Universal plastid primers for chlorophyta and rhodophyta

To date, the majority of molecular genetic studies in algae have utilized a fairly limited range of markers such as the plastid rbcL gene and spacer, the mitochondrial cox2-3 spacer or the nuclear ribosomal DNA and spacers. The lack of available markers has been particularly problematic in studies of within-species variation. Whilst microsatellites are now being developed in many algal species, there remains a need for universal markers that can be applied to a wide range of species. The increasing availability of complete plastid genome sequences for several algae has allowed us to develop two sets of universal primers, similar to those available in higher plants, for the amplification of coding and non-coding regions of the plastid genome in red and green algae. These markers are expected to be useful in a broad range of algal population genetic and phylogenetic studies.

Formation of Novel Di-Nuclear Lanthanide Luminescent Sm(III), Eu(III) and Tb(III) Triple Stranded Helicates from a C2 Symmetrically 2,6-Dicarboxylic Amide based 1,3-Xylene Ligand in CH3CN

The synthesis of the C2-symmetrical ligand 1 consisting of two naphthalene units connected to two pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide moieties linked by a xylene spacer and the formation of LnIII-based (Ln1/4 Sm, Eu, Tb, and Lu) dimetallic helicates [Ln2 · 13] in MeCN by means of a metal-directed synthesis is described. By analyzing the metal-induced changes in the absorption and the fluorescence of 1, the formation of the helicates, and the presence of a second species [Ln2 · 12] was confirmed by nonlinear- regression analysis. While significant changes were observed in the photophysical properties of 1, the most dramatic changes were observed in the metal-centred lanthanide emissions, upon excitation of the naphthalene antennae. From the changes in the lanthanide emission, we were able to demonstrate that these helicates were formed in high yields (ca. 90% after the addition of 0.6 equiv. of LnIII), with high binding constants, which matched well with that determined from the changes in the absorption spectra. The formation of the LuIII helicate, [ Lu2 · 13 ] , was also investigated for comparison purposes, as we were unable to obtain accurate binding constants from the changes in the fluorescence emission upon formation of [Sm2 · 13], [Eu2 · 13], and [Tb2 · 13].

Probing the mid-gorge of cholinesterases with spacer-modified bivalent quinazolinimines leads to highly potent and selective butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors

The spacer structure of homobivalent quinazolinimes acting as potent acetyl-(AChE)- and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitors was chemically modified introducing tertiary amine and acyl-amide moieties, and the activities at both ChEs were evaluated. Molecular docking was applied to explain the data and probe the capacity of the mid-gorge site of both ChEs. The novel spacer structures considerably alter the biological profile of bivalent quinazolinimines with regard to both inhibitory activity and selectivity. Mutual interaction of binding to the various sites of the enzymes was further investigated by applying also different spacer lengths and ring sizes of the alicycle of the tricyclic quinazolinimines. In order to achieve selectivity toward BChE and to improve inhibitory activities, the spacer structure was optimized and identified a highly potent and selective BChE inhibitor. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plasmon enhanced fluorescence studies from aligned gold nanorod arrays modified with SiO2 spacer layers

Here, we demonstrate that quasi self-standing Au nanorod arrays prepared with plasma polymerisation deposited SiO2 dielectric spacers support surface enhanced fluorescence (SEF) while maintaining high signal reproducibility. We show that it is possible to find a balance between enhanced radiative and non-radiative decay rates at which the fluorescent intensity is maximized. The SEF signal optimised with a 30 nm spacer layer thickness showed a 3.5-fold enhancement with a signal variance of <15% thereby keeping the integrity of the nanorod array. We also demonstrate the decreased importance of obtaining resonance conditions when localized surface plasmon resonance is positioned within the spectral region of Au interband transitions. Procedures for further increasing the SEF enhancement factor are also discussed.