Computational dynamics method for evaluating the mobility of charged biomolecules passing through the electrical potential field within the ion selective channel on an excitable membrane

A mathematical method is introduced to characterize the electrokinetic behavior (electrophoresis) of a biomolecular particle which passes through a specific channel pore on an excitable biological membrane. The basic approach was first proposed by Booth (1950). The system was described by an equation of continuity and an equation of motion in which the driving force involves the diffusion effect, the hydrostatic pressure, and the electrostatic potential. By assuming linear relations between the velocity and the applied electrical field, solutions for the potential, pressure, and velocity were given by a series expansion of the charges on the particle. To examine the influence of ions surrounding the particle and forming an ionic cloud, the Debye–Huckel parameter was introduced. As the thickness of the double layer around the particle increased, the potential, velocity, pressure, and viscosity were changed significantly. The maximum influence was obtained when the radius of the particle became equal to the thickness of the double layer. Although this theory is valid for a charged, spherical, nonconducting particle only, the method is available for evaluating the kinetic behavior of a biomolecule that passes through a channel pore on a cellular membrane.This work was presented, in part, at the 8th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 24–26, 2003     

激光对生物体的热作用效应分析初探

藉助分形分维理论和热传导理论，提出了生物分子的解链温度及激光辐照生物体而使生物分子解链的时间门槛值。     

Recent biomedical advances enabled by HaloTag technology

The knowledge of interactions among functional proteins helps researchers understand disease mechanisms and design potential strategies for treatment. As a general approach, the fluorescent and affinity tags were employed for exploring this field by labeling the Protein of Interest (POI). However, the autofluorescence and weak binding strength significantly reduce the accuracy and specificity of these tags. Conversely, HaloTag, a novel self-labeling enzyme (SLE) tag, could quickly form a covalent bond with its ligand, enabling fast and specific labeling of POI. These desirable features greatly increase the accuracy and specificity, making the HaloTag a valuable system for various applications ranging from imaging to immobilization of POI. Notably, the HaloTag technique has already been successfully employed in a series of studies with excellent efficiency. In this review, we summarize the development of HaloTag and recent advanced investigations associated with HaloTag, including in vitro imaging (e.g., POI imaging, cellular condition monitoring, microorganism imaging, system development), in vivo imaging, biomolecule immobilization (e.g., POI collection, protein/nuclear acid interaction and protein structure analysis), targeted degradation (e.g., L-AdPROM), and more. We also present a systematic discussion regarding the future direction and challenges of the HaloTag technique.     

Quantification of biomolecules in herring (Clupea harengus) industry processing waters and their recovery using electroflocculation and ultrafiltration

Four types of herring industry processing waters; refrigerated sea water (RSW), storage water (SW), processing water from cutting (PW) and pre-salting brines (SB) were subjected to chemical characterization and biomolecule recovery using electroflocculation (EF) and ultrafiltration (UF). The highest protein and fatty acid content were found in SB's, up to 12.7 ± 0.3 and 2.5 ± 0.1 g L⁻¹, respectively. Long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids represented up to 44.5% of total fatty acids. In all samples, leucine and glutamic acid/glutamine were the dominating amino acids while calcium and magnesium were the dominating trace elements. EF plus UF in series recovered up to 80% proteins and fatty acids from SB's and reduced chemical oxygen demand by 70%. Foaming and emulsifying properties of biomolecules were improved or unaffected by EF/UF treatment. To conclude, large amounts of biomass are currently lost per ton of processed herring, e.g. ∼9.2 kg proteins and ∼4.1 kg fatty acids; EF/UF represents a promising way of turning such losses to a potential income.     

Large current difference in Au-coated vertical silicon nanowire electrode array with functionalization of peptides

Au-coated vertical silicon nanowire electrode array (VSNEA) was fabricated using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches by chemical vapor deposition and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process for biomolecule sensing. To verify the feasibility for the detection of biomolecules, Au-coated VSNEA was functionalized using peptides having a fluorescent probe. Cyclic voltammograms of the peptide-functionalized Au-coated VSNEA show a steady-state electrochemical current behavior. Because of the critically small dimension and vertically aligned nature of VSNEA, the current density of Au-coated VSNEA was dramatically higher than that of Au film electrodes. Au-coated VSNEA further showed a large current difference with and without peptides that was nine times more than that of Au film electrodes. These results indicate that Au-coated VSENA is highly effective device to detect peptides compared to conventional thin-film electrodes. Au-coated VSNEA can also be used as a divergent biosensor platform in many applications.     

Synthesis of mesoporous carbon and its adsorption property to biomolecules

Mesoporous carbon (MC) with high surface area and large pore volume was synthesized using mesophase pitch as a carbon precursor and nanosized MgO as an additive. The maximum surface area, largest pore volume and highest mesoporous ratio of as-prepared MC were up to 1400 m²/g, 2.8 cm³/g and 89%, respectively. The mesoporous structures (3–40 nm) of MC were directly observed under SEM and TEM. The adsorption capacity and adsorption rate of MC to vitamin B₁₂ (VB), chicken egg white albumin (CEWA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were proportional to the mesopore volume and average pore size. MC (PM4-OC) exhibited the maximum adsorption capacity to the typical biomolecules, 486, 140 and 176 mg/g for VB, CEWA and BSA, respectively. In contrast, Maxsorbs (commercial activated carbons) with a surprising surface area gave a very low adsorption to such biomolecules. The research indicates that MC may be potential in the selective adsorption and separation of biomolecules, based on a molecule sieve effect.     

Adsorption of biomolecules on mesostructured cellular foam silica: Effect of acid concentration and aging time in synthesis

Mesostructured cellular foam (MCF) silica was synthesized using a non-ionic surfactant template-directed method without ammonium fluoride; the acid concentration and aging time were varied to determine the effects of these parameters on the final material. Increasing the acid concentration and aging time resulted in larger window size, which is critical in gating of biomolecule access to the interior of the MCF silica. In particular, when the acid concentration was changed from 1.6 to 3.5 M the window pore dimension approximately doubled, although the pore size distribution was broader. In this study, the optimal synthesis conditions to produce large, narrowly distributed window pores are 3.5 M HCl with an aging time of 20 h. The loadings of l-tryptophan (Trp), lysozyme (LYS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the MCF samples were measured using batch adsorption. Adsorption data followed a Type I isotherm. The monolayer adsorption capacity of Trp on acid-washed MCF was several times higher than that of LYS and BSA, because of the smaller size of Trp. Protein adsorption onto MCF silica showed minimal size exclusion until the window size of the silica was barely larger than the largest protein dimension.     

Superconducting Solid-State Particle Spectrometers for Atoms and Macromolecules of 3–20 keV

Superconducting detectors have no dead surface-layer. It has been found that even if there is a 700 nm-thick SiO₂ layer on the sensitive area, the detectors produce measurable output pulses for molecule impact. This feature is very attractive in solid-state spectroscopy of low-energy atoms or molecules for basic chemistry, nuclear physics, and life science. The superconducting tunnel junction detectors enable the measurement of the deposited energy for individual particle impacts in contrast to conventional particle detectors that rely on secondary particle emission. A study of the particle-surface interaction with atoms, proteins, and synthetic polymers has revealed that there are three regions. As the mass value increases, the pulse height reduction, or the decrease of the deposited energy, is remarkable in a mass range below 2,000, the pulse height increases in 2,000–100,000, and finally almost constant pulse height appears in 100,000–1,000,000.      

Nickel centered metal-organic complex as an electro-catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction at neutral and acidic conditions

In this study, we report the development of dihydropyrimidines substituted nickel electro-catalyst at mild conditions for hydrogen evolution reaction. The Biginelli type reaction was carried out to produce 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrahydrobenzo[h]quinazoline-2(1H)-thione moiety. This was added with NiCl₂.6H₂O to synthesize Ni-quinazoline-2(1H)-thione catalyst. The prepared catalyst was characterized using UV–Vis, FT-IR, Mass, ¹H and ¹³C NMR and SEM-EDX spectroscopy. It showed an excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. LSV polarization showed a low Tafel slope (34 mV/dec) nearly close to Pt/C (28 mV/dec) in neutral medium whereas a Tafel slope of 100 mV/dec was observed with 0.5M H₂SO₄ while Pt/C showed 50 mV/dec. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measured by applying −1.18 V in neutral medium showed two depressed semicircles whereas with 0.5M H₂SO₄ and -1.45 V applied voltage single half was observed.