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Carbonic anhydrases (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) catalyze the hydration of carbon dioxide and take part in many essential physiological processes. In humans, 15 CAs are characterized, including the only secreted isoenzyme CA VI. CA VI has been linked to specific processes in the mouth, namely bitter taste perception, dental caries, and maintenance of enamel pellicle, and implicated in several immunity-related phenomena. However, little is known of the mechanisms of the above. In this study, we characterized human CA VI purified from saliva and milk with biophysical methods and measured their enzyme activities and acetazolamide inhibition. Size-exclusion chromatography showed peaks of salivary and milk CA VI corresponding to hexameric state or larger at pH 7.5. At pH 5.0 the hexamer peaks dominated. SDS- PAGE of milk CA VI protein treated with a bifunctional crosslinker further confirmed that a majority of CA VI is oligomers of similar sizes in solution. Mass spectrometry experiments confirmed that both of the two putative N-glycosylation sites, Asn67 and Asn256, are heterogeneously glycosylated. The attached glycans in milk CA VI were di- and triantennary complex-type glycans, carrying both a core fucose and 1 to 2 additional fucose units, whereas the glycans in salivary CA VI were smaller, seemingly degraded forms of core fucosylated complex- or hybrid-type glycans. Mass spectrometry also verified the predicted signal peptide cleavage site and the terminal residue, Gln 18, being in pyroglutamate form. Thorough characterization of CA VI paves way to better understanding of the biological function of the protein.

Funding Information: Financial support from the Academy of Finland (decision 317903, I.O.K.; decision 340584, T.E. and A.J.K.; Flagship Programme, Photonics Research and Innovation PREIN, decision 320166) and computational resources from the Finnish IT Center for Science (CSC) are gratefully acknowledged. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. The phosphonium-decorated phenanthro-imidazolyl pyridine ligand, LP +Br, readily reacts with zinc(II) and cadmium(II) bromides to give inorganic-organic zero-dimensional compounds [ LP +ZnBr2]2[ZnBr4] ( 1 ) and [( LP +)2Cd2Br4][CdBr4] ( 2 ), respectively, upon crystallization. These salts are moderately fluorescent in the solid state under ambient conditions (λem = 458 nm, φem = 0.11 for 1 ; λem = 460 nm, φem = 0.13 for 2 ). Their emission results from spin-allowed electronic transitions localized on the organic component with the negligible effect of [MBr4]2- and MBr2 units. Contrary to ionic species 1 and 2 , lead(II) bromide affords a neutral and water-stable complex [( LP +)2Pb3Br8] ( 3 ), showing weak room-temperature phosphorescence arising from spin-orbit coupling due to the heavy atom effect. The emission, which is substantially enhanced for the amorphous sample of 3 (λem = 575 nm, φem = 0.06), is assigned to the intraligand triplet excited state, which is a rare phenomenon among Pb(II) molecular materials.

Collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylases (C-P4H) are α

The photocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine (CBZ) in ultra-pure water was investigated by using neodymium (Nd)-doped antimony trioxide (Sb2O3)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst under the UVC irradiations of 254 nm wavelength. The hydrothermal method was used for the fabrication catalyst samples with different ratios of Nd (0%–2%) dopant, and characterised by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) to investigate the crystallinity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provided the surface morphologies, Bruanuer-Emmer-Teller (BET) analysis gave the textural properties, and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance absorption spectroscopy (DRS) was used for the investigation of the optical properties of synthesized catalysts. TEM images of Sb2O3 showed a nanorod-like structure while, in the Nd-doped Sb2O3/TiO2, a small dot-like structure was observed along with the nanorods. The surface area and band gap of 1% Nd-doped Sb2O3/TiO2 were found to be 9.56 m2 g−1 and 3.0 eV respectively. It was observed that the CBZ cannot be degraded in the absence of catalyst under UV light, while photocatalyst 1% Nd-doped Sb2O3/TiO2 at 0.5 g/L of catalyst dose showed the best photocatalytic activity towards CBZ degradation. The main degradation products were identified with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Moreover, the degradation of CBZ followed pseudo first-order kinetics and the rate constant was 0.017 min−1. Quenching tests by the addition of methanol from 100 to 500 mM were carried out to determine the major reactive oxygen species, which showed that OH radicals was involved in the CBZ degradation. Active species-trapping experiments revealed that ∙O2− is also responsible for the degradation of CBZ.

Phosphine ligands, containing chromophore substituents –π-spacer–NPh2 (π-spacer = biphenyl, L1; naphthalene-ethynylphenyl, L2; and ethynyl-(phenylethynyl)anthracene, L3), were used to generate the corresponding gold(I) alkynyl complexes Au1–Au3 (alkynyl = ethynylphenyl-2,2′-bipyridine, epbpy). These compounds demonstrate intense fluorescence, which originates from the bipolar donor–π-acceptor systems of coordinated phosphines with negligible contribution from the epbpy fragment. Due to the charge transfer characteristic of the excited state, Au1–Au3 reveal significant emission solvatochromism (particularly discernible for Au2, 428 nm in cyclohexane → 580 nm in acetonitrile). The bipyridine moiety of Au1–Au3 was utilized for binding these metalloligands to the {Eu(tta)3} red emitter (tta = 3-thenoyltrifluoroacetonate) to give a family of novel dyads Au1Eu–Au3Eu. Incomplete energy transfer from L1–L3 to lanthanide ions, which are primarily sensitized by diketonate ligands, leads to dual luminescence. Analogous to the parent complexes Au1–Au3, the fluorescence component of the dyads is highly sensitive to the solvent polarity that provides great opportunities for color tuning, including white light generation.

The pyroligneous acids (PAs) of woody biomass produced by torrefaction have pesticidal properties. Thus, PAs are potential alternatives to synthetic plant protection chemicals. Although woody biomass is a renewable feedstock, its use must be efficient. The efficiency of biomass utilization can be improved by applying a cascading use principle. This study is novel because we evaluate for the first time the pesticidal potential of PAs derived from the bark of hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L. × Populus tremuloides Michx.) and examine simultaneously how the production of the PAs can be interlinked with the cascade processing of hybrid aspen biomass. Hybrid aspen bark contains valuable extractives that can be separated before the hemicellulose is thermochemically converted into plant protection chemicals. We developed a cascade processing scheme, where these extractives were first extracted from the bark with hot water (HWE) or with hot water and alkaline alcohol (HWE+AAE) prior to their conversion into PAs by torrefaction. The herbicidal performance of PAs was tested using Brassica rapa as the test species, and the fungicidal performance was proven using Fusarium culmorum. The pesticidal activities were compared to those of the PAs of debarked wood and of commercial pesticides. According to the results, extractives can be separated from the bark without overtly diminishing the weed and fungal growth inhibitor performance of the produced PAs. The HWE of the bark before its conversion into PAs appeared to have an enhancing effect on the herbicidal activity. In contrast, HWE+AAE lowered the growth inhibition performance of PAs against both the weeds and fungi. This study shows that hybrid aspen is a viable feedstock for the production of herbicidal and fungicidal active chemicals, and it is possible to utilize biomass according to the cascading use principle.

A set of simulation applets has been developed for visualizing the behavior of the association and dissociation reactions in protein studies. These reactions are simple equilibrium reactions, and the equilibrium constants, most often dissociation constant

Fibronectin type-II (FnII) family proteins are the major proteins in many mammalian species including bull, horse and pig. In the present study, a major FnII protein has been identified and isolated from donkey (Equus hemionus) seminal plasma, which we refer to as D onkey S eminal P lasma protein-1 (DSP-1). The amino acid sequence determined by mass spectrometry and computational modeling studies revealed that DSP-1 is homologous to other mammalian seminal plasma proteins, including bovine PDC-109 (also known as BSP-A1/A2) and equine HSP-1/2. High-resolution LC-MS analysis indicated that the protein is heterogeneously glycosylated and also contains multiple acetylations, occurring in the attached glycans. Structural and thermal stability studies on DSP-1 employing CD spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry showed that the protein unfolds at ~43 °C and binding to phosphorylcholine (PrC) – the head group moiety of choline phospholipids – increases its thermal stability. Intrinsic fluorescence titrations revealed that DSP-1 recognizes lyso-phosphatidylcholine with over 100-fold higher affinity than PrC. Further, interaction of DSP-1 with erythrocytes, a model cell membrane, revealed that DSP-1 binding is mediated by a specific interaction with choline phospholipids and results in membrane perturbation, suggesting that binding of this protein to sperm plasma membrane could be physiologically significant.

Thyroid hormones are important regulatory hormones, acting on nearly every cell in the body. The two main thyroid hormones are l-thyroxine (tetraiodo-l-thyronine, T4) and 3,3′,5-triiodo-l-thyronine (T3), which are produced in the thyroid gland and secreted into the blood stream. Other important thyroid hormone metabolites are 3,3′-diiodo-l-thyronine (T2) and l-thyronine (T0), which may show increased levels in circulation due to dietary iodine deficiency or other medical disorders. Owing to their central role in cellular functions, sensitive and specific detection methods for thyroid hormones are needed. In this work, native mass spectrometry (MS) was used to quantitate thyroid hormone binding to the anti-T4 antibody Fab fragment. First, the binding affinity for T2 was determined via direct ligand titration experiments. Then, the affinities for the other ligands were determined by competition experiments using T2 as the "low-affinity" reference ligand. The highest affinity was measured for T3, followed by T4, T2, and T0 (Kd = 29, 3.4, and 260 nM and 130 μM, respectively). Thus, it is evident that the number and positions of the iodine substituents within the thyronine rings are important for the ligand binding affinity of anti-T4 Fab. Surprisingly, structurally related tetrahalogen bisphenols were also able to bind to anti-T4 Fab with nanomolar affinities.

The release of pharmaceuticals into aquatic environments is a serious concern due to the persistence and potential health and environmental risks of these substances. Surface and ground waters are polluted with a variety of pharmaceuticals due to insufficient water purification processes in wastewater treatment plants. Here, we report a simple procedure for the production of composite materials consisting of zero-valent iron embedded in few-layer graphene, Fe/graphene, through induction annealing at 900 °C. Zero-valent iron was observed as magnetic 1 µm-sized crystals embedded in the graphene matrix appearing in the α- and γ-forms. This Fe/graphene composite was applied as an adsorbent for the removal of tetracycline (a pharmaceutical) from water. The Fe/graphene showed high tetracycline removal efficiency (422 mg/g) under optimized conditions. Furthermore, the Fe/graphene possessed self-regenerating features prolonging its lifetime and total removal capacity up to 660 mg/g, thus making it a potential material for removing tetracycline from water.

This article reports on the macronization of self-supported 3D CNT foam inter-connected by heteroatom-enriched porous shells derived from renewable baking ingredients via mild pyrolysis. The synthesized hybrids enabled disintegrating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) into reactive oxidants (sulfate radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and singlet oxygen) for the degradation of atenolol, iopamidol, metformin, trimethoprim, and phenol in water. Hierarchically structured nitrogen- and oxygen-doping significantly enhanced adsorptive and catalytic performance whereas the magnetic 3D framework promoted mass transport, multicycle use and induced synergetic effects via the Me-Nx-C interfaces. The samples were highly efficient for degradative removal of model pollutants at low catalyst and PMS dose. The catalyst loading, PMS dose, contact time, and temperature positively influenced the removal potency while pH and water matrix governed the rates differently. Spin trapping, oxidant quenching and solvent isotope effect study coupled with liquid chromatography and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry analysis suggested the footprints of transformation products via a dual-mode (radical and non-radical) activation of PMS. This durable, magnetic carbofoam might be a promising catalyst for the oxidative abatement of pharmaceutical micropollutants from contaminated waters.

The SCP2 (sterol carrier protein 2)-thiolase (type-1) functions in the vertebrate peroxisomal, bile acid synthesis pathway, converting 24-keto-THC-CoA and CoA into choloyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA. This conversion concerns the β-oxidation chain shortening of the steroid fatty acyl-moiety of 24-keto-THC-CoA. This class of dimeric thiolases has previously been poorly characterized. High-resolution crystal structures of the zebrafish SCP2-thiolase (type-1) now reveal an open catalytic site, shaped by residues of both subunits. The structure of its non-dimerized monomeric form has also been captured in the obtained crystals. Four loops at the dimer interface adopt very different conformations in the monomeric form. These loops also shape the active site and their structural changes explain why a competent active site is not present in the monomeric form. Native mass spectrometry studies confirm that the zebrafish SCP2-thiolase (type-1) as well as its human homolog are weak transient dimers in solution. The crystallographic binding studies reveal the mode of binding of CoA and octanoyl-CoA in the active site, highlighting the conserved geometry of the nucleophilic cysteine, the catalytic acid/base cysteine and the two oxyanion holes. The dimer interface of SCP2-thiolase (type-1) is equally extensive as in other thiolase dimers; however, it is more polar than any of the corresponding interfaces, which correlates with the notion that the enzyme forms a weak transient dimer. The structure comparison of the monomeric and dimeric forms suggests functional relevance of this property. These comparisons provide also insights into the structural rearrangements that occur when the folded inactive monomers assemble into the mature dimer.

Chemical fingerprinting of phenolic compounds present in Finnish berry wines was performed using a direct-infusion Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). The main aim of this study was to compare the phenolics profiles of wines produced from natural and/or cultivated berries and to demonstrate the feasibility of FT-ICR MS for a direct chemical analysis of the wine samples without chromatographic separation. First, phenolic compounds were recovered from the wine samples by solid-phase extraction (SPE), and the total phenolic content (TPC) was then determined by a Folin-Ciocalteau assay. The TPC of the original berry wines varied from 421 to 2108 mg/L, while the TPC of the extracts was 157-1525 mg/L. Over fifty phenolic compounds were tentatively identified from the wine samples by FT-ICR MS, whose concentrations highly varied depending on the types of berries used in the winemaking process.

This study identifies new wood-based products with considerable potential and attractive markets, including textiles, liquid biofuels, platform chemicals, plastics, and packaging. We apply a mixed-...

The mammalian cell entry genes (mceA–mceF) encode the substrate-binding proteins of the lipid-transporting Mce complexes in mycobacteria. The MCE domain of Mce4A has been crystallized as a domain-swapped dimer with the signature β-barrel fold. Solution studies show that the domains of Mce1A and Mce4A are predominantly monomeric and suggest that the helical domain is involved in lipid interactions., Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), which is responsible for more than a million deaths annually, uses lipids as the source of carbon and energy for its survival in the latent phase of infection. Mtb cannot synthesize all of the lipid molecules required for its growth and pathogenicity. Therefore, it relies on transporters such as the mammalian cell entry (Mce) complexes to import lipids from the host across the cell wall. Despite their importance for the survival and pathogenicity of Mtb, information on the structural properties of these proteins is not yet available. Each of the four Mce complexes in Mtb (Mce1–4) comprises six substrate-binding proteins (SBPs; MceA–F), each of which contains four conserved domains (N-terminal transmembrane, MCE, helical and C-terminal unstructured tail domains). Here, the properties of the various domains of Mtb Mce1A and Mce4A, which are involved in the import of mycolic/fatty acids and cholesterol, respectively, are reported. In the crystal structure of the MCE domain of Mce4A (MtMce4A39–140) a domain-swapped conformation is observed, whereas solution studies, including small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), indicate that all Mce1A and Mce4A domains are predominantly monomeric. Further, structural comparisons show interesting differences from the bacterial homologs MlaD, PqiB and LetB, which form homohexamers when assembled as functional transporter complexes. These data, and the fact that there are six SBPs in each Mtb mce operon, suggest that the MceA–F SBPs from Mce1–4 may form heterohexamers. Also, interestingly, the purification and SAXS analysis showed that the helical domains interact with the detergent micelle, suggesting that when assembled the helical domains of MceA–F may form a hydrophobic pore for lipid transport, as observed in EcPqiB. Overall, these data highlight the unique structural properties of the Mtb Mce SBPs.

This study assessed the pyrolysis liquids obtained by slow pyrolysis of industrial hemp leaves, hurds, and roots. The liquids recovered between a pyrolysis temperature of 275–350 °C, at two condensation temperatures 130 °C and 70 °C, were analyzed. Aqueous and bio-oil pyrolysis liquids were produced and analyzed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and atmospheric pressure photoionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (APPI FT-ICR MS). NMR revealed quantitative concentrations of the most abundant compounds in the aqueous fractions and compound groups in the oily fractions. In the aqueous fractions, the concentration range of acetic acid was 50–241 gL−1, methanol 2–30 gL−1, propanoic acid 5–20 gL−1, and 1-hydroxybutan-2-one 2 gL−1. GC-MS was used to compare the compositions of the volatile compounds and APPI FT-ICR MS was utilized to determine the most abundant higher molecular weight compounds. The different obtained pyrolysis liquids (aqueous and oily) had various volatile and nonvolatile compounds such as acetic acid, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, 2-methoxyphenol, and cannabidiol. This study provides a detailed understanding of the chemical composition of pyrolysis liquids from different parts of the industrial hemp plant and assesses their possible economic potential.

Tuberculosis (Tb), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is responsible for more than a million deaths annually. In the latent phase of infection, Mtb uses lipids as the source of carbon and energy for its survival. The lipid molecules are transported across the cell wall via multiple transport systems. One such set of widely present and less-studied transporters is the Mammalian-cell-entry (Mce) complexes. Here, we report the properties of the substrate-binding proteins (SBPs; MceA-F) of the Mce1 and Mce4 complexes from Mtb which are responsible for the import of mycolic acid/fatty acids, and cholesterol respectively. MceA-F are composed of four domains namely, transmembrane, MCE, helical and tail domains. Our studies show that MceA-F are predominantly monomeric when purified individually and do not form homohexamers unlike the reported homologs (MlaD, PqiB and LetB) from other prokaryotes. The crystal structure of MCE domain of Mtb Mce4A (MtMce4A39-140) determined at 2.9 Å shows the formation of an unexpected domain-swapped dimer in the crystals. Further, the purification and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis on MtMce1A, MtMce4A and their domains suggest that the helical domain requires hydrophobic interactions with the detergent molecules for its stability. Combining all the experimental data, we propose a heterohexameric arrangement of MtMceA-F SBPs, where the soluble MCE domain of the SBPs would remain in the periplasm with the helical domain extending to the lipid layer forming a hollow channel for the transport of lipids across the membranes. The tail domain would reach the cell surface assisting in lipid recognition and binding.

Inorganic and organic pollutants present a hazard to surface and groundwater resources. Peroxymonosulfate (PMS, HSO5−) has received increasing attention for in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) capable of remediating contaminated sites. Considering that saline waters occur widely in natural environments, it is desirable to evaluate the effect of Cl− on the PMS oxidation of organic compounds. In this study, 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) was used as a model pollutant. At a PMS concentration of 2.0 mM, Cl− concentration of 50 mM, and solution pH of 7.0, 2,4-DCP was completely degraded by PMS in the presence of Cl− (PMS/Cl− system), while PMS alone exhibited almost no reactivity with 2,4-DCP. The degradation of 2,4-DCP was optimized at a solution pH of 8.4 and high concentrations of PMS and Cl−. Quenching experiments and degradation pathway analyses indicated that HClO was responsible for 2,4-DCP oxidation, and HClO was mainly generated by the interaction of Cl− with HSO5−, rather than SO52−. Consequently, the transformation from HSO5− to HClO appeared under a solution pH of 10.0 and was favored in an acidic solution. Given the ambient pH and Cl− concentrations of saline waters, a considerable amount of HClO may be produced by the interaction of PMS with Cl− in the oxidant delivery stage of ISCO processes. Interestingly, H2O2 and peroxydisulfate did not exhibit reactions similar to those of PMS. This research indicated that caution must be exercised when choosing an oxidant for ISCO processes in saline waters.

Biomass pyrolysis liquids (bio-oils) unavoidably require catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) for their upgrading and stabilization for commercial usage. The complex composition of bio-oil constrains...

Combining the star-shaped alkynyl ligands with low-nuclearity gold-copper triphosphane clusters produces 3D metallocage aggregates, which demonstrate room temperature phosphorescence in solution (max Φem =0.6). Their luminescence mainly originates from cluster-localized metal-to-ligand charge transfer excited state. These supramolecular assemblies can be easily converted into the isostructural gold-silver congeners by the direct exchange of the metal ions. Such modification of the terminal metal cores switches the emission to the intraligand (alkyne) electronic transitions of the triplet manifold, that represents an unusual optical functionality among the metallocycle/metallocage complexes.

The use of recombinant allergens is a promising approach in allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT). Considerable limitation, however, has been the ability of recombinant allergens to activate effector cells leading to allergic reactions. Recombinant hypoallergens with preserved protein folding and capacity to induce protective IgG antibodies binding effectively to the native allergen upon sensitization would be beneficial for safer AIT. In this study, hypoallergen variants of the major horse allergen Equ c 1 were designed by introducing one point mutation on the putative IgE epitope region and two mutations on the monomer-monomer interface of Equ c 1 dimer. The recombinant Equ c 1 wild type and the variants were produced and purified to homogeneity, characterized by size-exclusion ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. The IgE-binding profiles were analyzed by a competitive immunoassay and the biological activity by a histamine release assay using sera from horse allergic individuals. Two Equ c 1 variants, Triple 2 (V47K + V110E + F112K) and Triple 3 (E21Y + V110E + F112K) showed lower allergen-specific IgE-binding capacity and decreased capability to release histamine from basophils in vitro when using sera from six allergic individuals. Triple 3 showed higher reduction than Triple 2 in IgE-binding (5.5 fold) and in histamine release (15.7 fold) compared to wild type Equ c 1. Mutations designed on the putative IgE epitope region and monomer-monomer interface of Equ c 1 resulted in decreased dimerization, a lower IgE-binding capacity and a reduced triggering of an allergic response in vitro.

This study examined side-stream generation from Finnish forest industry comprising data from 19 sawmills, 1 plywood mill, 1 particleboard mill, 10 paper and board mills, 1 semi-mechanical mill, and 15 chemical pulp mills. A structured questionnaire survey was carried out for this study. The results revealed that the generation of side stream in sawmills, plywood mills, paper and board mills, mechanical pulp mills, and chemical pulp mills accounted for 42.2%, 56.1%, 23.8%, 30.7%, and 56% of round wood log input, respectively, and 91.2%, 135.5%, 42.2%, 44.7%, and 238.5% of the finished product, respectively. Woodchips, sawdust, and bark were recognized as the significant side streams in sawmills and plywood mills, whereas fiber sludge was found the main side stream in paper, board and mechanical pulp mills. In chemical pulp mills, black liquor was found the greatest side stream, which comprises 43% of the wood input and 183.3% of the finished product. The study estimated that in 2016, Finnish forest industry generated a total 27.7 million tons of side streams, consisting of 49.2% black liquor, 28.5% solid wood-based waste, 14.1% sludge, 4.4% ashes, and 3.8% others. A current use of these side streams and their future utilization potential is also discussed.

The encapsulation and/or surface modification can stabilize and protect the phosphorescence bio‐probes but impede their intravenous delivery across biological barriers. Here, a new class of biocompatible rhenium (ReI) diimine carbonyl complexes is developed, which can efficaciously permeate normal vessel walls and then functionalize the extravascular collagen matrixes as in situ oxygen sensor. Without protective agents, ReI‐diimine complex already exhibits excellent emission yield (34%, λ em = 583 nm) and large two‐photon absorption cross‐sections (σ 2 = 300 GM @ 800 nm) in water (pH 7.4). After extravasation, remarkably, the collagen‐bound probes further enhanced their excitation efficiency by increasing the deoxygenated lifetime from 4.0 to 7.5 µs, paving a way to visualize tumor hypoxia and tissue ischemia in vivo. The post‐extravasation functionalization of extracellular matrixes demonstrates a new methodology for biomaterial‐empowered phosphorescence sensing and imaging., Biocompatible rhenium (ReI) diimine carbonyl complexes functionalize the extravascular collagen matrixes as in situ oxygen sensor. After tail‐vein delivery and vessel penetration, the probe can bind extravascular collagens and achieve stabilization enhanced two‐photon phosphorescence yields. Increased deoxygenated phosphorescence lifetime from 4.0 to 7.5 µs paves a way to visualize tumor hypoxia and tissue ischemia in vivo.

Synthetic micro- and nanomotors (MNMs) have emerged as a vibrant research field in multidisciplinary nanotechnology with proof-of-concept applications in various disciplines. In this tutorial review, an overview of the latest achievements towards light-driven MNMs is given and their propulsion mechanisms are introduced. The focus of the paper is on the autonomously propelled MNMs that exploit light-induced physical effects or chemical reactions. Light-induced body deformation, as a completely different, nature inspired concept that is found mostly in soft, polymeric MNMs, is also reviewed. In the end, a few applications of photocatalytic and light-driven MNMs for environmental remediation are presented and their potential is critically discussed.

The photocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine (CBZ) in ultra-pure water was investigated by using neodymium (Nd)-doped antimony trioxide (Sb

The coordination chemistry of the tri- and tetradentate chelating phosphines (2-PPh2C6H4)2P(O)Ph (P3O) and (2-PPh2C6H4)3P (P4) with respect to d10 copper subgroup metal ions has been investigated. Depolymerization of (MC2R)n (M = Cu, Ag) with P4 affords the series of mono- and trinuclear complexes (P4)CuC2Ph (1), (P4)Cu3(C2Ph)3 (2), (P4)Ag3(C2Ph) (Hal)2 (Hal = Cl (3), Br (4), I (5)). Reactions of the M+ (M = Cu, Ag) ions with (M′C2R)n (M′ = Cu, Ag, Au) acetylides in the presence of P4 yield the family of dinuclear species [(P4)MM′(C2R)]+ (6–12), which comprise the Cu2/Ag2 (6, 7; R = Ph), AuCu (8–10; R = Ph, C(OH)Me2, C(OH)Ph2), and AuAg (11, 12; R = Ph, C(OH)Ph2) metal cores. A related triphosphine, (2-PPh2C6H4)2PPh (P3), applied in a similar protocol undergoes partial oxidation and leads to the heterotrimetallic clusters [{(P3O)M}2Au(C2R)2]+ (M = Cu, R = C(OH)Ph2, 13; M = Ag, R = C(OH)Ph2, 14; M = Ag, R = Ph, 15), which can be prepared more efficiently starting from the oxidized ligand P3O. The structure...

Small zinc finger (ZnF) motifs are promising molecular scaffolds for protein design owing to their structural robustness and versatility. Moreover, their characterization provides important insights into protein folding in general. ZnF motifs usually possess an exceptional specificity and high affinity towards Zn(II) ion to drive folding. While the Zn(II) ion is canonically coordinated by two cysteine and two histidine residues, many other coordination spheres also exist in small ZnFs, all having four amino acid ligands. Here we used high-resolution mass spectrometry to study metal ion binding specificity and primary coordination sphere robustness of a designed zinc finger, named MM1. Based on the results, MM1 possesses high specificity for zinc with sub-micromolar binding affinity. Surprisingly, MM1 retains metal ion binding affinity even in the presence of selective alanine mutations of the primary zinc coordinating amino acid residues.

Manganese oxide (MnO2 ) based micromotors exhibiting a dual effect, that is, catalytic degradation and adsorptive bubble separation, were employed for water remediation. The dual effect of MnO2 microparticles led to a greater than 90 % of decolorization of non-biodegradable organic dyes in just 1 h, without the need for external agitation or bubble generation. These findings suggest high potential of MnO2 micromotors for decontamination of organic pollutants from wastewaters or natural water reserves.

Sin3A-associated protein 30-like (SAP30L) is one of the key proteins in a multi-subunit protein complex involved in transcriptional regulation via histone deacetylation. SAP30L, together with a highly homologous SAP30 as well as other SAP proteins (i.e., SAP25, SAP45, SAP130, and SAP180), is an essential component of the Sin3A corepressor complex, although its actual role has remained elusive. SAP30L is thought to function as an important stabilizing and bridging molecule in the complex and to mediate its interactions with other corepressors. SAP30L has been previously shown to contain an N-terminal Cys3 His type zinc finger (ZnF) motif, which is responsible for the key protein-protein, protein-DNA, and protein-lipid interactions. By using high-resolution mass spectrometry, we studied a redox-dependent disulfide bond formation in SAP30L ZnF as a regulatory mechanism for its structure and function. We showed that upon oxidative stress SAP30L undergoes the formation of two specific disulfide bonds, a vicinal Cys29-Cys30 and Cys38-Cys74, with a concomitant release of the coordinated zinc ion. The oxidized protein was shown to remain folded in solution and to bind signaling phospholipids. We also determined a solution NMR structure for SAP30L ZnF that showed an overall fold similar to that of SAP30, determined earlier. The NMR titration experiments with lipids and DNA showed that the binding is mediated by the C-terminal tail as well as both α-helices of SAP30L ZnF. The implications of these results for the structure and function of SAP30L are discussed.

Platinum-based micromotors have shown many exciting applications when functionalized using gold–thiol chemistry. However, thiols are known to bind to the Pt surface, which can lead to serious deactivation of the catalyst. In this paper, it is demonstrated that MnO2 can be used to protect Pt-based micromotors prior to the thiol treatment, thus fully avoiding the catalyst poisoning. This approach will greatly facilitate the use of the functionalized Pt micromotors for which the thiol toxicity has been a limiting factor.

Lignin is an important aromatic biopolymer with the structure based on phenolic units. Depolymerized lignin materials can be useful substitutes for phenol in phenol-formaldehyde resins. Our aim was to examine the potential of the base-catalyzed oxidation method to provide reactive oligomeric lignin fragments from softwood kraft lignin through the cleavage of the ether bonds. Three different bases, namely, NaOH, KOH, and NH4OH, were used as the catalyst in an aerobic oxidation, in which the influence of the reaction time was examined for 2 h and 6 h. Oxidized lignin materials were characterized with high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C, 1H-13C HSQC, and 31P NMR). The presence of methanol in the oxidation gas phase and formation of carboxylic acids indicate that some of the lignin structures were degraded in the oxidation. Guaiacyl units, the major phenolic structure of softwood kraft lignin, survived the oxidation. The oxidatively depolymerized lignin materials showed a reactivity close to that of pristine lignin in a reaction with formaldehyde, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Overall, the FT-ICR MS, NMR, and DSC results proved that the oxidized lignin materials maintained their oligomeric nature and possess the reactivity with formaldehyde.

Catechol oxidases and tyrosinases are coupled binuclear copper enzymes that oxidize various o-diphenolic compounds to corresponding o-quinones. Tyrosinases have an additional monooxygenation ability to hydroxylate monophenol to o-diphenol. It is still not clear what causes the difference in the catalytic activities. We solved a complex structure of Aspergillus oryzae catechol oxidase with resorcinol bound into the active site. Catalytic activity of A. oryzae catechol oxidase was studied, for the first time, by high-resolution FT-ICR mass spectrometry to shed light on the reaction mechanism. The enzyme was also found to catalyze monooxygenation of small phenolics, which provides a novel perspective for the discussion of differences in the catalytic activity between tyrosinases and catechol oxidases. According to the results, two binding modes for resorcinol are suggested and a reaction mechanism for coupled binuclear copper enzymes is discussed.

The chemical composition of slow pyrolysis oil made from unbarked Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) was characterized by negative-ion electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (ESI FT-ICR) mass spectrometry and various bulk analyses. The wood pieces were heated stepwise in a batch pyrolysis reactor to the target temperature of 320 °C. The resulting pyrolysis oil spontaneously separated into aqueous and oily phases. The water content of the aqueous phase was as high as 60.4 wt %, whereas for the oily phase it was only 8.1 wt %. The bulk O/C ratio (on a dry basis) was more than twice as high for the aqueous phase as compared to the oily phase (0.61 vs 0.29), suggesting different chemistry between the two phases. On the basis of pH and total acid number measurements, the aqueous phase was more acidic than the oily phase. The ESI FT-ICR technique was used to characterize pyrolysis oils’ heavier, nonvolatile, and thermally labile species. The total amounts of the identified chemical formula...

A family of mono- and bidentate alkynylphosphanes has been used for the preparation of the rhenium(I) phenanthroline complexes [Re(phen)(CO)2(L)2]+ (L = monophosphane), [{Re(phen)(CO)3}2(L)]2+ (L = diphosphane), and [{Re(phen)(CO)2}2(L)2]2+ (L = diphosphane). The dicarbonyl compounds display intense luminescence at 298 K both in solution and in the solid state (Φem ≤ 44 %). The tricarbonyl complexes demonstrate a strong dependence of the emission efficiency on the ancillary ligand L through a pronounced π–π* contribution of the diphosphane to the electronic transitions, as confirmed by TDDFT studies. In the solid state, the complexes [Re(phen)(CO)2(L)2]+ display significant luminescence rigidochromism that is influenced by the structure of the phosphane substituents. The latter provide a means to fine-tune the photophysical properties of this class of luminophores through variation of the stereochemical characteristics of the ligands that are not directly involved in the electronic transitions.

We report on the preparation of trimetallic (Pt/Ni/Au) microcaps using silica particles as templates. Capping of silica particles was performed by simple sputter deposition of metal layers, followed by dissolution of templates to obtain a suspension of microcaps. The microcaps were bubble-propelled to very high speeds (up to ∼500 μm s−1 on average) in the presence of 6% hydrogen peroxide as fuel. While the Ni layer provides a directional control of microcaps in an external magnetic field, the Au layer allows surface modification for further applications. We also demonstrate capture and cargo transport of oil droplets by microcap motors.

Four out of six officially recognized dog allergens are members of the lipocalin protein family. So far, a three-dimensional structure has been determined for only one dog allergen, Can f 2, which is a lipocalin protein. We present here the crystal structure of a second lipocalin allergen from dog, a variant of Can f 4. Moreover, we have compared and analyzed the structures of these two weakly homologous (amino acid identity 21%) dog allergens. The size and the amino acid composition of the ligand-binding pocket indicate that Can f 4 is capable of binding only relatively small hydrophobic molecules which are different from those that Can f 2 is able to bind. The crystal structure of Can f 4 contained both monomeric and dimeric forms of the allergen, suggesting that Can f 4 is able to form transient (weak) dimers. The existence of transient dimers in solution was confirmed by use of native mass spectrometry. The dimeric structure of Can f 4 is formed when the ends of four β-strands are packed against the same strands from the second monomer. The residues in the interface are mainly hydrophobic and the formation of the dimer is similar to the major horse allergen Equ c 1. Interestingly, the crystal structure of dog Can f 2 has been reported to show a different type of dimer formation. The capability of these allergens to form dimers may be important for the development of immediate allergic reaction (mast cell activation) because oligomeric allergens can effectively present multivalent epitopes.

A laboratory-scale reactor was used to produce pyrolysis oils from Finnish silver birch hardwood (Betula pendula). The resulting wood distillates were characterized by ultrahigh-resolution (12 T) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry coupled with negative-ion electrospray ionization (ESI). Two different pyrolysis temperatures were tested: 300 and 380 °C (the resulting oil samples were named as Oil-300 and Oil-380, respectively). The detected species were sorted on the basis of heteroatom class, carbon number, and double bond equivalent (DBE). About 1200 and 1400 unique compounds were identified from the ESI FT-ICR spectra of Oil-300 and Oil-380, respectively. These were mainly oxygen-containing compounds (Ox heteroatom classes, with x = 2–14), comprising up to 90% of all identified compounds. The compounds in the O2, O3, and O4 classes comprised of different fatty acids, hydroxy/epoxy fatty acids, and diacids. The compounds in the O5–O8 classes comprised of mainly lignin deg...

A series of 7-(2-oxoalkoxy)coumarins have been synthesized by conjugating substituted 7-hydroxycoumarins with different chloroketones. The anti-inflammatory properties of 7-(2-oxoalkoxy)coumarins were studied in LPS-induced inflammatory response in J774 macrophages. Western blot was used to determine the expression of iNOS and COX-2, NO was determined by measuring its metabolite nitrite by Griess reaction and IL-6 was measured by ELISA. Seventeen of the studied compounds inhibited NO and IL-6 production over 50% at 100 μM concentrations. IC50 values of the best inhibitors were 21 μM/24 μM (NO/IL-6) for compound 12 and 30 μM/10 μM (NO/IL-6) for compound 20. The main result was that the substitution with 7-(2-oxoalkoxy) group improved the anti-inflammatory properties of most of the investigated 7-hydroxycoumarins.

Treatment of the homoleptic decanuclear compounds (AuC2R)10 with the cationic gold diphosphine complexes [Au2(PR′2-X-PR′2)2]2+ results in high-yield formation of the new family of hexanuclear clusters [Au6(C2R)4(PR′2-X-PR′2)2]2+ (PR′2-X-PR′2 = PPh2-(CH2)n-PPh2, n = 2 (1, R = diphenylmethanolyl), n = 3 (3, R = diphenylmethanolyl; 4, R = 1-cyclohexanolyl; 5, R = 2-borneolyl), 4 (6, R = 1-cyclohexanolyl); PR′2-X-PR′2 = PCy2-(CH2)2-PCy2 (2, R = diphenylmethanolyl); PR′2-X-PR′2 = 1,2-(PPh2-O)-C6H4 (7, R = diphenylmethanolyl); PR′2-X-PR′2 = (R,R)-DIOP (8, R = diphenylmethanolyl)). In the case of PPh2-(CH2)4-PPh2 phosphine and −C2C(OH)Ph2 alkynyl ligands an octanuclear cluster of a different structural type, [Au8(C2C(OH)Ph2)6(PPh2-(CH2)4-PPh2)2]2+ (9), was obtained. Complexes 1–3, 7, and 9 were studied by X-ray crystallography. NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopic investigations showed that all but two (2 and 9) compounds are fluxional in solution and demonstrate dissociative chemical equilibria between major and a few ...

Microscale sample processing devices for application in bioanalysis and proteome related studies have undergone rapid advancements during the recent years. Several techniques for the preparation of chip-based and capillary-based microfluidic systems and their modification with desired functionalities have been reported. The use of microfluidic devices allow easy processing of extremely small sample quantities with low reagent consumption and offer high surface areas and surface-to-volume ratios. Microscale sample processing devices find application in various research fields such as chemical analysis, kinetic studies, and bioanalytical research. In MS-based proteomics, enzymatic digestion is one of the key steps in the identification of proteins and their posttranslational modifications. However, this is usually the slowest step in the analysis workflow. Thus, the development of suitable devices and methods capable of performing efficient protein digestion more rapidly has become an area of considerable interest. The immobilization of proteolytic enzymes on different kinds of stationary phases, such as monoliths, microparticles and nanoparticles and inner surface of sample transfer capillaries has shown promising results. On the other hand, problems associated with the fabrication and applicability of different stationary phases may pose some challenges, such as monolithic supports involve time consuming fabrication procedures. Similarly, particle-based supports usually involve multistep synthesis and require extended incubation times for protein digestion. Hence, in order to accelerate digestion, other techniques such as microwave irradiation have been employed, which will further complicate the experimental setup. Alternatively, open channel microreactors comprising immobilized enzymes have appeared as a promising alternative, offering minimal restriction over the flow rates. Krenkova et al. prepared open tubular enzyme-immobilized reactors by coupling of trypsin and pepsin to the inner wall of a fused silica capillary. Stigter et al. reported the development of an open tubular trypsin reactor based on amino-modified and carboxyl-modified dextran. Later, the same group prepared a pepsin-immobilized reactor in a dextran-modified fused silica capillary for online protein digestion. The coating of the capillary wall with dextran hydrogel was carried out in order to load higher amounts