Chemistry Commons^™

The Detection And Quantitative Analysis Of Endocannabinoids And Endogenous Fatty Acid Amides In Apis Mellifera And Tribolium Castaneum, Perry Robert Mitchell Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Endocannabinoids, and the fatty acid amides from which they are a member, have garnered greater scientific interest in the last two decades due to the cannabimimetic properties of these endogenous molecules. The most well-known of these is Anandamide, which has thus far been discovered in several species of animal ranging from C. elegans, fruit flies, to bovine and humans. Because of the importance and increasing impact of these compounds a brief overview is first presented herein, with a major focus on the N-acyldopamines due to the direct impact they potentially pose to human physiology.

Secondly, the detection and …

Evaluation Of The Scent Collection System For Its Effectiveness In Volatile Organic Compound Collection And Use In Canine Training, Claudia L. Sanchez Ms

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a result of increased terrorist activity around the world, the development of a canine training aid suitable for daily military operations is necessary to provide effective canine explosive detection. Since the use of sniffer dogs has proven to be a reliable resource for the rapid detection of explosive volatiles organic compounds, the present study evaluated the ability of the Human Scent Collection System (HSCS) device for the creation of training aids for plasticized / tagged explosives, nitroglycerin and TNT containing explosives, and smokeless powders for canine training purposes. Through canine field testing, it was demonstrated that volatiles dynamically collected …

Spectroscopy, Nmr, And Electrochemistry Studies Of Protonated Aminophenyl/Pyridyl Porphyrins And Their Application In Hydrogen Evolution, Chenyi Wang

Dissertations and Theses

Spectrophotometric titrations for a full series of 4-aminophenyl/4-pyridyl meso-substituted porphyrins were carried out using methanesulfonic acid in DMSO to study the hyperporphyrin effect across different substitution patterns. The series included zero, one, two (cis and trans), three, and four meso(4-aminophenyl) groups, with the remaining meso substituents being 4-pyridyl groups. The peripheral pyridyl groups consistently protonate before the interior porphyrin pyrrole nitrogens, which protonate before the aminophenyl groups. Aminophenyl substituents increase the basicity of the pyrrole nitrogens and lead to distinctive hyperporphyrin spectra with a broad Soret band and a strong red absorption. The structure proposed to give rise to these …

Chemistry And Biochemistry News, Georgia Southern University

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry News (2015-2023)

• Faculty Highlight: Ji Wu

Chemistry And Biochemistry News, Georgia Southern University

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry News (2015-2023)

• Faculty Highlight: John Stone

Addressing The Achievement Gap: Engaging Students In The Chemistry Classroom, Haidy Kamel Dr.

Cleveland State University Regional Chemistry Teaching Symposium: March 12 & 13, 2015

No abstract provided.

Magical Science: Chemistry Magic Tricks Just For Fun! (Workshop), Regan L. Silvestri

Cleveland State University Regional Chemistry Teaching Symposium: March 12 & 13, 2015

Chemistry magic tricks are simply chemistry demonstrations cleverly performed, and are highly valuable for engaging and motivating students in the study of chemistry. Our agenda has been to adapt common chemistry demonstrations into presentations with clever twists, essentially turning them into magic tricks. This workshop will show how a science demonstration can be turned into a science magic trick simply by adapting the presentation. Science magic tricks provide a unique forum not only for expanding scientific knowledge, but moreover scientific interest. Our hope is that students will be engaged and motivated in the future study of chemistry.

Identification Of A Histidine Metal Ligand In The Arge-Encoded N-Acetyl-L-Ornithine Deacetylase From Escherichia Coli, Wade C. Mcgregor, Danuta Gillner, Sabina I. Swierczek, Dali Liu, Richard C. Holz

Richard C. Holz

The H355A, H355K, H80A, and H80K mutant enzymes of the argE-encoded N-acetyl-L-ornithine deacetylase (ArgE) from Escherichia coli were prepared, however, only the H355A enzyme was found to be soluble. Kinetic analysis of the Co(II)-loaded H355A exhibited activity levels that were 380-fold less than Co(II)-loaded WT ArgE. Electronic absorption spectra of Co(II)-loaded H355A-ArgE indicate that the bound Co(II) ion resides in a distorted, five-coordinate environment and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) data for Zn(II) binding to the H355A enzyme provided a dissociation constant (Kd) of 39 μM. A three-dimensional homology model of ArgE was generated using the X-ray crystal structure of the …

The High-Resolution Structures Of The Neutral And The Low Ph Crystals Of Aminopeptidase From Aeromonas Proteolytica, William Desmarais, David Bienvenue, Krzysztof Bzymek, Gregory Petsko, Dagmar Ringe, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

The aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) contains two zinc ions in the active site and catalyzes the degradation of peptides. Herein we report the crystal structures of AAP at 0.95-Å resolution at neutral pH and at 1.24-Å resolution at low pH. The combination of these structures allowed the precise modeling of atomic positions, the identification of the metal bridging oxygen species, and insight into the physical properties of the metal ions. On the basis of these structures, a new putative catalytic mechanism is proposed for AAP that is likely relevant to all binuclear metalloproteases.

Acrylamide Production Using Encapsulated Nitrile Hydratase From Pseudonocardia Thermophila In A Sol–Gel Matrix, Salette Martinez, Misty Kuhn, James Russell, Richard Holz, Timothy Elgren

Richard C. Holz

The cobalt-type nitrile hydratase from Pseudonocardia thermophila JCM 3095 (PtNHase) was successfully encapsulated in tetramethyl orthosilicate sol–gel matrices to produce a PtNHase:sol–gel biomaterial. The PtNHase:sol–gel biomaterial catalyzed the conversion of 600 mM acrylonitrile to acrylamide in 60 min at 35 °C with a yields of >90%. Treatment of the biomaterial with proteases confirmed that the catalytic activity is due to the encapsulated enzyme and not surface bound NHase. The biomaterial retained 50% of its activity after being used for a total of 13 consecutive reactions for the conversion of acrylonitrile to acrylamide. The thermostability and long-term storage of the PtNHase:sol–gel …

The Active Site Sulfenic Acid Ligand In Nitrile Hydratases Can Function As A Nucleophile, Salette Martinez, Rui Wu, Ruslan Sanishvili, Dali Liu, Richard C. Holz

Richard C. Holz

Nitrile hydratase (NHase) catalyzes the hydration of nitriles to their corresponding commercially valuable amides at ambient temperatures and physiological pH. Several reaction mechanisms have been proposed for NHase enzymes; however, the source of the nucleophile remains a mystery. Boronic acids have been shown to be potent inhibitors of numerous hydrolytic enzymes due to the open shell of boron, which allows it to expand from a trigonal planar (sp2) form to a tetrahedral form (sp3). Therefore, we examined the inhibition of the Co-type NHase from Pseudonocardia thermophila JCM 3095 (PtNHase) by boronic acids via kinetics and X-ray crystallography. Both 1-butaneboronic acid …

A New Colorimetric Assay For Methionyl Aminopeptidases: Examination Of The Binding Of A New Class Of Pseudopeptide Analog Inhibitors, Sanghamitra Mitra, Anna Dygas-Holz, Jiri Jiracek, Miroslava Zertova, Lenka Zakova, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

A direct and convenient spectrophotometric assay has been developed for methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs). The method employs the hydrolysis of a substrate that is a methionyl analogue of p-nitroaniline (l-Met-p-NA), which releases the chromogenic product p-nitroaniline. This chromogenic product can be monitored continuously using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer set at 405 nm. The assay was tested with the type I MetAP from Escherichia coli (EcMetAP-I) and the type II MetAP from Pyrococcus furiosus (PfMetAP-II). Using l-Met-p-NA, the kinetic constants k_cat and K_m were determined for EcMetAP-I and PfMetAP-II …

Mechanistic Studies On The Aminopeptidase From Aeromonas Proteolytica:  A Two-Metal Ion Mechanism For Peptide Hydrolysis, Guanjing Chen, Tanya Edwards, Ventris D'Souza, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

The aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) is uncompetitively inhibited by fluoride ion at pH 8.0 with an inhibition constant (K_i) of 30 mM. Thus, fluoride inactivates AAP only after substrate binding, and only a single fluoride ion binds to AAP. On the other hand, chloride ion does not inhibit AAP up to concentrations of 2 M at pH 8.0. The pH dependence of fluoride inhibition of AAP was measured over the pH range 6.0−9.5. Between pH values of 6.0 and 9.0, fluoride ion acts as a pure uncompetitive inhibitor of AAP, and the K_i increases from …

Analyzing The Catalytic Role Of Asp97 In The Methionine Aminopeptidase From Escherichia Coli, Sanghamitra Mitra, Kathleen M. Job, Lu Meng, Brian Bennett, Richard C. Holz

Richard C. Holz

An active site aspartate residue, Asp97, in the methionine aminopeptidase (MetAPs) from Escherichia coli (EcMetAP-I) was mutated to alanine, glutamate, and asparagine. Asp97 is the lone carboxylate residue bound to the crystallographically determined second metal-binding site in EcMetAP-I. These mutant EcMetAP-I enzymes have been kinetically and spectroscopically characterized. Inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy analysis revealed that 1.0 ± 0.1 equivalents of cobalt were associated with each of the Asp97-mutated EcMetAP-Is. The effect on activity after altering Asp97 to alanine, glutamate or asparagine is, in general, due to a ∼ 9000-fold decrease in kca towards Met-Gly-Met-Met as compared to the wild-type …

Spectroscopic Characterization Of The Europium(Iii) Complexes Of A Series Of N,N'-Bis(Carboxymethyl) Macrocyclic Ether Bis(Lactones), Richard Holz, C. Chang, William Horrocks

Richard C. Holz

The Eu³⁺ and Y³⁺ complexes of a series of N,N'-bis(carboxymethyl) macrocyclic ether bis(lactone) ligands derived from ethyl-enediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were characterized in solution by using Eu³⁺ laser-induced luminescence and ¹H and ¹³CNMR spectroscopy. The complexation of EDTA was also studied for comparison purposes. These ligands form 1:1 complexes with Eu³⁺ at the concentrations studied (10 µM), with the luminescence lifetimes in H₂O and D₂O providing the number of coordinated water molecules. The ⁷F₀ -> ⁵D₀ excitation spectra indicate that for each of …

One- And Two-Dimensional Proton Nmr Studies Of The Active Site Of Iron(Ii) Superoxide Dismutase From Escherichia Coli, Li-June Ming, John Lynch, Richard Holz, Lawrence Que

Richard C. Holz

The iron(II) superoxide dismutase (FeSOD) from Escherichia coli exhibits relatively sharp well-resolved paramagnetically shifted NMR signals. These signals can be associated with the endogenous ligands characterized by X-ray crystallography for the oxidized form Fe^IlISOD. Our results demonstrate that the active site remains intact upon reduction of the Fe(III) site, retaining the same coordination modes for the three N,-coordinated His residues (presumably His-26, His-75, and His-162) and the Asp residue (presumably Asp-158). The N-H resonances of the coordinated histidines are found at 88, 43, and 37 ppm, while the signals at 24.5 (E), 19 (G), and 15 (J) ppm …

Electrochemical Properties Of The Diiron Core Of Uteroferrin And Its Anion Complexes, Dan Wang, Richard Holz, Sheila David, Lawrence Que, Marian Stankovich

Richard C. Holz

The reduction potentials (Em) of the purple acid phosphatase from porcine uterus, uteroferrin (Uf), and its phosphate, arsenate, and molybdate complexes were determined by coulometric methods at various pH values. The midpoint potential of Uf at the pH value for optimal enzyme activity (pH 5) was found to be +367 mV versus a normal hydrogen electrode (NHE), while at pH 6.01 Uf exhibits a reduction potential of +306 mV. At pH 6.01 molybdate was found to shift the potential of Uf more positive by 192 mV, while phosphate and arsenate shift the potential of Uf more negative by 193 and …

Mono-N-Acyl-2,6-Diaminopimelic Acid Derivatives: Analysis By Electromigration And Spectroscopic Methods And Examination Of Enzyme Inhibitory Activity, Jan Hlaváček, Miloslava Vítovcová, Petra Sázelová, Jan Pícha, Václav Vaněk, Miloš Buděšínský, Jiří Jiráček, Danuta Gillner, Richard Holz, Ivan Mikšík, Václav Kašička

Richard C. Holz

Thirteen mono-N-acyl derivatives of 2,6-diaminopimelic acid (DAP)—new potential inhibitors of the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE; EC 3.5.1.18)—were analyzed and characterized by infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies and two capillary electromigration methods: capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). Structural features of DAP derivatives were characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopies, whereas CZE and MEKC were applied to evaluate their purity and to investigate their electromigration properties. Effective electrophoretic mobilities of these compounds were determined by CZE in acidic and alkaline background electrolytes (BGEs) and by MEKC in acidic and alkaline BGEs containing a pseudostationary …

Kinetic And Spectroscopic Characterization Of The H178a Methionyl Aminopeptidase From Escherichia Coli, Alicja Copik, Sabina Swierczek, W. Lowther, Ventris D'Souza, Brian Matthews, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

To gain insight into the role of the strictly conserved histidine residue, H178, in the reaction mechanism of the methionyl aminopeptidase from Escherichia coli (EcMetAP-I), the H178A mutant enzyme was prepared. Metal-reconstituted H178A binds only one equivalent of Co(II) or Fe(II) tightly with affinities that are identical to the WT enzyme based on kinetic and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) data. Electronic absorption spectra of Co(II)-loaded H178A EcMetAP-I indicate that the active site divalent metal ion is pentacoordinate, identical to the WT enzyme. These data indicate that the metal binding site has not been affected by altering H178. …

The Aminopeptidase From Aeromonas Proteolytica: Structure And Mechanism Of Co-Catalytic Metal Centers Involved In Peptide Hydrolysis, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

Enzymes containing multi-metal active sites are central to numerous biological processes and, consequently, characterization of their structure and function is a problem of outstanding importance. One of the least-explored groups of enzymes is the hydrolases that contain dinuclear metal centers. These enzymes play key roles in carcinogenesis, tissue repair, and protein degradation processes. In addition, some of these enzymes can catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphorus(V) compounds found in nerve gases and agricultural neurotoxins. The determination of detailed reaction mechanisms for these enzymes is required for the design of highly potent, specific inhibitors that can function as potential pharmaceuticals. Hydrolytic enzymes …