Cysteine‐capped ZnSe quantum dots as affinity and accelerating probes for microwave enzymatic digestion of proteins via direct matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometric analysis

Fluorescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) exhibit great potential and capability for many biological and biochemical applications. We report a simple strategy for the synthesis of aqueous stable ZnSe QDs by using cysteine as the capping agent (ZnSe‐Cys QDs). The ZnSe QDs can act as affinity probes to enrich peptides and proteins via direct matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOFMS) analysis. This nanoprobe could significantly enhance protein signals (insulin, ubiquitin, cytochrome c, myoglobin and lysozyme) in MALDI‐TOFMS by 2.5–12 times compared with the traditional method. Additionally, the ZnSe‐Cys QDs can be applied as heat absorbers (as accelerating probes) to speed up microwave‐assisted enzymatic digestion reactions and also as affinity probes to enrich lysozyme‐digested products in MALDI‐TOFMS. Furthermore, after the enrichment experiments, the solutions of ZnSe‐Cys QDs mixed with proteins can be directly deposited onto the MALDI plates for rapid analysis. This approach shows a simple, rapid, efficient and straightforward method for direct analysis of proteins or peptides by MALDI‐TOFMS without the requirement for further time‐consuming separation processes, tedious washing steps or laborious purification procedures. The present study has demonstrated that ZnSe‐Cys QDs are reliable and potential materials for rapid, selective separation and enrichment of proteins as well as accelerating probes for microwave‐digested reactions for proteins than the regular MALDI‐MS tools. Additionally, we also believe that this work may also inspire investigations for applications of QDs in the field of MALDI‐MS for proteomics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new alkaloid from Lycoris aurea

A new alkaloid was isolated from the bulbs of Lycoris aurea(L'Herit.) Herb.Its structure was established as 3-o-ethyltazettinol through chemical and spectroscopic studies including 2D NMR.     

毛细管液相色谱法分离植物内源激素

建立了毛细管液相色谱法(CLC)同时分离测定4种植物内源激素的方法.采用硅胶基质ODS整体柱(27 cm×100 μm i.d.)作为分离柱,以带有光程为3 mm的光纤检测池的紫外检测器作为检测手段,在室温下以含10 mmol/L乙酸(pH 3.0)的V(甲醇):V(水)＝35:65为流动相,以0.6 μL/min的流速进行等度洗脱.采用溶剂梯度效应和扩展光程的检测池来提高检测灵敏度,该方法测定4种植物内源激素的检出限(S/N=3)在27.7～196.1 ng/mL之间,峰面积和保留时间的相对标准偏差(RSD)小于2.8%.方法已用于不同种类玉米样品的测定.     

Magnetic Manipulation of Massless Dirac Fermions in Graphene Quantum Dot

We have theoretically analyzed the quasibound states in a Mraphene quantum dot （GO, D） with a magnetic flux -φ in the centre. It is shown that the two-fold time reversal degeneracy is broken and the quasibound states of GQD with positive~negative angular momentum shifted upwards/downwards with increasing the magnetic flux. The variation of the quasibound energy depends linearly on the magnetic flux, which is quite different from the parabolic relationship for SchrSdinger electrons. The GQD＇s quasibound states spectrum shows an obvious Aharonov-Bohm （AB） oscillations with the magnetic flux. It is also shown that the quasibound state with energy equal to the barrier height becomes a bound state completely confined in GQD.     

Disordered structure of ZrW1.8V0.2O7.9 from a combined X‐ray and neutron powder diffraction study at 530 K

A novel compound, vanadium aliovalent substituted zirconium tungstate, ZrW_1.8V_0.2O_7.9, was prepared with vanadium substituting tungsten rather than the common zirconium substitution. The structure of the high‐temperature phase was refined from combined neutron and X‐ray powder diffraction data gathered at 530 K. This phase is the disordered centric modification (space group Pa) and the average crystal structure is similar to that of β‐ZrW₂O₈. The V atom occupies only a W2 site and charge compensation is achieved through oxygen vacancy, i.e. the oxygen vacancy occurs at only the O4 site. [Atom names follow the established scheme; Evans et al. (1996). Chem. Mater. 8 , 2809–2823.]     

Two new secoiridoid glucosides from Syringa velutina Kom

Chemical investigation of Syringa velutina Kom. led to the isolation of two new secoiridoid glucosides. Their structures were identified as 6'-0-(6, 7-dihyrofoliamenthoyl)-8-epi-kingisidic acid (syrveoside A, 1) and 6'-O-menthiafoloyl-8-epi-kingisidic acid (syrveoside B, 2) on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence.     

乙酰丙酮吸光光度法测定白酒中甲醇含量

乙酰丙酮法测定白酒中甲醇是一种新的测试方法。白酒样品用高锰酸钾氧化后，加草酸除去过量的氧化剂，在pH3～4范围内，加入乙酰丙酮溶液，在沸水浴中显色，于418nm波长处测量其吸光度。方法步骤简单，具有较高的灵敏度和较高的重现性。     

A New ent-Kaurane Diterpenoid from Isodon enanderianus

Isodon enanderianus (Hand. -Mazz.) H. W. Li, has been used in folk medicine as anti-inflammatory and detoxified agent1. The Isodon genus is known to be rich in ent-kaurane diterpenoids, a series of new ent-kaurane diterpenoids have been isolated from the dried leaves of I. enanderianus2-4. In order to find more biologically active substances, we have carefully investigated the chemical constituents of I. enanderianus collected in Shiping county of Yunnan province, and as a result, enanderi…     

Aggregation behavior of block polyethers with branched structure at air/water surface

The block polyethers with various branch structure, such as TEPA[(PO)₃₆(EO)₁₀₀]₇, TEPA[(PO)₃₆(EO)₁₀₀(PO)₃₆]₇, and TEPA[(PO)₃₆(EO)₁₀₀(PO)₅₆]₇ were synthesized. Moreover, the aggregation behavior was investigated via the measurements of equilibrium surface tension, dynamic surface tension, and surface dilational viscoelasticity, in order to probe the effect of the block structure on the property of the branched block polyethers. The surface tension results show that the efficiency and effectiveness of the block polyethers to lower surface tension increase with the increase of the PO group numbers. The maximum surface excess concentration (Γ_max) values and the minimum occupied area per molecule at the air/water interface (A_min) values of the branched block polyethers obtained from Gibbs adsorption equations increase and decrease with the increases of the PO group numbers, respectively. The dynamic parameters n and t^* representing the diffusion speed of the polyether molecules from bulky solution to the subsurface and from the subsurface to the air/water surface are obtained according to the equation proposed by Rosen. The results show that the n values firstly increase and then decrease and t^* values decrease with the increase of the polyether concentrations. The results of surface dilational viscoelasticity show that the dilational modulus of TEPA[(PO)₃₆(EO)₁₀₀(PO)₅₆]₇ is the largest among the three block copolymers at the low concentration (<1 mg L⁻¹) but that of TEPA[(PO)₃₆(EO)₁₀₀]₇ is the largest at the high concentration (>1 mg L⁻¹).