Nephelometric study of salivary protein–tannin aggregates

Grape seed procyanidins were fractionated through different degrees of polymerisation, and human saliva was purified and separated into two fractions: one was mostly α‐amylase and the other was essentially proline‐rich proteins (PRPs). The interaction of these proteins with the procyanidin compounds was assayed using nephelometry, and the influence of several factors was investigated, such as degree of polymerisation, pH and concentrations of both protein and tannin. The same experiments were performed with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The amount of insoluble aggregates, resulting from the formation of polyphenol–protein aggregates, increased quickly up to a maximum value which thereafter remained practically unchanged. pH was set at 5.0 for all further assays, since it was the nearest value to that encountered in human saliva (pH 5.6–7.9), where proteins were stable and had a maximum ability to bind and precipitate procyanidin oligomers. These proteins were shown to have a strong affinity for procyanidin oligomers and were unable to resolubilise the polyphenol–protein aggregates when present in excess. PRPs required a much lower content to bind all the tannins (400 µg of procyanidin oligomers) than BSA and especially α‐amylase (48, 60 and 132 µg respectively). The procyanidin's ability to bind PRPs, BSA and α‐amylase increased with its average molecular weight. This ability increased regularly for PRPs up to 4500 Da, whereas the ability to bind the globular proteins decreased beyond 3400 Da. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Potentiometric urea biosensor based on BSA embedded surface modified polypyrrole film

A potentiometric biosensor based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) embedded surface modified polypyrrole has been developed for the quantitative estimation of urea in aqueous solution. The enzyme, urease (Urs), was covalently linked to free amino groups present over the BSA embedded modified surface of the conducting polypyrrole film electrochemically deposited onto an indium–tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass plate. The biosensor has been characterized by UV–visible, infrared spectroscopy and SEM. Potentiometric and spectrophotometric response of the enzyme electrode (Urs/BSA-PPy/ITO) were measured as a function of urea concentration in Tris–HCl buffer (pH 7.0). It has been found that the electrode responds to low urea concentration with wider range of detection. The electrode showed a linear response range of 6.6 × 10⁻⁶ to 7.5 × 10⁻⁴ M urea. The response time is about 70–90 s reaching to a 95% steady-state potential value and 75% of the enzyme activity is retained for about 2 months. These results indicate an efficient covalent linkage of enzyme to free amino groups of the BSA molecules over the surface of polypyrrole film, which leads to high enzyme loading, an increased lifetime stability of the electrode and an improved wide range of detection of low urea concentration in aqueous solution.     

Symbol Detection Based on Back Tracking Search Algorithm in MIMO-NOMA Systems

One of the most important methods used to cope with multipath fading effects, which cause the symbol to be received incorrectly in wireless communication systems, is the use of multiple transceiver antenna structures. By combining the multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna structure with non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), which is a new multiplexing method, the fading effects of the channels are not only reduced but also high data rate transmission is ensured. However, when the maximum likelihood (ML) algorithm that has high performance on coherent detection, is used as a symbol detector in MIMO NOMA systems, the computational complexity of the system increases due to higher-order constellations and antenna sizes. As a result, the implementation of this algorithm will be impractical. In this study, the backtracking search algorithm (BSA) is proposed to reduce the computational complexity of the symbol detection and have a good bit error performance for MIMO-NOMA systems. To emphasize the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, simulations have been made for the system with various antenna sizes. As can be seen from the obtained results, a considerable reduction in complexity has occurred using BSA compared to the ML algorithm, also the bit error performance of the system is increased compared to other algorithms.     

A label-free amperometric immunosensor based on horseradish peroxidase functionalized carbon nanotubes and bilayer gold nanoparticles

In this work, a novel label-free amperometric immunosensor has been constructed for detecting α-1-fetoprotein (AFP) based on nanocomposite of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). First, the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were electrodeposited on the surface of the glass carbon electrode by electrochemical reduction of gold chloride tetrahydrate (HAuCl₄) to immobilize horseradish peroxidase labeled carbon nanotubes (HRP-CNTs). Then HRP-CNTs bioconjugate was immobilized on the surface of the electrodeposited AuNPs layer by the combination of forces (coordination and electrostatic force). Subsequently, it was immersed into gold colloidal nanoparticles (GNPs) solution, which was used to immobilize antibody biomolecules (anti-AFP). Enhanced sensitivity was obtained by using bioconjugates featuring HRP labeled (HRP-CNTs), which had lager specific surface area and good electronic catalysis (current response signal) compared to carbon nanotubes. Under optimized conditions, the linear ranges were from 0.2 to 200 ng mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.067 ng mL⁻¹ (at an S/N of 3). The proposed immunosenor showed good precision, acceptable stability and reproducibility and could be used for the detection AFP in normal human serum, which provided a potential alternative tool for the detection of protein in clinical diagnosis.     

Electrochemical studies of bovine serum albumin immobilization onto the poly-o-phenylenediamine and carbon-coated nickel composite film and its interaction with papaverine

A biosensor based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) and poly-o-phenylenediamine (PoPD)/carbon-coated nickel (C-Ni) nanobiocomposite film modified electrode has been developed to study the interaction of BSA with papaverine (PAP). The well-dispersed C-Ni nanoparticles were dripped onto the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface firstly, and PoPD films were subsequently electropolymerized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) to prepare PoPD/C-Ni/GCE. Finally, the BSA was easily immobilized on the PoPD films via electrostatic adsorption. The morphology and the electrochemical properties of the fabricated composite electrodes were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), respectively. The interaction of PAP with BSA was monitored by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), using PoPD as the electrochemical indicator. The binding constant (K), obtained by DPV, was 1.7 × 10⁴ L/mol, which was consistent with the fluorescence analysis. This constructed biosensor also exhibited a fine linear correlation with PAP concentration range of 2.5 × 10⁻⁹-4.5 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L and a detection limit of 8.3 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol/L was achieved by DPV.     

压电式传感器测定蛋白质吸附动力学参数

利用液隔电极型压电式传感器实时监测牛血清白蛋白(BSA)在石英表面吸附过程。基于所提出的吸附动力学模型,估算出BSA在石英表面的吸附速率常数为ka=1.27×103mol-1·L·s-1,脱附速率常数为kd=1.31×10-3s-1,由可逆吸附态向不可逆吸附态的转化速率常数为kf=3.46×10-4s-1。     

Electroseparation of an antibacterial peptide fraction from snow crab by-products hydrolysate by electrodialysis with ultrafiltration membranes

Recently, a snow crab by-products hydrolysate has demonstrated antibacterial properties due to a peptide with a molecular weight of about 800 Da, but only at high concentration. Consequently, peptide hydrolysate has been fractionated to obtain peptides in a more purified form. The aim of this work was to separate a snow crab by-products hydrolysate by electrodialysis with ultrafiltration membranes (EDUF). EDUF, which allows separation of molecules according to their charges and molecular weights, was used to recover and concentrate the active antibacterial fraction. Two different ultrafiltration membranes (20 and 50 kDa) and two electrical field strengths (2 and 14 V/cm) were used as separation parameters. After EDUF separation, the 300-600 Da peptide molecular weight range was the most recovered with an abundance of 94%. Moreover, fractionation at 14 V/cm with ultrafiltration membranes of 50 kDa allowed the recovery of an anionic fraction which showed antibacterial properties on Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Listeria innocua HPB 13.     

Preparation,characterization, and performance evaluation of LTA zeolite–ceramic composite membrane by separation of BSA from aqueous solution

Using low-cost clay supports as substrates, ceramic–LTA zeolite composite membranes (Z1–Z4) were fabricated with hydrothermal crystallization. The composite membranes were achieved with variations in the sequential zeolite depositional steps. For Z1–Z4 membranes, various characterization techniques such as thermogravimetric (TG), particle size distribution (PSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopic (FE-SEM) analysis were applied. For the Z1–Z4 membranes, the pure water permeability, porosity, and average pore size varied from 1.22 × 10^?7 to 1.19 × 10^?8 m³/m²s kPa, 30–23%, and 215–76 nm, respectively. For the Z4 membrane, ultrafiltration experiments were conducted at a pH of 2.5 and transmembrane pressure differential of 207 kPa using aqueous bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions. The optimal flux and rejection correspond to 4.54 × 10^?7 m³/m²s and 80%, respectively.     

Interactions of different polyphenols with bovine serum albumin using fluorescence quenching and molecular docking

Polyphenols are responsible for the major organoleptic characteristics of plant-derived foods and beverages. Here, we investigated the binding of several polyphenols to bovine serum albumin (BSA) at pH 7.5 and 25 °C: catechins [(−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, (−)-epigallocatechin, (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate], flavones (kaempferol, kaempferol-3-glucoside, quercetin, naringenin) and hydroxycinnamic acids (rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid). Fluorescence emission spectrometry and molecular docking were applied to compare experimentally determined binding parameters with molecular modelling. Among these polyphenols, (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate showed the highest Stern–Volmer modified quenching constant, followed by (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Similarly, (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate had the highest effect on the Circular Dichroic spectrum of BSA, while the changes induced by other polyphenols were negligible. Molecular docking predicted high binding energies for (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate for the binding site on BSA near Trp213. Our data reveal that the polyphenol structures significantly affect the binding process: the binding affinity generally decreases with glycosylation and reduced numbers of hydroxyl groups on the second aromatic ring.