal with complex bonding topologies, such as inter/intra bonding involving more than two peptides. The proposed approach combines an approximation algorithm-based search formulation with data driven parameter estimation. This formulation considers only those regions of the search space where the correct solution resides with a high likelihood. Putative disulfide bonds thus obtained are finally combined in a globally consistent pattern to yield the overall disulfide bonding topology of the molecule. Additionally, each bond is associated with a confidence score, which aids in interpretation and assimilation of the results. Results The method was tested on nine different eukaryotic Glycosyltransferases possessing disulfide bonding topologies of varying complexity. Its performance was found to be characterized by high efficiency (in terms of time and the fraction of search space

Per-2,3-O-alkylated beta-cyclodextrin duplexes connected with disulfide bonds

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Tatar, Ameneh; Grishina, Anastasia; Buděšínský, Miloš; Kraus, Tomáš

2017-01-01

Roč. 29, č. 1 (2017), s. 40-48 ISSN 1061-0278 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LD12019 Grant - others:COST(XE) CM1005 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : cyclodextrins * inclusion complexes * disulfide bonds Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry OBOR OECD: Organic chemistry Impact factor: 1.264, year: 2016

Methods of measuring Protein Disulfide Isomerase activity: a critical overview

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Monica; Laurindo, Francisco; Fernandes, Denise

2014-09-01

Protein disulfide isomerase is an essential redox chaperone from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is responsible for correct disulfide bond formation in nascent proteins. PDI is also found in other cellular locations in the cell, particularly the cell surface. Overall, PDI contributes to ER and global cell redox homeostasis and signaling. The knowledge about PDI structure and function progressed substantially based on in vitro studies using recombinant PDI and chimeric proteins. In these experimental scenarios, PDI reductase and chaperone activities are readily approachable. In contrast, assays to measure PDI isomerase activity, the hallmark of PDI family, are more complex. Assessment of PDI roles in cells and tissues mainly relies on gain- or loss-of-function studies. However, there is limited information regarding correlation of experimental readouts with the distinct types of PDI activities. In this mini-review, we evaluate the main methods described for measuring the different kinds of PDI activity: thiol reductase, thiol oxidase, thiol isomerase and chaperone. We emphasize the need to use appropriate controls and the role of critical interferents (e.g., detergent, presence of reducing agents). We also discuss the translation of results from in vitro studies with purified recombinant PDI to cellular and tissue samples, with critical comments on the interpretation of results.

Effect of Hydrophobic Chain Length on the Stability and Guest Exchange Behavior of Shell-Sheddable Micelles Formed by Disulfide-Linked Diblock Copolymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Haiyan; Li, Yixia; Yang, Jinxian; Ye, Xiaodong

2017-10-19

Reduction-responsive micelles hold enormous promise for application as drug carriers due to the fast drug release triggered by reducing conditions and high anticancer activity. However, the effect of hydrophobic chain length on the stability and guest exchange of reduction-responsive micelles, especially for the micelles formed by diblock copolymers containing single disulfide group, is not fully understood. Here, shell-sheddable micelles formed by a series of disulfide-linked copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-SS-PCL) containing the same chain length of PEG but different chain lengths of hydrophobic block PCL were prepared and well characterized. The influence of the chain length of hydrophobic PCL block on the stability and guest exchange of PEG-SS-PCL micelles was studied by the use of both dynamic laser light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The results show that longer PCL chains lead to a slower aggregation rate and guest exchange of micelles in the aqueous solutions containing 10 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). The cell uptake of the shell-sheddable PEG-SS-PCL micelles in vitro shows that the amount of internalization of dyes loaded in PEG-SS-PCL micelles increases with the chain length of hydrophobic PCL block investigated by flow cytometric analysis and confocal fluorescence microscopy.

An approach to the intermolecular energy in pure liquids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GAbriel Hernández de la Torre

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Se propone un método para: estimar la energía potencial de repulsión de cualquier molécula central como una función de las densidades ortobáricas en líquidos puros no auto asociados; estimar los parámetros necesarios para calcular la energía de dispersión de London; calcular los números de coordinación promedio, distancias intermoleculares de interacción, diámetros moleculares y de grupos; en moléculas globulares, moléculas planas y parafinas normales.

BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF RECOMBINANT YEAST PROTEASOME MATURATION FACTOR UMP1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bebiana Sá-Moura

2013-04-01

We show that recombinant Ump1 is purified as a mixture of different oligomeric species and thatoligomerization is mediated by intermolecular disulfide bond formation involving the only cysteine residue present in the protein.Furthermore, a combination of bioinformatic, biochemical and structural analysis revealed that Ump1 shows characteristics of anintrinsically disordered protein, which might become structured only upon interaction with the proteasomesubunits.

A chemical approach for site-specific identification of NMR signals from protein side-chain NH3+ groups forming intermolecular ion pairs in protein–nucleic acid complexes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, Kurtis M.; Nguyen, Dan; Esadze, Alexandre; Zandrashvili, Levani; Gorenstein, David G.; Iwahara, Junji

2015-01-01

Protein–nucleic acid interactions involve intermolecular ion pairs of protein side-chain and DNA or RNA phosphate groups. Using three protein–DNA complexes, we demonstrate that site-specific oxygen-to-sulfur substitution in phosphate groups allows for identification of NMR signals from the protein side-chain NH 3 + groups forming the intermolecular ion pairs. A characteristic change in their 1 H and 15 N resonances upon this modification (i.e., substitution of phosphate to phosphorodithioate) can represent a signature of an intermolecular ion pair. Hydrogen-bond scalar coupling between protein side-chain 15 N and DNA phosphorodithiaote 31 P nuclei provides direct confirmation of the intermolecular ion pair. The same approach is likely applicable to protein–RNA complexes as well

Species-Specific Thiol-Disulfide Equilibrium Constant: A Tool To Characterize Redox Transitions of Biological Importance.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzahosseini, Arash; Somlyay, Máté; Noszál, Béla

2015-08-13

Microscopic redox equilibrium constants, a new species-specific type of physicochemical parameters, were introduced and determined to quantify thiol-disulfide equilibria of biological significance. The thiol-disulfide redox equilibria of glutathione with cysteamine, cysteine, and homocysteine were approached from both sides, and the equilibrium mixtures were analyzed by quantitative NMR methods to characterize the highly composite, co-dependent acid-base and redox equilibria. The directly obtained, pH-dependent, conditional constants were then decomposed by a new evaluation method, resulting in pH-independent, microscopic redox equilibrium constants for the first time. The 80 different, microscopic redox equilibrium constant values show close correlation with the respective thiolate basicities and provide sound means for the development of potent agents against oxidative stress.

Using corresponding state theory to obtain intermolecular potentials to calculate pure liquid shock Hugoniots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hobbs, M.L.

1997-12-01

Determination of product species, equations-of-state (EOS) and thermochemical properties of high explosives and pyrotechnics remains a major unsolved problem. Although, empirical EOS models may be calibrated to replicate detonation conditions within experimental variability (5--10%), different states, e.g. expansion, may produce significant discrepancy with data if the basic form of the EOS model is incorrect. A more physically realistic EOS model based on intermolecular potentials, such as the Jacobs Cowperthwaite Zwisler (JCZ3) EOS, is needed to predict detonation states as well as expanded states. Predictive capability for any EOS requires a large species data base composed of a wide variety of elements. Unfortunately, only 20 species have known JCZ3 molecular force constants. Of these 20 species, only 10 have been adequately compared to experimental data such as molecular scattering or shock Hugoniot data. Since data in the strongly repulsive region of the molecular potential is limited, alternative methods must be found to deduce force constants for a larger number of species. The objective of the present study is to determine JCZ3 product species force constants by using a corresponding states theory. Intermolecular potential parameters were obtained for a variety of gas species using a simple corresponding states technique with critical volume and critical temperature. A more complex, four parameter corresponding state method with shape and polarity corrections was also used to obtain intermolecular potential parameters. Both corresponding state methods were used to predict shock Hugoniot data obtained from pure liquids. The simple corresponding state method is shown to give adequate agreement with shock Hugoniot data.

Crystal structure of the anti-(carcinoembryonic antigen) single-chain Fv antibody MFE-23 and a model for antigen binding based on intermolecular contacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Boehm, M K; Corper, A L; Wan, T; Sohi, M K; Sutton, B J; Thornton, J D; Keep, P A; Chester, K A; Begent, R H; Perkins, S J

2000-03-01

MFE-23 is the first single-chain Fv antibody molecule to be used in patients and is used to target colorectal cancer through its high affinity for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a cell-surface member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. MFE-23 contains an N-terminal variable heavy-chain domain joined by a (Gly(4)Ser)(3) linker to a variable light-chain (V(L)) domain (kappa chain) with an 11-residue C-terminal Myc-tag. Its crystal structure was determined at 2.4 A resolution by molecular replacement with an R(cryst) of 19.0%. Five of the six antigen-binding loops, L1, L2, L3, H1 and H2, conformed to known canonical structures. The sixth loop, H3, displayed a unique structure, with a beta-hairpin loop and a bifurcated apex characterized by a buried Thr residue. In the crystal lattice, two MFE-23 molecules were associated back-to-back in a manner not seen before. The antigen-binding site displayed a large acidic region located mainly within the H2 loop and a large hydrophobic region within the H3 loop. Even though this structure is unliganded within the crystal, there is an unusually large region of contact between the H1, H2 and H3 loops and the beta-sheet of the V(L) domain of an adjacent molecule (strands DEBA) as a result of intermolecular packing. These interactions exhibited remarkably high surface and electrostatic complementarity. Of seven MFE-23 residues predicted to make contact with antigen, five participated in these lattice contacts, and this model for antigen binding is consistent with previously reported site-specific mutagenesis of MFE-23 and its effect on CEA binding.

Thz Spectroscopy and DFT Modeling of Intermolecular Vibrations in Hydrophobic Amino Acids

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, michael R. C.; Aschaffenburg, Daniel J.; Schmuttenmaer, Charles A.

2013-06-01

Vibrations that involve intermolecular displacements occur in molecular crystals at frequencies in the 0.5-5 THz range (˜15-165 cm^{-1}), and these motions are direct indicators of the interaction potential between the molecules. The intermolecular potential energy surface of crystalline hydrophobic amino acids is inherently interesting simply because of the wide variety of forces (electrostatic, dipole-dipole, hydrogen-bonding, van der Waals) that are present. Furthermore, an understanding of these particular interactions is immediately relevant to important topics like protein conformation and pharmaceutical polymorphism. We measured the low-frequency absorption spectra of several polycrystalline hydrophobic amino acids using THz time-domain spectroscopy, and in addition we carried out DFT calculations using periodic boundary conditions and an exchange-correlation functional that accounts for van der Waals dispersion forces. We chose to investigate a series of similar amino acids with closely analogous unit cells (leucine, isoleucine, and allo-isoleucine, in racemic or pseudo-racemic mixtures). This allows us to consider trends in the vibrational spectra as a function of small changes in molecular arrangement and/or crystal geometry. In this way, we gain confidence that peak assignments are not based on serendipitous similarities between calculated and observed features.

A general intermolecular force field based on tight-binding quantum chemical calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Grimme, Stefan; Bannwarth, Christoph; Caldeweyher, Eike; Pisarek, Jana; Hansen, Andreas

2017-10-01

A black-box type procedure is presented for the generation of a molecule-specific, intermolecular potential energy function. The method uses quantum chemical (QC) information from our recently published extended tight-binding semi-empirical scheme (GFN-xTB) and can treat non-covalently bound complexes and aggregates with almost arbitrary chemical structure. The necessary QC information consists of the equilibrium structure, Mulliken atomic charges, charge centers of localized molecular orbitals, and also of frontier orbitals and orbital energies. The molecular pair potential includes model density dependent Pauli repulsion, penetration, as well as point charge electrostatics, the newly developed D4 dispersion energy model, Drude oscillators for polarization, and a charge-transfer term. Only one element-specific and about 20 global empirical parameters are needed to cover systems with nuclear charges up to radon (Z = 86). The method is tested for standard small molecule interaction energy benchmark sets where it provides accurate intermolecular energies and equilibrium distances. Examples for structures with a few hundred atoms including charged systems demonstrate the versatility of the approach. The method is implemented in a stand-alone computer code which enables rigid-body, global minimum energy searches for molecular aggregation or alignment.

Green synthesis, characterization and some physico-chemical studies on a novel intermolecular compound; 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine-N, N-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde system

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, U. S.; Singh, Manjeet; Rai, R. N.

2017-09-01

An inter-molecular compound (IMC) L1 was synthesized by taking 1:1 molar ratio of p-nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NOPDA) and N, N-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DMAB) via thermally initiated solid state reaction. It was characterized by X-ray diffraction, spectral and optical studies. The single crystal of the (L1) was grown from saturated solution of ethanol using slow evaporation technique at 29 °C. From the single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, it can be inferred that it crystallizes in triclinic unit cell with P-1 space group (CCDC No 1422765). Absorption spectrum of IMC (L1) shows a band at 318 nm attributed to the intra-molecular charge-transfer (ICT) excited state absorption and the other band at 376 nm is due to n→π* transition. The IMC (L1) shows a strong fluorescence at 418 nm with a Stokes shift (≈100 nm) and quantum efficiency (0.22) upon excitation in methyl alcohol at 318 nm.

THz absorption spectrum of the CO2–H2O complex: Observation and assignment of intermolecular van der Waals vibrations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jonas; Heimdal, J.; Wallin Mahler Andersen, Denise

2014-01-01

have been assigned and provide crucial observables for benchmark theoretical descriptions of this systems’ flat intermolecular potential energy surface. A (semi)-empirical value for the zero-point energy of 273 ± 15 cm−1 from the class of intermolecular van der Waals vibrations is proposed...... and the combination with high-level quantum chemical calculations provides a value of 726 ± 15 cm−1 for the dissociation energy D0...

Synthesis and stable isotope dilution assay of ethanethiol and diethyl disulfide in wine using solid phase microextraction. Effect of aging on their levels in wine.

Science.gov (United States)

Belancic Majcenovic, Andrea; Schneider, Rémi; Lepoutre, Jean-Paul; Lempereur, Valérie; Baumes, Raymond

2002-11-06

Ethanethiol and diethyl disulfide (DEDS) most often occurred at levels above their olfactive threshold in wines with nauseous sulfur-linked smells. As ethanethiol is very oxidizable and chemically reactive, a stable isotopic dilution analysis of both ethanethiol and its disulfide in wines using solid phase microextraction and GC-MS was developed. The latter involved the determination of the proportion of DEDS formed by oxidation of the thiol during the analysis conditions, which was obtained by the use of two differently labeled disulfide standards. An original synthesis of labeled ethanethiol standards in conditions minimizing oxidation was developed, and the corresponding labeled diethyl disulfides were obtained from these thiols. This analytical method was used to follow the levels of these sulfur compounds during aging in a young red wine spiked with ethanethiol and added with enological tannins, with or without oxygen addition. The total levels of these two sulfur compounds were shown to decrease steadily after 60 days of aging, up to 83%. The effect of oxygen sped this decrease, but the effect of enological tannins was very slight. Residual ethanethiol was detected in its disulfide form from approximately 36% in the nonoxygenated wines to 69% in the oxygenated samples.

Metallic and highly conducting two-dimensional atomic arrays of sulfur enabled by molybdenum disulfide nanotemplate

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Shuze; Geng, Xiumei; Han, Yang; Benamara, Mourad; Chen, Liao; Li, Jingxiao; Bilgin, Ismail; Zhu, Hongli

2017-10-01

Element sulfur in nature is an insulating solid. While it has been tested that one-dimensional sulfur chain is metallic and conducting, the investigation on two-dimensional sulfur remains elusive. We report that molybdenum disulfide layers are able to serve as the nanotemplate to facilitate the formation of two-dimensional sulfur. Density functional theory calculations suggest that confined in-between layers of molybdenum disulfide, sulfur atoms are able to form two-dimensional triangular arrays that are highly metallic. As a result, these arrays contribute to the high conductivity and metallic phase of the hybrid structures of molybdenum disulfide layers and two-dimensional sulfur arrays. The experimentally measured conductivity of such hybrid structures reaches up to 223 S/m. Multiple experimental results, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transition electron microscope (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), agree with the computational insights. Due to the excellent conductivity, the current density is linearly proportional to the scan rate until 30,000 mV s-1 without the attendance of conductive additives. Using such hybrid structures as electrode, the two-electrode supercapacitor cells yield a power density of 106 Wh kg-1 and energy density 47.5 Wh kg-1 in ionic liquid electrolytes. Our findings offer new insights into using two-dimensional materials and their Van der Waals heterostructures as nanotemplates to pattern foreign atoms for unprecedented material properties.

Preparation and Photoluminescence of Tungsten Disulfide Monolayer

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Yanfei Lv

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Tungsten disulfide (WS2 monolayer is a direct band gap semiconductor. The growth of WS2 monolayer hinders the progress of its investigation. In this paper, we prepared the WS2 monolayer through chemical vapor transport deposition. This method makes it easier for the growth of WS2 monolayer through the heterogeneous nucleation-and-growth process. The crystal defects introduced by the heterogeneous nucleation could promote the photoluminescence (PL emission. We observed the strong photoluminescence emission in the WS2 monolayer, as well as thermal quenching, and the PL energy redshift as the temperature increases. We attribute the thermal quenching to the energy or charge transfer of the excitons. The redshift is related to the dipole moment of WS2.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Brain-Targeted Thiamine Disulfide Prodrugs of Ampakine Compound LCX001

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Dian Xiao

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Ampakine compounds have been shown to reverse opiate-induced respiratory depression by activation of amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA glutamate receptors. However, their pharmacological exploitations are hindered by low blood-brain barrier (BBB permeability and limited brain distribution. Here, we explored whether thiamine disulfide prodrugs with the ability of “lock-in” can be used to solve these problems. A series of thiamine disulfide prodrugs 7a–7f of ampakine compound LCX001 was synthesized and evaluated. The trials in vitro showed that prodrugs 7e, 7d, 7f possessed a certain stability in plasma and quickly decomposed in brain homogenate by the disulfide reductase. In vivo, prodrug 7e decreased the peripheral distribution of LCX001 and significantly increased brain distribution of LCX001 after i.v. administration. This compound showed 2.23- and 3.29-fold greater increases in the AUC0-t and MRT0-t of LCX001 in brain, respectively, than did LCX001 itself. A preliminary pharmacodynamic study indicated that the required molar dose of prodrug 7e was only one eighth that of LCX001 required to achieve the same effect in mice. These findings provide an important reference to evaluate the clinical outlook of ampakine compounds.

Testing intermolecular potential functions using transport property data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clifford, A.A.; Dickinson, E.; Gray, P.; Scott, A.C.

1975-01-01

The viscosity of hydrogen has been measured at eight temperatures from 273 to 1060K, using a capillary-flow viscometer. The results have been used to test the repulsive part of a recently formulated H 2 /H 2 intermolecular potential function, obtained from molecular-beam measurements. Agreement between the experimental and predicted values for viscosity is within 3.5%, which corresponds approximately to the combined quoted uncertainties in the two sets of data. However, if the value of the distance parameter of the potential is reduced by about 1.5%, the agreement obtained is within 0.75% over the whole temperature range. This modified potential function gives better agreement with the available higher temperature viscosities and second virial coefficients. (author)

Engineering nutritious proteins: improvement of stability in the designer protein MB-1 via introduction of disulfide bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

Doucet, Alain; Williams, Martin; Gagnon, Mylene C; Sasseville, Maxime; Beauregard, Marc

2002-01-02

Protein design is currently used for the creation of new proteins with desirable traits. In this laboratory the focus has been on the synthesis of proteins with high essential amino acid content having potential applications in animal nutrition. One of the limitations faced in this endeavor is achieving stable proteins despite a highly biased amino acid content. Reported here are the synthesis and characterization of two disulfide-bridged mutants derived from the MB-1 designer protein. Both mutants outperformed their parent protein MB-1 with their bridge formed, as shown by circular dichroism, size exclusion chromatography, thermal denaturation, and proteolytic degradation experiments. When the disulfide bridges were cleaved, the mutants' behavior changed: the mutants significantly unfolded, suggesting that the introduction of Cys residues was deleterious to MB-1-folding. In an attempt to compensate for the mutations used, a Tyr62-Trp mutation was performed, leading to an increase in bulk and hydrophobicity in the core. The Trp-containing disulfide-bridged mutants did not behave as well as the original MB-1Trp, suggesting that position 62 might not be adequate for a compensatory mutation.

Intermolecular detergent-membrane protein noes for the characterization of the dynamics of membrane protein-detergent complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Eichmann, Cédric; Orts, Julien; Tzitzilonis, Christos; Vögeli, Beat; Smrt, Sean; Lorieau, Justin; Riek, Roland

2014-12-11

The interaction between membrane proteins and lipids or lipid mimetics such as detergents is key for the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of membrane proteins. In NMR-based structural studies of membrane proteins, qualitative analysis of intermolecular nuclear Overhauser enhancements (NOEs) or paramagnetic resonance enhancement are used in general to identify the transmembrane segments of a membrane protein. Here, we employed a quantitative characterization of intermolecular NOEs between (1)H of the detergent and (1)H(N) of (2)H-perdeuterated, (15)N-labeled α-helical membrane protein-detergent complexes following the exact NOE (eNOE) approach. Structural considerations suggest that these intermolecular NOEs should show a helical-wheel-type behavior along a transmembrane helix or a membrane-attached helix within a membrane protein as experimentally demonstrated for the complete influenza hemagglutinin fusion domain HAfp23. The partial absence of such a NOE pattern along the amino acid sequence as shown for a truncated variant of HAfp23 and for the Escherichia coli inner membrane protein YidH indicates the presence of large tertiary structure fluctuations such as an opening between helices or the presence of large rotational dynamics of the helices. Detergent-protein NOEs thus appear to be a straightforward probe for a qualitative characterization of structural and dynamical properties of membrane proteins embedded in detergent micelles.

Influence of Disulfide Connectivity on Structure and Bioactivity of α-Conotoxin TxIA

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Yong Wu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Cone snails express a sophisticated arsenal of small bioactive peptides known as conopeptides or conotoxins (CTxs. Through evolutionary selection, these peptides have gained the ability to interact with a range of ion channels and receptors, such as nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs. Here, we used reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS to explore the venom peptide diversity of Conus textile, a species of cone snail native to Hainan, China. One fraction of C. textile crude venom potently blocked α3β2 nAChRs. Subsequent purification, synthesis, and tandem mass spectrometric analysis demonstrated that the most active compound in this fraction was identical to α-CTx TxIA, an antagonist of α3β2 nAChRs. Then three disulfide isoforms of α-CTx TxIA were synthesized and their activities were investigated systematically for the first time. As we observed, disulfide isomerisation was particularly important for α-CTx TxIA potency. Although both globular and ribbon isomers showed similar retention times in RP-HPLC, globular TxIA potently inhibited α3β2 nAChRs with an IC50 of 5.4 nM, while ribbon TxIA had an IC50 of 430 nM. In contrast, beads isomer had little activity towards α3β2 nAChRs. Two-step oxidation synthesis produced the highest yield of α-CTx TxIA native globular isomer, while a one-step production process based on random oxidation folding was not suitable. In summary, this study demonstrated the relationship between conotoxin activity and disulfide connectivity on α-CTx TxIA.

Enhancing the Thermal Resistance of a Novel Acidobacteria-Derived Phytase by Engineering of Disulfide Bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Hao; Miao, Renyun; Liu, Tianhai; Cao, Xuelian; Wu, Xiang; Xie, Liyuan; Huang, Zhongqian; Peng, Weihong; Gan, Bingcheng

2016-10-28

A novel phytase of Acidobacteria was identified from a soil metagenome, cloned, overexpressed, and purified. It has low sequence similarity (phytases. At the optimum pH (2.5), the phytase shows an activity level of 1,792 μmol/min/mg at physiological temperature (37°C) and could retain 92% residual activity after 30 min, indicating the phytase is acidophilic and acidostable. However the phytase shows poor stability at high temperatures. To improve its thermal resistance, the enzyme was redesigned using Disulfide by Design 2.0, introducing four additional disulfide bridges. The half-life time of the engineered phytase at 60°C and 80°C, respectively, is 3.0× and 2.8× longer than the wild-type, and its activity and acidostability are not significantly affected.

Detection and function of an intramolecular disulfide bond in the pH-responsive CadC of Escherichia coli

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Dönhöfer Alexandra

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In an acidic and lysine-rich environment Escherichia coli induces expression of the cadBA operon which encodes CadA, the lysine decarboxylase, and CadB, the lysine/cadaverine antiporter. cadBA expression is dependent on CadC, a membrane-integrated transcriptional activator which belongs to the ToxR-like protein family. Activation of CadC requires two stimuli, lysine and low pH. Whereas lysine is detected by an interplay between CadC and the lysine-specific transporter LysP, pH alterations are sensed by CadC directly. Crystal structural analyses revealed a close proximity between two periplasmic cysteines, Cys208 and Cys272. Results Substitution of Cys208 and/or Cys272 by alanine resulted in CadC derivatives that were active in response to only one stimulus, either lysine or pH 5.8. Differential in vivo thiol trapping revealed a disulfide bond between these two residues at pH 7.6, but not at pH 5.8. When Cys208 and Cys272 were replaced by aspartate and lysine, respectively, virtually wild-type behavior was restored indicating that the disulfide bond could be mimicked by a salt bridge. Conclusion A disulfide bond was found in the periplasmic domain of CadC that supports an inactive state of CadC at pH 7.6. At pH 5.8 disulfide bond formation is prevented which transforms CadC into a semi-active state. These results provide new insights into the function of a pH sensor.

Intermolecular RNA Recombination Occurs at Different Frequencies in Alternate Forms of Brome Mosaic Virus RNA Replication Compartments

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Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Positive-strand RNA viruses replicate their genomes in membrane-bound replication compartments. Brome mosaic virus (BMV replicates in vesicular invaginations of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. BMV has served as a productive model system to study processes like virus-host interactions, RNA replication and recombination. Here we present multiple lines of evidence showing that the structure of the viral RNA replication compartments plays a fundamental role and that recruitment of parental RNAs to a common replication compartment is a limiting step in intermolecular RNA recombination. We show that a previously defined requirement for an RNA recruitment element on both parental RNAs is not to function as a preferred crossover site, but in order for individual RNAs to be recruited into the replication compartments. Moreover, modulating the form of the replication compartments from spherular vesicles (spherules to more expansive membrane layers increased intermolecular RNA recombination frequency by 200- to 1000-fold. We propose that intermolecular RNA recombination requires parental RNAs to be recruited into replication compartments as monomers, and that recruitment of multiple RNAs into a contiguous space is much more common for layers than for spherules. These results could explain differences in recombination frequencies between viruses that replicate in association with smaller spherules versus larger double-membrane vesicles and convoluted membranes.

1.42 A crystal structure of mini-IGF-1(2): an analysis of the disulfide isomerization property and receptor binding property of IGF-1 based on the three-dimensional structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun Caihong; Tang Yuehua; Feng Youmin; An Xiaomin; Chang Wenrui; Liang Dongcai

2004-01-01

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) share a homologous sequence, a similar three-dimensional structure and weakly overlapping biological activity, but IGF-1 folds into two thermodynamically stable disulfide isomers, while insulin folds into one unique stable tertiary structure. This is a very interesting phenomenon in which one amino acid sequence encodes two three-dimensional structures, and its molecular mechanism has remained unclear for a long time. In this study, the crystal structure of mini-IGF-1(2), a disulfide isomer of an artificial analog of IGF-1, was solved by the SAD/SIRAS method using our in-house X-ray source. Evidence was found in the structure showing that the intra-A-chain/domain disulfide bond of some molecules was broken; thus, it was proposed that disulfide isomerization begins with the breakdown of this disulfide bond. Furthermore, based on the structural comparison of IGF-1 and insulin, a new assumption was made that in insulin the several hydrogen bonds formed between the N-terminal region of the B-chain and the intra-A-chain disulfide region of the A-chain are the main reason for the stability of the intra-A-chain disulfide bond and for the prevention of disulfide isomerization, while Phe B1 and His B5 are very important for the formation of these hydrogen bonds. Moreover, the receptor binding property of IGF-1 was analyzed in detail based on the structural comparison of mini-IGF-1(2), native IGF-1, and small mini-IGF-1

Resonance energy transfer (RET)-Induced intermolecular pairing force: a tunable weak interaction and its application in SWNT separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Xiaoyong; Chen, Hui; Wang, Wei Zhi; Ng, Siu Choon; Chan-Park, Mary B

2011-07-21

This paper explores evidence of an optically mediated interaction that is active in the separation mechanism of certain selective agents through consideration of the contrasting selective behaviors of two conjugated polymers with distinct optical properties. The involvement of a RET-induced intermolecular pairing force is implied by the different illumination response behaviors. The magnitude of this interaction scales with the external stimulus parameter, the illumination irradiance (I), and thus is tunable. This suggests a facile technique to modify the selectivity of polymers toward specific SWNT species by altering the polymer structure to adjust the corresponding intermolecular interaction. This is the first experimental verification and application of a RET-induced intermolecular pairing force to SWNT separation. With this kind of interaction taken into account, reasonable interpretation of some conflicting data, especially PLE maps, can be easily made. The above conclusion can be applied to other substances as long as they are electrically neutral and there is photon-induced RET between them. The significant magnitude of this interaction makes direct manipulation of molecules/particles possible and is expected to have applications in molecular engineering. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Reduction-Triggered Transformation of Crosslinking Modules of Disulfide-Containing Micelles with Chemically Tunable Rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Zhengyu; Yuan, Shuai; Xu, Ronald X; Liang, Haojun; Liu, Shiyong

2018-05-16

A dilemma exists between the circulation stability and cargo release/mass diffusion at desired sites for designing delivery nanocarriers and in vivo nanoreactors. We herein report disulfide-crosslinked (DCL) micelles exhibiting reduction-triggered switching of crosslinking modules and synchronized hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic transition. Tumor cell-targeted DCL micelles undergo cytoplasmic milieu-triggered disulfide cleavage and cascade self-immolative decaging reactions at chemically adjustable rates, generating primary amine moieties. Extensive amidation reactions with neighboring ester moieties then occur due to high local concentrations and suppression of apparent amine pKa within hydrophobic cores, leading to the transformation of crosslinking modules and formation of tracelessly crosslinked (TCL) micelles with hydrophilic cores inside live cells. We further integrate this design principle with theranostic nanocarriers for selective intracellular drug transport guided by enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging performance. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

INTERACTIONS: DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF A COMPUTATIONAL TOOL FOR TEACHING INTERMOLECULAR FORCES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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Francisco Geraldo Barbosa

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Intermolecular forces are a useful concept that can explain the attraction between particulate matter as well as numerous phenomena in our lives such as viscosity, solubility, drug interactions, and dyeing of fibers. However, studies show that students have difficulty understanding this important concept, which has led us to develop a free educational software in English and Portuguese. The software can be used interactively by teachers and students, thus facilitating better understanding. Professors and students, both graduate and undergraduate, were questioned about the software quality and its intuitiveness of use, facility of navigation, and pedagogical application using a Likert scale. The results led to the conclusion that the developed computer application can be characterized as an auxiliary tool to assist teachers in their lectures and students in their learning process of intermolecular forces.

Similarities between intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds in RNA kissing complexes found by means of cross-correlated relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dittmer, Jens; Kim, Chul-Hyun; Bodenhausen, Geoffrey

2003-01-01

The bond lengths and dynamics of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds in an RNA kissing complex have been characterized by determining the NMR relaxation rates of various double- and triple-quantum coherences that involve an imino proton and two neighboring nitrogen-15 nuclei belonging to opposite bases. New experiments allow one to determine the chemical shift anisotropy of the imino protons. The bond lengths derived from dipolar relaxation and the lack of modulations of the nitrogen chemical shifts indicate that the intermolecular hydrogen bonds which hold the kissing complex together are very similar to the intramolecular hydrogen bonds in the double-stranded stem of the RNA

A rigid disulfide-linked nitroxide side chain simplifies the quantitative analysis of PRE data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fawzi, Nicolas L. [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States); Fleissner, Mark R. [University of California, Jules Stein Eye Institute and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (United States); Anthis, Nicholas J. [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States); Kalai, Tamas; Hideg, Kalman [University of Pecs, Institute of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry (Hungary); Hubbell, Wayne L., E-mail: hubbellw@jsei.ucla.edu [University of California, Jules Stein Eye Institute and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (United States); Clore, G. Marius, E-mail: mariusc@mail.nih.gov [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States)

2011-09-15

The measurement of {sup 1}H transverse paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) has been used in biomolecular systems to determine long-range distance restraints and to visualize sparsely-populated transient states. The intrinsic flexibility of most nitroxide and metal-chelating paramagnetic spin-labels, however, complicates the quantitative interpretation of PREs due to delocalization of the paramagnetic center. Here, we present a novel, disulfide-linked nitroxide spin label, R1p, as an alternative to these flexible labels for PRE studies. When introduced at solvent-exposed {alpha}-helical positions in two model proteins, calmodulin (CaM) and T4 lysozyme (T4L), EPR measurements show that the R1p side chain exhibits dramatically reduced internal motion compared to the commonly used R1 spin label (generated by reacting cysteine with the spin labeling compound often referred to as MTSL). Further, only a single nitroxide position is necessary to account for the PREs arising from CaM S17R1p, while an ensemble comprising multiple conformations is necessary for those observed for CaM S17R1. Together, these observations suggest that the nitroxide adopts a single, fixed position when R1p is placed at solvent-exposed {alpha}-helical positions, greatly simplifying the interpretation of PRE data by removing the need to account for the intrinsic flexibility of the spin label.

A rigid disulfide-linked nitroxide side chain simplifies the quantitative analysis of PRE data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fawzi, Nicolas L.; Fleissner, Mark R.; Anthis, Nicholas J.; Kálai, Tamás; Hideg, Kálmán; Hubbell, Wayne L.; Clore, G. Marius

2011-01-01

The measurement of 1 H transverse paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) has been used in biomolecular systems to determine long-range distance restraints and to visualize sparsely-populated transient states. The intrinsic flexibility of most nitroxide and metal-chelating paramagnetic spin-labels, however, complicates the quantitative interpretation of PREs due to delocalization of the paramagnetic center. Here, we present a novel, disulfide-linked nitroxide spin label, R1p, as an alternative to these flexible labels for PRE studies. When introduced at solvent-exposed α-helical positions in two model proteins, calmodulin (CaM) and T4 lysozyme (T4L), EPR measurements show that the R1p side chain exhibits dramatically reduced internal motion compared to the commonly used R1 spin label (generated by reacting cysteine with the spin labeling compound often referred to as MTSL). Further, only a single nitroxide position is necessary to account for the PREs arising from CaM S17R1p, while an ensemble comprising multiple conformations is necessary for those observed for CaM S17R1. Together, these observations suggest that the nitroxide adopts a single, fixed position when R1p is placed at solvent-exposed α-helical positions, greatly simplifying the interpretation of PRE data by removing the need to account for the intrinsic flexibility of the spin label.

Cysteine-Rich Peptide Family with Unusual Disulfide Connectivity from Jasminum sambac.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumari, Geeta; Serra, Aida; Shin, Joon; Nguyen, Phuong Q T; Sze, Siu Kwan; Yoon, Ho Sup; Tam, James P

2015-11-25

Cysteine-rich peptides (CRPs) are natural products with privileged peptidyl structures that represent a potentially rich source of bioactive compounds. Here, the discovery and characterization of a novel plant CRP family, jasmintides from Jasminum sambac of the Oleaceae family, are described. Two 27-amino acid jasmintides (jS1 and jS2) were identified at the gene and protein levels. Disulfide bond mapping of jS1 by mass spectrometry and its confirmation by NMR spectroscopy revealed disulfide bond connectivity of C-1-C-5, C-2-C-4, and C-3-C-6, a cystine motif that has not been reported in plant CRPs. Structural determination showed that jS1 displays a well-defined structure framed by three short antiparallel β-sheets. Genomic analysis showed that jasmintides share a three-domain precursor arrangement with a C-terminal mature domain preceded by a long pro-domain of 46 residues and an intron cleavage site between the signal sequence and pro-domain. The compact cysteine-rich structure together with an N-terminal pyroglutamic acid residue confers jasmintides high resistance to heat and enzymatic degradation, including exopeptidase treatment. Collectively, these results reveal a new plant CRP structure with an unusual cystine connectivity, which could be useful as a scaffold for designing peptide drugs.

Functional Role of the Disulfide Isomerase ERp57 in Axonal Regeneration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina Castillo

Full Text Available ERp57 (also known as grp58 and PDIA3 is a protein disulfide isomerase that catalyzes disulfide bonds formation of glycoproteins as part of the calnexin and calreticulin cycle. ERp57 is markedly upregulated in most common neurodegenerative diseases downstream of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress response. Despite accumulating correlative evidence supporting a neuroprotective role of ERp57, the contribution of this foldase to the physiology of the nervous system remains unknown. Here we developed a transgenic mouse model that overexpresses ERp57 in the nervous system under the control of the prion promoter. We analyzed the susceptibility of ERp57 transgenic mice to undergo neurodegeneration. Unexpectedly, ERp57 overexpression did not affect dopaminergic neuron loss and striatal denervation after injection of a Parkinson's disease-inducing neurotoxin. In sharp contrast, ERp57 transgenic animals presented enhanced locomotor recovery after mechanical injury to the sciatic nerve. These protective effects were associated with enhanced myelin removal, macrophage infiltration and axonal regeneration. Our results suggest that ERp57 specifically contributes to peripheral nerve regeneration, whereas its activity is dispensable for the survival of a specific neuronal population of the central nervous system. These results demonstrate for the first time a functional role of a component of the ER proteostasis network in peripheral nerve regeneration.

A chemical approach for site-specific identification of NMR signals from protein side-chain NH{sub 3}{sup +} groups forming intermolecular ion pairs in protein–nucleic acid complexes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Kurtis M. [University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of NanoMedicine and Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Molecular Medicine (United States); Nguyen, Dan; Esadze, Alexandre; Zandrashvili, Levani [University of Texas Medical Branch, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics (United States); Gorenstein, David G. [University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of NanoMedicine and Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Molecular Medicine (United States); Iwahara, Junji, E-mail: juiwahar@utmb.edu, E-mail: j.iwahara@utmb.edu [University of Texas Medical Branch, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics (United States)

2015-05-15

Protein–nucleic acid interactions involve intermolecular ion pairs of protein side-chain and DNA or RNA phosphate groups. Using three protein–DNA complexes, we demonstrate that site-specific oxygen-to-sulfur substitution in phosphate groups allows for identification of NMR signals from the protein side-chain NH{sub 3}{sup +} groups forming the intermolecular ion pairs. A characteristic change in their {sup 1}H and {sup 15}N resonances upon this modification (i.e., substitution of phosphate to phosphorodithioate) can represent a signature of an intermolecular ion pair. Hydrogen-bond scalar coupling between protein side-chain {sup 15}N and DNA phosphorodithiaote {sup 31}P nuclei provides direct confirmation of the intermolecular ion pair. The same approach is likely applicable to protein–RNA complexes as well.

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of iron disulfide and its use for solar energy conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Ennaoui, Ahmed; Fiechter, Sebastian; Vogel, Ralf; Giersig, M.; Weller, Horst; Tributsch, Helmut

1992-12-01

Thin polycrystalline films of iron disulfide have been grown on different substrates by chemical vapour deposition. The films were characterized using optical absorption and TEM. RBS and EDAX analysis has been used to explore the chemical stoichiometry. XRD and FTIR allowed the identification of both FeS2 phases pyrite and marcasite. A novel method for sensitization of highly porous Ti02 elecrodes with ultra thin (10-20 nm) polycrystalline films of FeS2 (pyrite) is presented. Photoelectrochemical solar cell using the above electrode generated high photovoltage of up to 600mV compared with single crystalline electrode (200 mV). In this device the semiconductor with a small band gap and high absorption coefficient (FeS2 pyrite; EG = 0.9 eV; a = 6 x 105 cm-1) absorbs the light and injects electrons into the conduction band the wide band gap semiconductor (Ti02 anatase; EG = 3.2 eV). Regeneration of holes is taking place by electron transfer from redox system in the electrolyte.

Thermal ripples in model molybdenum disulfide monolayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Remsing, Richard C.; Klein, Michael L. [Institute for Computational Molecular Science, Center for the Computational, Design of Functional Layered Materials, and Department of Chemistry, Temple University, 1925 N. 12th St., 19122, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Waghmare, Umesh V. [Theoretical Sciences Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, 560 064, Jakkur, Bangalore (India)

2017-01-15

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) monolayers have the potential to revolutionize nanotechnology. To reach this potential, it will be necessary to understand the behavior of this two-dimensional (2D) material on large length scales and under thermal conditions. Herein, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the nature of the rippling induced by thermal fluctuations in monolayers of the 2H and 1T phases of MoS{sub 2}. The 1T phase is found to be more rigid than the 2H phase. Both monolayer phases are predicted to follow long wavelength scaling behavior typical of systems with anharmonic coupling between vibrational modes as predicted by classic theories of membrane-like systems. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The characterization of tungsten disulfide single crystals doped with gold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumcenco, D.O.; Huang, Y.S.; Tiong, K.K.; Liang, C.H.; Chen, C.H.

2007-01-01

Single crystals of WS 2 doped with gold (WS 2 :Au) have been grown by the chemical vapour transport method using iodine as a transporting agent. Hall measurements indicate that the samples are p-type in nature. The doping effect of the materials are characterized by conductivity, surface photovoltage and piezo reflectance measurements. The higher conductivity respect to that of the undoped one suggests that more charge carriers are available for conduction in the doped compound. The surface photovoltage spectrum reveals an impurity level located below the A exciton. The direct band-edge excitonic transition energies for WS 2 :Au show redshifts and the broadening parameters of the excitonic transition features increase due to impurity scattering. (authors)

11-Hydroxyundecyl octadecyl disulfide self-assembled monolayers on Au(1 1 1)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albayrak, Erol [Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Ahi Evran University, Kırşehir 40000 (Turkey); Karabuga, Semistan [Department of Chemistry, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Kahramanmaraş 46030 (Turkey); Bracco, Gianangelo [CNR-IMEM and Department of Physics, University of Genoa, via Dodecaneso 33, Genoa 16146 (Italy); Danışman, M. Fatih, E-mail: danisman@metu.edu.tr [Department of Chemistry, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800 (Turkey)

2014-08-30

Highlights: • 11-Hydroxyundecyl octadecyl disulfide self-assembled monolayers on Au(1 1 1) surface were grown by supersonic molecular beam deposition. • Two different lying down monolayer phases were observed depending on the substrate temperature. • High temperature monolayer phase has a diffraction pattern similar to that of mercaptoundecanol SAMs. • Desorption from several different chemisorbed and physisorbed states were observed. - Abstract: Here, we report a helium atom diffraction study of 11-hydroxyundecyl octadecyl disulfide (CH{sub 3}-(CH{sub 2}){sub 17}-S-S-(CH{sub 2}){sub 11}-OH, HOD) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) produced by supersonic molecular beam deposition (SMBD). Two different lying down monolayer phases were observed depending on the substrate temperature. At low temperatures a poorly ordered phase was observed, while the diffraction patterns of the film grown at high temperatures were similar to that of mercaptoundecanol (MUD) SAMs reported previously in the literature. The transition from the low temperature phase to the high temperature phase is due to S-S bond cleavage at the surface. Desorption from several different chemisorbed and physisorbed states were observed with energies in the same range as observed for MUD and octadecanelthiol (ODT) SAMs.

Coupling gold nanoparticles to silica nanoparticles through disulfide bonds for glutathione detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Yupeng; Zhang Heng; Zhang Zhaomin; Yi Changqing; Yue Zhenfeng; Teng, Kar-Seng; Li Meijin; Yang Mengsu

2013-01-01

Advances in the controlled assembly of nanoscale building blocks have resulted in functional devices which can find applications in electronics, biomedical imaging, drug delivery etc. In this study, novel covalent nanohybrid materials based upon [Ru(bpy) 3 ] 2+ -doped silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which could be conditioned as OFF–ON probes for glutathione (GSH) detection, were designed and assembled in sequence, with the disulfide bonds as the bridging elements. The structural and optical properties of the nanohybrid architectures were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. Zeta potential measurements, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to monitor the reaction processes of the SiNPs–S–S–COOH and SiNPs–S–S–AuNPs synthesis. It was found that the covalent nanohybrid architectures were fluorescently dark (OFF state), indicating that SiNPs were effectively quenched by AuNPs. The fluorescence of the OFF–ON probe was resumed (ON state) when the bridge of the disulfide bond was cleaved by reducing reagents such as GSH. This work provides a new platform and strategy for GSH detection using covalent nanohybrid materials. (paper)

Research of the technology of obtaining pure and disperse molybdenum disulfide from molybdenum concentrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hovsepyan, A.H.; Israyelyan, S.M.

2009-01-01

The technology of obtaining pure and disperse molybdenum disulfide is worked out. The processes of refinement from the flotation reagents and deslimation by means of decantation, refinement of molybdenite concentrate from impurities by selective leaching methods are studied. The optimal regime of technological process is chosen

Analysis and Ranking of Protein-Protein Docking Models Using Inter-Residue Contacts and Inter-Molecular Contact Maps

KAUST Repository

Oliva, Romina; Chermak, Edrisse; Cavallo, Luigi

2015-01-01

In view of the increasing interest both in inhibitors of protein-protein interactions and in protein drugs themselves, analysis of the three-dimensional structure of protein-protein complexes is assuming greater relevance in drug design. In the many cases where an experimental structure is not available, protein-protein docking becomes the method of choice for predicting the arrangement of the complex. However, reliably scoring protein-protein docking poses is still an unsolved problem. As a consequence, the screening of many docking models is usually required in the analysis step, to possibly single out the correct ones. Here, making use of exemplary cases, we review our recently introduced methods for the analysis of protein complex structures and for the scoring of protein docking poses, based on the use of inter-residue contacts and their visualization in inter-molecular contact maps. We also show that the ensemble of tools we developed can be used in the context of rational drug design targeting protein-protein interactions.

Analysis and Ranking of Protein-Protein Docking Models Using Inter-Residue Contacts and Inter-Molecular Contact Maps

KAUST Repository

Oliva, Romina

2015-07-01

In view of the increasing interest both in inhibitors of protein-protein interactions and in protein drugs themselves, analysis of the three-dimensional structure of protein-protein complexes is assuming greater relevance in drug design. In the many cases where an experimental structure is not available, protein-protein docking becomes the method of choice for predicting the arrangement of the complex. However, reliably scoring protein-protein docking poses is still an unsolved problem. As a consequence, the screening of many docking models is usually required in the analysis step, to possibly single out the correct ones. Here, making use of exemplary cases, we review our recently introduced methods for the analysis of protein complex structures and for the scoring of protein docking poses, based on the use of inter-residue contacts and their visualization in inter-molecular contact maps. We also show that the ensemble of tools we developed can be used in the context of rational drug design targeting protein-protein interactions.

Effect of trastuzumab interchain disulfide bond cleavage on Fcγ receptor binding and antibody-dependent tumour cell phagocytosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Mami; Yamanoi, Ayaka; Machino, Yusuke; Ootsubo, Michiko; Izawa, Ken-ichi; Kohroki, Junya; Masuho, Yasuhiko

2016-01-01

The Fc domain of human IgG1 binds to Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) to induce effector functions such as phagocytosis. There are four interchain disulfide bonds between the H and L chains. In this study, the disulfide bonds within the IgG1 trastuzumab (TRA), which is specific for HER2, were cleaved by mild S-sulfonation or by mild reduction followed by S-alkylation with three different reagents. The cleavage did not change the binding activities of TRA to HER2-bearing SK-BR-3 cells. The binding activities of TRA to FcγRIIA and FcγRIIB were greatly enhanced by modification with mild reduction and S-alkylation with ICH2CONH2 or N-(4-aminophenyl) maleimide, while the binding activities of TRA to FcγRI and FcγRIIIA were decreased by any of the four modifications. However, the interchain disulfide bond cleavage by the different modifications did not change the antibody-dependent cell-mediated phagocytosis (ADCP) of SK-BR-3 cells by activated THP-1 cells. The order of FcγR expression levels on the THP-1 cells was FcγRII > FcγRI > FcγRIII and ADCP was inhibited by blocking antibodies against FcγRI and FcγRII. These results imply that the effect of the interchain disulfide bond cleavage on FcγRs binding and ADCP is dependent on modifications of the cysteine residues and the FcγR isotypes. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.

Ophthalmological and angiographic findings in workers exposed to carbon disulfide (author's transl)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savic, S.

1982-01-01

Microaneurysms are important in the diagnosis of vascular changes caused by carbon disulfide. They can be diagnosed by ophtholmoscopy, angiography or angioscopy. In our opinion even a careful ophthalmoscopic investigation is sufficient for diagnosis, so that angiography is not absolutely necessary for any mass survey. The incidence of microaneurysms correlates with the duration (both daily and total) as well as with the intensity of exposure to carbon disulfide. The quantity correlates closely with the intensity of exposure. The incidence of microaneurysms is not correlated to age; however it was found to be highest in 40-50-year-old men working with staple fibers, whereas in the spinning department it occurred in 50-55-old men. Microaneurysms are found equally frequently in active workers and invalids. There was no difference between the two groups with regard to degenerative changes of the macula. However, the changes found in the eyes of men from the staple fiber department were more pronounced than in those from the spinning department.

Engineered disulfide bonds increase active-site local stability and reduce catalytic activity of a cold-adapted alkaline phosphatase.

Science.gov (United States)

Asgeirsson, Bjarni; Adalbjörnsson, Björn Vidar; Gylfason, Gudjón Andri

2007-06-01

Alkaline phosphatase is an extracellular enzyme that is membrane-bound in eukaryotes but resides in the periplasmic space of bacteria. It normally carries four cysteine residues that form two disulfide bonds, for instance in the APs of Escherichia coli and vertebrates. An AP variant from a Vibrio sp. has only one cysteine residue. This cysteine is second next to the nucleophilic serine in the active site. We have individually modified seven residues to cysteine that are on two loops predicted to be within a 5 A radius. Four of them formed a disulfide bond to the endogenous cysteine. Thermal stability was monitored by circular dichroism and activity measurements. Global stability was similar to the wild-type enzyme. However, a significant increase in heat-stability was observed for the disulfide-containing variants using activity as a measure, together with a large reduction in catalytic rates (k(cat)) and a general decrease in Km values. The results suggest that a high degree of mobility near the active site and in the helix carrying the endogenous cysteine is essential for full catalytic efficiency in the cold-adapted AP.

Lithium/disulfide battery R and D

Science.gov (United States)

Kaun, T. D.; Deluca, W.; Lee, J.; Redey, L.; Nelson, P. A.

The focus of molten-salt cell R and D in the past year at Argonne National Laboratory has been on developing an understanding of the excellent performance and stability of a lithium/disulfide cell using LiCl-LiBr-KBr electrolyte. For further improvement, we have initiated development of a rod-electrode cell design and design of cells which can tolerate overdischarge and overcharge abuse. Earlier Li/FeS2 cells offered performance quite below expectations and had high capacity decline rates: 0.10 to 0.25 percent per cycle. Approaches for reducing the capacity decline rates of the earlier cells also reduced cell performance. However, our improved Li/FeS2 cell tests indicate good prospects for attaining cell development goals of specific energy of 200 Wh/kg at a 4-h discharge rate, a specific power of 200 W/kg at 80 percent depth of discharge, and a cycle life of 1000 cycles.

Investigation of the deposition and thermal behavior of striped phases of unsymmetric disulfide self-assembled monolayers on Au(111): The case of 11-hydroxyundecyl decyl disulfide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albayrak, Erol [Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Ahi Evran University, Kırşehir 40000 (Turkey); Karabuga, Semistan [Department of Chemistry, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Kahramanmaraş 46030 (Turkey); Bracco, Gianangelo [CNR-IMEM and Department of Physics, University of Genoa, via Dodecaneso 33, Genoa 16146 (Italy); Danışman, M. Fatih, E-mail: danisman@metu.edu.tr [Department of Chemistry, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800 (Turkey)

2015-01-07

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of unsymmetric disulfides on Au(111) are used to form mixed SAMs that can be utilized in many applications. Here, we have studied 11-hydroxyundecyl decyl disulfide (CH{sub 3}–(CH{sub 2}){sub 9}–S–S–(CH{sub 2}){sub 11}–OH, HDD) SAMs produced by supersonic molecular beam deposition and characterized by He diffraction. The film growth was monitored at different temperatures up to a coverage which corresponds to a full lying down phase and the diffraction analysis shows that below 250 K the phase is different from the phase measured above 300 K. During the annealing of the film, two phase transitions were observed, at 250 K and 350 K. The overall data suggest that the former is related to an irreversible phase separation of HDD above 250 K to decanethiolate (–S–(CH{sub 2}){sub 9}–CH{sub 3}, DTT) and hydroxyundecylthiolate (–S–(CH{sub 2}){sub 11}–OH, MUDT), while the latter to a reversible melting of the film. Above 450 K, the specular intensity shows an increase related to film desorption and different chemisorbed states were observed with energies in the same range as observed for decanethiol (H–S–(CH{sub 2}){sub 9}–CH{sub 3}, DT) and mercaptoundecanol (H–S–(CH{sub 2}){sub 11}–OH, MUD) SAMs.

The study of intermolecular interactions in NLO crystal melaminium chloride hemihydrate using DFT simulation and Hirshfeld surface analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Sangeetha, K.; Kumar, V. R. Suresh; Marchewka, M. K.; Binoy, J.

2018-05-01

Since, the intermolecular interactions play a crucial role in the formation of crystalline network, its analysis throws light on structure dependent crystalline properties. In the present study, DFT based vibrational spectral investigation has been performed in the stretching region (3500 cm-1 - 2800 cm-1) of IR and Raman spectra of melaminium chloride hemihydrates. The intermolecular interaction has been investigated by analyzing the half width of the OH and NH stretching profile of the deconvoluted spectra. Correlation of vibrational spectra with Hirshfeld surface analysis and finger print plot has been contemplated and molecular docking studies has been performed on melaminium chloride hemihydrate to assess its role in the drug transport mechanism and toxicity to human body.

A quantitative analysis of weak intermolecular interactions & quantum chemical calculations (DFT) of novel chalcone derivatives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chavda, Bhavin R., E-mail: chavdabhavin9@gmail.com; Dubey, Rahul P.; Patel, Urmila H. [Department of Physics, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar-388120, Gujarat (India); Gandhi, Sahaj A. [Bhavan’s Shri I.L. Pandya Arts-Science and Smt. J.M. shah Commerce College, Dakar, Anand -388001, Gujarat, Indian (India); Barot, Vijay M. [P. G. Center in Chemistry, Smt. S. M. Panchal Science College, Talod, Gujarat 383 215 (India)

2016-05-06

The novel chalcone derivatives have widespread applications in material science and medicinal industries. The density functional theory (DFT) is used to optimized the molecular structure of the three chalcone derivatives (M-I, II, III). The observed discrepancies between the theoretical and experimental (X-ray data) results attributed to different environments of the molecules, the experimental values are of the molecule in solid state there by subjected to the intermolecular forces, like non-bonded hydrogen bond interactions, where as isolated state in gas phase for theoretical studies. The lattice energy of all the molecules have been calculated using PIXELC module in Coulomb –London –Pauli (CLP) package and is partitioned into corresponding coulombic, polarization, dispersion and repulsion contributions. Lattice energy data confirm and strengthen the finding of the X-ray results that the weak but significant intermolecular interactions like C-H…O, Π- Π and C-H… Π plays an important role in the stabilization of crystal packing.

Single crystal X-ray structural features of aromatic compounds having a pentafluorosulfuranyl (SF5) functional group

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Du, J.; Hua, G.; Beier, Petr; Slawin, A. M. Z.; Woollins, J. D.

2017-01-01

Roč. 28, č. 3 (2017), s. 723-733 ISSN 1040-0400 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : pentafluorosulfuranyl (SF5) group * aromatic compounds * single crystal X-ray structure * intramolecular interactions * intermolecular interactions Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry OBOR OECD: Organic chemistry Impact factor: 1.582, year: 2016

Noncovalent Intermolecular Interactions in Organic Electronic Materials: Implications for the Molecular Packing vs Electronic Properties of Acenes

KAUST Repository

Sutton, Christopher; Risko, Chad; Bredas, Jean-Luc

2015-01-01

Noncovalent intermolecular interactions, which can be tuned through the toolbox of synthetic chemistry, determine not only the molecular packing but also the resulting electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of materials derived from π

Rubrene: The interplay between intramolecular and intermolecular interactions determines the planarization of its tetracene core in the solid state

KAUST Repository

Sutton, Christopher

2015-06-15

Rubrene is one of the most studied molecular semiconductors; its chemical structure consists of a tetracene backbone with four phenyl rings appended to the two central fused rings. Derivatization of these phenyl rings can lead to two very different solid-state molecular conformations and packings: One in which the tetracene core is planar and there exists substantive overlap among neighboring π-conjugated backbones; and another where the tetracene core is twisted and the overlap of neighboring π-conjugated backbones is completely disrupted. State-of-the-art electronic-structure calculations show for all isolated rubrene derivatives that the twisted conformation is more favorable (by -1.7 to -4.1 kcal mol-1), which is a consequence of energetically unfavorable exchange-repulsion interactions among the phenyl side groups. Calculations based on available crystallographic structures reveal that planar conformations of the tetracene core in the solid state result from intermolecular interactions that can be tuned through well-chosen functionalization of the phenyl side groups, and lead to improved intermolecular electronic couplings. Understanding the interplay of these intramolecular and intermolecular interactions provides insight into how to chemically modify rubrene and similar molecular semiconductors to improve the intrinsic materials electronic properties.

Intra- and inter-subunit disulfide bond formation is nonessential in adeno-associated viral capsids.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagesh Pulicherla

Full Text Available The capsid proteins of adeno-associated viruses (AAV have five conserved cysteine residues. Structural analysis of AAV serotype 2 reveals that Cys289 and Cys361 are located adjacent to each other within each monomer, while Cys230 and Cys394 are located on opposite edges of each subunit and juxtaposed at the pentamer interface. The Cys482 residue is located at the base of a surface loop within the trimer region. Although plausible based on molecular dynamics simulations, intra- or inter-subunit disulfides have not been observed in structural studies. In the current study, we generated a panel of Cys-to-Ser mutants to interrogate the potential for disulfide bond formation in AAV capsids. The C289S, C361S and C482S mutants were similar to wild type AAV with regard to titer and transduction efficiency. However, AAV capsid protein subunits with C230S or C394S mutations were prone to proteasomal degradation within the host cells. Proteasomal inhibition partially blocked degradation of mutant capsid proteins, but failed to rescue infectious virions. While these results suggest that the Cys230/394 pair is critical, a C394V mutant was found viable, but not the corresponding C230V mutant. Although the exact nature of the structural contribution(s of Cys230 and Cys394 residues to AAV capsid formation remains to be determined, these results support the notion that disulfide bond formation within the Cys289/361 or Cys230/394 pair appears to be nonessential. These studies represent an important step towards understanding the role of inter-subunit interactions that drive AAV capsid assembly.

Disulfide high mobility group box-1 causes bladder pain through bladder Toll-like receptor 4.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Fei; Kouzoukas, Dimitrios E; Meyer-Siegler, Katherine L; Westlund, Karin N; Hunt, David E; Vera, Pedro L

2017-05-25

Bladder pain is a prominent symptom in several urological conditions (e.g. infection, painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis, cancer). Understanding the mechanism of bladder pain is important, particularly when the pain is not accompanied by bladder pathology. Stimulation of protease activated receptor 4 (PAR4) in the urothelium results in bladder pain through release of urothelial high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1). HGMB1 has two functionally active redox states (disulfide and all-thiol) and it is not known which form elicits bladder pain. Therefore, we investigated whether intravesical administration of specific HMGB1 redox forms caused abdominal mechanical hypersensitivity, micturition changes, and bladder inflammation in female C57BL/6 mice 24 hours post-administration. Moreover, we determined which of the specific HMGB1 receptors, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) or receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), mediate HMGB1-induced changes. Disulfide HMGB1 elicited abdominal mechanical hypersensitivity 24 hours after intravesical (5, 10, 20 μg/150 μl) instillation. In contrast, all-thiol HMGB1 did not produce abdominal mechanical hypersensitivity in any of the doses tested (1, 2, 5, 10, 20 μg/150 μl). Both HMGB1 redox forms caused micturition changes only at the highest dose tested (20 μg/150 μl) while eliciting mild bladder edema and reactive changes at all doses. We subsequently tested whether the effects of intravesical disulfide HMGB1 (10 μg/150 μl; a dose that did not produce inflammation) were prevented by systemic (i.p.) or local (intravesical) administration of either a TLR4 antagonist (TAK-242) or a RAGE antagonist (FPS-ZM1). Systemic administration of either TAK-242 (3 mg/kg) or FPS-ZM1 (10 mg/kg) prevented HMGB1 induced abdominal mechanical hypersensitivity while only intravesical TLR4 antagonist pretreatment (1.5 mg/ml; not RAGE) had this effect. The disulfide form of HMGB1 mediates bladder pain directly (not

Decomposition of Intermolecular Interactions in the Crystal Structure of Some Diacetyl Platinum(II Complexes: Combined Hirshfeld, AIM, and NBO Analyses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saied M. Soliman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Intermolecular interactions play a vital role in crystal structures. Therefore, we conducted a topological study, using Hirshfeld surfaces and atom in molecules (AIM analysis, to decompose and analyze, respectively, the different intermolecular interactions in six hydrazone-diacetyl platinum(II complexes. Using AIM and natural bond orbital (NBO analyses, we determined the type, nature, and strength of the interactions. All the studied complexes contain C-H⋯O interactions, and the presence of bond critical points along the intermolecular paths underlines their significance. The electron densities (ρ(r at the bond critical points (0.0031–0.0156 e/a03 fall within the typical range for H-bonding interactions. Also, the positive values of the Laplacian of the electron density (∇2ρ(r revealed the depletion of electronic charge on the interatomic path, another characteristic feature of closed-shell interactions. The ratios of the absolute potential energy density to the kinetic energy density (|V(r|/G(r and ρ(r are highest for the O2⋯H15-N3 interaction in [Pt(COMe2(2-pyCMe=NNH2] (1; hence, this interaction has the highest covalent character of all the O⋯H intermolecular interactions. Interestingly, in [Pt(COMe2(H2NN=CMe-CMe=NNH2] (3, there are significant N-H⋯Pt interactions. Using the NBO method, the second-order interaction energies, E(2, of these interactions range from 3.894 to 4.061 kJ/mol. Furthermore, the hybrid Pt orbitals involved in these interactions are comprised of dxy, dxz, and s atomic orbitals.

Single-molecule dynamics in nanofabricated traps

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Adam

2009-03-01

The Anti-Brownian Electrokinetic trap (ABEL trap) provides a means to immobilize a single fluorescent molecule in solution, without surface attachment chemistry. The ABEL trap works by tracking the Brownian motion of a single molecule, and applying feedback electric fields to induce an electrokinetic motion that approximately cancels the Brownian motion. We present a new design for the ABEL trap that allows smaller molecules to be trapped and more information to be extracted from the dynamics of a single molecule than was previously possible. In particular, we present strategies for extracting dynamically fluctuating mobilities and diffusion coefficients, as a means to probe dynamic changes in molecular charge and shape. If one trapped molecule is good, many trapped molecules are better. An array of single molecules in solution, each immobilized without surface attachment chemistry, provides an ideal test-bed for single-molecule analyses of intramolecular dynamics and intermolecular interactions. We present a technology for creating such an array, using a fused silica plate with nanofabricated dimples and a removable cover for sealing single molecules within the dimples. With this device one can watch the shape fluctuations of single molecules of DNA or study cooperative interactions in weakly associating protein complexes.

Reduction of disulfide bonds in peptides and proteins. Reduction des groupes disulfure dans les peptides et proteines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conte, D [Institut Curie, 75 - Paris (France); Houee-Levin, C [Paris-5 Univ., 75 (France)

1993-04-01

We have re-examined the mechanism of disulfide bond reduction in oxidized glutathione by C0[sub 2][sup .-] free radicals. The process appears to be a chain reaction whose initial yield depends on pH and on both peptide and formate ion concentrations, but remains independent on the radiation dose rate. Kinetic schemes drawn from studies on dithiothreitol are unable to account for the results obtained with glutathione and proteins, although the disulfide radical anion is the primary intermediate found with all compounds. The rate constant for its formation from C0[sub 2][sup .-] and glutathione is in the same range as those found using proteins, while decay pathways are somewhat different. Hypotheses are proposed to account for these differences. 6 figs., 2 tabs.

Functional Poly(ε-caprolactone)s via Copolymerization of ε-Caprolactone and Pyridyl Disulfide-Containing Cyclic Carbonate: Controlled Synthesis and Facile Access to Reduction-Sensitive Biodegradable Graft Copolymer Micelles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Wei; Zou, Yan; Jia, Junna; Meng, Fenghua; Cheng, Ru; Deng, Chao; Feijen, Jan; Zhong, Zhiyuan

2013-01-01

Pyridyl disulfide-functionalized cyclic carbonate (PDSC) monomer was obtained in four straightforward steps from 3-methyl-3-oxetanemethanol and exploited for facile preparation of functional poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) containing pendant pyridyl disulfide (PDS) groups via ring-opening

Molecular characterization and analysis of a novel protein disulfide isomerase-like protein of Eimeria tenella.

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Hongyu Han

Full Text Available Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI and PDI-like proteins are members of the thioredoxin superfamily. They contain thioredoxin-like domains and catalyze the physiological oxidation, reduction and isomerization of protein disulfide bonds, which are involved in cell function and development in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In this study, EtPDIL, a novel PDI-like gene of Eimeria tenella, was cloned using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE according to the expressed sequence tag (EST. The EtPDIL cDNA contained 1129 nucleotides encoding 216 amino acids. The deduced EtPDIL protein belonged to thioredoxin-like superfamily and had a single predicted thioredoxin domain with a non-classical thioredoxin-like motif (SXXC. BLAST analysis showed that the EtPDIL protein was 55-59% identical to PDI-like proteins of other apicomplexan parasites. The transcript and protein levels of EtPDIL at different development stages were investigated by real-time quantitative PCR and western blot. The messenger RNA and protein levels of EtPDIL were higher in sporulated oocysts than in unsporulated oocysts, sporozoites or merozoites. Protein expression was barely detectable in unsporulated oocysts. Western blots showed that rabbit antiserum against recombinant EtPDIL recognized only a native 24 kDa protein from parasites. Immunolocalization with EtPDIL antibody showed that EtPDIL had a disperse distribution in the cytoplasm of whole sporozoites and merozoites. After sporozoites were incubated in complete medium, EtPDIL protein concentrated at the anterior of the sporozoites and appeared on the surface of parasites. Specific staining was more intense and mainly located on the parasite surface after merozoites released from mature schizonts invaded DF-1 cells. After development of parasites in DF-1 cells, staining intensified in trophozoites, immature schizonts and mature schizonts. Antibody inhibition of EtPDIL function reduced the ability of E. tenella to invade DF-1 cells

Molecular characterization and analysis of a novel protein disulfide isomerase-like protein of Eimeria tenella.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Hongyu; Dong, Hui; Zhu, Shunhai; Zhao, Qiping; Jiang, Lianlian; Wang, Yange; Li, Liujia; Wu, Youlin; Huang, Bing

2014-01-01

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and PDI-like proteins are members of the thioredoxin superfamily. They contain thioredoxin-like domains and catalyze the physiological oxidation, reduction and isomerization of protein disulfide bonds, which are involved in cell function and development in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In this study, EtPDIL, a novel PDI-like gene of Eimeria tenella, was cloned using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) according to the expressed sequence tag (EST). The EtPDIL cDNA contained 1129 nucleotides encoding 216 amino acids. The deduced EtPDIL protein belonged to thioredoxin-like superfamily and had a single predicted thioredoxin domain with a non-classical thioredoxin-like motif (SXXC). BLAST analysis showed that the EtPDIL protein was 55-59% identical to PDI-like proteins of other apicomplexan parasites. The transcript and protein levels of EtPDIL at different development stages were investigated by real-time quantitative PCR and western blot. The messenger RNA and protein levels of EtPDIL were higher in sporulated oocysts than in unsporulated oocysts, sporozoites or merozoites. Protein expression was barely detectable in unsporulated oocysts. Western blots showed that rabbit antiserum against recombinant EtPDIL recognized only a native 24 kDa protein from parasites. Immunolocalization with EtPDIL antibody showed that EtPDIL had a disperse distribution in the cytoplasm of whole sporozoites and merozoites. After sporozoites were incubated in complete medium, EtPDIL protein concentrated at the anterior of the sporozoites and appeared on the surface of parasites. Specific staining was more intense and mainly located on the parasite surface after merozoites released from mature schizonts invaded DF-1 cells. After development of parasites in DF-1 cells, staining intensified in trophozoites, immature schizonts and mature schizonts. Antibody inhibition of EtPDIL function reduced the ability of E. tenella to invade DF-1 cells. These results

Basal-plane thermal conductivity of few-layer molybdenum disulfide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jo, Insun; Ou, Eric; Shi, Li; Pettes, Michael Thompson; Wu, Wei

2014-01-01

We report the in-plane thermal conductivity of suspended exfoliated few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) samples that were measured by suspended micro-devices with integrated resistance thermometers. The obtained room-temperature thermal conductivity values are (44–50) and (48–52) W m −1 K −1 for two samples that are 4 and 7 layers thick, respectively. For both samples, the peak thermal conductivity occurs at a temperature close to 120 K, above which the thermal conductivity is dominated by intrinsic phonon-phonon scattering although phonon scattering by surface disorders can still play an important role in these samples especially at low temperatures

Coiodação de alquenos com nucleófilos oxigenados: reações intermoleculares

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Sanseverino Antonio Manzolillo

2001-01-01

Full Text Available A review on the electrophilic addition of iodine to alkenes in the presence of oxygen containing nucleophiles (cohalogenation reaction is presented. The intermolecular reactions are discussed with emphasis in methods of reaction and synthetic applications of the resulting vicinal iodo-functionalized products (iodohydrins, beta-iodoethers and beta-iodocarboxylates.

Synthesis of Reusable Silica Nanosphere-Supported Pt(IV Complex for Formation of Disulfide Bonds in Peptides

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Xiaonan Hou

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Some peptide-based drugs, including oxytocin, vasopressin, ziconotide, pramlintide, nesiritide, and octreotide, contain one intramolecular disulfide bond. A novel and reusable monodispersed silica nanosphere-supported Pt(IV complex (SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV; TPEA: N-[3-(trimethoxysilylpropyl]ethylenediamine was synthesized via a four-step procedure and was used for the formation of intramolecular disulfide bonds in peptides. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM and chemical mapping results for the Pt(II intermediates and for SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV show that the silica nanospheres possess a monodisperse spherical structure and contain uniformly-distributed Si, O, C, N, Cl, and Pt. The valence state of Pt on the silica nanospheres was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. The Pt(IV loaded on SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV was 0.15 mmol/g, as determined by UV-VIS spectrometry. The formation of intramolecular disulfides in six dithiol-containing peptides of variable lengths by the use of SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV was investigated, and the relative oxidation yields were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. In addition, peptide 1 (Ac-CPFC-NH2 was utilized to study the reusability of SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV. No significant decrease in the relative oxidation yield was observed after ten reaction cycles. Moreover, the structure of SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV after being used for ten cycles was determined to be similar to its initial one, demonstrating the cycling stability of the complex.

Reduction and alkylation of peanut allergen isoforms Ara h 2 and Ara h 6; characterization of intermediate- and end products.

Science.gov (United States)

Apostolovic, Danijela; Luykx, Dion; Warmenhoven, Hans; Verbart, Dennis; Stanic-Vucinic, Dragana; de Jong, Govardus A H; Velickovic, Tanja Cirkovic; Koppelman, Stef J

2013-12-01

Conglutins, the major peanut allergens, Ara h 2 and Ara h 6, are highly structured proteins stabilized by multiple disulfide bridges and are stable towards heat-denaturation and digestion. We sought a way to reduce their potent allergenicity in view of the development of immunotherapy for peanut allergy. Isoforms of conglutin were purified, reduced with dithiothreitol and subsequently alkylated with iodoacetamide. The effect of this modification was assessed on protein folding and IgE-binding. We found that all disulfide bridges were reduced and alkylated. As a result, the secondary structure lost α-helix and gained some β-structure content, and the tertiary structure stability was reduced. On a functional level, the modification led to a strongly decreased IgE-binding. Using conditions for limited reduction and alkylation, partially reduced and alkylated proteins were found with rearranged disulfide bridges and, in some cases, intermolecular cross-links were found. Peptide mass finger printing was applied to control progress of the modification reaction and to map novel disulfide bonds. There was no preference for the order in which disulfides were reduced, and disulfide rearrangement occurred in a non-specific way. Only minor differences in kinetics of reduction and alkylation were found between the different conglutin isoforms. We conclude that the peanut conglutins Ara h 2 and Ara h 6 can be chemically modified by reduction and alkylation, such that they substantially unfold and that their allergenic potency decreases. © 2013.

Decontamination of Oils Contaminated with Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Dibenzyl Disulfide Using Polar Aprotic Solvents

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kaštánek, František; Matějková, Martina; Spáčilová, Lucie; Maléterová, Ywetta; Kaštánek, P.; Šolcová, Olga

2015-01-01

Roč. 4, č. 2 (2015), s. 41-48 ISSN 2319-5967 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR(CZ) TA04020151 Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : corrosive sulfur * dibenzyl disulfide * polar aprotic solvents Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering http://www.ijesit.com/Volume%204/Issue%202/IJESIT201502_06.pdf

Effects of Weak Intermolecular Interactions on the Molecular Isomerism of Tricobalt Metal Chains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poulsen, R.; Overgaard, J.; Schulman, A.; Stergaard, C.; Murillo, C.; Spackman, M.; Iversen, B.

2009-01-01

Depending on the number of interstitial solvent molecules, n, crystals of the linear chain compound Co3(dipyridylamide)4Cl2·nCH2Cl2 adopt either symmetrical or unsymmetrical metal chain structures. We explore here the possible reasons for such behavior using Hirshfeld surface analysis of intermolecular interactions as well as the charge density determined from 100(1) K X-ray diffraction data on the unsymmetrical complex Co3(dipyridylamide)4Cl2·2.11CH2Cl2, u-1, and crystal structures of u-1 determined from single crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction data at 20, 150, and 300 K. The new crystal structures are compared with previous structural results on a crystal with slightly different solvent content. This change in solvent content only affects the bond distances to atom Co(3), which are also strongly affected by temperature changes due to a spin crossover transition. Large differences in intermolecular interactions are revealed by the Hirshfeld surface analysis between symmetrical (s-1) and unsymmetrical (u-1) crystal solvates, suggesting that the molecular isomerism is strongly influenced by crystal packing effects. Topological analysis of the static electron density of u-1 suggests that there is direct metal-metal bonding for both the shorter Co(1)-Co(2) and the longer Co(2)-Co(3) contact. The approximate description of the system as a (Co2)2+-dimer and an isolated Co2+-ion is reflected in the character of the metal-ligand interactions, which are more ionic for the isolated Co(3) atom, and the topological charges Co(1)+0.50, Co(2)+0.77, and Co(3)+1.36. The two termini of u-1 are found to be very different, both in terms of structural surroundings as well as topology. The central Co(2) atom is similar to a cobalt atom in a tetragonally distorted octahedral environment resulting in preferred occupancy in the t2g orbitals. The Co(1) atom has significant deformation in the xz and yz planes (z along the chain axis, x and y toward ligands) reflecting covalent

Protein redox regulation in the thylakoid lumen: the importance of disulfide bonds for violaxanthin de-epoxidase.

Science.gov (United States)

Simionato, Diana; Basso, Stefania; Zaffagnini, Mirko; Lana, Tobia; Marzotto, Francesco; Trost, Paolo; Morosinotto, Tomas

2015-04-02

When exposed to saturating light conditions photosynthetic eukaryotes activate the xanthophyll cycle where the carotenoid violaxanthin is converted into zeaxanthin by the enzyme violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE). VDE protein sequence includes 13 cysteine residues, 12 of which are strongly conserved in both land plants and algae. Site directed mutagenesis of Arabidopsis thaliana VDE showed that all these 12 conserved cysteines have a major role in protein function and their mutation leads to a strong reduction of activity. VDE is also shown to be active in its completely oxidized form presenting six disulfide bonds. Redox titration showed that VDE activity is sensitive to variation in redox potential, suggesting the possibility that dithiol/disulfide exchange reactions may represent a mechanism for VDE regulation. Copyright © 2015 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multimolecular Salivary Mucin Complex Is Altered in Saliva of Cigarette Smokers: Detection of Disulfide Bridges by Raman Spectroscopy

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Motoe Taniguchi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Saliva contains mucins, which protect epithelial cells. We showed a smaller amount of salivary mucin, both MG1 and MG2, in the premenopausal female smokers than in their nonsmoking counterparts. Smokers' MG1, which contains almost 2% cysteine/half cystine in its amino acid residues, turned out to be chemically altered in the nonsmoker’s saliva. The smaller acidic glycoprotein bands were detectable only in smoker’s saliva in the range of 20–25 kDa and at 45 kDa, suggesting that degradation, at least in part, caused the reduction of MG1 mucin. This is in agreement with the previous finding that free radicals in cigarette smoke modify mucins in both sugar and protein moieties. Moreover, proteins such as amylase and albumin are bound to other proteins through disulfide bonds and are identifiable only after reduction with DTT. Confocal laser Raman microspectroscopy identified a disulfide stretch band of significantly stronger intensity per protein in the stimulated saliva of smokers alone. We conclude that the saliva of smokers, especially stimulated saliva, contains significantly more oxidized form of proteins with increased disulfide bridges, that reduces protection for oral epithelium. Raman microspectroscopy can be used for an easy detection of the damaged salivary proteins.

Effect of intermolecular hydrogen bonding, vibrational analysis and molecular structure of 4-chlorobenzothioamide

Science.gov (United States)

Çırak, Çağrı; Sert, Yusuf; Ucun, Fatih

2013-09-01

In the present work, the experimental and theoretical vibrational spectra of 4-chlorobenzothioamide were investigated. The FT-IR (400-4000 cm-1) and μ-Raman spectra (100-4000 cm-1) of 4-chlorobenzothioamide in the solid phase were recorded. The geometric parameters (bond lengths and bond angles), vibrational frequencies, Infrared and Raman intensities of the title molecule in the ground state were calculated using ab initio Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (B3LYP) methods with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set for the first time. The optimized geometric parameters and the theoretical vibrational frequencies were found to be in good agreement with the corresponding experimental data and with the results found in the literature. The vibrational frequencies were assigned based on the potential energy distribution using the VEDA 4 program. The dimeric form of 4-chlorobenzothioamide was also simulated to evaluate the effect of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on the vibrational frequencies. It was observed that the Nsbnd H stretching modes shifted to lower frequencies, while the in-plane and out-of-plane bending modes shifted to higher frequencies due to the intermolecular Nsbnd H⋯S hydrogen bond. Also, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies and diagrams were presented.

Binding Cellulose and Chitosan via Intermolecular Inclusion Interaction: Synthesis and Characterisation of Gel

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Jiufang Duan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A novel cellulose-chitosan gel was successfully prepared in three steps: (1 ferrocene- (Fc- cellulose with degrees of substitution (DS of 0.5 wt% was synthesised by ferrocenecarboxylic acid and cellulose within dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl; (2 the β-cyclodextrin (β-CD groups were introduced onto the chitosan chains by reacting chitosan with epichlorohydrin in dimethyl sulphoxide and a DS of 0.35 wt%; (3 thus, the cellulose-chitosan gel was obtained via an intermolecular inclusion interaction of Fc-cellulose and β-CD-chitosan in DMA/LiCl, that is, by an intermolecular inclusion interaction, between the Fc groups of cellulose and the β-CD groups on the chitosan backbone at room temperature. The successful synthesis of Fc-cellulose and β-CD-chitosan was characterised by 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The gel based on β-CD-chitosan and Fc-cellulose was formed under mild conditions which can engender autonomous healing between cut surfaces after 24 hours: the gel cannot self-heal while the cut surfaces were coated with a solution of a competitive guest (adamantane acid. The cellulose-chitosan complex made by this method underwent self-healing. Therefore, this study provided a novel method of expanding the application of chitosan by binding it with another polymer.

Differential regulation of tissue thiol-disulfide redox status in a murine model of peritonitis

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Benton Shana M

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Glutathione (GSH/glutathione disulfide (GSSG and cysteine (Cys/cystine (CySS are major redox pools with important roles in cytoprotection. We determined the impact of septic peritonitis on thiol-disulfide redox status in mice. Methods FVB/N mice (6–12 week old; 8/group underwent laparotomy with cecal ligation and puncture (CLP or laparotomy alone (control. Sections of ileum, colon, lung and liver were obtained and GSH, GSSG, Cys and CySS concentrations determined by HPLC 24 h after laparotomy. Redox potential [Eh in millivolts (mV] of the GSH/GSSG and Cys/CySS pools was calculated using the Nernst equation. Data were analyzed by ANOVA (mean ± SE. Results GSH/GSSG Eh in ileum, colon, and liver was significantly oxidized in septic mice versus control mice (ileum: septic −202±4 versus control −228±2 mV; colon: -195±8 versus −214±1 mV; and liver: -194±3 vs. -210±1 mV, all Ph was unchanged with CLP, while liver and lung Cys/CySS Eh became significantly more reducing (liver: septic = −103±3 versus control −90±2 mV; lung: -101±5 versus −81±1 mV, each P Conclusions Septic peritonitis induced by CLP oxidizes ileal and colonic GSH/GSSG redox but Cys/CySS Eh remains unchanged in these intestinal tissues. In liver, CLP oxidizes the GSH/GSSG redox pool and CyS/CySS Eh becomes more reducing; in lung, CLP does not alter GSH/GSSG Eh, and Cys/CySS Eh is less oxidized. CLP-induced infection/inflammation differentially regulates major thiol-disulfide redox pools in this murine model.

Mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase is inactivated upon oxidation and reactivated by thioredoxin-dependent reduction in Arabidopsis

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Keisuke eYoshida

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism is essential for ensuring cellular growth and maintenance in plants. Based on redox-proteomics analysis, several proteins involved in diverse mitochondrial reactions have been identified as potential redox-regulated proteins. NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH, a key enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, is one such candidate. In this study, we investigated the redox regulation mechanisms of IDH by biochemical procedures. In contrast to mammalian and yeast counterparts reported to date, recombinant IDH in Arabidopsis mitochondria did not show adenylate-dependent changes in enzymatic activity. Instead, IDH was inactivated by oxidation treatment and partially reactivated by subsequent reduction. Functional IDH forms a heterodimer comprising regulatory (IDH-r and catalytic (IDH-c subunits. IDH-r was determined to be the target of oxidative modifications forming an oligomer via intermolecular disulfide bonds. Mass spectrometric analysis combined with tryptic digestion of IDH-r indicated that Cys128 and Cys216 are involved in intermolecular disulfide bond formation. Furthermore, we showed that mitochondria-localized o-type thioredoxin (Trx-o promotes the reduction of oxidized IDH-r. These results suggest that IDH-r is susceptible to oxidative stress, and Trx-o serves to convert oxidized IDH-r to the reduced form that is necessary for active IDH complex.

Intracellular drug delivery nanocarriers of glutathione-responsive degradable block copolymers having pendant disulfide linkages.

Science.gov (United States)

Khorsand, Behnoush; Lapointe, Gabriel; Brett, Christopher; Oh, Jung Kwon

2013-06-10

Self-assembled micelles of amphiphilic block copolymers (ABPs) with stimuli-responsive degradation (SRD) properties have a great promise as nanotherapeutics exhibiting enhanced release of encapsulated therapeutics into targeted cells. Here, thiol-responsive degradable micelles based on a new ABP consisting of a pendant disulfide-labeled methacrylate polymer block (PHMssEt) and a hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block were investigated as effective intracellular nanocarriers of anticancer drugs. In response to glutathione (GSH) as a cellular trigger, the cleavage of pendant disulfide linkages in hydrophobic PHMssEt blocks of micellar cores caused the destabilization of self-assembled micelles due to change in hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance. Such GSH-triggered micellar destabilization changed their size distribution with an appearance of large aggregates and led to enhanced release of encapsulated anticancer drugs. Cell culture results from flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy for cellular uptake as well as cell viability measurements for high anticancer efficacy suggest that new GSH-responsive degradable PEO-b-PHMssEt micelles offer versatility in multifunctional drug delivery applications.

Intermolecular rhodium-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] carbocyclization reactions of 1,6-enynes with symmetrical and unsymmetrical alkynes†

Science.gov (United States)

Andrew Evans, P.; Sawyer, James R.; Lai, Kwong Wah; Huffman, John C.

2006-01-01

The crossed intermolecular rhodium-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] carbocyclization of carbon and heteroatom tethered 1,6-enynes can be accomplished with symmetrical and unsymmetrical alkynes, to afford the corresponding bicyclohexadienes in an efficient and highly selective manner. PMID:16075089

Intermolecular interaction studies of glyphosate with water

Science.gov (United States)

Manon, Priti; Juglan, K. C.; Kaur, Kirandeep; Sethi, Nidhi; Kaur, J. P.

2017-07-01

The density (ρ), viscosity (η) and ultrasonic velocity (U) of glyphosate with water have been measured on different ultrasonic frequency ranges from 1MHz, 2MHz, 3MHz & 5MHz by varying concentrations (0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%, 0.20%, 0.25%, 0.30%, 0.35%, & 0.40%) at 30°C. The specific gravity bottle, Ostwald's viscometer and quartz crystal interferometer were used to determine density (ρ), viscosity (η) and ultrasonic velocity (U). These three factors contribute in evaluating the other parameters as acoustic impedance (Z), adiabatic compressibility (β), relaxation time (τ), intermolecular free length (Lf), free volume (Vf), ultrasonic attenuation (α/f2), Rao's constant (R), Wada's constant (W) and relative strength (R). Solute-solvent interaction is confirmed by ultrasonic velocity and viscosity values, which increases with increase in concentration indicates stronger association between solute and solvent molecules. With rise in ultrasonic frequency the interaction between the solute and solvent particles decreases. The linear variations in Rao's constant and Wada's constant suggest the absence of complex formation.

Intermolecular interactions of trifluorohalomethanes with Lewis bases in the gas phase: an ab initio study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yi-Siang; Yin, Chih-Chien; Chao, Sheng D

2014-10-07

We perform an ab initio computational study of molecular complexes with the general formula CF3X-B that involve one trifluorohalomethane CF3X (X = Cl or Br) and one of a series of Lewis bases B in the gas phase. The Lewis bases are so chosen that they provide a range of electron-donating abilities for comparison. Based on the characteristics of their electron pairs, we consider the Lewis bases with a single n-pair (NH3 and PH3), two n-pairs (H2O and H2S), two n-pairs with an unsaturated bond (H2CO and H2CS), and a single π-pair (C2H4) and two π-pairs (C2H2). The aim is to systematically investigate the influence of the electron pair characteristics and the central atom substitution effects on the geometries and energetics of the formed complexes. The counterpoise-corrected supermolecule MP2 and coupled-cluster single double with perturbative triple [CCSD(T)] levels of theory have been employed, together with a series of basis sets up to aug-cc-pVTZ. The angular and radial configurations, the binding energies, and the electrostatic potentials of the stable complexes have been compared and discussed as the Lewis base varies. For those complexes where halogen bonding plays a significant role, the calculated geometries and energetics are consistent with the σ-hole model. Upon formation of stable complexes, the C-X bond lengths shorten, while the C-X vibrational frequencies increase, thus rendering blueshifting halogen bonds. The central atom substitution usually enlarges the intermolecular bond distances while it reduces the net charge transfers, thus weakening the bond strengths. The analysis based on the σ-hole model is grossly reliable but requires suitable modifications incorporating the central atom substitution effects, in particular, when interaction components other than electrostatic contributions are involved.

Intermolecular Interactions in Crystalline Theobromine as Reflected in Electron Deformation Density and (13)C NMR Chemical Shift Tensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouzková, Kateřina; Babinský, Martin; Novosadová, Lucie; Marek, Radek

2013-06-11

An understanding of the role of intermolecular interactions in crystal formation is essential to control the generation of diverse crystalline forms which is an important concern for pharmaceutical industry. Very recently, we reported a new approach to interpret the relationships between intermolecular hydrogen bonding, redistribution of electron density in the system, and NMR chemical shifts (Babinský et al. J. Phys. Chem. A, 2013, 117, 497). Here, we employ this approach to characterize a full set of crystal interactions in a sample of anhydrous theobromine as reflected in (13)C NMR chemical shift tensors (CSTs). The important intermolecular contacts are identified by comparing the DFT-calculated NMR CSTs for an isolated theobromine molecule and for clusters composed of several molecules as selected from the available X-ray diffraction data. Furthermore, electron deformation density (EDD) and shielding deformation density (SDD) in the proximity of the nuclei involved in the proposed interactions are calculated and visualized. In addition to the recently reported observations for hydrogen bonding, we focus here particularly on the stacking interactions. Although the principal relations between the EDD and CST for hydrogen bonding (HB) and stacking interactions are similar, the real-space consequences are rather different. Whereas the C-H···X hydrogen bonding influences predominantly and significantly the in-plane principal component of the (13)C CST perpendicular to the HB path and the C═O···H hydrogen bonding modulates both in-plane components of the carbonyl (13)C CST, the stacking modulates the out-of-plane electron density resulting in weak deshielding (2-8 ppm) of both in-plane principal components of the CST and weak shielding (∼ 5 ppm) of the out-of-plane component. The hydrogen-bonding and stacking interactions may add to or subtract from one another to produce total values observed experimentally. On the example of theobromine, we demonstrate

Photochemical synthesis of ultrafine organosilicon particles from trimethyl(2-propynyloxy)silane and carbon disulfide

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Morita, H.; Nozawa, R.; Bastl, Zdeněk; Šubrt, Jan; Pola, Josef

2006-01-01

Roč. 179, 1-2 (2006), s. 142-148 ISSN 1010-6030 Grant - others:MEXT(JP) 767/15085203 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503; CEZ:AV0Z40320502; CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : ultrafine particles * photo-polymerization * trimethyl(2-propynyloxy)silane * carbon disulfide Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 2.098, year: 2006

Water desalination with a single-layer MoS2 nanopore

OpenAIRE

Heiranian, Mohammad; Farimani, Amir Barati; Aluru, Narayana R.

2015-01-01

Efficient desalination of water continues to be a problem facing the society. Advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of a variety of nanoporous membranes for water purification. Here we show, by performing molecular dynamics simulations, that a nanopore in a single-layer molybdenum disulfide can effectively reject ions and allow transport of water at a high rate. More than 88% of ions are rejected by membranes having pore areas ranging from 20 to 60??2. Water flux is found to ...

Synthesis of benzimidazoles by potassium tert-butoxide-promoted intermolecular cyclization reaction of 2-iodoanilines with nitriles.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Shi-Kai; Tan, Wen; Zhang, Dong-Xue; Tian, Xian-Li; Feng, Chun; Wang, Bi-Qin; Zhao, Ke-Qing; Hu, Ping; Yang, Hua

2013-11-14

The synthesis of benzimidazoles by intermolecular cyclization reaction of 2-iodoanilines with nitriles has been developed. These reactions proceeded without the aid of any transition metals or ligands and just using KOBu(t) as the base. A variety of substituted benzimidazole derivatives can be synthesized by the approach.

A Protein Disulfide Isomerase Gene Fusion Expression System That Increases the Extracellular Productivity of Bacillus brevis

Science.gov (United States)

Kajino, Tsutomu; Ohto, Chikara; Muramatsu, Masayoshi; Obata, Shusei; Udaka, Shigezo; Yamada, Yukio; Takahashi, Haruo

2000-01-01

We have developed a versatile Bacillus brevis expression and secretion system based on the use of fungal protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) as a gene fusion partner. Fusion with PDI increased the extracellular production of heterologous proteins (light chain of immunoglobulin G, 8-fold; geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase, 12-fold). Linkage to PDI prevented the aggregation of the secreted proteins, resulting in high-level accumulation of fusion proteins in soluble and biologically active forms. We also show that the disulfide isomerase activity of PDI in a fusion protein is responsible for the suppression of the aggregation of the protein with intradisulfide, whereas aggregation of the protein without intradisulfide was prevented even when the protein was fused to a mutant PDI whose two active sites were disrupted, suggesting that another PDI function, such as chaperone-like activity, synergistically prevented the aggregation of heterologous proteins in the PDI fusion expression system. PMID:10653729

Self-homodimerization of an actinoporin by disulfide bridging reveals implications for their structure and pore formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Valle, Aisel; Pérez-Socas, Luis Benito; Canet, Liem; Hervis, Yadira de la Patria; de Armas-Guitart, German; Martins-de-Sa, Diogo; Lima, Jônatas Cunha Barbosa; Souza, Adolfo Carlos Barros; Barbosa, João Alexandre Ribeiro Gonçalves; de Freitas, Sonia Maria; Pazos, Isabel Fabiola

2018-04-26

The Trp111 to Cys mutant of sticholysin I, an actinoporin from Stichodactyla helianthus sea anemone, forms a homodimer via a disulfide bridge. The purified dimer is 193 times less hemolytic than the monomer. Ultracentrifugation, dynamic light scattering and size-exclusion chromatography demonstrate that monomers and dimers are the only independent oligomeric states encountered. Indeed, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopies showed that Trp/Tyr residues participate in homodimerization and that the dimer is less thermostable than the monomer. A homodimer three-dimensional model was constructed and indicates that Trp147/Tyr137 are at the homodimer interface. Spectroscopy results validated the 3D-model and assigned 85° to the disulfide bridge dihedral angle responsible for dimerization. The homodimer model suggests that alterations in the membrane/carbohydrate-binding sites in one of the monomers, as result of dimerization, could explain the decrease in the homodimer ability to form pores.

Contributions of a disulfide bond and a reduced cysteine side chain to the intrinsic activity of the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Miao; Lau, Thomas Y; Carr, Steven A; Krieger, Monty

2012-12-18

The high-density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI), binds HDL and mediates selective cholesteryl ester uptake. SR-BI's structure and mechanism are poorly understood. We used mass spectrometry to assign the two disulfide bonds in SR-BI that connect cysteines within the conserved Cys(321)-Pro(322)-Cys(323) (CPC) motif and connect Cys(280) to Cys(334). We used site-specific mutagenesis to evaluate the contributions of the CPC motif and the side chain of extracellular Cys(384) to HDL binding and lipid uptake. The effects of CPC mutations on activity were context-dependent. Full wild-type (WT) activity required Pro(322) and Cys(323) only when Cys(321) was present. Reduced intrinsic activities were observed for CXC and CPX, but not XXC, XPX, or XXX mutants (X ≠ WT residue). Apparently, a free thiol side chain at position 321 that cannot form an intra-CPC disulfide bond with Cys(323) is deleterious, perhaps because of aberrant disulfide bond formation. Pro(322) may stabilize an otherwise strained CPC disulfide bond, thus supporting WT activity, but this disulfide bond is not absolutely required for normal activity. C(384)X (X = S, T, L, Y, G, or A) mutants exhibited altered activities that varied with the side chain's size: larger side chains phenocopied WT SR-BI treated with its thiosemicarbazone inhibitor BLT-1 (enhanced binding, weakened uptake); smaller side chains produced almost inverse effects (increased uptake:binding ratio). C(384)X mutants were BLT-1-resistant, supporting the proposal that Cys(384)'s thiol interacts with BLT-1. We discuss the implications of our findings on the functions of the extracellular loop cysteines in SR-BI and compare our results to those presented by other laboratories.

Mutagenesis of the redox-active disulfide in mercuric ion reductase: Catalysis by mutant enzymes restricted to flavin redox chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Distefano, M.D.; Au, K.G.; Walsh, C.T.

1989-01-01

Mercuric reductase, a flavoenzyme that possesses a redox-active cystine, Cys 135 Cys 140 , catalyzes the reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(0) by NADPH. As a probe of mechanism, the authors have constructed mutants lacking a redox-active disulfide by eliminating Cys 135 (Ala 135 Cys 140 ), Cys 14 (Cys 135 Ala 140 ), or both (Ala 135 Ala 140 ). Additionally, they have made double mutants that lack Cys 135 (Ala 135 Cys 139 Cys 140 ) or Cys 140 (Cys 135 Cys 139 Ala 140 ) but introduce a new Cys in place of Gly 139 with the aim of constructing dithiol pairs in the active site that do not form a redox-active disulfide. The resulting mutant enzymes all lack redox-active disulfides and are hence restricted to FAD/FADH 2 redox chemistry. Each mutant enzyme possesses unique physical and spectroscopic properties that reflect subtle differences in the FAD microenvironment. Preliminary evidence for the Ala 135 Cys 139 Cys 14 mutant enzyme suggests that this protein forms a disulfide between the two adjacent Cys residues. Hg(II) titration experiments that correlate the extent of charge-transfer quenching with Hg(II) binding indicate that the Ala 135 Cys 140 protein binds Hg(II) with substantially less avidity than does the wild-type enzyme. All mutant mercuric reductases catalyze transhydrogenation and oxygen reduction reactions through obligatory reduced flavin intermediates at rates comparable to or greater than that of the wild-type enzyme. In multiple-turnover assays which monitored the production of Hg(0), two of the mutant enzymes were observed to proceed through at least 30 turnovers at rates ca. 1000-fold slower than that of wild-type mercuric reductase. They conclude that the Cys 135 and Cys 140 thiols serve as Hg(II) ligands that orient the Hg(II) for subsequent reduction by a reduced flavin intermediate

The influence of the Cys46/Cys55 disulfide bond on the redox and spectroscopic properties of human neuroglobin.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellei, Marzia; Bortolotti, Carlo Augusto; Di Rocco, Giulia; Borsari, Marco; Lancellotti, Lidia; Ranieri, Antonio; Sola, Marco; Battistuzzi, Gianantonio

2018-01-01

Neuroglobin is a monomeric globin containing a six-coordinate heme b, expressed in the nervous system, which exerts an important neuroprotective role. In the human protein (hNgb), Cys46 and Cys55 form an intramolecular disulfide bond under oxidizing conditions, whose cleavage induces a helix-to-strand rearrangement of the CD loop that strengthens the bond between the heme iron and the distal histidine. Hence, it is conceivable that the intramolecular disulfide bridge modulates the functionality of human neuroglobin by controlling exogenous ligand binding. In this work, we investigated the influence of the Cys46/Cys55 disulfide bond on the redox properties and on the pH-dependent conformational equilibria of hNgb, using UV-vis spectroelectrochemistry, cyclic voltammetry, electronic absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD). We found that the SS bridge significantly affects the heme Fe(III) to Fe(II) reduction enthalpy (ΔH°' rc ) and entropy (ΔS°' rc ), mostly as a consequence of changes in the reduction-induced solvent reorganization effects, without affecting the axial ligand-binding interactions and the polarity and electrostatics of the heme environment. Between pH3 and 12, the electronic properties of the heme of ferric hNgb are sensitive to five acid-base equilibria, which are scarcely affected by the Cys46/Cys55 disulfide bridge. The equilibria occurring at extreme pH values induce heme release, while those occurring between pH5 and 10 alter the electronic properties of the heme without modifying its axial coordination and low spin state. They involve the sidechains of non-coordinating aminoacids close to the heme and at least one heme propionate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The influence of zinc(II) on thioredoxin/glutathione disulfide exchange: QM/MM studies to explore how zinc(II) accelerates exchange in higher dielectric environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurian, Roby; Bruce, Mitchell R M; Bruce, Alice E; Amar, François G

2015-08-01

QM/MM studies were performed to explore the energetics of exchange reactions of glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and the active site of thioredoxin [Cys32-Gly33-Pro34-Cys35] with and without zinc(II), in vacuum and solvated models. The activation energy for exchange, in the absence of zinc, is 29.7 kcal mol(-1) for the solvated model. This is 3.3 kcal mol(-1) higher than the activation energy for exchange in the gas phase, due to ground state stabilization of the active site Cys-32 thiolate in a polar environment. In the presence of zinc, the activation energy for exchange is 4.9 kcal mol(-1) lower than in the absence of zinc (solvated models). The decrease in activation energy is attributed to stabilization of the charge-separated transition state, which has a 4-centered, cyclic arrangement of Zn-S-S-S with an estimated dipole moment of 4.2 D. A difference of 4.9 kcal mol(-1) in activation energy would translate to an increase in rate by a factor of about 4000 for zinc-assisted thiol-disulfide exchange. The calculations are consistent with previously reported experimental results, which indicate that metal-thiolate, disulfide exchange rates increase as a function of solvent dielectric. This trend is opposite to that observed for the influence of the dielectric environment on the rate of thiol-disulfide exchange in the absence of metal. The results suggest a dynamic role for zinc in thiol-disulfide exchange reactions, involving accessible cysteine sites on proteins, which may contribute to redox regulation and mechanistic pathways during oxidative stress.

Exchange coupling and magnetic anisotropy of exchanged-biased quantum tunnelling single-molecule magnet Ni3Mn2 complexes using theoretical methods based on Density Functional Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Coca, Silvia; Ruiz, Eliseo

2012-03-07

The magnetic properties of a new family of single-molecule magnet Ni(3)Mn(2) complexes were studied using theoretical methods based on Density Functional Theory (DFT). The first part of this study is devoted to analysing the exchange coupling constants, focusing on the intramolecular as well as the intermolecular interactions. The calculated intramolecular J values were in excellent agreement with the experimental data, which show that all the couplings are ferromagnetic, leading to an S = 7 ground state. The intermolecular interactions were investigated because the two complexes studied do not show tunnelling at zero magnetic field. Usually, this exchange-biased quantum tunnelling is attributed to the presence of intermolecular interactions calculated with the help of theoretical methods. The results indicate the presence of weak intermolecular antiferromagnetic couplings that cannot explain the ferromagnetic value found experimentally for one of the systems. In the second part, the goal is to analyse magnetic anisotropy through the calculation of the zero-field splitting parameters (D and E), using DFT methods including the spin-orbit effect.

Reorganization energy upon charging a single molecule on an insulator measured by atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Fatayer, Shadi; Schuler, Bruno; Steurer, Wolfram; Scivetti, Ivan; Repp, Jascha; Gross, Leo; Persson, Mats; Meyer, Gerhard

2018-05-01

Intermolecular single-electron transfer on electrically insulating films is a key process in molecular electronics1-4 and an important example of a redox reaction5,6. Electron-transfer rates in molecular systems depend on a few fundamental parameters, such as interadsorbate distance, temperature and, in particular, the Marcus reorganization energy7. This crucial parameter is the energy gain that results from the distortion of the equilibrium nuclear geometry in the molecule and its environment on charging8,9. The substrate, especially ionic films10, can have an important influence on the reorganization energy11,12. Reorganization energies are measured in electrochemistry13 as well as with optical14,15 and photoemission spectroscopies16,17, but not at the single-molecule limit and nor on insulating surfaces. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), with single-charge sensitivity18-22, atomic-scale spatial resolution20 and operable on insulating films, overcomes these challenges. Here, we investigate redox reactions of single naphthalocyanine (NPc) molecules on multilayered NaCl films. Employing the atomic force microscope as an ultralow current meter allows us to measure the differential conductance related to transitions between two charge states in both directions. Thereby, the reorganization energy of NPc on NaCl is determined as (0.8 ± 0.2) eV, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide the atomistic picture of the nuclear relaxations on charging. Our approach presents a route to perform tunnelling spectroscopy of single adsorbates on insulating substrates and provides insight into single-electron intermolecular transport.

Structure of thrombospondin type 3 repeats in bacterial outer membrane protein A reveals its intra-repeat disulfide bond-dependent calcium-binding capability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai, Shuyan; Sun, Cancan; Tan, Kemin; Ye, Sheng; Zhang, Rongguang

2017-09-01

Eukaryotic thrombospondin type 3 repeat (TT3R) is an efficient calcium ion (Ca2+) binding motif only found in mammalian thrombospondin family. TT3R has also been found in prokaryotic cellulase Cel5G, which was thought to forfeit the Ca2+-binding capability due to the formation of intra-repeat disulfide bonds, instead of the inter-repeat ones possessed by eukaryotic TT3Rs. In this study, we have identified an enormous number of prokaryotic TT3R-containing proteins belonging to several different protein families, including outer membrane protein A (OmpA), an important structural protein connecting the outer membrane and the periplasmic peptidoglycan layer in gram-negative bacteria. Here, we report the crystal structure of the periplasmic region of OmpA from Capnocytophaga gingivalis, which contains a linker region comprising five consecutive TT3Rs. The structure of OmpA-TT3R exhibits a well-ordered architecture organized around two tightly-coordinated Ca2+ and confirms the presence of abnormal intra-repeat disulfide bonds. Further mutagenesis studies showed that the Ca2+-binding capability of OmpA-TT3R is indeed dependent on the proper formation of intra-repeat disulfide bonds, which help to fix a conserved glycine residue at its proper position for Ca2+ coordination. Additionally, despite lacking inter repeat disulfide bonds, the interfaces between adjacent OmpA-TT3Rs are enhanced by both hydrophobic and conserved aromatic-proline interactions.

Gold nanoparticles physicochemically bonded onto tungsten disulfide nanosheet edges exhibit augmented plasmon damping

Science.gov (United States)

Forcherio, Gregory T.; Dunklin, Jeremy R.; Backes, Claudia; Vaynzof, Yana; Benamara, Mourad; Roper, D. Keith

2017-07-01

Augmented plasmonic damping of dipole-resonant gold (Au) nanoparticles (NP) physicochemically bonded onto edges of tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets, ostensibly due to hot electron injection, is quantified using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). EELS allows single-particle spatial resolution. A measured 0.23 eV bandwidth expansion of the localized surface plasmon resonance upon covalent bonding of 20 nm AuNP to WS2 edges was deemed significant by Welch's t-test. Approximately 0.19 eV of the measured 0.23 eV expansion went beyond conventional radiative and nonradiative damping mechanisms according to discrete dipole models, ostensibly indicating emergence of hot electron transport from AuNP into the WS2. A quantum efficiency of up to 11±5% spanning a 7 fs transfer process across the optimized AuNP-TMD ohmic junction is conservatively calculated. Putative hot electron transport for AuNP physicochemically bonded to TMD edges exceeded that for AuNP physically deposited onto the TMD basal plane. This arose from contributions due to (i) direct physicochemical bond between AuNP and WS2; (ii) AuNP deposition at TMD edge sites; and (iii) lower intrinsic Schottky barrier. This improves understanding of photo-induced doping of TMD by metal NP which could benefit emerging catalytic and optoelectronic applications.

Intermolecular Interactions between Eosin Y and Caffeine Using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Macduff O. Okuom

2013-01-01

Full Text Available DETECHIP has been used in testing analytes including caffeine, cocaine, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC from marijuana, as well as date rape and club drugs such as flunitrazepam, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB, and methamphetamine. This study investigates the intermolecular interaction between DETECHIP sensor eosin Y (DC1 and the analyte (caffeine that is responsible for the fluorescence and color changes observed in the actual array. Using 1H-NMR, 1H-COSY, and 1H-DOSY NMR methods, a proton exchange from C-8 of caffeine to eosin Y is proposed.

Raman Signatures of Polytypism in Molybdenum Disulfide.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae-Ung; Kim, Kangwon; Han, Songhee; Ryu, Gyeong Hee; Lee, Zonghoon; Cheong, Hyeonsik

2016-02-23

Since the stacking order sensitively affects various physical properties of layered materials, accurate determination of the stacking order is important for studying the basic properties of these materials as well as for device applications. Because 2H-molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is most common in nature, most studies so far have focused on 2H-MoS2. However, we found that the 2H, 3R, and mixed stacking sequences exist in few-layer MoS2 exfoliated from natural molybdenite crystals. The crystal structures are confirmed by HR-TEM measurements. The Raman signatures of different polytypes are investigated by using three different excitation energies that are nonresonant and resonant with A and C excitons, respectively. The low-frequency breathing and shear modes show distinct differences for each polytype, whereas the high-frequency intralayer modes show little difference. For resonant excitations at 1.96 and 2.81 eV, distinct features are observed that enable determination of the stacking order.

Symmetry in the polarization expansion for intermolecular forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chipman, D.M.; Hirschfelder, J.O.

1980-01-01

In the usual polarization expansion for intermolecular forces, exchange effects that determine the separations of energy levels within the manifold of interacting states are ignored. Previous low order calculations on simple physical systems have indicated that these exchange terms can be described reasonably well by an appropriate ad hoc symmetrization of the polarization wave function (the SYM-P method). But theoretical considerations suggest that the SYM-P method should be good for only one of the interacting states and not for the others in the manifold. Here this long standing apparent conflict between theoretical expectations and actual results is explained by consideration of a simple model system in which the relevant equations can be solved exactly. It is concluded that while the SYM-P method is potentially exact for only one of the interacting states, it may provide good approximations to the other states of the manifold in the case of large separations of the interacting subsystems

The effect of the intermolecular potential formulation on the state-selected energy exchange rate coefficients in N2-N2 collisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurnosov, Alexander; Cacciatore, Mario; Laganà, Antonio; Pirani, Fernando; Bartolomei, Massimiliano; Garcia, Ernesto

2014-04-05

The rate coefficients for N2-N2 collision-induced vibrational energy exchange (important for the enhancement of several modern innovative technologies) have been computed over a wide range of temperature. Potential energy surfaces based on different formulations of the intramolecular and intermolecular components of the interaction have been used to compute quasiclassically and semiclassically some vibrational to vibrational energy transfer rate coefficients. Related outcomes have been rationalized in terms of state-to-state probabilities and cross sections for quasi-resonant transitions and deexcitations from the first excited vibrational level (for which experimental information are available). On this ground, it has been possible to spot critical differences on the vibrational energy exchange mechanisms supported by the different surfaces (mainly by their intermolecular components) in the low collision energy regime, though still effective for temperatures as high as 10,000 K. It was found, in particular, that the most recently proposed intermolecular potential becomes the most effective in promoting vibrational energy exchange near threshold temperatures and has a behavior opposite to the previously proposed one when varying the coupling of vibration with the other degrees of freedom. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Highly Convergent Total Synthesis of (+)-Lithospermic Acid via a Late-Stage Intermolecular C–H Olefination

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dong-Hui; Yu, Jin-Quan

2011-01-01

The total synthesis of (+)-lithospermic acid is reported, which exploits two successive C–H activation reactions as the key steps. Rh-catalyzed carbene C–H insertion reaction using Davies’ catalyst built the dihydrobenzofuran core, and a late-stage intermolecular C–H olefination coupled the olefin unit with the dihydrobenzofuran core to construct the molecule in a highly convergent manner. PMID:21443224

An Efficient Method to Evaluate Intermolecular Interaction Energies in Large Systems Using Overlapping Multicenter ONIOM and the Fragment Molecular Orbital Method

Science.gov (United States)

Asada, Naoya; Fedorov, Dmitri G.; Kitaura, Kazuo; Nakanishi, Isao; Merz, Kenneth M.

2012-01-01

We propose an approach based on the overlapping multicenter ONIOM to evaluate intermolecular interaction energies in large systems and demonstrate its accuracy on several representative systems in the complete basis set limit at the MP2 and CCSD(T) level of theory. In the application to the intermolecular interaction energy between insulin dimer and 4′-hydroxyacetanilide at the MP2/CBS level, we use the fragment molecular orbital method for the calculation of the entire complex assigned to the lowest layer in three-layer ONIOM. The developed method is shown to be efficient and accurate in the evaluation of the protein-ligand interaction energies. PMID:23050059

Raman investigation of molybdenum disulfide with different polytypes

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae-Ung; Kim, Kangwon; Han, Songhee; Ryu, Gyeong Hee; Lee, Zonghoon; Cheong, Hyeonsik

The Raman spectra of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with different polytypes are investigated. Although 2H-MoS2 is most common in nature, the 3R phase can exist due to a small difference in the formation energy. However, only a few studies are reported for the 3R phase, and most studies have focused on the 2H phase. We found the 2H, 3R and mixed phases of exfoliated few-layer MoS2 from natural molybdenite crystals. The crystal structures of 2H- and 3R-MoS2 are confirmed by the HR-TEM measurements. By using 3 different excitation energies, we compared the Raman spectra of different polytypes in detail. We show that the Raman spectroscopy can be used to identify not only the number of layers but also the polytypes of MoS2.

Rubrene: The interplay between intramolecular and intermolecular interactions determines the planarization of its tetracene core in the solid state

KAUST Repository

Sutton, Christopher; Marshall, Michael S.; Sherrill, C. David; Risko, Chad; Bredas, Jean-Luc

2015-01-01

exchange-repulsion interactions among the phenyl side groups. Calculations based on available crystallographic structures reveal that planar conformations of the tetracene core in the solid state result from intermolecular interactions that can be tuned

Adsorption and Diffusion of Lithium and Sodium on Defective Rhenium Disulfide: A First Principles Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Sankha; Banwait, Avinav; Grixti, Sean; Koratkar, Nikhil; Singh, Chandra Veer

2018-02-14

Single-layer rhenium disulfide (ReS 2 ) is a unique material with distinctive, anisotropic electronic, mechanical, and optical properties and has the potential to be used as an anode in alkali-metal-ion batteries. In this work, first principles calculations were performed to systematically evaluate the potential of monolayer pristine and defective ReS 2 as anodes in lithium (Li)- and sodium (Na)-ion batteries. Our calculations suggest that there are several potential adsorption sites for Li and Na on pristine ReS 2 , owing to its low-symmetry structure. Additionally, the adsorption of Li and Na over pristine ReS 2 is very strong with adsorption energies of -2.28 and -1.71 eV, respectively. Interestingly, the presence of point defects causes significantly stronger binding of the alkali-metal atoms with adsorption energies in the range -2.98 to -3.17 eV for Li and -2.66 to -2.92 eV for Na. Re single vacancy was found to be the strongest binding defect for Li adsorption, whereas S single vacancy was found to be the strongest for Na. The diffusion of these two alkali atoms over pristine ReS 2 is anisotropic, with an energy barrier of 0.33 eV for Li and 0.16 eV for Na. The energy barriers associated with escaping a double vacancy and single vacancy for Li atoms are significantly large at 0.60 eV for the double-vacancy case and 0.51 eV for the single-vacancy case. Similarly, for Na, they are 0.59 and 0.47 eV, respectively, which indicates slower migration and sluggish charging/discharging. However, the diffusion energy barrier over a Re single vacancy is found to be merely 0.42 eV for a Li atom and 0.28 eV for Na. Overall, S single and double vacancies can reduce the diffusion rate by 10 3 -10 5 times for Li and Na ions, respectively. These results suggest that monolayer ReS 2 with a Re single vacancy adsorbs Li and Na stronger than pristine ReS 2 , with negligible negotiation with the charging/discharging rate of the battery, and therefore they can be used as an anode

Intermolecular Modes between LH2 Bacteriochlorophylls and Protein Residues: The Effect on the Excitation Energies.

Science.gov (United States)

Anda, André; De Vico, Luca; Hansen, Thorsten

2017-06-08

Light-harvesting system 2 (LH2) executes the primary processes of photosynthesis in purple bacteria; photon absorption, and energy transportation to the reaction center. A detailed mechanistic insight into these operations is obscured by the complexity of the light-harvesting systems, particularly by the chromophore-environment interaction. In this work, we focus on the effects of the protein residues that are ligated to the bacteriochlorophylls (BChls) and construct potential energy surfaces of the ground and first optically excited state for the various BChl-residue systems where we in each case consider two degrees of freedom in the intermolecular region. We find that the excitation energies are only slightly affected by the considered modes. In addition, we see that axial ligands and hydrogen-bonded residues have opposite effects on both excitation energies and oscillator strengths by comparing to the isolated BChls. Our results indicate that only a small part of the chromophore-environment interaction can be associated with the intermolecular region between a BChl and an adjacent residue, but that it may be possible to selectively raise or lower the excitation energy at the axial and planar residue positions, respectively.

Metal-Catalyzed Intra- and Intermolecular Addition of Carboxylic Acids to Alkynes in Aqueous Media: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Francos

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The metal-catalyzed addition of carboxylic acids to alkynes is a very effective tool for the synthesis of carboxylate-functionalized olefinic compounds in an atom-economical manner. Thus, a large variety of synthetically useful lactones and enol-esters can be accessed through the intra- or intermolecular versions of this process. In order to reduce the environmental impact of these reactions, considerable efforts have been devoted in recent years to the development of catalytic systems able to operate in aqueous media, which represent a real challenge taking into account the tendency of alkynes to undergo hydration in the presence of transition metals. Despite this, different Pd, Pt, Au, Cu and Ru catalysts capable of promoting the intra- and intermolecular addition of carboxylic acids to alkynes in a selective manner in aqueous environments have appeared in the literature. In this review article, an overview of this chemistry is provided. The synthesis of β-oxo esters by catalytic addition of carboxylic acids to terminal propargylic alcohols in water is also discussed.

Structural changes and intermolecular interactions of filled ice Ic structure for hydrogen hydrate under high pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machida, S; Hirai, H; Kawamura, T; Yamamoto, Y; Yagi, T

2010-01-01

High-pressure experiments of hydrogen hydrate were performed using a diamond anvil cell under conditions of 0.1-44.2 GPa and at room temperature. Also, high pressure Raman studies of solid hydrogen were performed in the pressure range of 0.1-43.7 GPa. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) for hydrogen hydrate revealed that a known high-pressure structure, filled ice Ic structure, of hydrogen hydrate transformed to a new high-pressure structure at approximately 35-40 GPa. A comparison of the Raman spectroscopy of a vibron for hydrogen molecules between hydrogen hydrate and solid hydrogen revealed that the extraction of hydrogen molecules from hydrogen hydrate occurred above 20 GPa. Also, the Raman spectra of a roton revealed that the rotation of hydrogen molecules in hydrogen hydrate was suppressed at around 20 GPa and that the rotation recovered under higher pressure. These results indicated that remarkable intermolecular interactions in hydrogen hydrate between neighboring hydrogen molecules and between guest hydrogen molecules and host water molecules might occur. These intermolecular interactions could produce the stability of hydrogen hydrate.

Fast and efficient green synthesis of thiosulfonate S-esters by microwave-supported permanganate oxidation of symmetrical disulfides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thi, Luu Thi Xuan; Thi Nguyen, Thao-Tran; Le, Thach Ngoc

2015-01-01

Potassium permanganate absorbed on copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate has been found to be an efficient, inexpensive, and green oxidation agent for the synthesis of “symmetrical” thiosulfonate S-esters by oxidation of the corresponding symmetrical disulfides. The oxidation reactions were carried out...

A Disulfide Bond-forming Machine Is Linked to the Sortase-mediated Pilus Assembly Pathway in the Gram-positive Bacterium Actinomyces oris*

Science.gov (United States)

Reardon-Robinson, Melissa E.; Osipiuk, Jerzy; Chang, Chungyu; Wu, Chenggang; Jooya, Neda; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Das, Asis; Ton-That, Hung

2015-01-01

Export of cell surface pilins in Gram-positive bacteria likely occurs by the translocation of unfolded precursor polypeptides; however, how the unfolded pilins gain their native conformation is presently unknown. Here, we present physiological studies to demonstrate that the FimA pilin of Actinomyces oris contains two disulfide bonds. Alanine substitution of cysteine residues forming the C-terminal disulfide bridge abrogates pilus assembly, in turn eliminating biofilm formation and polymicrobial interaction. Transposon mutagenesis of A. oris yielded a mutant defective in adherence to Streptococcus oralis, and revealed the essential role of a vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) gene in pilus assembly. Targeted deletion of vkor results in the same defects, which are rescued by ectopic expression of VKOR, but not a mutant containing an alanine substitution in its conserved CXXC motif. Depletion of mdbA, which encodes a membrane-bound thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase, abrogates pilus assembly and alters cell morphology. Remarkably, overexpression of MdbA or a counterpart from Corynebacterium diphtheriae, rescues the Δvkor mutant. By alkylation assays, we demonstrate that VKOR is required for MdbA reoxidation. Furthermore, crystallographic studies reveal that A. oris MdbA harbors a thioredoxin-like fold with the conserved CXXC active site. Consistently, each MdbA enzyme catalyzes proper disulfide bond formation within FimA in vitro that requires the catalytic CXXC motif. Because the majority of signal peptide-containing proteins encoded by A. oris possess multiple Cys residues, we propose that MdbA and VKOR constitute a major folding machine for the secretome of this organism. This oxidative protein folding pathway may be a common feature in Actinobacteria. PMID:26170452

A Disulfide Bond-forming Machine Is Linked to the Sortase-mediated Pilus Assembly Pathway in the Gram-positive Bacterium Actinomyces oris.

Science.gov (United States)

Reardon-Robinson, Melissa E; Osipiuk, Jerzy; Chang, Chungyu; Wu, Chenggang; Jooya, Neda; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Das, Asis; Ton-That, Hung

2015-08-28

Export of cell surface pilins in Gram-positive bacteria likely occurs by the translocation of unfolded precursor polypeptides; however, how the unfolded pilins gain their native conformation is presently unknown. Here, we present physiological studies to demonstrate that the FimA pilin of Actinomyces oris contains two disulfide bonds. Alanine substitution of cysteine residues forming the C-terminal disulfide bridge abrogates pilus assembly, in turn eliminating biofilm formation and polymicrobial interaction. Transposon mutagenesis of A. oris yielded a mutant defective in adherence to Streptococcus oralis, and revealed the essential role of a vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) gene in pilus assembly. Targeted deletion of vkor results in the same defects, which are rescued by ectopic expression of VKOR, but not a mutant containing an alanine substitution in its conserved CXXC motif. Depletion of mdbA, which encodes a membrane-bound thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase, abrogates pilus assembly and alters cell morphology. Remarkably, overexpression of MdbA or a counterpart from Corynebacterium diphtheriae, rescues the Δvkor mutant. By alkylation assays, we demonstrate that VKOR is required for MdbA reoxidation. Furthermore, crystallographic studies reveal that A. oris MdbA harbors a thioredoxin-like fold with the conserved CXXC active site. Consistently, each MdbA enzyme catalyzes proper disulfide bond formation within FimA in vitro that requires the catalytic CXXC motif. Because the majority of signal peptide-containing proteins encoded by A. oris possess multiple Cys residues, we propose that MdbA and VKOR constitute a major folding machine for the secretome of this organism. This oxidative protein folding pathway may be a common feature in Actinobacteria. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Organophotocatalysis: Insights into the Mechanistic Aspects of Thiourea-Mediated Intermolecular [2+2] Photocycloadditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vallavoju, Nandini; Selvakumar, Sermadurai; Pemberton, Barry C; Jockusch, Steffen; Sibi, Mukund P; Sivaguru, Jayaraman

2016-04-25

Mechanistic investigations of the intermolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition of coumarin with tetramethylethylene mediated by thiourea catalysts reveal that the reaction is enabled by a combination of minimized aggregation, enhanced intersystem crossing, and altered excited-state lifetime(s). These results clarify how the excited-state reactivity can be manipulated through catalyst-substrate interactions and reveal a third mechanistic pathway for thiourea-mediated organo-photocatalysis. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Modified electrophoretic and digestion conditions allow a simplified mass spectrometric evaluation of disulfide bonds

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pompach, Petr; Man, Petr; Kavan, Daniel; Hofbauerová, Kateřina; Kumar, Vinay; Bezouška, Karel; Havlíček, Vladimír; Novák, Petr

2009-01-01

Roč. 44, č. 11 (2009), s. 1571-1578 ISSN 1076-5174 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB400200501; GA AV ČR IAA5020403; GA AV ČR KJB500200612; GA MŠk LC545; GA MŠk LC07017 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : disulfide bond * cystamine * gel electrophoresis Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 3.411, year: 2009

Growth and characterization of tin disulfide (SnS2) thin film deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deshpande, N.G.; Sagade, A.A.; Gudage, Y.G.; Lokhande, C.D.; Sharma, Ramphal

2007-01-01

Thin films of tin disulfide (SnS 2 ) have been deposited by using low cost successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The deposition parameters such as SILAR cycles (60), immersion time (20 s), rinsing time (10 s) and deposition temperature (27 o C) were optimized to obtain good quality of films. Physical investigations were made to study the structural, optical and electrical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal that the deposited SnS 2 thin films have hexagonal crystal structure. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) indicated elemental ratio close to those for tin disulfide (SnS (2.02) ). Uniform deposition of the material over the entire glass substrate was revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed the film is uniform and the substrate surface is well covered with small spherical grains merged in each other. A direct band gap of 2.22 eV was obtained. Photoluminescence (PL) showed two strong peaks corresponding to green and red emission. Ag/SnS 2 junction showed Schottky diode like I-V characteristics. The barrier height calculated was 0.22 eV. Thermoelectric power (TEP) properties showed that tin disulfide exhibits n-type conductivity

Identification, activity and disulfide connectivity of C-di-GMP regulating proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kajal Gupta

2010-11-01

Full Text Available C-di-GMP, a bacterial second messenger plays a key role in survival and adaptation of bacteria under different environmental conditions. The level of c-di-GMP is regulated by two opposing activities, namely diguanylate cyclase (DGC and phosphodiesterase (PDE-A exhibited by GGDEF and EAL domain, respectively in the same protein. Previously, we reported a bifunctional GGDEF-EAL domain protein, MSDGC-1 from Mycobacterium smegmatis showing both these activities (Kumar and Chatterji, 2008. In this current report, we have identified and characterized the homologous protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Rv 1354c named as MtbDGC. MtbDGC is also a bifunctional protein, which can synthesize and degrade c-di-GMP in vitro. Further we expressed Mtbdgc in M. smegmatis and it was able to complement the MSDGC-1 knock out strain by restoring the long term survival of M. smegmatis. Another protein Rv 1357c, named as MtbPDE, is an EAL domain protein and degrades c-di-GMP to pGpG in vitro. Rv1354c and 1357c have seven cysteine amino acids in their sequence, distributed along the full length of the protein. Disulfide bonds play an important role in stabilizing protein structure and regulating protein function. By proteolytic digestion and mass spectrometric analysis of MtbDGC, connectivity between cysteine pairs Cys94-Cys584, Cys2-Cys479 and Cys429-Cys614 was determined, whereas the third cysteine (Cys406 from N terminal was found to be free in MtbDGC protein, which was further confirmed by alkylation with iodoacetamide labeling. Bioinformatics modeling investigations also supported the pattern of disulfide connectivity obtained by Mass spectrometric analysis. Cys406 was mutated to serine by site directed mutagenesis and the mutant MtbC406S was not found to be active and was not able to synthesize or degrade c-di-GMP. The disulfide connectivity established here would help further in understanding the structure - function relationship in MtbDGC.

Influence of the degree of crosslinking on the depolymerization of disulfide polymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rekalicj, J.V.; Radosavljevicj, D.S.; Popovicj, E.M.; Stashicj, L.

1976-01-01

The action of nucleophilic reagents (hydrogen sulfide ion, dithionite ion and hydrazine) on disulfide polymers prepd. from bis-2-chloroethyl formal and 1,2,3-trichloropropane, taken in various mol rations is studied. The depolymerization efficiency is higher with hydrazine and dithionite than with a mixt. of sodium hydrogen sulfide and sodium sulfite. An interpretation of the results is given, attempting to correlate the content of SH-groups in the obtained product with the same quantity in some defined compds. which can be present after the depolymerization

Controlled Self-Assembly of Low-Dimensional Alq3 Nanostructures from 1D Nanowires to 2D Plates via Intermolecular Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Jianmin; Yin, Baipeng; Fu, Shaoyan; Jin, Cuihong; Liu, Xin; Bian, Zhenpan; Li, Jianjun; Wang, Lu; Li, Xiaoyu

2018-03-01

Due to the intense influence of the shape and size of the photon building blocks on the limitation and guidance of optical waves, an important strategy is the fabrication of different structures. Herein, organic semiconductor tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminium (Alq3) nanostructures with controllable morphology, ranging from one-dimensional nanowires to two-dimensional plates, have been prepared through altering intermolecular interactions with employing the anti-solvent diffusion cooperate with solvent-volatilization induced self-assembly method. The morphologies of the formed nanostructures, which are closely related to the stacking modes of the molecules, can be exactly controlled by altering the polarity of anti-solvents that can influence various intermolecular interactions. The synthesis strategy reported here can potentially be extended to other functional organic nanomaterials.

Genetic plasticity of the Shigella virulence plasmid is mediated by intra- and inter-molecular events between insertion sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilla, Giulia; McVicker, Gareth; Tang, Christoph M

2017-09-01

Acquisition of a single copy, large virulence plasmid, pINV, led to the emergence of Shigella spp. from Escherichia coli. The plasmid encodes a Type III secretion system (T3SS) on a 30 kb pathogenicity island (PAI), and is maintained in a bacterial population through a series of toxin:antitoxin (TA) systems which mediate post-segregational killing (PSK). The T3SS imposes a significant cost on the bacterium, and strains which have lost the plasmid and/or genes encoding the T3SS grow faster than wild-type strains in the laboratory, and fail to bind the indicator dye Congo Red (CR). Our aim was to define the molecular events in Shigella flexneri that cause loss of Type III secretion (T3S), and to examine whether TA systems exert positional effects on pINV. During growth at 37°C, we found that deletions of regions of the plasmid including the PAI lead to the emergence of CR-negative colonies; deletions occur through intra-molecular recombination events between insertion sequences (ISs) flanking the PAI. Furthermore, by repositioning MvpAT (which belongs to the VapBC family of TA systems) near the PAI, we demonstrate that the location of this TA system alters the rearrangements that lead to loss of T3S, indicating that MvpAT acts both globally (by reducing loss of pINV through PSK) as well as locally (by preventing loss of adjacent sequences). During growth at environmental temperatures, we show for the first time that pINV spontaneously integrates into different sites in the chromosome, and this is mediated by inter-molecular events involving IS1294. Integration leads to reduced PAI gene expression and impaired secretion through the T3SS, while excision of pINV from the chromosome restores T3SS function. Therefore, pINV integration provides a reversible mechanism for Shigella to circumvent the metabolic burden imposed by pINV. Intra- and inter-molecular events between ISs, which are abundant in Shigella spp., mediate plasticity of S. flexneri pINV.

Transpeptidase activity of penicillin-binding protein SpoVD in peptidoglycan synthesis conditionally depends on the disulfide reductase StoA.

Science.gov (United States)

Bukowska-Faniband, Ewa; Hederstedt, Lars

2017-07-01

Endospore cortex peptidoglycan synthesis is not required for bacterial growth but essential for endospore heat resistance. It therefore constitutes an amenable system for research on peptidoglycan biogenesis. The Bacillus subtilis sporulation-specific class B penicillin-binding protein (PBP) SpoVD and many homologous PBPs contain two conserved cysteine residues of unknown function in the transpeptidase domain - one as residue x in the SxN catalytic site motif and the other in a flexible loop near the catalytic site. A disulfide bond between these residues blocks the function of SpoVD in cortex synthesis. With a combination of experiments with purified proteins and B. subtilis mutant cells, it was shown that in active SpoVD the two cysteine residues most probably interact by hydrogen bonding and that this is important for peptidoglycan synthesis in vivo. It was furthermore demonstrated that the sporulation-specific thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase StoA reduces SpoVD and that requirement of StoA for cortex synthesis can be suppressed by two completely different types of structural alterations in SpoVD. It is concluded that StoA plays a critical role mainly during maturation of SpoVD in the forespore outer membrane. The findings advance our understanding of essential PBPs and redox control of extra-cytoplasmic protein disulfides in bacterial cells. © 2017 The Authors. Molecular Microbiology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Microwave-assisted acid and base hydrolysis of intact proteins containing disulfide bonds for protein sequence analysis by mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiz, Bela; Li, Liang

2010-09-01

Controlled hydrolysis of proteins to generate peptide ladders combined with mass spectrometric analysis of the resultant peptides can be used for protein sequencing. In this paper, two methods of improving the microwave-assisted protein hydrolysis process are described to enable rapid sequencing of proteins containing disulfide bonds and increase sequence coverage, respectively. It was demonstrated that proteins containing disulfide bonds could be sequenced by MS analysis by first performing hydrolysis for less than 2 min, followed by 1 h of reduction to release the peptides originally linked by disulfide bonds. It was shown that a strong base could be used as a catalyst for microwave-assisted protein hydrolysis, producing complementary sequence information to that generated by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis. However, using either acid or base hydrolysis, amide bond breakages in small regions of the polypeptide chains of the model proteins (e.g., cytochrome c and lysozyme) were not detected. Dynamic light scattering measurement of the proteins solubilized in an acid or base indicated that protein-protein interaction or aggregation was not the cause of the failure to hydrolyze certain amide bonds. It was speculated that there were some unknown local structures that might play a role in preventing an acid or base from reacting with the peptide bonds therein. 2010 American Society for Mass Spectrometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of tungsten disulfide single crystals doped with gold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumcenco, D.O.; Hsu, H.P.; Huang, Y.S.; Liang, C.H.; Tiong, K.K.; Du, C.H.

2008-01-01

Single crystals of WS 2 doped with gold have been grown by the chemical vapour transport method using iodine as a transporting agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern analysis revealed presence of mixed three-layer rhombohedral (3R) and two-layer hexagonal (2H) polytypes for the doped crystals while the undoped one shows only 2H form. Hall measurements indicate that the samples are p-type in nature. The doping effects of the materials are characterized by surface photovoltage (SPV), photoconductivity (PC) and piezoreflectance (PzR) measurements. Room temperature SPV and PC spectra reveal a feature located at ∼60 meV below the A exciton and has been tentatively assigned to be an impurity level caused by Au dopant. Excitonic transition energies of the A, B, d and C excitons detected in PzR spectra show red shift due to the presence of a small amount of Au and the broadening parameters of the excitonic transition features increase due to impurity scattering. The values of the parameters that describe the electron (exciton)-phonon interaction of excitonic transitions of A-B are about two times larger than that of d-C excitonic pairs. The possible assignments of the different origins of A-B and d-C excitonic pairs have been discussed

Probing intermolecular protein-protein interactions in the calcium-sensing receptor homodimer using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Anders A.; Hansen, Jakob L; Sheikh, Søren P

2002-01-01

-induced intermolecular movements in the CaR homodimer using the new bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique, BRET2, which is based on the transference of energy from Renilla luciferase (Rluc) to the green fluorescent protein mutant GFP2. We tagged CaR with Rluc and GFP2 at different intracellular locations...

How far could energy transport within a single crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yifan; Che, Yanke; Zhao, Jincai; Steve, Granick

Efficient transport of excitation energy over long distance is a vital process in light-harvesting systems and molecular electronics. The energy transfer distance is largely restricted by the probability decay of the exciton when hopping within a single crystal. Here, we fabricated an organic single crystal within which the energy could transfer more than 100 μm, a distance only limited by its crystal size. Our system could be regarded as a ``Sprint relay game'' performing on different surface of tracks. Photoinduced ``athletes'' (excitons) triggered intermolecular ``domino'' reaction to propagate energy for a long distance. In addition, athletes with the same ability runs much farther on smooth ideal track (single crystal assembled from merely van der Waals interaction) than bumpy mud track (crystal assembled from combination of pi-stacking, hydrogen bond and van der Waals interactions). Our finding presents new physics on enhancing energy transfer length within a single crystal. Current Affiliation: Institute for Basic Science, South Korea.

S center dot center dot center dot N chalcogen bonded complexes of carbon disulfide with diazines. Theoretical study

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Zierkiewicz, W.; Fanfrlík, Jindřich; Michalczyk, M.; Michalska, D.; Hobza, Pavel

2018-01-01

Roč. 500, Jan 26 (2018), s. 37-44 ISSN 0301-0104 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : chalcogen bond * carbon disulfide * diazines * DFT Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry OBOR OECD: Physical chemistry Impact factor: 1.767, year: 2016

Identification and prevention of antibody disulfide bond reduction during cell culture manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Trexler-Schmidt, Melody; Sargis, Sandy; Chiu, Jason; Sze-Khoo, Stefanie; Mun, Melissa; Kao, Yung-Hsiang; Laird, Michael W

2010-06-15

In the biopharmaceutical industry, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are primarily produced in mammalian cell culture systems. During the scale-up of a monoclonal antibody production process, we observed excessive mechanical cell shear as well as significant reduction of the antibody's interchain disulfide bonds during harvest operations. This antibody reduction event was catastrophic as the product failed to meet the drug substance specifications and the bulk product was lost. Subsequent laboratory studies have demonstrated that cells subjected to mechanical shear release cellular enzymes that contribute to this antibody reduction phenomenon (manuscript submitted; Kao et al., 2009). Several methods to prevent this antibody reduction event were developed using a lab-scale model to reproduce the lysis and reduction events. These methods included modifications to the cell culture media with chemicals (e.g., cupric sulfate (CuSO(4))), pre- and post-harvest chemical additions to the cell culture fluid (CCF) (e.g., CuSO(4), EDTA, L-cystine), as well as lowering the pH and air sparging of the harvested CCF (HCCF). These methods were evaluated for their effectiveness in preventing disulfide bond reduction and their impact to product quality. Effective prevention methods, which yielded acceptable product quality were evaluated for their potential to be implemented at manufacturing-scale. The work described here identifies numerous effective reduction prevention measures from lab-scale studies; several of these methods were then successfully translated into manufacturing processes. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Vapour pressures of 1-methyl derivatives of benzimidazole, pyrazole and indole. The energy of the intermolecular hydrogen bond N-H⋯N

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almeida, Ana R.R.P.; Monte, Manuel J.S.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Vapour pressures of 1-methyl derivatives of benzimidazole, pyrazole and indole. • Enthalpies, entropies and Gibbs free energies of sublimation/vaporisation were derived. • Temperatures and enthalpies of fusion were determined. • Energy of the intermolecular hydrogen bond N-H⋯N was estimated. - Abstract: The vapour pressures of the liquid phase of 1-methylpyrazole, 1-methylbenzimidazole and 1-methylindole were measured over the temperature ranges (253.9 to 293.3) K, (303.2 to 372.5) K, and (268.6 to 341.9) K, respectively, using a static method. The vapour pressures of the crystalline phase of the two latter compounds were also measured at temperatures between (301.2 to 328.9) K and (267.6 to 275.5) K, respectively. The results obtained enabled the determination of the standard molar enthalpies and entropies of sublimation and of vaporisation at the mean temperatures of the measurements and at T = 298.15 K. The temperatures and molar enthalpies of fusion were determined using differential scanning calorimetry. The enthalpies of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds N-H⋯N in the crystalline phase of benzimidazole and pyrazole were determined and compared with the result previously determined for the energy of the intermolecular hydrogen bond in crystalline imidazole

Graphite oxide and molybdenum disulfide composite for hydrogen evolution reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Niyitanga, Theophile; Jeong, Hae Kyung

2017-10-01

Graphite oxide and molybdenum disulfide (GO-MoS2) composite is prepared through a wet process by using hydrolysis of ammonium tetrathiomolybdate, and it exhibits excellent catalytic activity of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with a low overpotential of -0.47 V, which is almost two and three times lower than those of precursor MoS2 and GO. The high performance of HER of the composite attributes to the reduced GO supporting MoS2, providing a conducting network for fast electron transport from MoS2 to electrodes. The composite also shows high stability after 500 cycles, demonstrating a synergistic effect of MoS2 and GO for efficient HER.

Sample limited characterization of a novel disulfide-rich venom peptide toxin from terebrid marine snail Terebra variegata.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prachi Anand

Full Text Available Disulfide-rich peptide toxins found in the secretions of venomous organisms such as snakes, spiders, scorpions, leeches, and marine snails are highly efficient and effective tools for novel therapeutic drug development. Venom peptide toxins have been used extensively to characterize ion channels in the nervous system and platelet aggregation in haemostatic systems. A significant hurdle in characterizing disulfide-rich peptide toxins from venomous animals is obtaining significant quantities needed for sequence and structural analyses. Presented here is a strategy for the structural characterization of venom peptide toxins from sample limited (4 ng specimens via direct mass spectrometry sequencing, chemical synthesis and NMR structure elucidation. Using this integrated approach, venom peptide Tv1 from Terebra variegata was discovered. Tv1 displays a unique fold not witnessed in prior snail neuropeptides. The novel structural features found for Tv1 suggest that the terebrid pool of peptide toxins may target different neuronal agents with varying specificities compared to previously characterized snail neuropeptides.

Oxidation of the N-terminal domain of the wheat metallothionein Ec -1 leads to the formation of three distinct disulfide bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarasava, Katsiaryna; Chesnov, Serge; Freisinger, Eva

2016-05-01

Metallothioneins (MTs) are low molecular weight proteins, characterized by a high cysteine content and the ability to coordinate large amounts of d(10) metal ions, for example, Zn(II), Cd(II), and Cu(I), in form of metal-thiolate clusters. Depending on intracellular conditions such as redox potential or metal ion concentrations, MTs can occur in various states ranging from the fully metal-loaded holo- to the metal-free apo-form. The Cys thiolate groups in the apo-form can be either reduced or be involved in disulfide bridges. Although oxidation-mediated Zn(II) release might be a possible mechanism for the regulation of Zn(II) availability by MTs, no concise information regarding the associated pathways and the structure of oxidized apo-MT forms is available. Using the well-studied Zn2 γ-Ec -1 domain of the wheat Zn6 Ec -1 MT we attempt here to answer several question regarding the structure and biophysical properties of oxidized MT forms, such as: (1) does disulfide bond formation increase the stability against proteolysis, (2) is the overall peptide backbone fold similar for the holo- and the oxidized apo-MT form, and (3) are disulfide bridges specifically or randomly formed? Our investigations show that oxidation leads to three distinct disulfide bridges independently of the applied oxidation conditions and of the initial species used for oxidation, that is, the apo- or the holo-form. In addition, the oxidized apo-form is as stable against proteolysis as Zn2 γ-Ec -1, rendering the currently assumed degradation of oxidized MTs unlikely and suggesting a role of the oxidation process for the extension of protein lifetime in absence of sufficient amounts of metal ions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 106: 295-308, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gold nanoparticles physicochemically bonded onto tungsten disulfide nanosheet edges exhibit augmented plasmon damping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory T. Forcherio

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Augmented plasmonic damping of dipole-resonant gold (Au nanoparticles (NP physicochemically bonded onto edges of tungsten disulfide (WS2 nanosheets, ostensibly due to hot electron injection, is quantified using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS. EELS allows single-particle spatial resolution. A measured 0.23 eV bandwidth expansion of the localized surface plasmon resonance upon covalent bonding of 20 nm AuNP to WS2 edges was deemed significant by Welch’s t-test. Approximately 0.19 eV of the measured 0.23 eV expansion went beyond conventional radiative and nonradiative damping mechanisms according to discrete dipole models, ostensibly indicating emergence of hot electron transport from AuNP into the WS2. A quantum efficiency of up to 11±5% spanning a 7 fs transfer process across the optimized AuNP-TMD ohmic junction is conservatively calculated. Putative hot electron transport for AuNP physicochemically bonded to TMD edges exceeded that for AuNP physically deposited onto the TMD basal plane. This arose from contributions due to (i direct physicochemical bond between AuNP and WS2; (ii AuNP deposition at TMD edge sites; and (iii lower intrinsic Schottky barrier. This improves understanding of photo-induced doping of TMD by metal NP which could benefit emerging catalytic and optoelectronic applications.

Photophysical and computational investigation of the intermolecular interactions of pyrene with phenothiazine and promazine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Güloğlu, Pınar; Acar, Nursel, E-mail: nursel.acar@ege.edu.tr

2016-10-20

Highlights: • Intermolecular interactions of pyrene with phenothiazine/promazine were investigated. • All investigated systems were optimized at ωB97XD/6-31G(d,p) level in gas phase. • The electronic transitions were determined using frontier orbitals. • Both Py–Pheno and Py–Prom are potential candidates for charge transfer systems. - Abstract: The intermolecular interactions between the pyrene (Py) (as acceptor) and phenothiazine (Pheno), promazine (Prom) (as donors) were investigated using UV/Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence quenching rate constants for Py–Pheno and Py–Prom systems have been calculated approximately 10{sup 10} M{sup −1} s{sup −1}, indicating diffusion controlled processes. A computational investigation has also been carried out in gas phase at ωB97XD/6-31G(d,p) level. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) was used to calculate the electronic transitions of molecules at B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level. Total electronic energies, complexation energies, free energy differences, excitation wavelengths, and HOMO–LUMO energy gaps are discussed in gas phase. Analyses of first excited singlet states have indicated charge transfers transitions between Py and Pheno, Prom through π–π stacking in gas phase at 433 nm and 466 nm, respectively. Due to its charge transfer character, Py–Pheno and Py–Prom systems seem to be appropriate models to investigate and design photosensitive materials.

Molecular Docking Simulation of Neuraminidase Influenza A Subtype H1N1 with Potential Inhibitor of Disulfide Cyclic Peptide (DNY, NNY, LRL)

Science.gov (United States)

Putra, R. P.; Imaniastuti, R.; Nasution, M. A. F.; Kerami, Djati; Tambunan, U. S. F.

2018-04-01

Oseltamivir resistance as an inhibitor of neuraminidase influenza A virus subtype H1N1 has been reported lately. Therefore, to solve this problem, several kinds of research has been conducted to design and discover disulfide cyclic peptide ligands through molecular docking method, to find the potential inhibitors for neuraminidase H1N1 which then can disturb the virus replication. This research was studied and evaluated the interaction of ligands toward enzyme using molecular docking simulation, which was performed on three disulfide cyclic peptide inhibitors (DNY, LRL, and NNT), along with oseltamivir and zanamivir as the standard ligands using MOE 2008.10 software. The docking simulation shows that all disulfide cyclic peptide ligands have lower Gibbs free binding energies (ΔGbinding) than the standard ligands, with DNY ligand has the lowest ΔGbinding at -7.8544 kcal/mol. Furthermore, these ligands were also had better molecular interactions with neuraminidase than the standards, owing by the hydrogen bonds that were formed during the docking simulation. In the end, we concluded that DNY, LRL and NNT ligands have the potential to be developed as the inhibitor of neuraminidase H1N1.

40 CFR 63.500 - Back-end process provisions-carbon disulfide limitations for styrene butadiene rubber by emulsion...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Back-end process provisions-carbon disulfide limitations for styrene butadiene rubber by emulsion processes. 63.500 Section 63.500 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR...

The effects of morphology re-arrangements on the pseudocapacitive properties of mesoporous molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoflakes

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Khawula, TNY

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Mesoporous molybdenum disulfide (MoS(sub2)) with different morphologies have been prepared via hydrothermal method using different solvents, water or water/acetone mixture. The MoS(sub2) obtained with water alone gave a graphene-like nanoflakes (g...

Role of Conserved Disulfide Bridges and Aromatic Residues in Extracellular Loop 2 of Chemokine Receptor CCR8 for Chemokine and Small Molecule Binding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barington, Line; Rummel, Pia C; Lückmann, Michael

2016-01-01

and aromatic residues in extracellular loop 2 (ECL2) for ligand binding and activation in the chemokine receptor CCR8. We used IP3 accumulation and radioligand binding experiments to determine the impact of receptor mutagenesis on both chemokine and small molecule agonist and antagonist binding and action...... in CCR8. We find that the 7 transmembrane (7TM) receptor conserved disulfide bridge (7TM bridge) linking transmembrane helix (TM)III and ECL2 is crucial for chemokine and small molecule action, whereas the chemokine receptor conserved disulfide bridge between the N terminus and TMVII is needed only...

A mathematical analysis of Prx2-STAT3 disulfide exchange rate constants for a bimolecular reaction mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Langford, Troy F; Deen, William M; Sikes, Hadley D

2018-03-22

Appreciation of peroxiredoxins as the major regulators of H 2 O 2 concentrations in human cells has led to a new understanding of redox signaling. In addition to their status as the primary reducers of H 2 O 2 to water, the oxidized peroxiredoxin byproduct of this reaction has recently been shown capable of participation in H 2 O 2 -mediated signaling pathways through disulfide exchange reactions with the transcription factor STAT3. The dynamics of peroxidase-transcription factor disulfide exchange reactions have not yet been considered in detail with respect to how these reactions fit into the larger network of competing reactions in human cells. In this study, we used a kinetic model of oxidation and reduction reactions related to H 2 O 2 metabolism in the cytosol of human cells to study the dynamics of peroxiredoxin-2 mediated oxidation of the redox-regulated transcription factor STAT3. In combination with previously reported experimental data, the model was used to estimate the rate coefficient of a biomolecular reaction between Prx2 and STAT3 for two sets of assumptions that constitute lower and upper bound cases. Using these estimates, we calculated the relative rates of the reaction of oxidized peroxiredoxin-2 and STAT3 and other competing reactions in the cytosol. These calculations revealed that peroxiredoxin-2-mediated oxidation of STAT3 likely occurs at a much slower rate than competing reactions in the cytosol. This analysis suggests the existence of more complex mechanisms, potentially involving currently unknown protein-protein recognition partners, which facilitate disulfide exchange reactions between peroxiredoxin-2 and STAT3. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of intermolecular hydrogen bonding, vibrational analysis and molecular structure of a biomolecule: 5-Hydroxymethyluracil

Science.gov (United States)

Çırak, Çağrı; Sert, Yusuf; Ucun, Fatih

2014-06-01

In the present work, the experimental and theoretical vibrational spectra of 5-hydroxymethyluracil were investigated. The FT-IR (4000-400 cm-1) spectrum of the molecule in the solid phase was recorded. The geometric parameters (bond lengths and bond angles), vibrational frequencies, Infrared intensities of the title molecule in the ground state were calculated using density functional B3LYP and M06-2X methods with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set for the first time. The optimized geometric parameters and theoretical vibrational frequencies were found to be in good agreement with the corresponding experimental data, and with the results found in the literature. The vibrational frequencies were assigned based on the potential energy distribution using the VEDA 4 program. The dimeric form of 5-hydroxymethyluracil molecule was also simulated to evaluate the effect of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on its vibrational frequencies. It was observed that the Nsbnd H stretching modes shifted to lower frequencies, while its in-plane and out-of-plane bending modes shifted to higher frequencies due to the intermolecular Nsbnd H⋯O hydrogen bond. Also, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies and diagrams were presented.

Photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer and off-resonance Raman characteristics of Rhodamine 101/N,N-diethylaniline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Li-lin; Liu, Wei-long; Song, Yun-fei; He, Xing; Wang, Yang; Wang, Chang; Wu, Hong-lin; Yang, Fang; Yang, Yan-qiang

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Mechanism of PIET reaction process for the Rh101 + /DEA system is investigated. • The significant geometrical changes of the charge–transfer complex are explained. • Forward Electron transfer from DEA to Rh101 +∗ occurs with lifetime of 425–560 fs. • Backward electron transfer occurs with a time constant of 46.16–51.40 ps. • Intramolecular vibrational relaxation occurs with lifetime of 2.77–5.39 ps. - Abstract: The ultrafast photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer (PIET) reaction of Rhodamine 101 (Rh101 + ) in N,N-diethylaniline (DEA) was investigated using off-resonance Raman, femtosecond time-resolved multiplex transient grating (TG) and transient absorption (TA) spectroscopies. The Raman spectra indicate that the C=C stretching vibration of the chromophore aromatic ring is more sensitive to ET compared with the C-C stretching mode. The ultrafast photoinduced intermolecular forward ET (FET) from DEA to Rh101 +∗ occurs on a time scale of τ FET = 425–560 fs. The backward ET (BET) occurs in the inverted region with a time constant of τ BET = 46.16–51.40 ps. The intramolecular vibrational relaxation (IVR) process occurs on the excited state potential energy surface with the time constant of τ IVR = 2.77–5.39 ps

Intermolecular Interactions in Ternary Glycerol–Sample–H2O

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westh, Peter; Rasmussen, Erik Lumby; Koga, Yoshikata

2011-01-01

We studied the intermolecular interactions in ternary glycerol (Gly)–sample (S)–H2O systems at 25 °C. By measuring the excess partial molar enthalpy of Gly, HGlyEHEGly, we evaluated the Gly–Gly enthalpic interaction, HGly-GlyEHEGly--Gly, in the presence of various samples (S). For S, tert...... little effect on HGly-GlyEHEGly--Gly. This contrasts with our earlier studies on 1P–S–H2O in that Na+, F− and Cl− are found as hydration centers from the induced changes on HIP-IPEHEIP--IP in the presence of S, while Br−, I−, and SCN− are found to act as hydrophiles. In comparison with the Hofmeister...... ranking of these ions, the kosmotropes are hydration centers and the more kosmotropic the higher the hydration number, consistent with the original Hofmeister’s concept of “H2O withdrawing power.” Br−, I− and SCN−, on the other hand, acted as hydrophiles and the more chaotropic they are the more...

Excitonic Coupling in Linear and Trefoil Trimer Perylenediimide Molecules Probed by Single-Molecule Spectroscopy

KAUST Repository

Yoo, Hyejin

2012-10-25

Perylenediimide (PDI) molecules are promising building blocks for photophysical studies of electronic interactions within multichromophore arrays. Such PDI arrays are important materials for fabrication of molecular nanodevices such as organic light-emitting diodes, organic semiconductors, and biosensors because of their high photostability, chemical and physical inertness, electron affinity, and high tinctorial strength over the entire visible spectrum. In this work, PDIs have been organized into linear (L3) and trefoil (T3) trimer molecules and investigated by single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to probe the relationship between molecular structures and interchromophoric electronic interactions. We found a broad distribution of coupling strengths in both L3 and T3 and hence strong/weak coupling between PDI units by monitoring spectral peak shifts in single-molecule fluorescence spectra upon sequential photobleaching of each constituent chromophore. In addition, we used a wide-field defocused imaging technique to resolve heterogeneities in molecular structures of L3 and T3 embedded in a PMMA polymer matrix. A systematic comparison between the two sets of experimental results allowed us to infer the correlation between intermolecular interactions and molecular structures. Our results show control of the PDI intermolecular interactions using suitable multichromophoric structures. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Excitonic Coupling in Linear and Trefoil Trimer Perylenediimide Molecules Probed by Single-Molecule Spectroscopy

KAUST Repository

Yoo, Hyejin; Furumaki, Shu; Yang, Jaesung; Lee, Ji-Eun; Chung, Heejae; Oba, Tatsuya; Kobayashi, Hiroyuki; Rybtchinski, Boris; Wilson, Thea M.; Wasielewski, Michael R.; Vacha, Martin; Kim, Dongho

2012-01-01

Perylenediimide (PDI) molecules are promising building blocks for photophysical studies of electronic interactions within multichromophore arrays. Such PDI arrays are important materials for fabrication of molecular nanodevices such as organic light-emitting diodes, organic semiconductors, and biosensors because of their high photostability, chemical and physical inertness, electron affinity, and high tinctorial strength over the entire visible spectrum. In this work, PDIs have been organized into linear (L3) and trefoil (T3) trimer molecules and investigated by single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to probe the relationship between molecular structures and interchromophoric electronic interactions. We found a broad distribution of coupling strengths in both L3 and T3 and hence strong/weak coupling between PDI units by monitoring spectral peak shifts in single-molecule fluorescence spectra upon sequential photobleaching of each constituent chromophore. In addition, we used a wide-field defocused imaging technique to resolve heterogeneities in molecular structures of L3 and T3 embedded in a PMMA polymer matrix. A systematic comparison between the two sets of experimental results allowed us to infer the correlation between intermolecular interactions and molecular structures. Our results show control of the PDI intermolecular interactions using suitable multichromophoric structures. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Rv2969c, essential for optimal growth in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a DsbA-like enzyme that interacts with VKOR-derived peptides and has atypical features of DsbA-like disulfide oxidases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Premkumar, Lakshmanane; Heras, Begoña; Duprez, Wilko; Walden, Patricia; Halili, Maria; Kurth, Fabian; Fairlie, David P.; Martin, Jennifer L.

2013-01-01

The gene product of M. tuberculosis Rv2969c is shown to be a disulfide oxidase enzyme that has a canonical DsbA-like fold with novel structural and functional characteristics. The bacterial disulfide machinery is an attractive molecular target for developing new antibacterials because it is required for the production of multiple virulence factors. The archetypal disulfide oxidase proteins in Escherichia coli (Ec) are DsbA and DsbB, which together form a functional unit: DsbA introduces disulfides into folding proteins and DsbB reoxidizes DsbA to maintain it in the active form. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), no DsbB homologue is encoded but a functionally similar but structurally divergent protein, MtbVKOR, has been identified. Here, the Mtb protein Rv2969c is investigated and it is shown that it is the DsbA-like partner protein of MtbVKOR. It is found that it has the characteristic redox features of a DsbA-like protein: a highly acidic catalytic cysteine, a highly oxidizing potential and a destabilizing active-site disulfide bond. Rv2969c also has peptide-oxidizing activity and recognizes peptide segments derived from the periplasmic loops of MtbVKOR. Unlike the archetypal EcDsbA enzyme, Rv2969c has little or no activity in disulfide-reducing and disulfide-isomerase assays. The crystal structure of Rv2969c reveals a canonical DsbA fold comprising a thioredoxin domain with an embedded helical domain. However, Rv2969c diverges considerably from other DsbAs, including having an additional C-terminal helix (H8) that may restrain the mobility of the catalytic helix H1. The enzyme is also characterized by a very shallow hydrophobic binding surface and a negative electrostatic surface potential surrounding the catalytic cysteine. The structure of Rv2969c was also used to model the structure of a paralogous DsbA-like domain of the Ser/Thr protein kinase PknE. Together, these results show that Rv2969c is a DsbA-like protein with unique properties and a limited

Rv2969c, essential for optimal growth in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a DsbA-like enzyme that interacts with VKOR-derived peptides and has atypical features of DsbA-like disulfide oxidases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Premkumar, Lakshmanane, E-mail: p.lakshmanane@imb.uq.edu.au; Heras, Begoña; Duprez, Wilko; Walden, Patricia; Halili, Maria; Kurth, Fabian; Fairlie, David P.; Martin, Jennifer L., E-mail: p.lakshmanane@imb.uq.edu.au [University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4067 (Australia)

2013-10-01

The gene product of M. tuberculosis Rv2969c is shown to be a disulfide oxidase enzyme that has a canonical DsbA-like fold with novel structural and functional characteristics. The bacterial disulfide machinery is an attractive molecular target for developing new antibacterials because it is required for the production of multiple virulence factors. The archetypal disulfide oxidase proteins in Escherichia coli (Ec) are DsbA and DsbB, which together form a functional unit: DsbA introduces disulfides into folding proteins and DsbB reoxidizes DsbA to maintain it in the active form. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), no DsbB homologue is encoded but a functionally similar but structurally divergent protein, MtbVKOR, has been identified. Here, the Mtb protein Rv2969c is investigated and it is shown that it is the DsbA-like partner protein of MtbVKOR. It is found that it has the characteristic redox features of a DsbA-like protein: a highly acidic catalytic cysteine, a highly oxidizing potential and a destabilizing active-site disulfide bond. Rv2969c also has peptide-oxidizing activity and recognizes peptide segments derived from the periplasmic loops of MtbVKOR. Unlike the archetypal EcDsbA enzyme, Rv2969c has little or no activity in disulfide-reducing and disulfide-isomerase assays. The crystal structure of Rv2969c reveals a canonical DsbA fold comprising a thioredoxin domain with an embedded helical domain. However, Rv2969c diverges considerably from other DsbAs, including having an additional C-terminal helix (H8) that may restrain the mobility of the catalytic helix H1. The enzyme is also characterized by a very shallow hydrophobic binding surface and a negative electrostatic surface potential surrounding the catalytic cysteine. The structure of Rv2969c was also used to model the structure of a paralogous DsbA-like domain of the Ser/Thr protein kinase PknE. Together, these results show that Rv2969c is a DsbA-like protein with unique properties and a limited

Intermolecular symmetry-adapted perturbation theory study of large organic complexes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heßelmann, Andreas; Korona, Tatiana

2014-01-01

Binding energies for the complexes of the S12L database by Grimme [Chem. Eur. J. 18, 9955 (2012)] were calculated using intermolecular symmetry-adapted perturbation theory combined with a density-functional theory description of the interacting molecules. The individual interaction energy decompositions revealed no particular change in the stabilisation pattern as compared to smaller dimer systems at equilibrium structures. This demonstrates that, to some extent, the qualitative description of the interaction of small dimer systems may be extrapolated to larger systems, a method that is widely used in force-fields in which the total interaction energy is decomposed into atom-atom contributions. A comparison of the binding energies with accurate experimental reference values from Grimme, the latter including thermodynamic corrections from semiempirical calculations, has shown a fairly good agreement to within the error range of the reference binding energies

Characteristics of trapped electrons and electron traps in single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budzinski, E.E.; Potter, W.R.; Potienko, G.; Box, H.C.

1979-01-01

Two additional carbohydrates are reported whose crystal structures trap electrons intermolecularly in single crystals x irradiated at low temperature, namely sucrose and rhamnose. Five carbohydrate and polyhydroxy compounds are now known which exhibit this phenomenon. The following characteristics of the phenomenon were investigated: (1) the hyperfine couplings of the electron with protons of the polarized hydroxy groups forming the trap; (2) the distances between these protons and the trapped electron; (3) the spin density of the electron at the protons and (4) the relative stabilities of the electron trapped in various crystal structures

Tuning thermal conductivity in molybdenum disulfide by electrochemical intercalation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Gaohua; Liu, Jun; Zheng, Qiye; Zhang, Ruigang; Li, Dongyao; Banerjee, Debasish; Cahill, David G.

2016-01-01

Thermal conductivity of two-dimensional (2D) materials is of interest for energy storage, nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. Here, we report that the thermal conductivity of molybdenum disulfide can be modified by electrochemical intercalation. We observe distinct behaviour for thin films with vertically aligned basal planes and natural bulk crystals with basal planes aligned parallel to the surface. The thermal conductivity is measured as a function of the degree of lithiation, using time-domain thermoreflectance. The change of thermal conductivity correlates with the lithiation-induced structural and compositional disorder. We further show that the ratio of the in-plane to through-plane thermal conductivity of bulk crystal is enhanced by the disorder. These results suggest that stacking disorder and mixture of phases is an effective mechanism to modify the anisotropic thermal conductivity of 2D materials. PMID:27767030

INS study of intermolecular interaction at the silicone-fumed silica interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheka, E.F.; Natkaniec, I.

1999-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. The paper presents results related to the interface formed between finned silica particles and polydimethylsiloxane polymers, presented in the study by a five-member cyclic oligomer SiS. The substrate surface is terminated by either hydroxyl units or by trimethylsiloxy ones. When the interface is formed, methyl units are the main constituents providing neutron scattering. Protium/deuterium exchange has been used to distinguish the latter belonging to either adsorbate or substrate. A detailed analysis of the intermolecular interaction impact on both adsorbed molecule and substrate has been performed. The observed features are supported by the vibrational spectra calculations performed on the basis of a modem quantum-chemical approach and supplemented by the solution of the inverse spectral problem. (author)

Formation of an intermolecular charge-transfer compound in UHV codeposited tetramethoxypyrene and tetracyanoquinodimethane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Medjanik, K.; Perkert, S.; Naghavi, S.

2010-01-01

Ultrahigh vacuum (UHV)-deposited films of the mixed phase of tetramethoxypyrene and tetracyanoquinodimethane (TMP -TCNQ ) on gold have been studied using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS......). The formation of an intermolecular charge-transfer (CT) compound is evident from the appearance of new reflexes in XRD (d =0.894nm and d =0.677nm). A softening of the CN stretching vibration (redshift by 7 cm⊃-1) of TCNQ is visible in the IR spectra, being indicative of a CT on the order of 0.3e from TMP...

Symmetric pseudocapacitors based on molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)-modified carbon nanospheres: correlating physicochemistry and synergistic interaction on energy storage

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Khawula, TNY

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Molybdenum disulfide-modified carbon nanospheres (MoS(sub2)/CNS) with two different morphologies (spherical and flower-like) have been synthesized using hydrothermal techniques and investigated as symmetric pseudocapacitors in an aqueous electrolyte...

Reversible end-to-end assembly of gold nanorods using a disulfide-modified polypeptide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, David A; Gupta, Vinay K

2008-01-01

Directing the self-assembly of colloidal particles into nanostructures is of great interest in nanotechnology. Here, reversible end-to-end assembly of gold nanorods (GNR) is induced by pH-dependent changes in the secondary conformation of a disulfide-modified poly(L-glutamic acid) (SSPLGA). The disulfide anchoring group drives chemisorption of the polyacid onto the end of the gold nanorods in an ethanolic solution. A layer of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) is adsorbed on the positively charged, surfactant-stabilized GNR to screen the surfactant bilayer charge and provide stability for dispersion of the GNR in ethanol. For comparison, irreversible end-to-end assembly using a bidentate ligand, namely 1,6-hexanedithiol, is also performed. Characterization of the modified GNR and its end-to-end linking behavior using SSPLGA and hexanedithiol is performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Experimental results show that, in a colloidal solution of GNR-SSPLGA at a pH∼3.5, where the PLGA is in an α-helical conformation, the modified GNR self-assemble into one-dimensional nanostructures. The linking behavior can be reversed by increasing the pH (>8.5) to drive the conformation of the polypeptide to a random coil and this reversal with pH occurs rapidly within minutes. Cycling the pH multiple times between low and high pH values can be used to drive the formation of the nanostructures of the GNR and disperse them in solution.

The multidrug resistance IncA/C transferable plasmid encodes a novel domain-swapped dimeric protein-disulfide isomerase.

Science.gov (United States)

Premkumar, Lakshmanane; Kurth, Fabian; Neyer, Simon; Schembri, Mark A; Martin, Jennifer L

2014-01-31

The multidrug resistance-encoding IncA/C conjugative plasmids disseminate antibiotic resistance genes among clinically relevant enteric bacteria. A plasmid-encoded disulfide isomerase is associated with conjugation. Sequence analysis of several IncA/C plasmids and IncA/C-related integrative and conjugative elements (ICE) from commensal and pathogenic bacteria identified a conserved DsbC/DsbG homolog (DsbP). The crystal structure of DsbP reveals an N-terminal domain, a linker region, and a C-terminal catalytic domain. A DsbP homodimer is formed through domain swapping of two DsbP N-terminal domains. The catalytic domain incorporates a thioredoxin-fold with characteristic CXXC and cis-Pro motifs. Overall, the structure and redox properties of DsbP diverge from the Escherichia coli DsbC and DsbG disulfide isomerases. Specifically, the V-shaped dimer of DsbP is inverted compared with EcDsbC and EcDsbG. In addition, the redox potential of DsbP (-161 mV) is more reducing than EcDsbC (-130 mV) and EcDsbG (-126 mV). Other catalytic properties of DsbP more closely resemble those of EcDsbG than EcDsbC. These catalytic differences are in part a consequence of the unusual active site motif of DsbP (CAVC); substitution to the EcDsbC-like (CGYC) motif converts the catalytic properties to those of EcDsbC. Structural comparison of the 12 independent subunit structures of DsbP that we determined revealed that conformational changes in the linker region contribute to mobility of the catalytic domain, providing mechanistic insight into DsbP function. In summary, our data reveal that the conserved plasmid-encoded DsbP protein is a bona fide disulfide isomerase and suggest that a dedicated oxidative folding enzyme is important for conjugative plasmid transfer.

Importance of the Donor:Fullerene intermolecular arrangement for high-efficiency organic photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Graham, Kenneth; Cabanetos, Clement; Jahnke, Justin P.; Idso, Matthew N.; El Labban, Abdulrahman; Ngongang Ndjawa, Guy Olivier; Heumueller, Thomas; Vandewal, Koen; Salleo, Alberto; Chmelka, Bradley F.; Amassian, Aram; Beaujuge, Pierre; McGehee, Michael D.

2014-01-01

The performance of organic photovoltaic (OPV) material systems are hypothesized to depend strongly on the intermolecular arrangements at the donor:fullerene interfaces. A review of some of the most efficient polymers utilized in polymer:fullerene PV devices, combined with an analysis of reported polymer donor materials wherein the same conjugated backbone was used with varying alkyl substituents, supports this hypothesis. Specifically, the literature shows that higher-performing donor-acceptor type polymers generally have acceptor moieties that are sterically accessible for interactions with the fullerene derivative, whereas the corresponding donor moieties tend to have branched alkyl substituents that sterically hinder interactions with the fullerene. To further explore the idea that the most beneficial polymer:fullerene arrangement involves the fullerene docking with the acceptor moiety, a family of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b]dithiophene-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione polymers (PBDTTPD derivatives) was synthesized and tested in a variety of PV device types with vastly different aggregation states of the polymer. In agreement with our hypothesis, the PBDTTPD derivative with a more sterically accessible acceptor moiety and a more sterically hindered donor moiety shows the highest performance in bulk-heterojunction, bilayer, and low-polymer concentration PV devices where fullerene derivatives serve as the electron-accepting materials. Furthermore, external quantum efficiency measurements of the charge-transfer state and solid-state two-dimensional (2D) 13C{1H} heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) NMR analyses support that a specific polymer:fullerene arrangement is present for the highest performing PBDTTPD derivative, in which the fullerene is in closer proximity to the acceptor moiety of the polymer. This work demonstrates that the polymer:fullerene arrangement and resulting intermolecular interactions may be key factors in determining the performance of OPV material systems

Importance of the Donor:Fullerene intermolecular arrangement for high-efficiency organic photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Graham, Kenneth

2014-07-09

The performance of organic photovoltaic (OPV) material systems are hypothesized to depend strongly on the intermolecular arrangements at the donor:fullerene interfaces. A review of some of the most efficient polymers utilized in polymer:fullerene PV devices, combined with an analysis of reported polymer donor materials wherein the same conjugated backbone was used with varying alkyl substituents, supports this hypothesis. Specifically, the literature shows that higher-performing donor-acceptor type polymers generally have acceptor moieties that are sterically accessible for interactions with the fullerene derivative, whereas the corresponding donor moieties tend to have branched alkyl substituents that sterically hinder interactions with the fullerene. To further explore the idea that the most beneficial polymer:fullerene arrangement involves the fullerene docking with the acceptor moiety, a family of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b]dithiophene-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione polymers (PBDTTPD derivatives) was synthesized and tested in a variety of PV device types with vastly different aggregation states of the polymer. In agreement with our hypothesis, the PBDTTPD derivative with a more sterically accessible acceptor moiety and a more sterically hindered donor moiety shows the highest performance in bulk-heterojunction, bilayer, and low-polymer concentration PV devices where fullerene derivatives serve as the electron-accepting materials. Furthermore, external quantum efficiency measurements of the charge-transfer state and solid-state two-dimensional (2D) 13C{1H} heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) NMR analyses support that a specific polymer:fullerene arrangement is present for the highest performing PBDTTPD derivative, in which the fullerene is in closer proximity to the acceptor moiety of the polymer. This work demonstrates that the polymer:fullerene arrangement and resulting intermolecular interactions may be key factors in determining the performance of OPV material systems

Significant improvement of thermal stability of glucose 1-dehydrogenase by introducing disulfide bonds at the tetramer interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Haitao; Gao, Fen; Liu, Danfeng; Li, Zeli; Xu, Xiaohong; Wu, Min; Zhao, Yuhua

2013-12-10

Rational design was applied to glucose 1-dehydrogenase (LsGDH) from Lysinibacillus sphaericus G10 to improve its thermal stability by introduction of disulfide bridges between subunits. One out of the eleven mutants, designated as DS255, displayed significantly enhanced thermal stability with considerable soluble expression and high specific activity. It was extremely stable at pH ranging from 4.5 to 10.5, as it retained nearly 100% activity after incubating at different buffers for 1h. Mutant DS255 also exhibited high thermostability, having a half-life of 9900min at 50°C, which was 1868-fold as that of its wild type. Moreover, both of the increased free energy of denaturation and decreased entropy of denaturation of DS255 suggested that the enzyme structure was stabilized by the engineered disulfide bonds. On account of its robust stability, mutant DS255 would be a competitive candidate in practical applications of chiral chemicals synthesis, biofuel cells and glucose biosensors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Protein Disulfide Isomerase and Host-Pathogen Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatriz S. Stolf

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Reactive oxygen species (ROS production by immunological cells is known to cause damage to pathogens. Increasing evidence accumulated in the last decade has shown, however, that ROS (and redox signals functionally regulate different cellular pathways in the host-pathogen interaction. These especially affect (i pathogen entry through protein redox switches and redox modification (i.e., intra- and interdisulfide and cysteine oxidation and (ii phagocytic ROS production via Nox family NADPH oxidase enzyme and the control of phagolysosome function with key implications for antigen processing. The protein disulfide isomerase (PDI family of redox chaperones is closely involved in both processes and is also implicated in protein unfolding and trafficking across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER and towards the cytosol, a thiol-based redox locus for antigen processing. Here, we summarise examples of the cellular association of host PDI with different pathogens and explore the possible roles of pathogen PDIs in infection. A better understanding of these complex regulatory steps will provide insightful information on the redox role and coevolutional biological process, and assist the development of more specific therapeutic strategies in pathogen-mediated infections.

Engineered disulfide bonds restore chaperone-like function of DJ-1 mutants linked to familial Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Todd; Clark, Lindsay; Ray, Soumya S

2010-07-13

Loss-of-function mutations such as L166P, A104T, and M26I in the DJ-1 gene (PARK7) have been linked to autosomal-recessive early onset Parkinson's disease (PD). Cellular and structural studies of the familial mutants suggest that these mutations may destabilize the dimeric structure. To look for common dynamical signatures among the DJ-1 mutants, short MD simulations of up to 1000 ps were conducted to identify the weakest region of the protein (residues 38-70). In an attempt to stabilize the protein, we mutated residue Val 51 to cysteine (V51C) to make a symmetry-related disulfide bridge with the preexisting Cys 53 on the opposite subunit. We found that the introduction of this disulfide linkage stabilized the mutants A104T and M26I against thermal denaturation, improved their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), and restored a chaperone-like function of blocking alpha-synuclein aggregation. The L166P mutant was far too unstable to be rescued by introduction of the V51C mutation. The results presented here point to the possible development of pharmacological chaperones, which may eventually lead to PD therapeutics.

A novel disulfide-rich protein motif from avian eggshell membranes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vamsi K Kodali

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Under the shell of a chicken egg are two opposed proteinaceous disulfide-rich membranes. They are fabricated in the avian oviduct using fibers formed from proteins that are extensively coupled by irreversible lysine-derived crosslinks. The intractability of these eggshell membranes (ESM has slowed their characterization and their protein composition remains uncertain. In this work, reductive alkylation of ESM followed by proteolytic digestion led to the identification of a cysteine rich ESM protein (abbreviated CREMP that was similar to spore coat protein SP75 from cellular slime molds. Analysis of the cysteine repeats in partial sequences of CREMP reveals runs of remarkably repetitive patterns. Module a contains a C-X(4-C-X(5-C-X(8-C-X(6 pattern (where X represents intervening non-cysteine residues. These inter-cysteine amino acid residues are also strikingly conserved. The evolutionarily-related module b has the same cysteine spacing as a, but has 11 amino acid residues at its C-terminus. Different stretches of CREMP sequences in chicken genomic DNA fragments show diverse repeat patterns: e.g. all a modules; an alternation of a-b modules; or an a-b-b arrangement. Comparable CREMP proteins are found in contigs of the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata and in the oviparous green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis. In all these cases the long runs of highly conserved modular repeats have evidently led to difficulties in the assembly of full length DNA sequences. Hence the number, and the amino acid lengths, of CREMP proteins are currently unknown. A 118 amino acid fragment (representing an a-b-a-b pattern from a chicken oviduct EST library expressed in Escherichia coli is a well folded, highly anisotropic, protein with a large chemical shift dispersion in 2D solution NMR spectra. Structure is completely lost on reduction of the 8 disulfide bonds of this protein fragment. Finally, solid state NMR spectra suggest a surprising degree of order in intact

Photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer and off-resonance Raman characteristics of Rhodamine 101/N,N-diethylaniline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Li-lin [Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Hezhou University, Hezhou 542800 (China); Liu, Wei-long; Song, Yun-fei; He, Xing; Wang, Yang; Wang, Chang; Wu, Hong-lin [Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Yang, Fang [National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Tunable Laser, Department of Optoelectronics Information Science Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Yang, Yan-qiang, E-mail: yqyang@hit.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); National Key Laboratory of Shock Wave and Detonation Physics, Institute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, Sichuan (China)

2014-01-31

Highlights: • Mechanism of PIET reaction process for the Rh101{sup +}/DEA system is investigated. • The significant geometrical changes of the charge–transfer complex are explained. • Forward Electron transfer from DEA to Rh101{sup +∗} occurs with lifetime of 425–560 fs. • Backward electron transfer occurs with a time constant of 46.16–51.40 ps. • Intramolecular vibrational relaxation occurs with lifetime of 2.77–5.39 ps. - Abstract: The ultrafast photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer (PIET) reaction of Rhodamine 101 (Rh101{sup +}) in N,N-diethylaniline (DEA) was investigated using off-resonance Raman, femtosecond time-resolved multiplex transient grating (TG) and transient absorption (TA) spectroscopies. The Raman spectra indicate that the C=C stretching vibration of the chromophore aromatic ring is more sensitive to ET compared with the C-C stretching mode. The ultrafast photoinduced intermolecular forward ET (FET) from DEA to Rh101{sup +∗} occurs on a time scale of τ{sub FET} = 425–560 fs. The backward ET (BET) occurs in the inverted region with a time constant of τ{sub BET} = 46.16–51.40 ps. The intramolecular vibrational relaxation (IVR) process occurs on the excited state potential energy surface with the time constant of τ{sub IVR} = 2.77–5.39 ps.

An antiviral disulfide compound blocks interaction between arenavirus Z protein and cellular promyelocytic leukemia protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, C.C.; Topisirovic, I.; Djavani, M.; Borden, K.L.B.; Damonte, E.B.; Salvato, M.S.

2010-01-01

The promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) forms nuclear bodies (NB) that can be redistributed by virus infection. In particular, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) influences disruption of PML NB through the interaction of PML with the arenaviral Z protein. In a previous report, we have shown that the disulfide compound NSC20625 has antiviral and virucidal properties against arenaviruses, inducing unfolding and oligomerization of Z without affecting cellular RING-containing proteins such as the PML. Here, we further studied the effect of the zinc-finger-reactive disulfide NSC20625 on PML-Z interaction. In HepG2 cells infected with LCMV or transiently transfected with Z protein constructs, treatment with NSC20625 restored PML distribution from a diffuse-cytoplasmic pattern to punctate, discrete NB which appeared identical to NB found in control, uninfected cells. Similar results were obtained in cells transfected with a construct expressing a Z mutant in zinc-binding site 2 of the RING domain, confirming that this Z-PML interaction requires the integrity of only one zinc-binding site. Altogether, these results show that the compound NSC20625 suppressed Z-mediated PML NB disruption and may be used as a tool for designing novel antiviral strategies against arenavirus infection.

An Engineered Disulfide Bond Reversibly Traps the IgE-Fc_3-4 in a Closed, Nonreceptor Binding Conformation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wurzburg, Beth A.; Kim, Beomkyu; Tarchevskaya, Svetlana S.; Eggel, Alexander; Vogel, Monique; Jardetzky, Theodore S. [Bern; (Stanford-MED)

2013-08-02

IgE antibodies interact with the high affinity IgE Fc receptor, FcϵRI, and activate inflammatory pathways associated with the allergic response. The IgE-Fc region, comprising the C-terminal domains of the IgE heavy chain, binds FcϵRI and can adopt different conformations ranging from a closed form incompatible with receptor binding to an open, receptor-bound state. A number of intermediate states are also observed in different IgE-Fc crystal forms. To further explore this apparent IgE-Fc conformational flexibility and to potentially trap a closed, inactive state, we generated a series of disulfide bond mutants. Here we describe the structure and biochemical properties of an IgE-Fc mutant that is trapped in the closed, non-receptor binding state via an engineered disulfide at residue 335 (Cys-335). Reduction of the disulfide at Cys-335 restores the ability of IgE-Fc to bind to its high affinity receptor, FcϵRIα. The structure of the Cys-335 mutant shows that its conformation is within the range of previously observed, closed form IgE-Fc structures and that it retains the hydrophobic pocket found in the hinge region of the closed conformation. Locking the IgE-Fc into the closed state with the Cys-335 mutation does not affect binding of two other IgE-Fc ligands, omalizumab and DARPin E2_79, demonstrating selective blocking of the high affinity receptor binding.

Effect of intermolecular dipole-dipole interactions on interfacial supramolecular structures of C3-symmetric hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene derivatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, Zhongcheng; Shao, Qi; Ye, Jun; Zeng, Zebing; Zhao, Yang; Hng, Huey Hoon; Boey, Freddy Yin Chiang; Wu, Jishan; Chen, Xiaodong

2011-02-15

Two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular assemblies of a series of novel C(3)-symmetric hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC) derivatives bearing different substituents adsorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite were studied by using scanning tunneling microscopy at a solid-liquid interface. It was found that the intermolecular dipole-dipole interactions play a critical role in controlling the interfacial supramolecular assembly of these C(3)-symmetric HBC derivatives at the solid-liquid interface. The HBC molecule bearing three -CF(3) groups could form 2D honeycomb structures because of antiparallel dipole-dipole interactions, whereas HBC molecules bearing three -CN or -NO(2) groups could form hexagonal superstructures because of a special trimeric arrangement induced by dipole-dipole interactions and weak hydrogen bonding interactions ([C-H···NC-] or [C-H···O(2)N-]). Molecular mechanics and dynamics simulations were performed to reveal the physics behind the 2D structures as well as detailed functional group interactions. This work provides an example of how intermolecular dipole-dipole interactions could enable fine control over the self-assembly of disklike π-conjugated molecules.

Dielectric behaviour and intermolecular association between L(+) ascorbic acid and ethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudyk, R.A.; Torres, M.C.; Acuna Molina, M.A.

1990-01-01

In order to determine the dipole moment of L(+) ascorbic acid and the relation to its structure the experimental variations of permitivities, refractive indices and specific volumes of a series of dilute ethanolic solutions at 25 deg C were examined. The average moment (μ) using Buckingham equation was found to be 5,58 D considering the spherical approximation and 7,81 D if the ellipsoidal form factor was considered. The calculated μ value through vectorial addition was 4,98 D. The solute partial molal volume in the studied range was calculated to be 94,73 cm 3 instead of the theoretical value of 106,71 cm 3 . Both discrepancies are attributed to intermolecular solute-solvent interactions. A possible electronic displacement which favours hydrogen bonding with the solvent is postulated. (Author) [es

Improving intermolecular interactions in DFTB3 using extended polarization from chemical-potential equalization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christensen, Anders S., E-mail: andersx@chem.wisc.edu, E-mail: cui@chem.wisc.edu; Cui, Qiang, E-mail: andersx@chem.wisc.edu, E-mail: cui@chem.wisc.edu [Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Elstner, Marcus [Theoretische Chemische Biologie, Universität Karlsruhe, Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-08-28

Semi-empirical quantum mechanical methods traditionally expand the electron density in a minimal, valence-only electron basis set. The minimal-basis approximation causes molecular polarization to be underestimated, and hence intermolecular interaction energies are also underestimated, especially for intermolecular interactions involving charged species. In this work, the third-order self-consistent charge density functional tight-binding method (DFTB3) is augmented with an auxiliary response density using the chemical-potential equalization (CPE) method and an empirical dispersion correction (D3). The parameters in the CPE and D3 models are fitted to high-level CCSD(T) reference interaction energies for a broad range of chemical species, as well as dipole moments calculated at the DFT level; the impact of including polarizabilities of molecules in the parameterization is also considered. Parameters for the elements H, C, N, O, and S are presented. The Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) interaction energy is improved from 6.07 kcal/mol to 1.49 kcal/mol for interactions with one charged species, whereas the RMSD is improved from 5.60 kcal/mol to 1.73 for a set of 9 salt bridges, compared to uncorrected DFTB3. For large water clusters and complexes that are dominated by dispersion interactions, the already satisfactory performance of the DFTB3-D3 model is retained; polarizabilities of neutral molecules are also notably improved. Overall, the CPE extension of DFTB3-D3 provides a more balanced description of different types of non-covalent interactions than Neglect of Diatomic Differential Overlap type of semi-empirical methods (e.g., PM6-D3H4) and PBE-D3 with modest basis sets.

Intermolecular G-quadruplex structure-based fluorescent DNA detection system.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Hui; Wu, Zai-Sheng; Shen, Guo-Li; Yu, Ru-Qin

2013-03-15

Adopting multi-donors to pair with one acceptor could improve the performance of fluorogenic detection probes. However, common dyes (e.g., fluorescein) in close proximity to each other would self-quench the fluorescence, and the fluorescence is difficult to restore. In this contribution, we constructed a novel "multi-donors-to-one acceptor" fluorescent DNA detection system by means of the intermolecular G-quadruplex (IGQ) structure-based fluorescence signal enhancement combined with the hairpin oligonucleotide. The novel IGQ-hairpin system was characterized using the p53 gene as the model target DNA. The proposed system showed an improved assay performance due to the introduction of IGQ-structure into fluorescent signaling probes, which could inhibit the background fluorescence and increase fluorescence restoration amplitude of fluoresceins upon target DNA hybridization. The proof-of-concept scheme is expected to provide new insight into the potential of G-quadruplex structure and promote the application of fluorescent oligonucleotide probes in fundamental research, diagnosis, and treatment of genetic diseases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of polyelectrolyte desorption by single molecule force spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedsam, C; Seitz, M; Gaub, H E

2004-01-01

Single molecule force spectroscopy has evolved into a powerful method for the investigation of intra- and intermolecular interactions at the level of individual molecules. Many examples, including the investigation of the dynamic properties of complex biological systems as well as the properties of covalent bonds or intermolecular transitions within individual polymers, are reported in the literature. The technique has recently been extended to the systematic investigation of desorption processes of individual polyelectrolyte molecules adsorbed on generic surfaces. The stable covalent attachment of polyelectrolyte molecules to the AFM-tip provides the possibility of performing long-term measurements with the same set of molecules and therefore allows the in situ observation of the impact of environmental changes on the adsorption behaviour of individual molecules. Different types of interactions, e.g. electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions, that determine the adsorption process could be identified and characterized. The experiments provided valuable details that help to understand the nature and the properties of non-covalent interactions, which is helpful with regard to biological systems as well as for technical applications. Apart from this, desorption experiments can be utilized to characterize the properties of surfaces or polymer coatings. Therefore they represent a versatile tool that can be further developed in terms of various aspects

9-Fluorenylmethyl (Fm) Disulfides: Biomimetic Precursors for Persulfides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Chung-Min; Johnson, Brett A.; Duan, Jicheng; Park, Jeong-Jin; Day, Jacob J.; Gang, David; Qian, Wei-Jun; Xian, Ming

2016-03-04

Protein S-sulfhydration has been recognized as an important post-translational modification that regulates H2S signals. However, the reactivity and biological implications of the products of S-sulfhydration, i.e. persulfides, are still unclear. This is mainly due to the instability of persulfides and difficulty to access these molecules. Under physiological conditions persulfides mainly exist in anionic forms because of their low pKa values. However, current methods do not allow for the direct generation of persulfide anions under biomimetic and non-H2S conditions. Herein we report the development of a functional disulfide, FmSSPy-A (Fm =9-fluorenylmethyl; Py = pyridinyl). This reagent can effectively convert both small molecule and protein thiols (-SH) to form –S-SFm adducts under mild conditions. It allows for a H2S-free and biomimetic protocol to generate highly reactive persulfides (in their anionic forms). We also demonstrated the high nucleophilicity of persulfides toward a number of thiol-blocking reagents. This method holds promise for further understanding the chemical biology of persulfides and S-sulfhydration.

Tailorable thiolated trimethyl chitosans for covalently stabilized nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Verheul, Rolf J; van der Wal, Steffen; Hennink, Wim E

2010-08-09

A novel four-step method is presented to synthesize partially thiolated trimethylated chitosan (TMC) with a tailorable degree of quaternization and thiolation. First, chitosan was partially N-carboxylated with glyoxylic acid and sodium borohydride. Next, the remaining amines were quantitatively dimethylated with formaldehyde and sodium borohydride and then quaternized with iodomethane in NMP. Subsequently, these partially carboxylated TMCs dissolved in water were reacted with cystamine at pH 5.5 using EDC as coupling agent. After addition of DTT and dialysis, thiolated TMCs were obtained, varying in degree of quaternization (25-54%) and degree of thiolation (5-7%), as determined with (1)H NMR and Ellman's assay. Gel permeation chromatography with light scattering detection indicated limited intermolecular cross-linking. All thiolated TMCs showed rapid oxidation to yield disulfide cross-linked TMC at pH 7.4, while the thiolated polymers were rather stable at pH 4.0. When Calu-3 cells were used, XTT and LDH cell viability tests showed a slight reduction in cytotoxicity for thiolated TMCs as compared to the nonthiolated polymers with similar DQs. Positively charged nanoparticles loaded with fluorescently labeled ovalbumin were made from thiolated TMCs and thiolated hyaluronic acid. The stability of these particles was confirmed in 0.8 M NaCl, in contrast to particles made from nonthiolated polymers that dissociated under these conditions, demonstrating that the particles were held together by intermolecular disulfide bonds.

Investigation of protein FTT1103 electroactivity using carbon and mercury electrodes. Surface-inhibition approach for disulfide oxidoreductases using silver amalgam powder

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Večerková, R.; Hernychová, L.; Dobeš, P.; Vrba, J.; Josypčuk, Bohdan; Bartošík, M.; Vacek, J.

2014-01-01

Roč. 830, JUN 2014 (2014), s. 23-32 ISSN 0003-2670 Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : Disulfide bond forming protein * Electrochemical sensing * Membrane proteins Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 4.513, year: 2014

Ab initio intermolecular potential energy surface and thermophysical properties of nitrous oxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Crusius, Johann-Philipp; Hellmann, Robert; Hassel, Egon; Bich, Eckard

2015-06-28

We present an analytical intermolecular potential energy surface (PES) for two rigid nitrous oxide (N2O) molecules derived from high-level quantum-chemical ab initio calculations. Interaction energies for 2018 N2O-N2O configurations were computed utilizing the counterpoise-corrected supermolecular approach at the CCSD(T) level of theory using basis sets up to aug-cc-pVQZ supplemented with bond functions. A site-site potential function with seven sites per N2O molecule was fitted to the pair interaction energies. We validated our PES by computing the second virial coefficient as well as shear viscosity and thermal conductivity in the dilute-gas limit. The values of these properties are substantiated by the best experimental data.

Graphene-enhanced intermolecular interaction at interface between copper- and cobalt-phthalocyanines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dou, Wei-Dong [Department of Physics, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000 (China); Center of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films (COSDAF) and Department of Physics and Material Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (China); Huang, Shu-Ping [Department of Chemistry, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069 (United States); Lee, Chun-Sing, E-mail: apcslee@cityu.edu.hk [Center of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films (COSDAF) and Department of Physics and Material Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (China)

2015-10-07

Interfacial electronic structures of copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc), cobalt-phthalocyanine (CoPc), and graphene were investigated experimentally by using photoelectron spectroscopy. While the CuPc/graphene interface shows flat band structure and negligible interfacial dipole indicating quite weak molecule-substrate interaction, the CuPc/CoPc/graphene interface shows a large interfacial dipole and obvious energy level bending. Controlled experiments ruled out possible influences from the change in film structure of CuPc and pure π–π interaction between CoPc and CuPc. Analysis based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory reveals that the decrease in the work function for the CuPc/CoPc/graphene system is induced by the intermolecular interaction between CuPc and CoPc which is enhanced owning to the peculiar electronic properties at the CoPc-graphene interface.

Plasmon modes of bilayer molybdenum disulfide: a density functional study

Science.gov (United States)

Torbatian, Z.; Asgari, R.

2017-11-01

We explore the collective electronic excitations of bilayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) using density functional theory together with random phase approximation. The many-body dielectric function and electron energy-loss spectra are calculated using an ab initio based model involving material-realistic physical properties. The electron energy-loss function of the bilayer MoS2 system is found to be sensitive to either electron or hole doping and this is due to the fact that the Kohn-Sham band dispersions are not symmetric for energies above and below the zero Fermi level. Three plasmon modes are predicted, a damped high-energy mode, one optical mode (in-phase mode) for which the plasmon dispersion exhibits \\sqrt q in the long wavelength limit originating from low-energy electron scattering and finally a highly damped acoustic mode (out-of-phase mode).

Character of intermolecular interaction in pyridine-argon complex: Ab initio potential energy surface, internal dynamics, and interrelations between SAPT energy components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makarewicz, Jan, E-mail: jama@amu.edu.pl; Shirkov, Leonid [Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89b, 61-614 Poznań (Poland)

2016-05-28

The pyridine-Ar (PAr) van der Waals (vdW) complex is studied using a high level ab initio method. Its structure, binding energy, and intermolecular vibrational states are determined from the analytical potential energy surface constructed from interaction energy (IE) values computed at the coupled cluster level of theory with single, double, and perturbatively included triple excitations with the augmented correlation consistent polarized valence double-ζ (aug-cc-pVDZ) basis set complemented by midbond functions. The structure of the complex at its global minimum with Ar at a distance of 3.509 Å from the pyridine plane and shifted by 0.218 Å from the center of mass towards nitrogen agrees well with the corresponding equilibrium structure derived previously from the rotational spectrum of PAr. The PAr binding energy D{sub e} of 392 cm{sup −1} is close to that of 387 cm{sup −1} calculated earlier at the same ab initio level for the prototypical benzene-Ar (BAr) complex. However, under an extension of the basis set, D{sub e} for PAr becomes slightly lower than D{sub e} for BAr. The ab initio vdW vibrational energy levels allow us to estimate the reliability of the methods for the determination of the vdW fundamentals from the rotational spectra. To disclose the character of the intermolecular interaction in PAr, the symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) is employed for the analysis of different physical contributions to IE. It is found that SAPT components of IE can be approximately expressed in the binding region by only two of them: the exchange repulsion and dispersion energy. The total induction effect is negligible. The interrelations between various SAPT components found for PAr are fulfilled for a few other complexes involving aromatic molecules and Ar or Ne, which indicates that they are valid for all rare gas (Rg) atoms and aromatics.

Purification of correctly oxidized MHC class I heavy-chain molecules under denaturing conditions: a novel strategy exploiting disulfide assisted protein folding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferré, Henrik; Ruffet, Emmanuel; Blicher, Thomas

2003-01-01

The aim of this study has been to develop a strategy for purifying correctly oxidized denatured major histocompability complex class I (MHC-I) heavy-chain molecules, which on dilution, fold efficiently and become functional. Expression of heavy-chain molecules in bacteria results in the formation...... of insoluble cellular inclusion bodies, which must be solubilized under denaturing conditions. Their subsequent purification and refolding is complicated by the fact that (1). correct folding can only take place in combined presence of beta(2)-microglobulin and a binding peptide; and (2). optimal in vitro...... conditions for disulfide bond formation ( approximately pH 8) and peptide binding ( approximately pH 6.6) are far from complementary. Here we present a two-step strategy, which relies on uncoupling the events of disulfide bond formation and peptide binding. In the first phase, heavy-chain molecules...

Purification of correctly oxidized MHC class I heavy-chain molecules under denaturing conditions: A novel strategy exploiting disulfide assisted protein folding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferré, Henrik; Ruffet, E.; Blicher, T.

2003-01-01

The aim of this study has been to develop a strategy for purifying correctly oxidized denatured major histocompability complex class I (MHC-I) heavy-chain molecules, which on dilution, fold efficiently and become functional. Expression of heavy-chain molecules in bacteria results in the formation...... of insoluble cellular inclusion bodies, which must be solubilized under denaturing conditions. Their subsequent purification and refolding is complicated by the fact that (1) correct folding can only take place in combined presence of beta(2)-microglobulin and a binding peptide; and (2) optimal in vitro...... conditions for disulfide bond formation (similar topH 8) and peptide binding (similar topH 6.6) are far from complementary. Here we present a two-step strategy, which relies on uncoupling the events of disulfide bond formation and peptide binding. In the first phase, heavy-chain molecules with correct...

Organisation and Control of Nanoscale Structures on Au(111)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jingdong; Chi, Qijin; Andersen, Jens Enevold Thaulov

2001-01-01

system is IDe arnino acid cystine in the adsorbed state. Af ter dissociation of its disulfide band cystine farms a highly ordered pattem controlled by adsorption via IDe liberated sulfur atoms and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Further organisation at three different leveis by lateral interactions can...... constitutes a new case for the lise of in situ STM as a tool for manufacturing nanoscale pit structures on IDe Au(lll) surface at small bias voltage. Individually and in combination these data hold perspectives for preparation of atornically planar electrochernical surfaces willi controlled functionalisation...

Photochemistry of CS2/Cl complexes-combined pulse radiolysis-laser flash photolysis studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumiyoshi, Takashi; Nakayama, Masayoshi; Fujiyoshi, Ryoko; Sawamura, Sadashi

2006-01-01

Complexes of chlorine atoms and carbon disulfide (CS 2 ) were produced by pulse radiolysis of CS 2 in halocarbons and photochemical reactions were studied by laser flash photolysis. Excitation of CS 2 /Cl complexes resulted in rapid and permanent photobleaching. The photobleaching of CS 2 /Cl complexes is due to intermolecular chlorine atom abstraction in CCl 4 with a quantum yield of 0.04, while that ascribed to hydrogen atom abstraction in 1,2-dichloroethane has a quantum yield of 0.21. The effects of additives are discussed based on the bond dissociation energy

Preliminary crystallographic data of the three homologues of the thiol–disulfide oxidoreductase DsbA in Neisseria meningitidis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lafaye, Céline [Laboratoire des Protéines Membranaires, Institut de Biologie Structurale, CEA/CNRS/Université Joseph Fourier, 41 Rue Jules Horowitz, 38027 Grenoble CEDEX 01 (France); Iwena, Thomas; Ferrer, Jean-Luc [Laboratoire de Cristallogénèse et Cristallisation des Protéines, Institut de Biologie Structurale, CEA/CNRS/Université Joseph Fourier, 41 Rue Jules Horowitz, 38027 Grenoble CEDEX 01 (France); Kroll, J. Simon [Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, St Mary’s Hospital Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG (United Kingdom); Griat, Mickael; Serre, Laurence, E-mail: laurence.serre@ibs.fr [Laboratoire des Protéines Membranaires, Institut de Biologie Structurale, CEA/CNRS/Université Joseph Fourier, 41 Rue Jules Horowitz, 38027 Grenoble CEDEX 01 (France)

2008-02-01

The Neisseria meningitidis genome possesses three genes encoding active DsbAs. To throw light on the reason for this genetic multiplicity, the three enzymes have been purified and crystallized. Bacterial virulence depends on the correct folding of surface-exposed proteins, a process that is catalyzed by the thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase DsbA, which facilitates the synthesis of disulfide bonds in Gram-negative bacteria. Uniquely among bacteria, the Neisseria meningitidis genome possesses three genes encoding active DsbAs: DsbA1, DsbA2 and DsbA3. DsbA1 and DsbA2 have been characterized as lipoproteins involved in natural competence and in host-interactive biology, while the function of DsbA3 remains unknown. In an attempt to shed light on the reason for this multiplicity of dsbA genes, the three enzymes from N. meningitidis have been purified and crystallized in the presence of high concentrations of ammonium sulfate. The best crystals were obtained using DsbA1 and DsbA3; they belong to the orthorhombic and tetragonal systems and diffract to 1.5 and 2.7 Å resolution, respectively.

Mechanism of Intermolecular Electron Transfer in Bionanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Gruodis, A.; Galikova, N.; Šarka, K.; Saulė, R.; Batiuškaitė, D.; Saulis, G.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. Most patients are inoperable and hepatoma cells are resistant to conventional chemotherapies. Thus, the development of novel therapies for HCC treatment is of paramount importance. Amongst different alimentary factors, vitamin C and vitamin K3 In the present work, it has been shown that the treatment of mouse hepatoma MH-22A cells by vitamin C and vitamin K3 at the ratio of 100:1 greatly enhanced their cytotoxicity. When cells were subjected to vitamin C at 200 μM or to vitamin K3 at 2 μM separately, their viability reduced by only about 10%. However, when vitamins C and K3 were combined at the same concentrations, they killed more than 90% of cells. To elucidate the mechanism of the synergistic cytotoxicity of the C&K3 mixture, theoretical quantum-chemical analysis of the dynamics of intermolecular electron transfer (IET) processes within the complexes containing C (five forms) and K3 (one form) has been carried out. Optimization of the ground state complex geometry has been provided by means of GAUSSIAN03 package. Simulation of the IET has been carried out using NUVOLA package, in the framework of molecular orbitals (MO). The rate of IET has been calculated using Fermi Golden rule. The results of simulations allow us to create the preliminary model of the reaction pathway.

Antiradiation compounds XV: condensations of carbon disulfide with amino, chloro, cyanomethyl, and sulfonamido heterocycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foye, W.O.; Kauffman, J.M.; Lanzillo, J.J.; LaSala, E.F.

1975-01-01

Condensations of carbon disulfide were carried out with amino, chloro, and diamino heterocycles to give condensed ring thiazoline-2-thiones and imidazoline-2-thiones, with cyanomethyl heterocycles to give dithio acid derivatives, and with heterocyclic sulfonamides to give sulfonyldithiocarbamates. Of several examples tested, pyrido[3,2-d]thiazoline-2-thione, disodium 2-(5-chloro-2-thienyl)-3,3-dimercaptoacrylonitrile, triethylammonium 4-sulfamoylphenyldithiocarbamate, ammonium β-phenethyldithiocarbamate, and methyl N-(thiophene-2-sulfonyl)dithiocarbamate, only the last-named compound showed any radiation protection for mice. Several compounds gave negative tests for antimalarial activity

Effects of pair correlation functions on intermolecular nuclear relaxation by translational and rotational diffusion in liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fries, P.

1978-01-01

In order to study the intermolecular relaxation due to magnetic dipolar interactions, we calculate the spectral densities resulting from random translational and rotational motions of spherical molecules carrying off-centre spins. The relative translational motion is treated in the frame-work of a general diffusion equation (the Smoluchowski equation) which takes into account the existence of effective forces between the molecules. This model implies a pair correlation function. i.e. a non unifom relative distribution of the molecules. The analytical calculations are carried out by taking correctly into account the hard sphere boundary conditions for the molecules. Explicit numerical calculations of the spectral densities are performed using finite difference methods and the pair correlation function of Verlet and Weiss obtained by computer experiments. The resulting calculations allow one to interpret the relaxation exhibited by benzene and some of its monohalogen derivatives which has been measured by Jonas et al. at various pressures. The effects of pair correlation and eccentricity contribute to a noticeable enhancement of the spectral densities, especially as the frequency increases. The translational correlation times calculated from the Stokes formula and those deduced from intermolecular relaxation studies are compared. It is shown that in order to distinguish which of the dynamical models is appropriate, measurements must be made as a function of frequency [fr

Ero1-PDI interactions, the response to redox flux and the implications for disulfide bond formation in the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benham, A.M.; Lith, M. van; Sitia, R.; Braakman, I.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073923737

2013-01-01

The protein folding machinery of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) ensures that proteins entering the eukaryotic secretory pathway acquire appropriate post-translational modifications and reach a stably folded state. An important component of this protein folding process is the supply of disulfide

Lack of evidence for intermolecular epistatic interactions between adiponectin and resistin gene polymorphisms in Malaysian male subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cia-Hin Lau

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Epistasis (gene-gene interaction is a ubiquitous component of the genetic architecture of complex traits such as susceptibility to common human diseases. Given the strong negative correlation between circulating adiponectin and resistin levels, the potential intermolecular epistatic interactions between ADIPOQ (SNP+45T > G, SNP+276G > T, SNP+639T > C and SNP+1212A > G and RETN (SNP-420C > G and SNP+299G > A gene polymorphisms in the genetic risk underlying type 2 diabetes (T2DM and metabolic syndrome (MS were assessed. The potential mutual influence of the ADIPOQ and RETN genes on their adipokine levels was also examined. The rare homozygous genotype (risk alleles of SNP-420C > G at the RETN locus tended to be co-inherited together with the common homozygous genotypes (protective alleles of SNP+639T > C and SNP+1212A > G at the ADIPOQ locus. Despite the close structural relationship between the ADIPOQ and RETN genes, there was no evidence of an intermolecular epistatic interaction between these genes. There was also no reciprocal effect of the ADIPOQ and RETN genes on their adipokine levels, i.e., ADIPOQ did not affect resistin levels nor did RETN affect adiponectin levels. The possible influence of the ADIPOQ gene on RETN expression warrants further investigation.

Studies of the activity of cytosol on the mixed disulfide bond formed by proteins and radioprotector mercaptoethylguanidine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horvath, M [National Inst. of Oncology, Budapest (Hungary); Holland, J [Orszagos Onkologiai Intezet, Budapest (Hungary)

1979-01-01

The cytoplasm of normal and tumorous rat liver cells contains a heat-resistant compound with reducing ability to break the mixed disulfide bond of albumin-/sup 14/C-mercaptoethylguanidine. The reducing activity of cytosol is destoryed by 1000 krd /sup 60/Co-gamma-ray doses in diluted solution. In vivo supralethal of rats does not affect the activity of cytosol prepared from liver cells.

Influence of pressure on the crystallization of systems characterized by different intermolecular attraction

Science.gov (United States)

Koperwas, K.; Affouard, F.; Gerges, J.; Valdes, L.-C.; Adrjanowicz, K.; Paluch, M.

2017-12-01

In this paper, we examine, in terms of the classical nucleation theory, how the strengthening of the attractive intermolecular interactions influences the crystallization process for systems like Lennard-Jones at different isobaric conditions. For this purpose, we modify the standard Lennard-Jones potential, and as a result, we obtain three different systems characterized by various strengths of attractive potentials occurring between molecules, which are in direct relationship to the physical quantities describing molecules, e.g., its polarizability or dipole moment. Based on performed analysis, we demonstrate that the molecular attraction primarily impacts the thermodynamics of the interface between liquid and crystal. This is reflected in the behavior of nucleation and overall crystallization rates during compression of the system.

New models for intermolecular repulsion and their application to Van Der Waals complexes and crystals of organic molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsui, H.H.Y.

2001-01-01

Model intermolecular potentials are required for simulations of molecules in the gas, liquid, or solid phase. The widely used isotropic atom-atom model potentials are empirically fitted and based on the assumptions of transferability, combining rules and that atoms in molecules are spherical. This thesis develops a non-empirical method of modelling repulsion by applying the overlap model, which we show as a general non-empirical method of deriving repulsion potentials for a specific molecule. In this thesis, the repulsion parameters for an exponential atom-atom model potential are obtained from the ab initio charge density of a small organic molecule by making the assumption that the repulsion is proportional to the overlap of a pair of molecules. The proportionality constant is fixed by a limited number of intermolecular perturbation theory (IMPT) calculations. To complete the model potential, the electrostatic interaction is represented by a distributed multipole analysis, and the Slater-Kirkwood formula is used for the dispersion. These non-empirical potentials can reproduce experimental crystal structure when applied to crystal structure prediction of an oxyboryl derivative. A detailed study on further improving the overlap model was carried out for phenol-water, by including other minor intermolecular contributions of charge-transfer and penetration. High quality ab initio calculations on the complex were performed for use in comparison. To compare with experimental data, diffusion Monte Carlo simulations were performed with the potential, so that the effects of anharmonic zero-point motion on structure and energy of the system are included. When the system is too large for an IMPT calculation, the proportionality constant can be determined empirically by fitting the cell volume as shown in our study of crystal structures of chlorothalonil. This is used with an anisotropic repulsion model that has been derived for Cl and N atoms in chlorothalonil. This model

Spin-Polarized Tunneling through Chemical Vapor Deposited Multilayer Molybdenum Disulfide.

Science.gov (United States)

Dankert, André; Pashaei, Parham; Kamalakar, M Venkata; Gaur, Anand P S; Sahoo, Satyaprakash; Rungger, Ivan; Narayan, Awadhesh; Dolui, Kapildeb; Hoque, Md Anamul; Patel, Ram Shanker; de Jong, Michel P; Katiyar, Ram S; Sanvito, Stefano; Dash, Saroj P

2017-06-27

The two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has attracted widespread attention for its extraordinary electrical-, optical-, spin-, and valley-related properties. Here, we report on spin-polarized tunneling through chemical vapor deposited multilayer MoS 2 (∼7 nm) at room temperature in a vertically fabricated spin-valve device. A tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of 0.5-2% has been observed, corresponding to spin polarization of 5-10% in the measured temperature range of 300-75 K. First-principles calculations for ideal junctions result in a TMR up to 8% and a spin polarization of 26%. The detailed measurements at different temperature, bias voltages, and density functional theory calculations provide information about spin transport mechanisms in vertical multilayer MoS 2 spin-valve devices. These findings form a platform for exploring spin functionalities in 2D semiconductors and understanding the basic phenomena that control their performance.

Live-cell imaging of biothiols via thiol/disulfide exchange to trigger the photoinduced electron transfer of gold-nanodot sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Ching-Ping; Wu, Te-Haw; Liu, Chia-Yeh; Lin, Shu-Yi

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The ultrasmall size, PAMAM dendrimer-entrapped Au 8 -clusters were synthesized. • Thiol/disulfide exchange with biothiols to release 2-PyT resulted in quenching. • The sensing platform can detect both low and high molecular weight thiols. • Capable of imaging biothiols including protein thiols in living cells. - Abstract: Biothiols have been reported to involve in intracellular redox-homeostasis against oxidative stress. In this study, a highly selective and sensitive fluorescent probe for sensing biothiols is explored by using an ultrasmall gold nanodot (AuND), the dendrimer-entrapped Au 8 -cluster. This strategy relies upon a thiol/disulfide exchange to trigger the fluorescence change through a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process between the Au 8 -cluster (as an electron donor) and 2-pyridinethiol (2-PyT) (as an electron acceptor) for sensing biothiols. When 2-PyT is released via the cleavage of disulfide bonds by biothiols, the PET process from the Au 8 -cluster to 2-PyT is initiated, resulting in fluorescence quenching. The fluorescence intensity was found to decrease linearly with glutathione (GSH) concentration (0–1500 μM) at physiological relevant levels and the limit of detection for GSH was 15.4 μM. Compared to most nanoparticle-based fluorescent probes that are limited to detect low molecular weight thiols (LMWTs; i.e., GSH and cysteine), the ultrasmall Au 8 -cluster-based probe exhibited less steric hindrance and can be directly applied in selectively and sensitively detecting both LMWTs and high molecular weight thiols (HMWTs; i.e., protein thiols). Based on such sensing platform, the surface-functionalized Au 8 -cluster has significant promise for use as an efficient nanoprobe for intracellular fluorescence imaging of biothiols including protein thiols in living cells whereas other nanoparticle-based fluorescent probes cannot

Live-cell imaging of biothiols via thiol/disulfide exchange to trigger the photoinduced electron transfer of gold-nanodot sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Ching-Ping; Wu, Te-Haw; Liu, Chia-Yeh; Lin, Shu-Yi, E-mail: shuyi@nhri.org.tw

2014-11-07

Highlights: • The ultrasmall size, PAMAM dendrimer-entrapped Au{sub 8}-clusters were synthesized. • Thiol/disulfide exchange with biothiols to release 2-PyT resulted in quenching. • The sensing platform can detect both low and high molecular weight thiols. • Capable of imaging biothiols including protein thiols in living cells. - Abstract: Biothiols have been reported to involve in intracellular redox-homeostasis against oxidative stress. In this study, a highly selective and sensitive fluorescent probe for sensing biothiols is explored by using an ultrasmall gold nanodot (AuND), the dendrimer-entrapped Au{sub 8}-cluster. This strategy relies upon a thiol/disulfide exchange to trigger the fluorescence change through a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process between the Au{sub 8}-cluster (as an electron donor) and 2-pyridinethiol (2-PyT) (as an electron acceptor) for sensing biothiols. When 2-PyT is released via the cleavage of disulfide bonds by biothiols, the PET process from the Au{sub 8}-cluster to 2-PyT is initiated, resulting in fluorescence quenching. The fluorescence intensity was found to decrease linearly with glutathione (GSH) concentration (0–1500 μM) at physiological relevant levels and the limit of detection for GSH was 15.4 μM. Compared to most nanoparticle-based fluorescent probes that are limited to detect low molecular weight thiols (LMWTs; i.e., GSH and cysteine), the ultrasmall Au{sub 8}-cluster-based probe exhibited less steric hindrance and can be directly applied in selectively and sensitively detecting both LMWTs and high molecular weight thiols (HMWTs; i.e., protein thiols). Based on such sensing platform, the surface-functionalized Au{sub 8}-cluster has significant promise for use as an efficient nanoprobe for intracellular fluorescence imaging of biothiols including protein thiols in living cells whereas other nanoparticle-based fluorescent probes cannot.

Resonance Raman spectra of organic molecules absorbed on inorganic semiconducting surfaces: Contribution from both localized intramolecular excitation and intermolecular charge transfer excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye, ChuanXiang; Zhao, Yi; Liang, WanZhen

2015-01-01

The time-dependent correlation function approach for the calculations of absorption and resonance Raman spectra (RRS) of organic molecules absorbed on semiconductor surfaces [Y. Zhao and W. Z. Liang, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 044108 (2011)] is extended to include the contribution of the intermolecular charge transfer (CT) excitation from the absorbers to the semiconducting nanoparticles. The results demonstrate that the bidirectionally interfacial CT significantly modifies the spectral line shapes. Although the intermolecular CT excitation makes the absorption spectra red shift slightly, it essentially changes the relative intensities of mode-specific RRS and causes the oscillation behavior of surface enhanced Raman spectra with respect to interfacial electronic couplings. Furthermore, the constructive and destructive interferences of RRS from the localized molecular excitation and CT excitation are observed with respect to the electronic coupling and the bottom position of conductor band. The interferences are determined by both excitation pathways and bidirectionally interfacial CT

Effect of intermolecular cohesion on coal liquefaction. 3. Reactivity of oxygen methylated coal; Sekitan teibunshika hanno ni okeru bunshikan gyoshuryoku no koka. 3. O-methyl ka tan no hanno tokusei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sasaki, M.; Nagaishi, H.; Yoshida, T. [Hokkaido National Industrial Research Institute, Sapporo (Japan)

1996-10-28

The reactivity of oxygen methylated coal was studied to control hydrogen bond in bituminous coal liquefaction and intermolecular cohesion such as van der Waals force. In experiment, crushed and dried Illinois coal of 100mesh or less was used as specimen, and oxygen methylated coal was prepared by Liotta`s method using tetrabutylammonium halide. Coal liquefaction was conducted in an electromagnetic agitation autoclave using tetralin solvent under initial hydrogen pressure of 100kg/cm{sup 2} while heating. The molecular weight distribution of the products obtained was measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis. The experimental results are as follows. The effect of intermolecular cohesion in bituminous coal on the reactivity is mainly derived from decomposing reaction from preasphaltene to oil. Yields of oil fraction by methylation increase corresponding to release of intermolecular cohesion. Since the thermal release is promoted with temperature rise, the difference in yield due to different treatments decreases. 5 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

Imbalance of heterologous protein folding and disulfide bond formation rates yields runaway oxidative stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tyo Keith EJ

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The protein secretory pathway must process a wide assortment of native proteins for eukaryotic cells to function. As well, recombinant protein secretion is used extensively to produce many biologics and industrial enzymes. Therefore, secretory pathway dysfunction can be highly detrimental to the cell and can drastically inhibit product titers in biochemical production. Because the secretory pathway is a highly-integrated, multi-organelle system, dysfunction can happen at many levels and dissecting the root cause can be challenging. In this study, we apply a systems biology approach to analyze secretory pathway dysfunctions resulting from heterologous production of a small protein (insulin precursor or a larger protein (α-amylase. Results HAC1-dependent and independent dysfunctions and cellular responses were apparent across multiple datasets. In particular, processes involving (a degradation of protein/recycling amino acids, (b overall transcription/translation repression, and (c oxidative stress were broadly associated with secretory stress. Conclusions Apparent runaway oxidative stress due to radical production observed here and elsewhere can be explained by a futile cycle of disulfide formation and breaking that consumes reduced glutathione and produces reactive oxygen species. The futile cycle is dominating when protein folding rates are low relative to disulfide bond formation rates. While not strictly conclusive with the present data, this insight does provide a molecular interpretation to an, until now, largely empirical understanding of optimizing heterologous protein secretion. This molecular insight has direct implications on engineering a broad range of recombinant proteins for secretion and provides potential hypotheses for the root causes of several secretory-associated diseases.

Measuring Intermolecular Binding Energies by Laser Spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Knochenmuss, Richard; Maity, Surajit; Féraud, Géraldine; Leutwyler, Samuel

2017-02-22

The ground-state dissociation energy, D0(S0), of isolated intermolecular complexes in the gas phase is a fundamental measure of the interaction strength between the molecules. We have developed a three-laser, triply resonant pump-dump-probe technique to measure dissociation energies of jet-cooled M•S complexes, where M is an aromatic chromophore and S is a closed-shell 'solvent' molecule. Stimulated emission pumping (SEP) via the S0→S1 electronic transition is used to precisely 'warm' the complex by populating high vibrational levels v" of the S0 state. If the deposited energy E(v") is less than D0(S0), the complex remains intact, and is then mass- and isomer-selectively detected by resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) with a third (probe) laser. If the pumped level is above D0(S0), the hot complex dissociates and the probe signal disappears. Combining the fluorescence or SEP spectrum of the cold complex with the SEP breakoff of the hot complex brackets D0(S0). The UV chromophores 1-naphthol and carbazole were employed; these bind either dispersively via the aromatic rings, or form a hydrogen bond via the -OH or -NH group. Dissociation energies have been measured for dispersively bound complexes with noble gases (Ne, Kr, Ar, Xe), diatomics (N2, CO), alkanes (methane to n-butane), cycloalkanes (cyclopropane to cycloheptane), and unsaturated compounds (ethene, benzene). Hydrogen-bond dissociation energies have been measured for H2O, D2O, methanol, ethanol, ethers (oxirane, oxetane), NH3 and ND3.

Synthesis of a wild-type and three mutant Cucurbita maxima trypsin inhibitor-encoding genes by a single-strand approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Botes, D P; Qobose, M D; Corfield, V A

1991-09-15

A single-strand approach to gene assembly, based on a modification of an in vitro complementary oligodeoxyribonucleotide template-directed ligation of the desired sequence to a linearized vector [Chen et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 18 (1990) 871-878], is described. The gene coding for the wild-type Cucurbita maxima trypsin inhibitor of 29 amino acid residues [Bode et al., FEBS Lett. 242 (1989) 285-292], as well as three mutant forms of the gene, in which two of the three disulfide bonds have been replaced singly or as a pair, have been synthesized in a single synthesis run with minimal manual intervention. Subsequent to ligation to pUC9 and in vivo gapped duplex repair by Escherichia coli, their sequences have been verified.

Polyelectrolyte brushes in mixed ionic medium studied via intermolecular forces

Science.gov (United States)

Farina, Robert; Laugel, Nicolas; Pincus, Philip; Tirrell, Matthew

2011-03-01

The vast uses and applications of polyelectrolyte brushes make them an attractive field of research especially with the growing interest in responsive materials. Polymers which respond via changes in temperature, pH, and ionic strength are increasingly being used for applications in drug delivery, chemical gating, etc. When polyelectrolyte brushes are found in either nature (e.g., surfaces of cartilage and mammalian lung interiors) or commercially (e.g., skin care products, shampoo, and surfaces of medical devices) they are always surrounded by mixed ionic medium. This makes the study of these brushes in varying ionic environments extremely relevant for both current and future potential applications. The polyelectrolyte brushes in this work are diblock co-polymers of poly-styrene sulfonate (N=420) and poly-t-butyl styrene (N=20) which tethers to a hydrophobic surface allowing for a purely thermodynamic study of the polyelectrolyte chains. Intermolecular forces between two brushes are measured using the SFA. As multi-valent concentrations are increased, the brushes collapse internally and form strong adhesion between one another after contact (properties not seen in a purely mono-valent environment).

Metallic molybdenum disulfide nanosheet-based electrochemical actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Acerce, Muharrem; Akdoğan, E. Koray; Chhowalla, Manish

2017-09-01

Actuators that convert electrical energy to mechanical energy are useful in a wide variety of electromechanical systems and in robotics, with applications such as steerable catheters, adaptive wings for aircraft and drag-reducing wind turbines. Actuation systems can be based on various stimuli, such as heat, solvent adsorption/desorption, or electrochemical action (in systems such as carbon nanotube electrodes, graphite electrodes, polymer electrodes and metals). Here we demonstrate that the dynamic expansion and contraction of electrode films formed by restacking chemically exfoliated nanosheets of two-dimensional metallic molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on thin plastic substrates can generate substantial mechanical forces. These films are capable of lifting masses that are more than 150 times that of the electrode over several millimetres and for hundreds of cycles. Specifically, the MoS2 films are able to generate mechanical stresses of about 17 megapascals—higher than mammalian muscle (about 0.3 megapascals) and comparable to ceramic piezoelectric actuators (about 40 megapascals)—and strains of about 0.6 per cent, operating at frequencies up to 1 hertz. The actuation performance is attributed to the high electrical conductivity of the metallic 1T phase of MoS2 nanosheets, the elastic modulus of restacked MoS2 layers (2 to 4 gigapascals) and fast proton diffusion between the nanosheets. These results could lead to new electrochemical actuators for high-strain and high-frequency applications.

Intermolecular Interactions and Cooperative Effects from Electronic Structure Calculations: An Effective Means for Developing Interaction Potentials for Condensed Phase Simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xantheas, Sotiris S.

2004-05-01

The modeling of the macroscopic properties of homogeneous and inhomogeneous systems via atomistic simulations such as molecular dynamics (MD) or Monte Carlo (MC) techniques is based on the accurate description of the relevant solvent-solute and solvent-solvent intermolecular interactions. The total energy (U) of an n-body molecular system can be formally written as [1,2,3