Bio-batteries and bio-fuel cells: leveraging on electronic charge transfer proteins.

Bio-fuel cells are alternative energy devises based on bio-electrocatalysis of natural substrates by enzymes or microorganisms. Here we review bio-fuel cells and bio-batteries based on the recent literature. In general, the bio-fuel cells are classified based on the type of electron transfer; mediated electron transfer and direct electron transfer or electronic charge transfer (ECT). The ECT of the bio-fuel cells is critically reviewed and a variety of possible applications are considered. The technical challenges of the bio-fuel cells, like bioelectrocatalysis, immobilization of bioelectrocatalysts, protein denaturation etc. are highlighted and future research directions are discussed leveraging on the use of electron charge transfer proteins. In addition, the packaging aspects of the bio-fuel cells are also analyzed and the found that relatively little work has been done in the engineering development of bio-fuel cells.

The 2.2 A resolution structure of the O(H) blood-group-specific lectin I from Ulex europaeus.

The tertiary and quaternary structure of the lectin I from Ulex europaeus (UE-I) has been determined to 2.2 A resolution. UE-I is a dimeric metalloglycoprotein that binds the H-type 2 human blood group determinant [alpha-L-Fucalpha(1-->2)-beta-D-Galbeta(1-->4)-beta-D-Glc NAcalpha-]. Nine changes from the published amino acid sequence were necessary to account for the electron density. The quaternary structural organization of UE-I is that of the most commonly occurring legume lectin dimer. The tertiary structure of the monomeric subunits is similar to that in the conventional lectin subunit; however, some structural differences are noted. These differences include a four-stranded anti-parallel "S" sheet in UE-I versus the five-stranded S sheet in other lectin monomers. The Ala residue of the Ala-Asp cis-peptide bond present in the carbohydrate-binding site of the conventional lectin monomer is replaced with a Thr in the UE-I structure. Also, a novel disulfide bridge linking Cys115 and Cys150 is present. There are two metallic ions, one calcium and the other manganese, per subunit. N-linked oligosaccharides are at residues 23 and 111 of each subunit. One molecule of R-2-methyl-2, 4-pentanediol (R-MPD) is present in a shallow depression on the surface of each subunit. In order to examine the binding of the H-type 2 blood group determinant by UE-I, its beta-methyl glycoside (H-type 2-OMe) was docked into the binding site of R-MPD. The epitope previously identified for H-type 2-OMe by chemical mapping proved, with only minor adjustment of amino acid residues, to be complementary to the shallow cavity occupied by R-MPD in the structure. Several key interactions have been proposed between the H-type 2-OMe and UE-I.

The 1.9 A resolution structure of phospho-serine 46 HPr from Enterococcus faecalis.

The histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein HPr is a central component of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS), which transfers metabolic carbohydrates across the cell membrane in many bacterial species. In Gram-positive bacteria, phosphorylation of HPr at conserved serine 46 (P-Ser-HPr) plays several regulatory roles within the cell; the major regulatory effect of P-Ser-HPr is its inability to act as a phosphocarrier substrate in the enzyme I reaction of the PTS. In order to investigate the structural nature of HPr regulation by phosphorylation at Ser46, the structure of the P-Ser-HPr from the Gram- positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis has been determined. X-ray diffraction analysis of P-Ser-HPr crystals provided 10,043 unique reflections, with a 95.1 % completeness of data to 1.9 A resolution. The structure was solved using molecular replacement, with two P-Ser-HPr molecules present in the asymmetric unit. The final R-value and R(Free) are 0.178 and 0.239, respectively. The overall tertiary structure of P-Ser-HPr is that of other HPr structures. However the active site in both P-Ser-HPr molecules was found to be in the "open" conformation. Ala16 of both molecules were observed to be in a state of torsional strain, similar to that seen in the structure of the native HPr from E. faecalis. Regulatory phosphorylation at Ser46 does not induce large structural changes to the HPr molecule. The B-helix was observed to be slightly lengthened as a result of Ser46 phosphorylation. Also, the water mediated Met51-His15 interaction is maintained, again similar to that of the native E. faecalis HPr. The major structural, and thus regulatory, effect of phosphorylation at Ser46 is disruption of the hydrophobic interactions between EI and HPr, in particular the electrostatic repulsion between the phosphoryl group on Ser46 and Glu84 of EI and the prevention of a potential interaction of Met48 with a hydrophobic pocket of EI.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of monomeric isocitrate dehydrogenase from Corynebacterium glutamicum.

A monomeric isocitrate dehydrogenase has been crystallized for the first time. This enzyme catalyzes the conversion of isocitrate to oxalosuccinate and subsequently to alpha-ketoglutarate and CO(2); the coenzyme NADP(+) is reduced to NADPH during the reaction. Polyethylene glycol 2000 monomethyl ether was used to crystallize the enzyme in space group C2 with unit-cell parameters a = 137.1, b = 54.6, c = 126.4 A, beta = 108.2 degrees. The very small crystal (0. 05 x 0.20 x 0.05 mm) diffracted to 3.5 A d spacing using synchrotron radiation.

Conformational and quantitative structure-activity relationship study of cytotoxic 2-arylidenebenzocycloalkanones.

Various 2-arylideneindanones 1, 2-arylidenetetralones 2, and 2-arylidenebenzosuberones 3 were synthesized with the aim of determining the relative orientations of the two aryl rings which favored cytotoxicity. Molecular modeling of the unsubstituted compound in each series revealed differences in the spatial arrangements of the two aryl rings, and evaluation of these compounds against P388, L1210, Molt 4/C8, and CEM cells as well as a panel of human tumor cell lines indicated that in general the order of cytotoxicity was 3 > 2 > 1. In particular 2-(4-methoxyphenylmethylene)-1-benzosuberone (3k) had the greatest cytotoxicity, possessing 11 times the potency of the reference drug melphalan when all five screens were considered. Series 3 was considered in further detail. First, excision of the aryl ring fused to the cycloheptanone moiety in series 3 led to some 2-arylidene-1-cycloheptanones 4 which had approximately one-third of the bioactivity of the analogues 3. Second, in some screens cytotoxicity was correlated negatively with the sigma values and positively with the MR constants of the substituents in the arylidene aryl ring of 3. Third, X-ray crystallography of five representative compounds (3i,k-n) revealed differences in the locations of the aryl rings which may have contributed to the variations in cytotoxicity. Finally three members of series 3 inhibited RNA and protein syntheses and induced apoptosis in human Jurkat T cells. This study has revealed that 2-arylidene-1-benzosuberones are a group of useful cytotoxic agents, and in particular 3k serves as a prototypic molecule for subsequent structural modifications.

N,N-dimethyl-5-methoxymethyl-2'-deoxycytidine.

In the title compound, C13H21N3O5, the pyrimidine ring adopts the antiperiplanar (-ap) conformation [chi = 193.54 (19) degrees]. The deoxyribose sugar ring has the C2'-exo-C3'-endo (2T3) twist conformation. The pseudo-rotational parameters of the deoxyribose sugar ring are P = 6.83 (2) degrees and Tm = 38.27 (2) degrees. The exocyclic side chain at C5' has the g+ conformation [gamma = 47.7 (3) degrees]. The 5-methoxymethyl group is distal to the deoxyribose sugar ring, with a C6-C5-C52-O52 torsion angle of -91.9 (3) degrees.