Germanium recovery using polyphenol microspheres prepared by horseradish peroxidase reaction

BACKGROUND: The formation of polyphenol microspheres by the polymerization of 3‐methylcatechol was performed in a methanol/phosphate buffer solution using horseradish peroxidase (HRP), without the use of a surfactant or a water/oil interface, to be used for germanium recovery. RESULTS: The polyphenol microspheres were of diameter 1 mm. The functional group density of phenol group in the polymer was approximately 15 mol kg^?1 determined by the Folin‐Denis method. In batchwise experiments, the amount of germanium adsorbed was 0.23 mol kg^?1. CONCLUSION: Because germanium is a rare metal, a system for its recovery is required. Using the proposed system, continuous recovery of germanium can be achieved using multilayered microspheres. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase in gelatin-hydrophobic ionic liquid gel films

The direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) immobilized on a gelatin - N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) - hydrophobic ionic liquid (i.e. 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophsohate) gel film coated glassy carbon electrode has been studied for the first time. The immobilized HRP exhibits a pair of well-defined quasi-reversible peaks in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solutions, which results from the direct electron transfer between the enzyme and the underlying electrode. In this case there is about 2.7% of the immobilized HRP undergoing the electrochemical reaction, which corresponds to multi-layer of HRP on the electrode surface. The HRP immobilized has higher thermal stability than in gelatin hydrogel. Experiment results also show that the voltammetric behavior of the enzyme electrode depends on the type of room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) used. When a more hydrophobic RTIL is adopted, the resulting enzyme electrode gives better performance. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the enzyme electrode shows sensitive response. The sensitivity of the catalytic peak is up to 1.38 A cm⁻² M⁻¹ and the Michaelis constant is down to 6.84 × 10⁻⁵ M, which are superior to that reported elsewhere. In addition, the UV-visible spectra of HRP entrapped in different films and the mass transfer of hydrogen peroxide are discussed as well.     

The Mixture of Salvianolic Acids from Salvia miltiorrhiza and Total Flavonoids from Anemarrhena asphodeloides Attenuate Sulfur Mustard-Induced Injury

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a vesicating chemical warfare agent used in numerous military conflicts and remains a potential chemical threat to the present day. Exposure to SM causes the depletion of cellular antioxidant thiols, mainly glutathione (GSH), which may lead to a series of SM-associated toxic responses. MSTF is the mixture of salvianolic acids (SA) of Salvia miltiorrhiza and total flavonoids (TFA) of Anemarrhena asphodeloides. SA is the main water-soluble phenolic compound in Salvia miltiorrhiza. TFA mainly includes mangiferin, isomangiferin and neomangiferin. SA and TFA possess diverse activities, including antioxidant and anti-inflammation activities. In this study, we mainly investigated the therapeutic effects of MSTF on SM toxicity in Sprague Dawley rats. Treatment with MSTF 1 h after subcutaneous injection with 3.5 mg/kg (equivalent to 0.7 LD₅₀) SM significantly increased the survival levels of rats and attenuated the SM-induced morphological changes in the testis, small intestine and liver tissues. Treatment with MSTF at doses of 60 and 120 mg/kg caused a significant (p < 0.05) reversal in SM-induced GSH depletion. Gene expression profiles revealed that treatment with MSTF had a dramatic effect on gene expression changes caused by SM. Treatment with MSTF prevented SM-induced differential expression of 93.8% (973 genes) of 1037 genes. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that these genes were mainly involved in a total of 36 pathways, such as the MAPK signaling pathway, pathways in cancer, antigen processing and presentation. These data suggest that MSTF attenuates SM-induced injury by increasing GSH and targeting multiple pathways, including the MAPK signaling pathway, as well as antigen processing and presentation. These results suggest that MSTF has the potential to be used as a potential therapeutic agent against SM injuries.     

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Glutathione-Capped CdTe/CdSe Near-Infrared Quantum Dots for Cell Imaging

These glutathione (GSH)-conjugated CdTe/CdSe core/shell quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles in aqueous solution were synthesized using a microwave-assisted approach. The prepared type II core/shell QD nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Results revealed that the QD nanoparticles exhibited good dispersity, a uniform size distribution and tunable fluorescence emission in the near-infrared (NIR) region. In addition, these nanoparticles exhibited good biocompatibility and photoluminescence in cell imaging. In particular, this type of core/shell NIR QDs may have potential applications in molecular imaging.     

Ascorbate Peroxidase and Catalase Activities and Their Genetic Regulation in Plants Subjected to Drought and Salinity Stresses

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), an important relatively stable non-radical reactive oxygen species (ROS) is produced by normal aerobic metabolism in plants. At low concentrations, H₂O₂ acts as a signal molecule involved in the regulation of specific biological/physiological processes (photosynthetic functions, cell cycle, growth and development, plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses). Oxidative stress and eventual cell death in plants can be caused by excess H₂O₂ accumulation. Since stress factors provoke enhanced production of H₂O₂ in plants, severe damage to biomolecules can be possible due to elevated and non-metabolized cellular H₂O₂. Plants are endowed with H₂O₂-metabolizing enzymes such as catalases (CAT), ascorbate peroxidases (APX), some peroxiredoxins, glutathione/thioredoxin peroxidases, and glutathione sulfo-transferases. However, the most notably distinguished enzymes are CAT and APX since the former mainly occurs in peroxisomes and does not require a reductant for catalyzing a dismutation reaction. In particular, APX has a higher affinity for H₂O₂ and reduces it to H₂O in chloroplasts, cytosol, mitochondria and peroxisomes, as well as in the apoplastic space, utilizing ascorbate as specific electron donor. Based on recent reports, this review highlights the role of H₂O₂ in plants experiencing water deficit and salinity and synthesizes major outcomes of studies on CAT and APX activity and genetic regulation in drought- and salt-stressed plants.     

间苯二酚和3,5-二羟基苯甲酸共聚物的酶促合成与表征

在辣根过氧化物酶(HRP)/H2O2的催化体系下,间苯二酚(RSC)和3,5-二羟基苯甲酸(DBA)进行自由基聚合反应,制备了合成鞣剂。研究了单体配比以及反应各因素对共聚物性能的影响。结果表明,在间苯二酚和3,5-二羟基苯甲酸的摩尔配比为2∶1、反应温度为35℃、pH值为7.0、H2O2的滴加时间为90 min时,合成反应具有较高的产率。用红外光谱(FTIR)、核磁共振光谱(NMR)和凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)对聚合产物的结构和性能进行了表征。提出了RSC和DBA的自由基聚合反应机理。应用结果表明,聚合产物具有较好复鞣和助染性能。     

Combining the Physical Adsorption Approach and the Covalent Attachment Method to Prepare a Bifunctional Bioreactor

Aminopropyl-functionalized SBA-15 mesoporous silica was used as a support to adsorb myoglobin. Then, in order to avoid the leakage of adsorbed myoglobin, lysozyme was covalently tethered to the internal and external surface of the mesoporous silica with glutaraldehyde as the coupling agent. The property of amino-functionalized mesoporous silica was characterized by N₂ adsorption-desorption and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The feature of the silica-based matrix before and after myoglobin adsorption was identified by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV/VIS measurement. With o-dianisidine and H₂O₂ as the substrate, the peroxidase activity of adsorbed myoglobin was determined. With Micrococus lysodeilicus as the substrate, the antibacterial activity of covalently tethered lysozyme was measured. Results demonstrated that the final product not only presented peroxidase activity of the myoglobin but yielded antibacterial activity of the lysozyme.     

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐3‐thienyl‐methylmethacrylate) based working electrodes for hydrogen peroxide biosensing

BACKGROUND: Hydrogen peroxide biosensors based on Poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐3‐thienylmethylmethacrylate)/ Polypyrrole [Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM)/PPy] composite film were reported. Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM) including various amounts of GMA and MTM monomers was synthesized via the radical polymerization. Enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was trapped in Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM)/PPy composites during the electropolymerization reaction between pyrrole and thiophene groups of MTM monomer, and chemically bonded via the epoxy groups of GMA. Analytical parameters of the fabricated electrodes were calculated and are discussed in terms of film electroactivity and mass transfer conditions of the composite films. RESULTS: The amount of electroactive HRP was found to be 1.25, 0.34 and 0.213 µg for the working electrodes of Poly(GMA_30%‐ co‐MTM_70%)/PPy/HRP, Poly(GMA_85%‐co‐MTM_15%)/PPy/HRP and Poly(GMA_90%‐co‐MTM_10%)/PPy/HRP, respectively. Optimal response of the fabricated electrodes was obtained at pH 7 and an operational potential of ? 0.35 V. It was observed that effective enzyme immobilization and electroactivity of the composite films could be changed by changing the ratios of GMA and MTM fractions of Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM) based working electrodes. CONCLUSION: The amount of electroactive enzyme increases with increasing MTM content of the final copolymer. High operational stabilities of the biosensors can be attributed to the strong covalent enzyme linkage via the epoxy groups of GMA due to preventing enzyme deterioration and loss. A more convenient microenvironment for mass transfer was provided for the electrodes by higher GMA ratios. It is observed that mass transfer is dominated by the mechanism of electron transfer to obtain effective sensitivity values. This work contributes to discussions clarifying the problems regarding the design parameters of biosensors. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

HRP催化淀粉与酚类接枝聚合物的合成研究

以辣根过氧化物酶(HRP)/H2O2为催化体系,催化降解淀粉和3,5-二羟基苯甲酸(3,5-DBA)进行自由基接枝共聚反应,合成了淀粉和酚类接枝共聚物。探讨了温度和pH对酶活力的影响以及接枝条件对接枝共聚反应的影响。通过FTIR、1HNMR和GPC对接枝改性淀粉的化学结构进行了表征。产物用作皮革鞣剂时,显示了良好的应用性能。