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A series of novel “jellyfish-like” graft copolymers with chitooligosaccharide (COS) as shorter backbone and poly(e-caprolactone) as longer branches were synthesized using ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone via a protection-polymerization-deprotection procedure with trimethylsilylchitooligosaccharide as intermediate and triethylaluminum as catalyst precursor. The obtained chitooligosaccharide-graft-poly(e-caprolactone) polymers possess amphiphilic structure with hydrophilic COS backbone and hydrophobic polycaprolactone branches. Because of this unique “jellyfish-like” structure, these graft copolymers could self-assemble to form various morphologies of aggregates in a mixture solution of water and tetrahydrofuran. The transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that the formed aggregates exhibited necklace-like, flower-like onion vesicle, and tubular morphologies. It is found that the hydrogen-bonding formed by the hydroxyl and amino groups remained on the COS backbone played an important role during the aggregation of these graft copolymers, and their morphologies were changed with the varying length of poly (e-caprolactone) branches, the concentration of the graft copolymer, and the self-assembly process. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4889–4904, 2008

A series of imidazolium-based ionic liquid monomers bearing a terminal pyrrole moiety were synthesized and electrochemically polymerized. It is found that the polymerizability of the synthesized ionic liquids is strongly dependent on the type of the counteranions. Although bromide monomer is not polymerizable, well-defined polymeric films can be formed on various substrates in the cases of flour-containing anions (BF4−, PF6−). The performed characterizations show that all resulting polypyrrole films are electroactive, and the imidazolium-based ionic liquid moieties are correctly incorporated in polymer films during the electropolymerization process. This work not only provides a facile new method to immobilize ionic liquids on solid surface. Interestingly, without use of any template unique “knit” morphology and nanostructure, even hierarchical structures could also be produced by the electropolymerization of these new functionalized pyrrole monomers. We found that the properties of the pendant ionic liquid units on the surface of the formed polymer films preserved, and by simple anion exchange their surface energy and tension could be easily tuned without loss of the electrical, optical properties, and morphology of the polypyrrole films. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4151–4161, 2008

A new series of pyrroles bearing bile acid moieties were synthesized and electrochemically polymerized in acetonitrile with tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAFP 6 ) as the supporting electrolyte. It is found that these functionalized monomers could form polypyrrole films, but their electrochemical properties and the stability of the films are strongly dependent on the length of the alkyl spacer between pyrrole ring and the pendant bile acid moiety. Each of the resulting polymers with different bile acid groups shows a distinctive behaviour in terms of its microstructure of surface, as well as electrochemical and optical properties. Compared to other analogous polypyrroles, the optical property of the cholic acid functionalized polymer is sensitive to the polarity of the used solvents, exhibiting solvatochromic behaviour. This phenomenon is probably derived from its unique facial amphiphilic structure.

In this paper, monodispersed silica particles were synthesized using tetraethoxysiliane hydrolyzing in ethanol by a Stober-Fink-Bobn method and then self-assembled on cleaning glass slides to form silica colloidal crystals. After photopolymerization of methacrylic acid mixing with ethylene glycol dimethylacrylate and hydrofluoric acid etching, the pH-responsive polymers were obtained with highly 3D-ordered macroporous structures templated by silica colloidal crystals. These polymers films can swell or deswell in response to external stimuli, causing a change of Bragg diffraction to read pH or ionic strength of various solutions by optical signals or electrochemical signals. As an application, they can be used as chemical sensors to detect pH or ionic strength variation of environment.

Deglycosylation of misfolded proteins by the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway is catalyzed by peptide:N-glycanases (PNGases) that are highly conserved among mammals and yeast. The catalytic mechanism of PNGases employs a catalytic triad consisting of Cys, His and Asp residues, which is shared by other enzyme families such as cysteine proteases and protein cross-linking transglutaminases (TGases). In contrast to the yeast and mammalian systems, very little is known about ERAD in plants and the enzymes responsible for proper clearance of misfolded plant proteins. We have used a computer-based modeling approach to identify an Arabidopsis thaliana PNGase (AtPNG1). AtPNG1 is encoded by a single-copy gene and displays high structural homology with known PNGases. Importantly, heterologous expression of AtPNG1 restored N-glycanase activity in a PNGase-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant. The AtPNG1 gene is uniformly and constitutively expressed at low levels throughout all developmental stages of the plant, and its expression does not appear to be subject to substantial regulation by external stimuli. Recently, recombinant AtPNG1 produced in Escherichia coli was reported to display TGase activity (Della Mea et al., Plant Physiol. 135, 2046-54, 2004). However, inactivation of the AtPNG1 gene did not result in decreased TGase activity in the mutant plant, and recombinant AtPNG1 produced in S. cerevisiae exhibited only residual TGase activity. We propose that the AtPNG1 gene encodes a bona fide peptide:N-glycanase that contributes to ERAD-related protein quality control in plants.

The silica tubes were synthesized by template self-assembly from d,l-tartaric acid and hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), and their surfaces were modified by a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane cou...

Two kinds of porphyrin-doped silica films with mesoporous structures were fabricated using evaporation-introduced self-assembly approach and examined for chemosensor applications to detect explosive compounds such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), and nitrobenzene (NB). All synthesized silica films showed high fluorescence quenching sensitivity toward the vapors of TNT, DNT, and NB but is strongly dependent on pore structure. The silica film with three dimensional pore structure exhibits the highest quenching efficiency close to the quenching efficiency reported for emissive conjugated polymers, indicating these kinds of mesostructured composites are potentially useful chemosensory materials for rapidly detecting trace explosives. The preparation conditions, the structures of the resulting films, their sensing performances, and the fluorescence quenching mechanism were discussed in this paper.

A novel fullerene-maleic anhydride derivative was synthesized via radical polymerization. It is soluble in polar solvents such as water, dimethyl sulfoxide, and tetrahydrofuran etc. The product was characterized by FTIR, UV-Vis, GPC, and Transmission electron microscope (TEM). TEM analysis shows that the average particle diameter is about 38 nm. The in vitro antitumor activity of the fullerene-maleic anhydride derivative has been tested and the result shows that the derivative exhibits better antitumor activity against HeLa cells and bone tumor cells. To prove water-soluble fullerene derivatives photodynamic effect on tumor cell, i.e., the photodynamic effect on mouse bone tumor in vivo we injected the fullerene -maleic anhydride derivatives into the mouse bone tumor body. We found that with I-W lamp (500 W) illumination the mouse bone tumor body was strongly damaged. The antitumor mechanism of water-soluble fullerene-maleic anhydride derivative was investigated for the first time. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007

Anisotropic photonic crystal materials have long been pursued for their broad applications. A novel method for creating chemically patterned inverse opals is proposed here. The patterning technique is based on selective photolysis of a photolabile polymer together with postmodification on released amine groups. The patterning method allows regioselective modification within an inverse opal structure, taking advantage of selective chemical reaction. Moreover, combined with the unique signal self-reporting feature of the photonic crystal, the fabricated structure is capable of various applications, including gradient photonic bandgap and dynamic chemical patterns. The proposed method provides the ability to extend the structural and chemical complexity of the photonic crystal, as well as its potential applications.

A series of tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-bile acid conjugates was described. It was found that the synergetic combination of the distinct properties of TPE and bile acid units could directly afford uniform fluorescent vesicles with amphiphilic binding pockets in the membrane. This structural features of such vesicles provides a unique opportunity for facile construction of functional chemical systems through host–guest chemistry.

The enzyme complex oligosaccharyl transferase (OT) catalyzes N-glycosylation in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. The yeast OT complex is composed of nine subunits, all of which are transmembrane proteins. Several lines of evidence, including our previous split-ubiquitin studies, have suggested an oligomeric organization of the OT complex, but the exact oligomeric nature has been unclear. By FLAG epitope tagging the Ost4p subunit of the OT complex, we purified the OT enzyme complex by using the nondenaturing detergent digitonin and a one-step immunoaffinity technique. The digitonin-solubilized OT complex was catalytically active, and all nine subunits were present in the enzyme complex. The purified OT complex had an apparent mass of ≈500 kDa, suggesting a dimeric configuration, which was confirmed by biochemical studies. EM showed homogenous individual particles and revealed a dimeric structure of the OT complexes that was consistent with our biochemical studies. A 3D structure of the dimeric OT complex at 25-Å resolution was reconstructed from EM images. We suggest that the dimeric structure of OT might be required for effective association with the translocon dimer and for its allosteric regulation during cotranslational glycosylation.

Mouse peptide N -glycanase (mPNGase) cleaves the N -glycan chain from misfolded glycoproteins and glycopeptides. Previously, several proteins were found to directly interact with mPNGase; among them, both mHR23B and mS4 were found to link mPNGase to the proteasome. In this study, we found that the cytoplasmic protein mp97 participates in the formation of a ternary complex containing mouse autocrine motility factor receptor (mAMFR), mp97, and mPNGase. This assemblage recruits the cytosolic mPNGase close to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, where the retrotranslocation of misfolded glycoproteins is thought to occur. In addition to the ER membrane-associated E3 ligase mAMFR, a cytosolic protein mY33K, containing both UBA and UBX domains, was found to also directly interact with mp97. Thus, a complex containing five proteins, mAMFR, mY33K, mp97, mPNGase, and mHR23B, is formed in close proximity to the ER membrane and serves to couple the activities of retrotranslocation, ubiquitination, and deglycosylation and, thereby, route misfolded glycoproteins to the proteasome.

Amphiphilic chitooligosaccharide-graft-poly(e-caprolactone) (COS-g-PCL) copolymers were controllably synthesized using protection/deprotection technique of COS via trimethylsilyl groups and ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone. Their crystalline properties were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry. With the increase of PCL content in graft copolymer, the values of ΔH and Xc became enhanced, and Tm shifted to higher temperatures. Micellar properties of amphiphilic graft copolymers were studied. Spherical micelles from COS11-g-PCL132 were prepared. However, due to the higher PCL content, the spherical micelles from COS11-g-PCL520 easily confused together so that the complicated network morphology was formed. Interestingly, hierarchical structure was observed in the formed network morphology, as being driven by the crystallization of PCL segments in micelles. Using pyrene as a model compound, the micelles from COS11-g-PCL132 copolymers can be loaded by hydrophobic therapeutic agent, potentially offering an appropriate vehicle for drug delivery.

Peptide N -glycanase (PNGase) is involved in the cleavage of oligosaccharide chains from misfolded glycoproteins that are destined for degradation by the proteasome. Earlier, a number of potential binding partners of mouse PNGase (mPNGase) were detected by using the yeast two-hybrid system. In the current study, an in vitro system was set up to investigate direct interactions between mPNGase and these candidate proteins. Although the yeast two-hybrid system suggested an interaction of six different proteins with mPNGase, only mHR23B and the proteasome subunit mS4 were found to interact with mPNGase. In fact, mS4 competes with mHR23B for binding to mPNGase. These results suggested two possible pathways for the interaction between mPNGase and the proteasome. In one pathway, mHR23B mediates the interaction between mPNGase and the proteasome. In an alternative pathway, mPNGase directly binds to the proteasome subunit, mS4. In either case, it is clear that PNGase is located in close proximity to the proteasome and is available for deglycosylation of glycoproteins destined for degradation. Surprisingly, mPNGase also was found to mediate binding of the cytoplasmic protein, p97, to the proteasome through the formation of a ternary complex made up of mHR23B, mPNGase, and p97. Because p97 is known to bind to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein AMFR (gp78), an E3 ligase, we propose a model in which p97, mPNGase, and mHR23B mediate interaction of the endoplasmic reticulum with the proteasome.

Several well-defined diiron siloxide complexes have been synthesized, isolated, characterized, and used as molecular precursors for the grafting of well-defined isolated iron species on the surface of mesoporous silica SBA-15. The precursors have bridging siloxide ligands, a diamine linker, or a μ –oxo diiron core, and their binuclear structures have been confirmed by elemental analysis, solution molecular weight measurements, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. All precursors react with SBA-15 to immobilize the iron centers and produce silanol; the various stoichiometries and structural implications of these grafting reactions are discussed. Calcination of the grafted iron complexes yields materials largely devoid of organic components, and these calcined catalysts are active in the oxidation of hydrocarbons by hydrogen peroxide . The catalytic activities and selectivities of these materials are compared with each other and with those of other Fe/SiO 2 catalysts. Issues including iron-loading dependence and grafting conditions are discussed. Characterization of the catalysts by diffuse–reflectance ultraviolet–visible, X-band electron paramagnetic resonance, Mossbauer, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopies indicates that although the diiron structures of the precursors are usually maintained during the initial grafting process, calcination results in their conversion to monoiron centers on the support. This theory is also consistent with the generally similar catalytic behaviors of materials prepared from diiron and monoiron precursors. The implications of these findings for the generality of molecular precursor techniques are discussed.

Two new thiophene-substituted porphyrins and their zinc complexes were synthesized and electropolymerized via thiophene units on different electrode surfaces. Electrochemical characterizations show that the resultant polythiophenemetalloporphyrin hybrid materials are highly electroactive and exhibit remarkable higher electrochemical stability. Interestingly, they exhibit a charge-trapping effect. A mechanism for the observed charge-trapping phenomenon was proposed and supported by using model compounds. The deposited polymer films on different electrode surfaces exhibit a homogeneous morphology and possess good processability (soluble in polar solvents such as DMSO or DMF). Besides electrochemical method, UV/vis, NMR, FTIR, TEM and SEM were employed to characterize the new hybrid material.

A two-step self-assembly procedure on smooth, aminated silica particles established holey monolayers. At first, single, flat-lying porphyrin tetraamides (A) were bound covalently, followed by the build-up of a rigid monolayer made of diamido bolaamphiphiles (bolas) around the porphyrin islands. "Nanowells" around porphyrin (A) bottoms with a uniform diameter of 2.2 nm and varying depths of 0.6, 1.0, or 1.5 nm depending on the length of the applied bolas were thus obtained. Oligoethylene headgroups solubilized the particles in water, ethanol, and chloroform/ethanol, and two hydrogen bond chains between the secondary amide groups prevented swelling of the monolayer. Manganese(III) porphyrinates (B) migrated from the bulk solution to the bottom of the form-stable nanowells with a speed of about 1 pm/s and were trapped there above porphyrin (A). After isolation of the (A,B) particles by centrifugation or ultrafiltration, the particles were suspended in a chloroform solution of a chlorin (C), which was also fixated irreversibly on the bottom of the nanowells. The nanowells thus contained three different porphyrins A,B,C in a noncovalent stack. The reverse sequence A,C,B was built-up correspondingly, first in chloroform/ethanol, and then in water. The "sorting" of A,B,C and A,C,B systems was characterized by visible spectra, sequence-dependent fluorescence quenching, and cyclic voltammetry of the top component. The molecular sorting method is the first of its kind and should be generally useful for the production of noncovalent reaction systems on any smooth surface.

Peptide: N -glycanase (PNGase) has been proposed to participate in the proteasome-dependent glycoprotein degradation pathway. The finding that yeast PNGase interacts with the 19S proteasome subunit through the protein Rad23 supports this hypothesis. In this report, we have used immunofluorescence, subcellular fractionation, coimmunoprecipitation, and in vitro GST pull-down techniques for detecting intracellular localization and interactions of PNGase, HR23B, and S4 by using human (h) and mouse (m) homologs. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that hPNGase, hHR23B, and hS4 are present in close proximity to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) when calnexin was used as an ER marker in HeLa cells. Subcellular fractionation suggests not only cytoplasmic but also ER association of hPNGase in HeLa cells. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed the interaction of h/mPNGase with the 19S proteasome subunit, hS4, through hHR23B. Using an in vitro GST pull-down assay, we also have shown that recombinant mPNGase requires its N terminus and middle domain for interaction with mHR23B. Finally, using misfolded yeast carboxypeptidase Y and chicken ovalbumin as glycoprotein substrates, we have established that mHR23B acts as a receptor for deglycosylated proteins. Based on this finding, we propose that after deglycosylation of misfolded glycoproteins by PNGase, the aglyco forms of these proteins are recognized by HR23B and targeted for degradation.

We have studied the properties and formation of ordered lipid domains (“lipid rafts”) in model membrane vesicles and cells. For example, recent FRET studies on vesicles with sphingomyelin/phospholipid/cholesterol mixtures found that mammalian lipids have structures and compositions favoring “ultrananodomain” formation, i.e. formation of very small nanodomains 5 nm or less in size. To study domain formation in more biologically-relevant vesicles, we developed methods to prepare vesicles with an asymmetric lipid distributions using cyclodextrin-catalzyed lipid exchange. Recent studies in asymmetric giant vesicles containing raft domains large enough to see with microscopy revealed interleaflet coupling to sphingomyelin- and cholesterol-rich outer leaflet domains induces ordered domains in the portion of the DOPC and cholesterol containing inner leaflets with which they are in contact. Analogous studies using smaller asymmetric vesicles and FRET-based detection may reveal whether nanodomains can form and exhibit coupling between inner and outer leaflets ordered domains. Methods to prepare a wider range of asymmetric membrane compositions and make more facile asymmetry measurements are being developed. In addition, cyclodextrin-catalyzed lipid exchange is being extended to studies of membrane domain structure and function in living cells. Substituting for cholesterol shows the subset of sterols having the ability to support the formation of lipid rafts are necessary and sufficient for them to support membrane domain formation in Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacteriumcontaining fatty acyl cholesterol glycosides.Interestingly,we find fatty acyl cholesterol glycosides are able to form ordered membrane domains without sphingolipids. Studies with cyclodextrin-catalyzed sterol exchange in mammalian cells show that sterols having an ability to promote the formation of ordered membrane domains are necessary and sufficient for them to support both clathrin-dependent and independent endocytosis provided they also contain a 3-beta OH. Efforts to carry out similar experiments with phospholipid and sphingolipid exchange are underway.

Two new thiophene derivatives bearing redox active p-nitrophenyl units were synthesized and electropolymerized to conducting polymers. It is found that not only the structure of monomer, but also the employed polymerization conditions have considerable effect on the electroactivity of the bonded redox groups of resulting polymer films. Depending on used conditions such as polymerization time, the polymerization of the same monomer could result in a polymer with well-defined redox transition of the nitrophenyl group or a polymer, in which the redox group is completely electrochemical inaccessible. Using designed experiments, we explained this phenomenon. These investigations provide further knowledge about the behaviors of redox group attached to electrode surface.

Different nanoparticles coated with a variety of carboxyl groups were prepared and a facile, competitive approach to engineering of colloid assembles was established. As shown by UV–vis, florescence spectroscopy and TEMtransmission electron microscopy, various aggregate structures of nanoparticles could be easily created by using hydrogen-bonding interaction of attached carboxyl groups. The related assembling process is effective, controllable and reversible by varying the pH.

Smooth and nonswelling spherical silica particles with a diameter of 100 nm and an aminopropyl coating are soluble in water at pH 11, coagulate quickly at pH 3, and redissolve at pH 9. Electron microscopy as well as visible spectra of covalently attached porphyrins indicate the aggregation state of the particles. Long-chain alpha,omega-dicarboxylic acids with a terminal oligoethyleneglycol (=OEG)-amide group were attached in a second self-assembly step to the remaining amine groups around the porphyrins. Form-stable 2-nm wells were thus obtained and were characterized by fluorescence quenching experiments using the bottom porphyrin as a target. The one-dimensional diffusion of fitting quencher molecules along the 2-nm pathway took several minutes. Porphyrins with a diameter above 2 nm could not enter the form-stable gaps at all. Added tyrosine stuck irreversibly to the walls of the nanowells and prevented the entrance of quencher molecules, the OEG-headgroups fixated 2,6-diaminoanthraquinone. A ring of methylammonium groups was then fixed at the walls of the wells at a distance of 5 or 10 A with respect to the bottom porphyrin. 2,6-Disulfonatoanthraquinone was attached only loosely to this ring, but the exactly fitting manganese(III) meso-(tetraphenyl-4-sulfonato)porphyrinate (Mn(III) TPPS) was tightly bound. Transient fluorescence experiments showed a fast decay time of 0.2 ns for the bottom porphyrin, when the Mn(III) TPPS was fixated at a distance of 5 A. Two different dyes have thus been immobilized at a defined subnanometer distance in an aqueous medium.

We propose here a new model for gold nanoparticles, which are thought to be solubilized by either a Au(I)−citrate or Au(I)−sulfide layer. In the case of pure Au(0) particles, stabilization of the colloidal solutions occurs by inverse micelles or by tight adsorption of solvent covers, in particular acetone. The main evidence for this model is as follows: Standard 20 nm citrate gold particles precipitate from the red colloidal solution in water in the form of a black metal powder after addition of sodium borohydride or as blue coagulate after acidification with HCl. Both processes are irreversible. If the same particles are carrying a lipoate coating, they dissolve in water at pH 11, coagulate at pH 3, and redissolve quantitatively at pH 11. This cycle has been repeated several times without any change of the 20 nm particles. No irreversible color change of the colloidal solution or fusion of the particles takes place upon acid−base treatment. Sodium borohydride, on the other hand, precipitates the lipoate...

We report specific-heat measurements on two samples of Mg 11 B 2 , one powder and one sintered, that give essentially identical results. Both samples are of exceptionally high quality: At the critical temperature the discontinuity in specific heat is higher than that of other samples, the transition is sharper than for most samples, and the signature feature of the small, non-BCS energy gap is particularly pronounced. The results are compared with a phenomenological model for a multi-gap superconductor, with band-structure calculations, and with spectroscopic determinations of the energy gaps.

A meso-tetraphenylporphyrin derivative with two butanethiol and two carboxylate groups on opposite phenyl substituents was first covalently bound to citrate gold particles by a self-assembly procedure. In a second self-assembly step the remaining areas on the gold surface were covered with a monolayer of a bolaamphiphile (“bola”) containing a hydrosulfide end group for the attachment to gold and a triethylene glycol (TEG) end group for solubilization in water as well as in toluene. Bolas with octyl ends for dissolution only in toluene and with chiral gluconamide ends for water were also synthesized and applied. Two central secondary amide functions separated by 10 methylene units formed hydrogen bond chains within the monolayer and made it impermeable for cyanide ions. The porphyrin bottom of the water-filled gaps did not allow the passage of cyanide either. The holey membrane provided a complete protection against corrosion of the gold particles by 0.1 M cyanide in the bulk water. The porphyrin molecules...

Thioredoxin is a ubiquitous dithiol oxidoreductase found in many organisms and involved in numerous biochemical processes. Human thioredoxin-like protein (hTRXL) is differentially expressed at different development stages of human fetal cerebrum and belongs to an expanding family of thioredoxins. We have solved the crystal structure of the recombinant N-terminal catalytic domain (hTRXL-N) of hTRXL in its oxidized form at 2.2-A resolution. Although this domain shares a similar three-dimensional structure with human thioredoxin (hTRX), a unique feature of hTRXL-N is the large number of positively charged residues distributed around the active site, which has been implicated in substrate specificity. Furthermore, the hTRXL-N crystal structure is monomeric while hTRX is dimeric in its four crystal structures (reduced, oxidized, C73S and C32S/C35S mutants) reported to date. As dimerization is the key regulatory factor in hTRX, the positive charge and lack of dimer formation of hTRXL-N suggest that it could interact with the acidic amino-acid rich C-terminal region, thereby suggesting a novel regulation mechanism.

Correction for ‘Fabrication of free-standing membranes with tunable pore structures based on the combination of electrospinning and self-assembly of block copolymers’ by Meimei Zhou et al., RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 49568–49575.

Molecularly imprinted photonic polymers can serve as ideal sensing elements for efficiently creating cross-reactive sensor arrays. Based on this concept, a new method for sensitive and label-free detection of challenging PBDEs was developed, by which the direct detection and discrimination of trace levels of PBDEs against a high-background of interferents was achieved with 100% accuracy.

Assays for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with high sensitivity and high selectivity as well as facile manipulation have been urgently required in various fields. In this work, a reaction-based photonic strategy was developed for the efficient assay of AChE activity and inhibition based on the synergetic combination of the specific thiol-maleimide addition reaction with photonic porous structure. It was found that various applications including detection of AChE activity, measurement of the related enzymatic kinetics, and screening of inhibitors could be efficiently implemented using such strategy. Remarkably, the unique photonic nanostructure endows the constructed sensing platform with high sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 5 mU/mL for AChE activity, high selectivity, and self-reporting signaling. Moreover, the label-free solid film-based sensing approach described here has advantages of facile manipulation and bare-eye readout, compared with conventional liquid-phase methods, exhibiting promising potential in practical application for the AChE assay.

By combining molecular imprinting and colloidal crystal templating, molecularly imprinted inverse-opal photonic polymers (MIPPs) acting as sensing elements have been exploited to create sensor arrays for the first time. With this new strategy, abundant sensing elements with differential sensing abilities were easily accessible. Because of the unique hierarchical porous structure integrated in each sensing element, high sensitivity and selectivity, fast response and self-reporting (label-free) detection could be simultaneously achieved. All these fascinating features indicate that MIPPs are ideal sensing elements for creating sensor arrays. By integrating the individual sensing elements on a substrate, the formed array chip delivers better portability and high-throughput capability. As a demonstration, six kinds of contaminants were selected as analytes. The detection and discrimination of these analytes and even their mixtures in a wide range of concentrations, particularly trace amounts of analyte against a high background of other components, could be achieved, indicating the powerful capability of MIPPs-based sensor array for sensing. These results suggest that the described strategy opens a new route for sensor array creation and should find important applications in a wide range of areas.

Novel water-soluble fullerene-glycine derivatives were synthesized by means of simple organic chemistry. They are completely soluble in water, yielding a clear brown solution. The products were characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The assembly behavior of water-soluble fullerene-glycine derivatives was investigated by SEM. The results show that the fullerene-glycine derivatives create morphology that is sphere-like. The cytotoxicity to cancer cell lines of the fullerene-glycine derivatives was evaluated by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) and flow cytometry. The results show that fullerene-glycine derivatives exhibit mortality and apoptosis of the cells which increased with the increase of fullerene-glycine derivative concentration. The cytotoxicity mechanism of fullerene-glycine derivatives was investigated for the first time. Novel water-soluble fullerene-glycine derivatives were synthesized by means of simple organic chemistry. The products were characterized by FTIR, UV-Vis, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, TGA, and SEM. The bioactivities of fullerene-glycine derivative materials have been tested, and the results show that compared with the fullerene complex, the fullerene-glycine derivative materials exhibit mortality and apoptosis of the cells which increased with the increase of fullerene-glycine derivative concentration. SEM images showed the macrostructure of fullerene-glycine derivative materials was spheres.

Drosophila ash2 is a member of the trxG gene super family, some human homologues of which are involved in hematopoiesis and leukemia. We report here the identification of the human homologue of Drosophila ash2 and its alternative splicing isoform, ASH2L1 and ASH2L2. ASH2L proteins are 60% homologous to Drosophila ash2. ASH2L also has a zinc finger motif (C2C2) although it is not identical to that in ASH2. Expression profile analysis showed that the amount of ASH2L transcripts is extremely high in fetal liver, testis, and leukemia cell lines with erythroid and megakaryocytic potential such as K562, Hel, and Dami. We treated these cells with differentiation inducers phorbol ester and hemin. We found that ASH2L is downregulated rapidly and dramatically in K562, Hel, and Dami cells during phorbol ester induced differentiation with megakaryocytic features. However, its expression is maintained at a high level during erythroid differentiation of K562 cells induced with hemin. These results suggest that ASH2L plays a role in hematopoiesis and is associated with some special kinds of leukemia.

Reaction monitoring using inductive ESI mass spectrometry allows chemical reactions to be tracked in real time, including air- and moisture-sensitive as well as heterogeneous reactions. Highly concentrated solutions can also be monitored for long periods without emitter clogging. Sheath gas assists in nebulization and a sample splitter reduces the delay time and minimizes contamination of the instrument. Short-lived intermediates (ca. 5 s) were observed in Pd/C-catalyzed hydrogenolysis, and several intermediates were seen in Negishi cross-coupling reactions.

In order to identify the genes associated with glioblastoma differentiation, some ESTs, expressed differentially in the control cell and the differentiated human glioblastoma cell line BT-325 induced by the all-trans retinoid acid, have been isolated by the method of DDRT-PCR. Of the 46 ESTs sequenced, 19 are from new genes. A full-length 1 535-bp cDNA, termed geneGDR1, has been isolated from the human cDNA library using the probe designed according to one of the novel ESTs, HGBB098. The open reading frame ofGDR1 gene encodes a putative protein containing 334 amino acid residues. Blast against the current GenBank DNA and protein sequence database did not reveal significant homology with any known proteins. RT-PCR shows thatGDR1 mRNA level increased in the differentiated BT-325 cells after being treated with RA. The different expression patterns ofGDR1 mRNA in human tissues have been detected through the multiple tissue Northern blot hybridization.

Three new thiophene derivatives containing different activated ester groups covalently attached to the thiophene ring via a linear undecyl spacer have been synthesized. Electropolymerization of these monomers in acetonitrile led to stable electroactive polymers, while activated functional groups withstand the polymerization conditions and were correctly incorporated in the resulting polymers. These polymers show the characteristic electrochemical behavior of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s with the reversible redox transition in the range of 0.7–0.9 V. UV/Vis spectra of them exhibit an absorption maximum at around 460 nm. Conductivity measurements on oxidized films of these polymers by means of the two-probe method gave values in the range of 10 −3 –10 −2 S cm −1 . The reactivity of the pendant activated ester groups was demonstrated by the reaction with butylamine, (4-amino-2-oxabutyl) ferrocene and 2-aminoanthraquinone. Spectroscopic studies and electrochemical characterization confirmed that the immobilized amino compounds are covalently bound to the polymer surfaces. These results suggest that the obtained new polymers can be used as electrically conducting carrier materials for the immobilization of biochemically interesting molecules.

The synthesis and electropolymerization of 3-alkylthiophenes functionalized with a terminal amino group and its protected forms are reported. As expected, due to the strong electronic interference of the amino group, the electropolymerization of the unprotected monomer is fully inhibited. After protection of the amino group the polymerizability of the corresponding monomers is considerably improved; however, the successful polymerization process clearly depends on the nature of the used protective group. Only such monomers in which the nucleophilic character of the amino group is strongly suppressed by a suitable proctective group undergo electropolymerization to form the corresponding electroactive polymers. The obtained polymers are electrochemically stable and, besides the typical properties such as redox behavior and electrochromism, they exhibit a distinct solvatochromic behavior. Electrical conductivity measurements on their oxidized forms by means of the two-probe method give values in the range of 10 -3 to 10 -2 S . cm -1 . The feasibility of using the resulting polymers as conducting carrier materials was demonstrated by the removal of the protecting groups and the subsequent attachment of a redox active ferrocene compound. Electrochemical and spectroscopic experiments confirmed that after the polymer analogous reaction the used redox active ferrocene model compound is covalently immobilized onto the polymer surface and the electroactivity of the bonded redox groups as well as the carrier materials is retained.

The syntheses and electropolymerization of 3-alkylthiophene functionalized with terminal 1,2-diol group as well as its protected forms were described. It was found that, in spite of the nucleophilic nature of diol function, the thiophene derivative bearing free dihydroxy group exhibits a rather good polymerizability in nitrobenzene and can be electropolymerized to form a stable conducting polymer film with more extended π-electron system than those from its protected forms. Using a two-probe method, the conductivity measurements on oxidized films of the obtained polymers give values in the range of 10 -3 -10 -2 S cm -1 . The reactivity of the pendant diol groups of the resulting polymers to attach biomolecules was examined by using redox active 2-aminoethylferrocenylmethylether as a model compound. It was confirmed that by using the well-established two-step procedure developed for the immobilization of proteins to polysaccharides, (primary) amino compounds can be easily bound onto the new polymers without the loss of their electroactivity. Therefore, as the most used functional group for the covalent immobilization of enzymes, vicinal dihydroxy group was incorporated into conjugated polymer systems and a new type of conducting carrier materials developed.

Two new functionalized thiophene derivatives bearing epoxy and carbonate groups were synthesized. The electrooxidative polymerization of both monomers led to stable electroactive polymers, while the functional groups remained unchanged during the polymerization process. Electrochemical and spectroscopic data of the resulting homopolymers reveal that these polymers possess an extended conjugated π-electron system comparable to unfunctionalized poly(3-alkylthiophene)s. Both monomers can also easily copolymerize with 3-methylthiophene to form the corresponding conducting copolymers. SEM photographs show that the obtained homopolymers and copolymers exhibit a very compact homogeneous morphology, indicating that the new thiophene monomers have good formability of polymer films. The measurement of electrical conductivity of these polymers by means of two-probe method gave values in the range of 10 2 to 10 -1 S . cm -1 . Using butylamine and 2-aminoanthraquinone as model compounds, it was demonstrated that amino compounds easily react with pendant epoxy and cyclic carbonate groups and are convalently attached to the new electroactive polymer surfaces. Thus, a new type of conducting polymers with pendant reactive groups was developed.

Electrooxidative polymerization of three new p-nitrophenyl-functionalized thiophene derivatives leads to materials which show the electroactivities of both nitrobenzene and polythiophene. However, other than the reversible redox transition in solution, the nitro groups exhibit a complex nature of the cyclic voltammetric curve in the obtained solid polymeric films. It was found that the electrochemical behavior of the nitro groups has a dramatic effect on the conjugated π-electron systems of the substituted polythiophenes. Upon electrochemical addressing of the nitro groups the electroactivities of the corresponding polymers decrease rapidly compared to their analogous polymers without nitro groups. FTIR studies of these polymers revealed that after the reduction/oxidation process of the nitro groups still a large amount of electrolyte salt remains in the polymer films. As typical of functionalized polythiophenes. however, these new polymers can be switched under controlled conditions between their oxidized and neutral forms and exhibit the typical properties of electroactive polythiophenes, e.g., electrochromism.

With the synthesis of two new functionalized thiophene activated esters and their electrocopolymerization with 3-methylthiophene, two types of redox active polymers have been prepared. FTIR studies of the resultant polymers reveal that both types of activated ester groups withstand the applied electrooxidative conditions and are correctly integrated into the corresponding polymers. The electrocopolymerization experiments show that the composition of the obtained polymers strongly depends on the ratio of the components in the reaction medium. With the increase of the ratios of pentafluorophenyl thiophene-3-acetate/3-methylthiophene or succinimido thiophene-3-acetate/3-methylthiophene, a higher concentration of functionalized thiophene units is incorporated into the polymer chains. The measurement of the conductivity on these polymeric films gave a value in the range of 10 -3 to 10 -2 S.cm -1 , which is comparable to that of the unsubstituted polythiophene and consistent with the conjugation grade suggested by electrochemical and UV-vis spectroscopic data. As expected, the pendant reactive ester groups on the electrode surfaces react rapidly with different amino compounds without loss of the electroactivity of the polymers. Therefore, these novel polymeric materials can be used as electrode interfaces for further functionalizations, especially for the immobilization of amines, peptides, and enzymes.

By the protection of the carboxyl group of 3-thiopheneacetic acid with differently substituted benzyl groups a series of new thiophene derivatives were synthesized. While 3-thiopheneacetic acid is not electropolymerizable, the new obtained monomers can be easily electrooxidized to form stable electroactive polymers. The electrochemical characterizations show that the substitution of the benzyl groups exerts little effect on the electropolymerization process and that the obtained polymers exhibit the typical properties of polythiophene derivatives, e. g., redox behavior and electrochromism. SEM studies show that all synthesized monomers possess a very good film formability and the resulting polymers exhibit a rather compact and homogeneous morphology on the Pt electrodes also containing scattered particles. Using p-nitrobenzyl-protected polymer as an illustrative example, it was demonstrated that the used protecting group can be easily split off in the solid state and the desired reactive carboxyl group can be produced on the polymer surface. Therefore, through the protection of the carboxyl group, the electropolymerization and the following removal of the protecting group, a new type of polymer matrix material with reactive carboxyl groups was simply prepared by using commercially available 3-thiopheneacetic acid monomer.