Expression, purification and spectral characterization of p21(Waf1/Cip1)

p21(Waf1/Cip1), best known as a broad-specificity inhibitor of cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase complexes, can interact with various target proteins, and this ability relies on its structural plasticity. Therefore, studies on the structural properties of p(21) are very important to understand its structure-function relationship. However, detailed studies on its secondary structure and biophysical properties have been comparatively sparse. A human p(21) gene was cloned into the temperature expression vector pBV220 and transformed into Escherichia coli strain JM109.

Synthesis, properties, and gas permeation performance of cardo poly(arylene ether sulfone)s containing phthalimide side groups

Novel bisphenol monomers (1a-d) containing phthalimide groups were synthesized by the reaction of phenolphthalein with ammonia, methylamine, aniline, and 4-tert-butylanilne, respectively. A series of cardo poly (arylene ether sulfone)s was synthesized via aromatic nucleophilic substitution of 1a-d with dichlorodiphenylsulfone, and characterized in terms of thermal, mechanical and gas transport properties to H-2, O-2, N-2, and CO2. The polymers showed high glass transition temperature in the range 230-296 degrees C, good solubility in polar solvents as well as excellent thermal stability with 5% weight loss above 410 degrees C. The most permeable membrane studied showed permeability coefficients of 1.78 barrers to O-2 and 13.80 barrers to CO2, with ideal selectivity. factors of 4.24 for O-2/N-2 pair and 28.75 for CO2/CH4 pair. Furthermore, the structure-property relationship among these cardo poly(arylene ether sulfone)s had been discussed on solubility, thermal stability, mechanical, and gas permeation properties. The results indicated that introducing 4-tert-butylphenyl group improved the gas permeability of polymers evidently.

The antioxidative effect of icariin in human erythrocytes against free-radical-induced haemolysis

Icariin (2-(4'-methoxyl phenyl)-3-rhamnosido-5-hydroxyl-7-glucosido-8-(3'-methyl-2-butyleny"chromanone) is the major component in Herba Epimedii used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of atherosclerosis. This work focuses on the antioxidative effect of icariin on freeradical-induced haemolysis of human erythrocytes, in which the initial free radical derives from the decomposition of 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane hydrochloride) (AAPH) at physiological temperature. To reveal the structure-activity relationship of icariin, the antioxidant effects of two structural analogues of icariin, acacetin (2-(4'-methoxylphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxylchromone) and norwogonin (2-phenyl-5,7,8-trihydroxylchromone), on the same experimental system were examined as well. It was found that all these chromone derivatives (Chm-OHs) dose-dependently protected human erythrocytes against free-radical-induced haemolysis. The order of antioxidative activity was nonvogoni-n > acacetin > icariin by the analysis of the relationship between the concentration of Chm-OHs and the prolongation percentage of the lag time of haemolysis (PP%). It was also proved that the phenyl hydroxyl group attached to the chromone ring at 7-position cannot trap the free radical- On the contrary, phenyl hydroxyl groups at the 5- and 8-position in nonvogonin made it a significant antioxidant in AAPH-induced haemolysis.

Three-dimensional structural features and the toxicity of aminobenzenes and phenols

For a QSAR of the toxicity of aminobenzenes in environment and their structures, the projection areas of the molecules in 3D space were calculated. The combinations of the projection areas and quantum chemical as well as topological parameters were performed for the methods of regression analysis and neural network, and much better results than that by using CoMFA were achieved.

Calculation of nonlinear optical properties of KNdP4O12

The second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) tensor coefficients of KNdP4O12 (KNP) are theoretically predicted from its crystal structural data, by using the chemical bond theory of complex crystals and the modified bond charge model. Linear and nonlinear optical contributions of each type of bond to the total linearity (chi) and nonlinearity (d(ij)) of KNP are quantitatively determined. The structure-property relationship of KNP is systematically investigated, from the chemical bond viewpoint. Based on the discussion of its structural modifications, we point out that NLO properties of I(NP can be improved effectively using the doping method. Theoretical predictions show KNP to be a promising: self-frequency-doubling laser material.

Miscibility and crystallization behavior of thermosetting polyimide thermoplastic polyimide blends

Compatibility, morphology, crystalline structure and mechanical properties of the blends of a thermosetting polyimide with thermoplastic polyimides consisting of dianhydrides of different lengths have been studied by the use of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques. The results of our research show that the blends change from compatible to semi-compatible when the difference between the length of the dianhydrides of the two components increases. Addition of a thermoplastic polyimide inhibits the crystallization of the thermosetting component. However, this effect decreases with increasing length of the dianhydrides and the distribution of the molecules of the thermoplastic polyimide component changes from interlamellar to interfibrillar. Impact strength and morphology of the fractured surfaces indicate that among the semiinterpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPN) obtained the toughening effect of the partially compatible one is the best. The results are discussed in terms of charge transfer interaction between imide group and p-phenylene group.

On highly discriminating molecular topological index

A highly discriminating molecular topological index, EAID, is proposed based on the extended adjacency matrix. A systematic search for degeneracy was performed for 3 807 434 alkane trees, 202 558 complex cyclic or polycyclic graphs, and 430 472 structures containing heteroatoms. No counterexamples (two or more nonisomorphic structures with the same EAID number) were found. This is a hitherto unheard of power of discrimination. Thus EAID might be possibly used as supplementary reference for CAS Registry Numbers for structure documentation.

羟基自由基降解琼胶及其产物的活性研究

琼胶是一种从石花菜等红藻中提取的，目前生产工艺和结构等方面研究比较成熟的海藻多糖，广泛应用于医药、仪器等行业。但是，海藻多糖因为具有分子量大，粘度大，溶解度较小的等特点，而使其应用范围受到限制。利用降解的手段对其进行修饰，降低分子量和粘度，改善溶解性，可以拓展其应用范围。并且根据文献报道，琼 胶寡糖具有一些特殊的生物活性，如抗氧化性，抗炎症等。因此，对琼胶降解的研究具有生要意义。本研究中，为了选择一种合适的降解方法，进行了几种水解方法的尝试，其中包括在不同湿度和酸度下盐酸水解，过氧化氢和醋酸催化水解，Fenton体系羟基自由基降解。对于酸水解和Fenton体系氧化还原降解方法，通过粘度法对反应的速度进行了比较，表明氧化还原降解反应中琼胶的粘度降低比较快，并且具有代表性和新意，确定为本实验的降解琼胶的方法并对氧化还原降解所得的产物进行了活性实验。通过模仿自然界普遍存在的氧化还原降解反应，利用Vc诱导的Fenton体系产生的羟基自由基氧化还原降解琼胶得到低分子量的琼胶。降解产物经过高速离心、60％乙醇沉淀，除去分子量比较大的降解产物和磷酸盐，得到可溶于60％乙醇的分子量估计小于3000的降争产物，其产率为85％。利用经Sephadex-G25凝胶色谱分离所香的不同分子量的级分进行分子量和α－葡萄糖苷酶抑制活性关系的实验。降解产物对α－葡萄糖苷酶的抑制率和各级分的浓度呈线性正相关，并且各级分的IC_(50)则随着分子量的降低而降低。另外，对所得的降解产物混合物进行了红外吸收光谱、质子去偶核磁共震碳谱和负离子基质辅助激光诱导－飞行时间质谱结构分析。结果表明，氧化还原降解反应的专一性差，在得到寡糖的同时，在光谱图中出现一些比较复杂的副产物的结构信息。最后，根据MTT法的原理，以有体皮肤成纤维细胞为材料，通过紫外线辐射产生自由基造成氧化损伤，研究降解产物对成纤维细胞的保护作用。当无紫外线辐射时，降解产物对成纤维细胞具有显著的促进生长增殖作用：当经UVa、UBb辐射时则可以显著地表现出对损伤的保护作用，并且这种促进生长和保护作用呈显著的量效关系，表明降解产物具有清除基自由基的作用。但是，因为氧化还原降解以应的机理尚不十分明的以及琼羟胶的特殊结构，使得反应的副产物很难预测，也就使得分离工作难以进行，所以，根据目前所得的信息，尚不能确定是降解产物的什么级分产生的以上两种生物活性。

PTP1B抑制剂的制备与构效关系研究

蛋白酪氨酸磷酸酶1B（protein tyrosine phosphatase, PTP1B）是蛋白酪氨酸磷酸酶（protein tyrosine phosphatases, PTPs）家族中的一个经典的非受体型酪氨酸磷酸酶，在胰岛素信号通路中起着重要的负调控作用，是目前公认的一个新颖的糖尿病和肥胖症治疗靶点。寻找PTP1B的高活性抑制剂对糖尿病和肥胖症治疗有着重要的应用前景。 双-(2,3-二溴-4,5-二羟基苯基)-甲烷（BDDPM）是从松节藻醇提物中分离鉴定出的溴酚类化合物，体外活性筛选发现，它具有极强的蛋白酪氨酸磷酸酶1B(PTP1B)抑制活性(IC50=2.4μmol/L)。采用高脂饮食-链脲佐菌素诱导的大鼠模型（STZ-DM）对富含BDDPM的松节藻醇提物进行动物实验，发现中、高剂量组同样表现出惊人的活性，降糖效果优于阳性对照临床药物文迪雅，并呈剂量依赖性。于是拟采用STZ-DM大鼠模型对单一组分BDDPM进行药理、药效学等体内降糖活性研究，但体内动物实验需要30g以上BDDPM，所以首先要解决药源的问题。本文尝试从天然海藻提取分离和化学合成两种途径来解决BDDPM制备的问题。 首先本文尝试从松节藻中提取分离BDDPM的制备方法。通过正相硅胶色谱、凝胶Sephadex LH-20色谱和重结晶等纯化手段分离纯化目标化合物BDDPM，并借助IR，MS和NMR等技术确定了其化学结构。最终从常温风干的50kg松节藻干样品中分离得到7.8g BDDPM。由于松节藻藻体构成复杂，给分离纯化BDDPM带来极大困难，致使分离纯化过程耗费大量时间和金钱；并且原材料松节藻的采集也易受季节和原料短缺等自然因素的影响。所以，从天然海藻中分离纯化的方法不适宜用于BDDPM的制备。 本文的重点是对BDDPM（4e）的化学合成途径进行研究。本文通过5步合成法（Friedel-Craftz酰基化反应、苯环逐级溴代、羰基还原、羟基脱保护）成功地合成了BDDPM，合成总产率为23.6%。同时本文采用上述合成路线获得了四个系列共计20个溴酚系列衍生物（4e为目标产物BDDPM，其余19个为溴酚系列衍生物），其中10个为新化合物。合成的20个化合物经1H NMR、13C NMR、MSEI和IR进行了结构鉴定。合成的20个化合物在体外活性筛选中均表现出不同程度的PTP1B抑制活性，其中合成的目标产物4e具有与天然分离纯化获得的BDDPM同等效率的PTP1B抑制作用。 另外，通过比较四个系列化合物PTP1B抑制活性间的差异，对此类溴酚化合物的构效关系作了初步分析，结果表明：1．羰基官能团的存在会明显降低此类化合物的PTP1B抑制率；2．化合物中的羟基官能团被甲氧基保护后，PTP1B抑制活性会得到一定程度的加强；3．化合物苯环上溴原子取代基数目增多时，其PTP1B抑制率也会随之增强。但是，筛选结果中也有少部分化合物的PTP1B抑制作用与上述规则相违背。因此，本文总结的初步构效关系还需要进一步的实验研究加以验证。 最后本文通过化学合成的方法，经过5步反应成功地制备出了30g BDDPM，为后续的药理、药效学研究奠定了基础。

Proteasome and NF-kappa B inhibiting phaeophytins from the green alga Cladophora fascicularis

Chemical examination of the green alga Cladophora fascicularis resulted in the isolation and characterization of a new porphyrin derivative, porphyrinolactone (1), along with five known phaeophytins 2-6 and fourteen sterols and cycloartanes. The structure of 1 was determined on the basis of spectroscopic analyses and by comparison of its NMR data with those of known phaeophytins. Compounds 1-6 displayed moderate inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) induced nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) activation, while 2 and 4 displayed potential inhibitory activity toward proteasome chymotripsin-like activation. The primary structure-activity relationship was also discussed.

In vitro antioxidant activities of acetylated, phosphorylated and benzoylated derivatives of porphyran extracted from Porphyra haitanensis

Porphyran extracted from red algae Porphyra haitanensis is a sulfated polysaccharide, which possesses excellent antioxidant activities. In this study, we prepared the acetylated, phosphorylated and benzoylated derivatives of porphyran. And then the antioxidant activities of all the samples were investigated including scavenging effects of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals and reducing power. The results of chemical analysis and FT-IR spectrum showed the modifications of porphyran were successful. And in addition, we found that certain derivative exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than raw material. And the mechanism of the structure-function relationship of these derivatives needs to be attended to. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation and characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes supported PtRu catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A series of PtRu nanocomposites supported on H2O2-oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized via two chemical reduction methods - one used aqueous formaldehyde (HCHO method) and the other used ethylene glycol (EG method) as the reducing agents. The effects of the solvents (water and ethylene glycol) and the surface composition of the MWCNTs on the deposition and the dispersion of the metal particles were investigated using N-2 adsorption. TEM. ICP-AES. FTIR and TPD. The wetting heats of the MWCNTs in corresponding solvents were also measured. The characterizations suggest that combination of the surface chemistry of the MWCNTs with the solvents decides the deposition and the dispersion of the metal nanoparticles. These nanocomposites were evaluated as proton exchange membrane fuel cell anode catalyts for oxidation of 50 ppm CO contaminated hydrogen and compared with a commercial PtRu/C catalyst. The data reveal superior performances for the nanocomposites prepared by the EG method to those by the HCHO method and even to that for tile Commercial analogue. Structure performance relationship of the nanocomposites was also studied. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative relationship between chromatographic retentions and molecular structures of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs)

A new approach to study the quantitative relationships between chromatographic retentions and molecular structures of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) is described. The retention equations of PCDDs log k' = A + B/T in gas chromatography (GC) are used to evaluate the properties of the regression coefficients A and B, which have been widely accepted as highly reliable chromatographic retentions. The quantitative relationships between the A, B values and the molecular structures are found. The molecular descriptors given for the first time in this article are very effective. As a result, the regression equations are derived with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9995. The A, B values of PCDDs with no standards available have been predicted according to these relationships. They are very useful in chromatographic identification. The retention times of all PCDDs can be conveniently predicted at any temperature program. Compared with the data obtained from the relevant experiments, the results of prediction are very accurate. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure-change-dependent transmittance of PtOx thin film in super-resolution near-field structure: Diffraction effect analysis

To study working mechanism of super-resolution near-field structure (super-RENS) optical disk from a far-field optics view is very necessary because of the actual far-field writing/readout process in the optical disk system. A Gaussian diffraction model based on Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction theory of PtOx-type super-RENS has been set up in this Letter. The relationship between micro-structural deformation (change of bubble structure and refractive index profile) with far-field optical response of PtOx thin film has been studied with it in detail. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results reported in literatures with a designed configuration. These results may provide more quantitative information for better understanding of the working mechanism of metal-oxide-type super-RENS. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.