Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticle Integrated Photo-responsive Liposomes and Measurement of Their Microbubble Cavitation upon Pulse Laser Excitation

Photo-responsive nanoparticles (NPs) have received considerable attention because of their potential in providing spatial, temporal, and dosage control over the drug release. However, most of the relevant technologies are still in the development process and are unprocurable by clinics. Here, we describe a facile fabrication of these photo-responsive NPs with commercially available gold NPs and thermo-responsive liposomes. Calcein is used as a model drug to evaluate the encapsulation efficiency and the release kinetic profile upon heat/light stimulation. Finally, we show that this photo-triggered release is due to the membrane disruption caused by microbubble cavitation, which can be measured with hydrophone.     

噬菌体展示 protein A 及 protein L Ig 结合单结构域随机组合文库及 Ig 亲和筛选

Protein A 和 protein L 是细菌产生的两种结构和功能均不同的免疫球蛋白 (immunoglobulin , Ig) 结合分子,在细菌的致病中起重要作用 . 用含 SacⅠ位点的特定引物 PCR 分别扩增制备 protein A 的 A 、 B 、 C 、 D 抗体结合结构域和 protein L 的 B3 抗体结合结构域,各结构域 DNA 片段经 SacⅠ酶切后,再随机连接形成各种不同长度的分子组合文库,将该文库呈现在噬菌体表面构建了噬菌体展示 Ig 结合分子单结构域随机组合文库,所建组合文库容量为 2.3×10⁶个菌落形成单位,滴度为 4.1×10¹¹TU/ml , 包含各种单结构域片段,并以随机方式连接 . 用人 Ig 对该文库进行 4 轮亲和筛选,随机挑选 36 个代表性的阳性克隆进行序列测定分析表明,亲和筛选获得了多种非天然形式存在的新的 Ig 结合分子结构,其中 32 个克隆具有由 protein L 的单结构域和 protein A 的单结构域间隔重复排列而成的特征性 (MDPL-MDPA)n 结构 . 对噬菌体展示 Ig 结合分子单结构域随机组合文库的体外分子进化研究的尝试,为 Ig 结合分子的结构和功能研究提供了一新的途径,也为 Ig 结合分子的定向改造打下基础 .     

High-throughput Screening of Recalcitrance Variations in Lignocellulosic Biomass: Total Lignin,Lignin Monomers,and Enzymatic Sugar Release

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fuels, chemicals, and other commodities has been explored as one possible pathway toward reductions in the use of non-renewable energy sources. In order to identify which plants, out of a diverse pool, have the desired chemical traits for downstream applications, attributes, such as cellulose and lignin content, or monomeric sugar release following an enzymatic saccharification, must be compared. The experimental and data analysis protocols of the standard methods of analysis can be time-consuming, thereby limiting the number of samples that can be measured. High-throughput (HTP) methods alleviate the shortcomings of the standard methods, and permit the rapid screening of available samples to isolate those possessing the desired traits. This study illustrates the HTP sugar release and pyrolysis-molecular beam mass spectrometry pipelines employed at the National Renewable Energy Lab. These pipelines have enabled the efficient assessment of thousands of plants while decreasing experimental time and costs through reductions in labor and consumables.     

Construction of Chemical Libraries of Volatile Compounds by Combinatorial Synthesis of Homologous Mixtures: Alk-4-en-1-ols,Alk-4-enals and Methyl Alk-4-enoates

A compound library of sixty six linear compounds, eleven representatives of six molecular families: (E)- and (Z)-isomers of alk-4-en-1-ols, alk-4-enals, and methyl alk-4-enoates, was prepared by combinatorial syntheses to allow the creation of a mass spectral database directly usable for their identification in GC/MS analyses. We demonstrate here that compound libraries can be prepared by combinatorial syntheses using long linear synthetic sequences, i. e., eight step in the case of 4-enals. The resulting mixtures of homologues are still perfectly exploitable to deliver the requested information such as clean mass spectra and good gas chromatographic retention indices.     

Split-and-pool Synthesis and Characterization of Peptide Tertiary Amide Library

Peptidomimetics are great sources of protein ligands. The oligomeric nature of these compounds enables us to access large synthetic libraries on solid phase by using combinatorial chemistry. One of the most well studied classes of peptidomimetics is peptoids. Peptoids are easy to synthesize and have been shown to be proteolysis-resistant and cell-permeable. Over the past decade, many useful protein ligands have been identified through screening of peptoid libraries. However, most of the ligands identified from peptoid libraries do not display high affinity, with rare exceptions. This may be due, in part, to the lack of chiral centers and conformational constraints in peptoid molecules. Recently, we described a new synthetic route to access peptide tertiary amides (PTAs). PTAs are a superfamily of peptidomimetics that include but are not limited to peptides, peptoids and N-methylated peptides. With side chains on both α-carbon and main chain nitrogen atoms, the conformation of these molecules are greatly constrained by sterical hindrance and allylic 1,3 strain. (Figure 1) Our study suggests that these PTA molecules are highly structured in solution and can be used to identify protein ligands. We believe that these molecules can be a future source of high-affinity protein ligands. Here we describe the synthetic method combining the power of both split-and-pool and sub-monomer strategies to synthesize a sample one-bead one-compound (OBOC) library of PTAs.     

Steric Effects in Release of Amides from Linkers in Solid-Phase Synthesis. Molecular Mechanics Modeling of Key Step in Peptide and Combinatorial Chemistry

   Acidolytic release of an amide from a solid support by C–N bond cleavage is an ubiquitous and crucial step in many solid-phase syntheses. We have used molecular modeling of a pseudo-equilibrium to explore substituent and steric effects in the release of peptides. The high acid-lability of the backbone amide linkage (BAL), which releases sec. amides, compared to C-terminal amide anchoring, which releases primary amides, was rationalized by steric relief upon cleavage. Thus, the relative stability of the carbenium ion formed from the linker in the acidolytic release is an insufficient measure of the lability of a linkage. In addition, predictions indicated that steric effects from the C^α-substituent in a BAL anchored amino acid residue should accelerate the acidolytic release. The finding that steric crowding leads to increased acid-lability will be important for further development and use of handles.

Hyperthermia Induces the Synthesis of a Heat Shock Protein by Polysomes Isolated from the Fetal and Neonatal Mammalian Brain

Abstract: Analysis of the cell-free translation products of polysomes isolated from fetal brain and other organs indicates that elevation of maternal body temperature induces the synthesis of a heat shock protein of molecular weight 74,000 (74K). The newborn mammal is particularly sensitive to induction of the 74K protein. As early postnatal development proceeds, higher body temperatures are required to induce synthesis of the 74K heat shock protein.     

Effect of Loading Doses of l-Valine on Relative Contributions of Valine Derived from Protein Degradation and Plasma to the Precursor Pool for Protein Synthesis in Rat Brain

"Flooding" amino acid pools with high doses of labeled amino acids of low specific activity has been proposed to minimize the effects of recycling of amino acids derived from protein degradation on the specific activity of the amino acid precursor pool for protein synthesis. We have examined the influence of recycling on the precursor pool for protein synthesis under conditions in which plasma valine concentrations were normal (0.19 mM) and "flooded" (10-28 mM) by comparing the steady-state specific activity of the tRNA-bound valine with that of the plasma valine. Under normal and "flooding" conditions, the relative contributions of valine from protein degradation to the precursor pool were 63 and 26%, respectively; "flooding" with a plasma level of 28 mM raised the brain acid-soluble pool level to 3.1 mM but was no more effective in decreasing the relative contribution of valine from protein degradation to the precursor pool than "flooding" with a plasma level of 17 mM valine, which raised the brain acid-soluble level only to 2.3 mM. The results of these studies show that "flooding" amino acid pools does indeed reduce the effect of recycling on the precursor amino acid pool for protein synthesis, but it does not totally eliminate it.