Combinatorics of aliphatic amino acids

This study combines biology and mathematics, showing that a relatively simple question from molecular biology can lead to complicated mathematics. The question is how to calculate the number of theoretically possible aliphatic amino acids as a function of the number of carbon atoms in the side chain. The presented calculation is based on earlier results from theoretical chemistry concerning alkyl compounds. Mathematical properties of this number series are highlighted. We discuss which of the theoretically possible structures really occur in living organisms, such as leucine and isoleucine with a chain length of four. This is done both for a strict definition of aliphatic amino acids only involving carbon and hydrogen atoms in their side chain and for a less strict definition allowing sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen atoms. While the main focus is on proteinogenic amino acids, we also give several examples of non-proteinogenic aliphatic amino acids, playing a role, for instance, in signalling. The results are in agreement with a general phenomenon found in biology: Usually, only a small number of molecules are chosen as building blocks to assemble an inconceivable number of different macromolecules as proteins. Thus, natural biological complexity arises from the multifarious combination of building blocks.     

几种低分子量有机酸和氨基酸对黄棕壤吸附菲的影响

采用批量平衡试验方法,研究了根系分泌物中几种常见的低分子量有机酸(LMWOA)和氨基酸对黄棕壤吸附菲的影响.结果表明,在供试有机酸和氨基酸的影响下黄棕壤对菲的等温吸附曲线仍呈显著的线性关系,分配作用是黄棕壤吸附菲的主导机制,供试LMWOA和氨基酸对黄棕壤吸附菲有抑制作用,且加入量越大,抑制作用越强.与氨基酸相比,LMW...     

Removal of haloacetic acids by nanofiltration

Haloacetic acids, disinfection byproducts (DBPs) formed during drinking water chlorination process are carcinogens. The e cacy of nanofiltration (NF) was examined for the removal of five regulated haloacetic acids (HAA5): chloro-, dichloro-, and trichloro-acetic acid (CAA, DCAA, and TCAA); bromo-, and dibromo-acetic acid (BAA, and DBAA) in synthetic water. NF with the dense negatively charged membrane (ES 10), is the most e cient in removing HAA5 than the loose negatively charged membrane (NTR 7410) and neutral surface membrane (NTR 729HF), due to the greater electrostatic repulsion (Donan exclusion) and sieve e ect. Excellent HAA5 removal e ciency of 90%–100% could be obtained even at a low pressure of 1 105 Pa with ES 10. Changes in cross-flow velocity did not e ect the performance of membranes with a small pore size such as ES 10 and NTR 729HF. The increase in HAA5 concentration exhibited the adverse e ect on the performance of three membranes by strengthening the concentration polarization, which was the driving force for the di usion of HAA anions across the membrane.     

胡敏酸和富里酸与Fe3+氧化还原动力学研究

采用邻二氮菲比色法研究了Fe3 与不同浓度的胡敏酸(HA)和富里酸(FA)的氧化还原反应动力学特征.结果表明,采用常用动力学方程对反应过程进行拟合,二级反应方程比较满意.在相同腐殖酸浓度下,随着Fe3 初始浓度的增加,腐殖酸还原Fe3 的速度常数k2降低,而还原反应半衰期t1/2增大;HA还原Fe3 的速率常数k2大于FA,半衰期小于FA. HA对Fe3 的还原能力较FA高,氧化还原容量亦比后者大.     

Studies in free amino acids,sugars and organic acids in the leaves of Lasiosiphon eriosephalous

The Science of Nature -     

QSBR study of substituted phenols and benzoic acids

The biodegradability of 30 substituted phenols and benzoic acids was determined by BOD technique.The molecular weight (MW), heat of formation(Hf)and the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital(EHOMO)of the studied compounds were calculated by the quantum chemical method MOPAC6.0-AM1.The quantitative structure-biodegradability relationshiops(QSBRs)were developed by the linear regression method and neural network approach,respectively.It has been shown that the neural network method is able to provide a superior fit to the training set data and test set data and produce a lower prediction error than the linear regression method.     

Domino syntheses of bioactive tetronic and tetramic acids

Natural products containing tetronic acid or tetramic acid moieties continue to attract the interest of chemists, biologists, and physicians due to their challenging structures and to the wide range of biological activities they display. This review portrays the structural varieties of tetronic and tetramic acids and the spectrum of possible therapeutically relevant effects in man for exemplary derivatives. Their biosynthetic origin from α-amino and α-hydroxy acids is briefly discussed as is the relationship between their structures and their modes of interaction with biochemical effectors such as metal cations or enzymes. A short overview of laboratory syntheses of the heterocyclic core structures of tetramic and tetronic acids is provided with an emphasis on those emulating the biosynthesis. A synthesis from the α-amino or α-hydroxy esters and the cumulated phosphorus ylide Ph₃PCCO based upon a domino addition–intra-Wittig alkenation sequence is presented with applications to the preparation of the antibiotics reutericyclin and tenuazonic acid, the cytotoxic melophlin B, and the enzyme inhibitor RK-682. Procedural advantages of immobilizing either starting component by attaching it to a resin and its exploitation in the parallel synthesis of libraries of potential drug candidates are described. The basic domino reaction can even be extended by further C–C bond forming steps when starting from suitable α-hydroxy or α-amino allyl esters. Depending on the chosen reaction conditions, bioactive intermediates of formally three to seven step long cascades can be obtained. Among them, herbicidal 3-alkyltetronic acids and lactone endoperoxides with antiplasmodial activity exceeding that of the natural antimalarial lead artemisinin. Hence, this domino reaction gives access to diversely functionalized derivatives of tetronic and tetramic acids. As it can also be ported to solid phase, it is ideally suited for parallel and combinatorial processing. Future developments might include running such domino sequences in continuous mode in arrays of “labs on microchips”.