How hydrogen-storage material affects the decomposition of nitramine explosive: CPMD investigations of LAB-doped CL20

As the most popular high-energy explosives, 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazatetracyclo [5.5.0.0.0] dodecane (Simplified as HNIW or CL20) attracts many attentions for improving its detonation appearance in the application. Here we introduce hydrogen-storage compounds into explosives to estimate the possible improved detonation performances by Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulation, where we construct lithium amidoborane (LAB) doped CL20 as the initial structure. Almost all the interactions between hydrogen and CL20 appear exothermic properties, which indicate LAB increases the enthalpies of detonation. The results suggest explosive mixed with hydrogen-storage material is possibly a new field of energetic compound.     

Molecular Recognition in C-Type Lectins: The Cases of DC-SIGN,Langerin, MGL,and L-Sectin

Carbohydrates play a pivotal role in intercellular communication processes. In particular, glycan antigens are key for sustaining homeostasis, helping leukocytes to distinguish damaged tissues and invading pathogens from healthy tissues. From a structural perspective, this cross-talk is fairly complex, and multiple membrane proteins guide these recognition processes, including lectins and Toll-like receptors. Since the beginning of this century, lectins have become potential targets for therapeutics for controlling and/or avoiding the progression of pathologies derived from an incorrect immune outcome, including infectious processes, cancer, or autoimmune diseases. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of these receptors is mandatory for the development of specific treatments. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about four key C-type lectins whose importance has been steadily growing in recent years, focusing in particular on how glycan recognition takes place at the molecular level, but also looking at recent progresses in the quest for therapeutics.     

表面印迹耦合溶胶-凝胶法制备4-硝基酚印迹材料及性能表征

采用表面印迹和溶胶?凝胶相结合的方法，以4-硝基酚(4-NP)为模板分子、α-甲基丙烯酸(α-MAA)为功能单体、三羟甲基丙烷三甲基丙烯酸酯(TRIM)为交联剂、偶氮二异丁腈(AIBN)为引发剂，制备可选择性识别吸附去除水中4-NP污染物的印迹吸附材料，考察了4-NP与α-MAA和4-NP与TRIM摩尔比、致孔剂种类、提取液种类对所制材料吸附性能的影响，并通过正交实验优化材料制备条件，用扫描电子显微镜、傅立叶红外光谱仪、比表面积分析仪、热重?差热分析仪和纳米粒度仪等设备对最优条件下合成的材料进行了表征。结果表明，4-NP:α-MAA摩尔比为1:8，4-NP:TRIM摩尔比为1:10，致孔剂为乙醇，提取液为甲醇/乙酸(7:3，体积比)时所制印迹材料对4-NP的去除效果最佳，达6.23 μmol/g；4-NP成功印记在硅胶表面，印迹材料能特异性吸附4-NP。     

Modeling of sequence length distribution for olefin copolymerization with vanadium-based catalyst

Some thermodynamic and mechanical properties of a polyolefin, such as the melting temperature and the rigidity, are dependent on the nature of its sequence distribution. Accurate modeling of sequence length distribution (SLD) is important in precisely tuning and optimizing the properties of polymers produced. In this article, we proposed a model to predict the molecular weight distribution (MWD) and SLD for olefin copolymerization with vanadium-based catalyst. Due to the 2,1-insertion of α-olefin with vanadium-based catalyst, the SLD is expressed by uninterrupted methylene sequence distribution instead of conventional triad sequence distribution. To obtain a reliable model, parameter estimation with experimental data is first conducted. The SLD model along with the estimated kinetic parameters can be used to predict unmeasurable sequence length fraction. For the experimental conditions studied, the average methylene sequence length is predicted to change from 10 to 4 units as the propylene/ethylene mole feed ratio increases from 1.1 to 3.4.     

A molecular model for ion dehydration in confined water

Although ion dehydration in confined water is ubiquitous in many important processes concerning ion adsorption, transport and separation, and so forth, few theoretical models have been developed to unravel the mechanism of dehydration in confined space. Herein, a molecular model is proposed by weighing the molecular orientation of surrounding water within the first hydration shell, and then this model is applied to predict the hydration numbers and hydrated radii of simple ions with the help of molecular density functional theory. The predictions are rationalized not only with parallel simulations but also with relevant experimental measurements. We find that the ion hydration in confined water is depressed owing to the confinement, and thus the multilayer hydration shell is disturbed, which results in the decline of hydration number and hydrated radius, favoring the ion dehydration. This work provides an insightful route toward the quantitative understanding and prediction of ion dehydration in confined water.     

Impact of A134 and E218 Amino Acid Residues of Tropomyosin on Its Flexibility and Function

Tropomyosin (Tpm) is one of the major actin-binding proteins that play a crucial role in the regulation of muscle contraction. The flexibility of the Tpm molecule is believed to be vital for its functioning, although its role and significance are under discussion. We choose two sites of the Tpm molecule that presumably have high flexibility and stabilized them with the A134L or E218L substitutions. Applying differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), molecular dynamics (MD), co-sedimentation, trypsin digestion, and in vitro motility assay, we characterized the properties of Tpm molecules with these substitutions. The A134L mutation prevented proteolysis of Tpm molecule by trypsin, and both substitutions increased the thermal stability of Tpm and its bending stiffness estimated from MD simulation. None of these mutations affected the primary binding of Tpm to F-actin; still, both of them increased the thermal stability of the actin-Tpm complex and maximal sliding velocity of regulated thin filaments in vitro at a saturating Ca²⁺ concentration. However, the mutations differently affected the Ca²⁺ sensitivity of the sliding velocity and pulling force produced by myosin heads. The data suggest that both regions of instability are essential for correct regulation and fine-tuning of Ca²⁺-dependent interaction of myosin heads with F-actin.     

Design,Synthesis and Evaluation of 2,4-Diaminoquinazoline Derivatives as Potential Tubulin Polymerization Inhibitors

Microtubules are highly dynamic polymers composed of α- and β-tubulin proteins that have been shown to be potential therapeutic targets for the development of anticancer drugs. Currently, a wide variety of chemically diverse agents that bind to β-tubulin have been reported. Nocodazole (NZ) and colchicine (COL) are well-known tubulin-depolymerizing agents that have close binding sites in the β-tubulin. In this study, we designed and synthesized a set of nine 2,4-diaminoquinazoline derivatives that could occupy both NZ and COL binding sites. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against five cancer cell lines (PC-3, HCT-15, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and SK-LU-1), a noncancerous one (COS-7), and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The effect of compounds 4 e and 4 i on tubulin organization and polymerization was analyzed on the SK-LU-1 cell line by indirect immunofluorescence, western blotting, and tubulin polymerization assays. Our results demonstrated that both compounds exert their antiproliferative activity by inhibiting tubulin polymerization. Finally, a possible binding pose of 4 i in the NZ/COL binding site was determined by using molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) approaches. To our knowledge, this is the first report of non-N-substituted 2,4-diaminoquinazoline derivatives with the ability to inhibit tubulin polymerization.     

Druggability Assessment for Selected Serine Proteases in a Pharmaceutical Industry Setting

Target druggability assessment is an integral part of the early target characterization and selection process in pharmaceutical industry. Here, we investigate a set of five different serine proteases from the blood coagulation cascade. The aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, leveraging the wealth of available in-house high-throughput screening (HTS) data, we analyze HTS hit rates and discuss their predictive value for the development of small molecule (SMOL) candidates. Purely structure-activity relationship (SAR) based druggability ratings are compared with computational protein-structure based druggability assessments. Secondly, we evaluate the impact of using conformational ensembles from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations instead of single static crystal structures as basis for computational druggability assessments. Based on this study, we recommend incorporating molecular dynamics routinely into the early target characterization process, especially if only a single X-ray structure is available.