The effect of oxycholesterols on thermo-induced membrane dynamics.

The effect of temperature change(s) on the dynamics of giant unilamellar vesicles containing oxidized and non-oxidized cholesterol was investigated and characterized. We have demonstrated that (i) major cholesterol auto-oxidation products, 7β-hydroxycholesterol (7β) and 7-ketocholesterol (7keto), rendered vesicles more responsive to temperature changes; (ii) 7keto imparted greater thermo-induced membrane dynamics than 7β; (iii) 7β and 7keto vesicles synergistically were more thermo-responsive than the individual oxysterols; (iv) the thermo-responsiveness of 7keto-containing vesicles was equivalent to that of 25 hydroxycholesterol (25OH)-containing vesicles; and (v) we have characterized the observed membrane dynamics. The results provide a new plausible mechanism: oxidative-stressed membranes in conjunction with temperature change induce membrane dynamics.

Roles of the C-terminal residues of calmodulin in structure and function.

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), circular dichroism (CD), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, flow dialysis, and bioactivity measurements were employed to investigate the roles of the C-terminal residues of calmodulin (CaM). In the present study, we prepared a series of truncated mutants of chicken CaM that lack four (CCMΔ4) to eight (CCMΔ8) residues at the C-terminal end. It was found that CCMΔ4, lacking the last four residues (M145 to K148), binds four Ca ions.

Role of base in the formation of silver nanoparticles synthesized using sodium acrylate as a dual reducing and encapsulating agent.

The formation mechanism of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized with a wet-chemical reduction method using sodium acrylate as a dual reducing and capping agent was investigated with various analytical techniques. The time course of the state of the reaction solution was investigated using UV-vis and XAFS spectroscopies which showed that the NP formation rate increased with increasing concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The detailed kinetic analyses reveal that both the reduction rate of Ag ions and the nucleation rate of Ag NPs are dramatically increased with increasing NaOH concentration.

Fabrication of a submicron-channel organic field-effect transistor using a controllable electrospun single fibre as a shadow mask.

We demonstrate a simple and versatile method for the fabrication of a submicron channel for an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) using a single electrospun fibre as a shadow mask. A single electrospun fibre is produced by an alternative switching electrospinning method and is stretched 2.5-fold.

Selective oxidation of glycerol by using a hydrotalcite-supported platinum catalyst under atmospheric oxygen pressure in water.

A hydrotalcite-supported platinum (Pt/HT) catalyst was found to be a highly active and selective heterogeneous catalyst for glycerol oxidation in pure water under atmospheric oxygen pressure in a high glycerol/metal molar ratio up to 3125. High selectivity toward glyceric acid (78 %) was obtained even at room temperature under air atmosphere. The Pt/HT catalyst selectively oxidized the primary hydroxyl group of 1,2-propandiol to give the corresponding carboxylic acid (lactic acid) as well as glycerol.

Octa, deca, and dodeca(4-nitrophenyl) cage silsesquioxanes via 4-trimethylsilylphenyl derivatives.

Pure octa, deca, and dodeca(4-nitrophenyl) cage silsesquioxanes were obtained by regio-selective 4-nitration of octa, deca, and dodeca(4-trimethylsilylphenyl) cage silsesquioxanes via ipso-substitution of trimethylsilyl-phenyl bonds by fuming nitric acid. 3-Nitration of octa(4-methylphenyl)octasilesquioxane was also described. The starting octa(4-methyl-, 4-isopropyl- and 4-trimethylsilylphenyl)octasilsesquioxanes were selectively formed in 9-21% isolated yield in the presence of hydrochloric acid.

Synthesis and aggregate formation of triphenylene core-centered porphyrin hexamers.

We demonstrate the synthesis, aggregate formation and spectroscopic property of new triphenylene core-centered porphyrin hexamers with different alkyl chain lengths.

Supramolecular nanoarchitectures for light energy conversion.

Recent developments in synthetic and supramolecular techniques have made it possible to control precisely, organize and arrange molecules at the nanometre level. Such synthetic and supramolecular strategies enable us to construct photofunctional molecular architectures for light energy conversion, such as photovoltaics. In photovoltaic cells, processes such as light-harvesting, charge separation for carrier generation, and carrier transport are generally required.

A one-pot reaction for biorefinery: combination of solid acid and base catalysts for direct production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from saccharides.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), one of the most important intermediates derived from biomass, was directly produced from monosaccharides (fructose and glucose) and disaccharides (sucrose and cellobiose) by a simple one-pot reaction including hydrolysis, isomerization and dehydration using solid acid and base catalysts under mild conditions.

Electrochemical genosensor for the rapid detection of GMO using loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

In this study, we are reporting for the first time an efficient, accurate and inexpensive rapid detection system which employs the integration of isothermal amplification and subsequent analysis of unpurified amplicons by an electrochemical system. In our experiments, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with its higher efficiency than PCR was performed at a constant temperature (65 degrees C). Amplification products were combined with a redox active molecule Hoechst 33258 [H33258, 2'-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-2,5'-bi(1H-benzimidazole)] and analyzed by a DNA stick (DS) which is integrated with a disposable electrochemical printed (DEP) chip using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV).

[Development of bio-hybrid micro machines].

Living system use many types of micro or nano-mechanical systems, which are called "motor protein". Those biological motors have unique features, such as nano-meter scaled molecular motor, high efficiently energy transduction from chemical energy or having a capacity of self-assembly. The realization of bio-hybrid micro-machines to integrate such motor proteins and micro-or nano-structures fabricated of inorganic materials, would have some potential values that are not achieved by traditional electronic, magnetic or optical devices.

Fabrication of spintronics device by direct synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes from ferromagnetic electrodes.

We describe an alternative method for realizing a carbon nanotube spin field-effect transistor device by the direct synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on substrates by alcohol catalytic chemical vapor deposition. We observed hysteretic magnetoresistance (MR) at low temperatures due to spin-dependent transport. In these devices, the maximum ratio in resistance variation of MR was found to be 1.

An Overview of Label-free Electrochemical Protein Sensors.

Electrochemical-based protein sensors offer sensitivity, selectivity and reliabilityat a low cost, making them very attractive tools for protein detection. Although the sensorsuse a broad range of different chemistries, they all depend on the solid electrode surface,interactions with the target protein and the molecular recognition layer. Traditionally, redoxenzymes have provided the molecular recognition elements from which target proteins haveinteracted with.

Finding conserved and non-conserved reactions using a metabolic pathway alignment algorithm.

Using a metabolic pathway alignment method we developed, we studied highly conserved reactions in different groups of organisms and found out that biological functions vital for each of the groups are effectively expressed in the set of conserved reactions. We also studied the metabolic alignment of different strains of three bacteria and found out several non-conserved reactions. We suggest that these reactions could be either misannotations or reactions with a relevant but yet to be specified biological role, and should therefore be further investigated.

Electrochemical DNA biosensor using a disposable electrochemical printed (DEP) chip for the detection of SNPs from unpurified PCR amplicons.

In this study, we are reporting for the first time the elucidation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of clinically important alleles from consenting human subjects using a disposable electrochemical printed (DEP) chip in connection with differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and a redox active molecule Hoechst 33258 [H33258, 2'-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-2,5'-bi(1H-benzimidazole)]. Post-PCR products were analyzed directly without any purification process. The aggregation of the DNA-H33258 complex causes a significant drop in the peak current intensity of H33258 oxidation.

An electrochemical on-field sensor system for the detection of compost maturity.

A maturity sensor system was developed, based on the combination of three electrically measured parameters, pH, NH(4)(+) concentration, and phosphatase activity in the water extracts of compost samples. One of these parameters, the apparent phosphatase activity in crude test solutions was determined using screen-printed carbon strips (SPCSs) coated with alpha-naphthyl phosphate (alpha-NP) in Nafion film. The phosphatase activity was monitored in connection with differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) with an aliquot (30 microL) of the test solution on SPCS.

Quantum dot-based immunosensor for the detection of prostate-specific antigen using fluorescence microscopy.

A sensitive optical method based on quantum dot (QD) technology is demonstrated for the detection of an important cancer marker, total prostate-specific antigen (TPSA) on a disposable carbon substrate surface. Immuno-recognition was carried out on a carbon substrate using a sandwich assay approach, where the primary antibody (Ab)-protein A complex covalently bound to the substrate surface, was allowed to capture TPSA. After the recognition event, the substrate was exposed to the biotinylated secondary Abs.

Label-free electrochemical immunoassay for the detection of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone.

Here we report on a new and rapid immunoassay for the label-free voltammetric detection of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) in urine. Monitoring the changes in the current signals of antibodies (Abs) before and after the binding of the antigen (Ag) provides the basis for an immunoassay that is simple, rapid, and cost-effective. Since hCG is found at highly elevated levels in pregnant female urine with the range of 30,000-200,000 mIU/mL (approximately 30-200 nM) by 8-10 weeks into pregnancy, its label-free electrochemical detection was achieved by using our method.

A novel enhancement assay for immunochromatographic test strips using gold nanoparticles.

The immunochromatographic assay is a well-known and convenient diagnostic system. In this report, the development of a novel enhancement assay for the test strips is described. Additionally, this highly sensitive immunochromatographic assay was applied to detect human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (HCG) as the model case.

Electrochemical genosensor based on peptide nucleic acid-mediated PCR and asymmetric PCR techniques: Electrostatic interactions with a metal cation.

The unique structure of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), linking the N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine units that create a neutral backbone, and prevent it from acting as a primer for DNA polymerase, has been utilized in an electrochemical biosensor scheme for simple and sensitive detection of hybridization. When the PNA is targeted against a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) or wild-type site on the gene, PNA-mediated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) clamping method effectively blocks the formation of a PCR product. In our report, PNA probe for PCR clamping was targeted against the wild-type site of alcohol dehydrogenase.

The first thermodynamic characterization of beta-1,3-xylanase from a marine bacterium.

Sequence analysis of beta-1,3-xylanase (TxyA) from a marine bacterium, Alcaligenes sp. strain XY-234 implied that an xylan-binding module belonging to carbohydrate-binding module family 31 (TxyA-CBM) is separated from a catalytic module belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 26 (TxyA-CM) by a putative glycine-rich linker [Okazaki, F., et al.

Novel synthetic approach to creating PtCo alloy nanoparticles by reduction of metal coordination nano-polymers.

PtCo alloy nanoparticles with different metal elemental ratios (Pt/Co = 0.9, 1.6, 2.

High temperature increases the refolding yield of reduced lysozyme: implication for the productive process for folding.

Misfolding poses a serious problem in the biotechnological field in obtaining the active protein from inclusion bodies. Here we show that high temperature increases the refolding yield of reduced lyosyzme by a simple dilution method. The refolding yields at 98 degrees C were three times higher than those at 20 degrees C in the solutions tested, which is related to the fact that the thermally unfolded state of lysozyme is a more productive form for folding than the denaturant-induced fully unfolded state.