Immunoaffinity isolation of CEACAM1 on hydrazide-derivatized cellulose with immobilized monoclonal anti-CEA antibody

Carcinoembryonic cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is a human membrane glycoprotein belonging to the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family and to the immunoglobulin superfamily. It is expressed in apical membranes of many epithelial cells in gastrointestinal and urogenital tract and also in granulocytes and lymphocytes, and its biological effect in human tissues has recently been discussed in literature. The purpose of this study was to isolate CEACAM1 glycoprotein from bile and characterize its purity and recovery which has not been described before. Affinity chromatography of CEACAM1 on hydrazide-activated cellulose with immobilized monoclonal anti-CEA F34-187 antibody is described. The immunoglobulin carbohydrate moiety was oxidized by periodate and then bound to hydrazide-activated matrix. Crude protein fraction from bile was applied on the affinity column and after extensive washing of non-bound proteins CEACAM1 was eluted with 6 M guanidine-HCl. A single immunopositive 85 kDa band was detected on Western blots with anti-CEA antibody after SDS-PAGE. We found out that CEACAM1 was not stainable with any common method of protein staining and the only non-specific method which could detect the 85 kDa band was a lectin staining.     

SYNTHESIS OF SOLUBLE POLY（3,4-DIHYDROXY-o-TOLYLENE）： REDOX POLYMER

Conventional chloromethylation, paraformaldehyde/hydrogen chloride in acetic acid medium, was applied to 1,2- dimethoxybenzene. Chloroform-soluble poly（3,4-dimethoxy-o-tolylene） was obtained with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.034 dL g^-1. The polymer was evaluated as a condensation redox polymer precursor formed by a Friedel-Crafts reaction. Cleavage of the methoxy groups present in this polymer resulted in poly（3,4-dihydroxy-o-tolylene） which manifested a great air-oxidation resistance. The redox property of the latter polymer was found to be 1017 mV by potentiometric titration with 0.05 N ceric ammonium nitrate at 25℃. This midpotential was compared to that of catechol, a monomeric analogue, under the same titration conditions.     

Application of main component fraction collection method for purification of compound libraries

In order to support high-throughput library purification, a novel UV triggered fraction collection method was developed in which a maximum-seeking-algorithm-driven, six-port valve collects the largest chromatographic peak. This straightforward strategy achieves the one sample-one fraction approach, thus resulting in a simpler and less error prone workup procedure. The effectiveness of this main component fraction collection method will be illustrated here by the results of the purification of compound libraries (altogether 6086 compounds, having an averaged success rate of 79.4%). Advanced applications, where the desired component differs from the main component, will also be discussed.     

Novel pyrimidine-bridged platinum(II) complexes: multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and crystal structures of (NR4)2[(PtCl3)2(mu-pyrimidine)] and cis- and trans-[Pt(R2SO)Cl2]2(mu-pyrimidine)

Two new types of pyrimidine-bridged Pt(II) complexes, (NR4)2[(PtCl3)2(mu-pm)] and cis- and trans-[Pt(R2SO)Cl2]2(mu-pm) where pm = pyrimidine, were synthesized and characterized by IR and multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies and by crystallographic methods. Compounds with dimethylsulfoxide, tetramethylenesulfoxide, di-n-propylsulfoxide (DPrSO), di-n-butylsulfoxide (DBuSO), dibenzylsulfoxide (DBzSO), and diphenylsulfoxide were studied. The aqueous reaction of K2PtCl4 with pyrimidine produced the [(PtCl3)2(mu-pm)](2-) ions, which can be precipitated with a NR4(+) salt. The aqueous reaction of K[Pt(R2SO)Cl3] with pyrimidine in a 2:1 ratio produced the dinuclear species trans-[Pt(R2SO)Cl2]2(mu-pm). With DBuSO and DBzSO, the analogous cis isomers were also obtained. The 195Pt NMR resonances of the trans dimeric complexes were observed at higher field (av -3088 ppm) than the cis compounds (av -2948 ppm). The 195Pt coupling constants with the atoms of pyrimidine 3J(195Pt-1H) and 3J(195Pt-13C) are larger in the cis configuration than in the trans analogues. The crystal structures of two ionic complexes, (NR4)2[(PtCl3)2(mu-pm)] (R = Me and n-Bu), and of three mixed-ligands dimers, trans-[Pt(R2SO)Cl2]2(mu-pm) (R2SO = DMSO, DPrSO) and cis-Pt(DBuSO)Cl2]2(mu-pm), were determined.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of (E)-4-(Benzyloxy)-2-(cinnamoyloxy)-N,N,N-trimethyl-4-oxobutan-1-aminium Chloride as a Double-prodrug

A novel hydrochloride quaternary ammonium salt (E)-4-(benzyloxy)-2-(cinnamo- yloxy)-N,N,N-trimethyl-4-oxobutan-1-aminium chloride (C23H29NO4Cl2, Mr = 454.37) has been synthesized via the sequence of acetylation and esterification by using L-carnitine (L-4-N-trimethy- lammonium-3-hydroxybutyric acid, LC) and cinnamic acid as the starting materials, and its crystal structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The crystal belongs to monoclinic, space group P212121 with a = 10.1670(4), b = 10.4488(4), c = 22.9795(11) ?, V = 2441.18(18) ?3, Z = 4, Dc = 1.236 g/cm3, μ(MoKα) = 0.293 mm?1, F(000) = 960, Flack factor = –0.01(11), the final R = 0.0489 and wR = 0.1550 for 3350 observed reflections (I > 2σ(I)) and R = 0.0953 for all 5648 unique reflections. The crystal structure involves a conjugated system which shows a reverse olefin structure.     

Multiresidue determination of 160 pesticides in wines employing mixed-mode dispersive-solid phase extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A new multiresidue method for the efficient screening, identification and quantification of over 160 pesticides belonging to different chemical classes in red, rose and white wines have been developed. The analysis was based on gas chromatographic-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometric determination (GC-QqQ-MS/MS). An optimization strategy involved the selection of buffering conditions and sorbents for dispersive-solid phase extraction (dispersive-SPE) in order to achieve acceptably high recoveries and reduce co-extractives in the final extracts. As a result, the optimized procedure allowed us to obtain consistent recoveries of the target pesticides including problematic ones such as captan, chlorothalonil, dichlofluanid, folpet and tolylfluanid. The attained recoveries were typically between 80 and 110% (89% on average) with RSD values typically lower than 10% (8% on average) at three spiking levels of 0.01, 0.05 and 0.2 mg kg⁻¹. Linearity was studied in the range between 0.005 and 0.2 mg kg⁻¹ using pesticide standards prepared both in pure solvent and in the presence of matrix, showing coefficients of determination (R²) higher than 0.99 for all the pesticides except for desmedipham, thiabendazole and thiamethoxam in pure solvent. The study of the ratio of the slopes obtained in solvent and in matrix provided information about the matrix effects, which was <10%, 10-20% and >20% for 33, 36 and 31% of the studied pesticides, respectively. To improve accuracy, matrix matched standards were always used for calculation of the quantification results. The expanded uncertainties were estimated by using a “top-down” approach as being 17% on average (coverage factor k = 2, confidence level 95%). Finally, the method was used with success to detect and quantify pesticide residues in commercial wines.     

Spontaneous coating of carbon nanotubes with an ultrathin polypyrrole layer

A novel protocol for precisely coating individual multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with an ultrathin layer of polypyrrole was developed. The nanocoated MWCNTs were successfully prepared by in situ chemical deposition of polypyrrole in an aqueous suspension of MWCNTs. The coating layer was very uniform and the thickness of the layer was determined by controlling the monomer concentration used, which gave nanometer precision. The products were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and conductivity and current-voltage measurements. The ultrathin polypyrrole layer could electrically insulate individual MWCNTs.     

High temperature X-ray diffraction study of the formation of Na2Ti3O7 from a mixture of sodium carbonate and titanium oxide

Na2Ti3O7 has attracted much attention in the field of anode materials for Na-ion batteries thanks to its non-toxicity and very low working potential of 0.3 V vs Na0/Na+.Building a clearer picture of its formation from cheap Na₂CO₃ and TiO₂ starting materials is therefore of obvious interest.Here,we report new insights from an in-situ high temperature X-ray diffraction study conducted from room temperature to 800°C,complemented by ex-situ characterizations.We were thereby able to position the previously reported Na₄Ti₅O₁₂ and Na₂Ti₆O₁₃ intermediate phases in a reaction scheme involving three successive steps and temperature ranges.Shifts and/or broadening of a subset of the Na₂Ti₆O₁₃ reflections suggested a combination of intra-layer disorder with the well-established ordering of successive layers.This in-situ study was carried out on reproducible mixtures of Na₂CO₃ and TiO₂ in 1:3 molar ratio prepared by spraydrying of mixed aqueous suspensions.Single-phase Na₂Ti₃O₇ was obtained after only 8 h at 800°C in air,instead of a minimum of 20 h for a conventional solid-state route using the same precursors.Microstructure analysis revealed~15 mm diameter granules made up from rectangular rods of a fewmm length presenting electrochemical properties in line with expectations.In the absence of grinding or formation of intimate composites with conductive carbon,the specific capacity of 137 m Ah/g at C/5 decreased at higher rates.     

Distortion control of conjugacies between quadratic polynomials

We use a new type of distortion control of univalent functions to give an alternative proof of Douady-Hubbard’s ray-landing theorem for quadratic Misiurewicz polynomials. The univalent maps arise from Thurston’s iterated algorithm on perturbation of such polynomials.