Anisotropic diamond etching through thermochemical reaction between Ni and diamond in high-temperature water vapour.

Diamond possesses excellent physical and electronic properties, and thus various applications that use diamond are under development. Additionally, the control of diamond geometry by etching technique is essential for such applications. However, conventional wet processes used for etching other materials are ineffective for diamond. Moreover, plasma processes currently employed for diamond etching are not selective, and plasma-induced damage to diamond deteriorates the device-performances. Here, we report a non-plasma etching process for single crystal diamond using thermochemical reaction between Ni and diamond in high-temperature water vapour. Diamond under Ni films was selectively etched, with no etching at other locations. A diamond-etching rate of approximately 8.7 µm/min (1000 °C) was successfully achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this rate is considerably greater than those reported so far for other diamond-etching processes, including plasma processes. The anisotropy observed for this diamond etching was considerably similar to that observed for Si etching using KOH.

The use of a proteinaceous "cushion" with a polystyrene-binding peptide tag to control the orientation and function of a target peptide adsorbed to a hydrophilic polystyrene surface.

In immobilizing target biomolecules on a solid surface, it is essential (i) to orient the target moiety in a preferred direction and (ii) to avoid unwanted interactions of the target moiety including with the solid surface. The preferred orientation of the target moiety can be achieved by genetic conjugation of an affinity peptide tag specific to the immobilization surface. Herein, we report on a strategy for reducing the extent of direct interaction between the target moiety and surface in the immobilization of hexahistidine peptide (6His) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) on a hydrophilic polystyrene (PS) surface: Ribonuclease HII from Thermococcus kodakaraensis (cHII) was genetically inserted as a "cushion" between the PS-affinity peptide tag and target moiety. The insertion of a cushion protein resulted in a considerably stronger immobilization of target biomolecules compared to conjugation with only a PS affinity peptide tag, resulting in a substantially enhanced accessibility of the detection antibody to the target 6His peptide. The fluorescent intensity of the GFP moiety was decreased by approximately 30% as the result of fusion with cHII and the PS-affinity peptide tag but was fully retained in the immobilization on the PS surface irrespective of the increased binding force. Furthermore, the fusion of cHII did not impair the stability of the target GFP moiety. Accordingly, the use of a proteinaceous cushion appears to be promising for the immobilization of functional biomolecules on a solid surface. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:527-534, 2016.

Characteristics of sugar surfactants in stabilizing proteins during freeze-thawing and freeze-drying.

Sugar surfactants with different alkyl chain lengths and sugar head groups were compared for their protein-stabilizing effect during freeze-thawing and freeze-drying. Six enzymes, different in terms of tolerance against inactivation because of freeze-thawing and freeze-drying, were used as model proteins. The enzyme activities that remained after freeze-thawing and freeze-drying in the presence of a sugar surfactant were measured for different types and concentrations of sugar surfactants. Sugar surfactants stabilized all of the tested enzymes both during freeze-thawing and freeze-drying, and a one or two order higher amount of added sugar surfactant was required for achieving protein stabilization during freeze-drying than for the cryoprotection. The comprehensive comparison showed that the C10-C12 esters of sucrose or trehalose were the most effective through the freeze-drying process: the remaining enzyme activities after freeze-thawing and freeze-drying increased at the sugar ester concentrations of 1-10 and 10-100 µM, respectively, and increased to a greater extent than for the other surfactants at higher concentrations. Results also indicate that, when a decent amount of sugar was also added, the protein-stabilizing effect of a small amount of sugar ester through the freeze-drying process could be enhanced.

On the preparation of indoxyl red from indican and some new characteristics.

An indole compound with a strong purple-red color was produced by boiling a solution of indican under acidic conditions and purified by chromatographies on DEAE-650S Toyopearl TSK-gel and silica-gel columns. The purple-red compound purified was identified as indoxyl red, on the basis of FAB Mass, (13)C NMR, (1)H NMR, UV-visible spectra, and IR spectra. Although indoxyl red was first synthesized by Seidel(9) 70 years ago, very little information has been available on its characteristics. We repot here that the compound was purple-red colored at acidic pH and green at pH 13, and showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities to the mouse B cell lymphoma cell line NSF202.

Postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting or cardiac valve surgery: intraoperative use of landiolol.

BACKGROUND: Landiolol hydrochloride is a new ß-adrenergic blocker with a pharmacological profile that suggests it can be administered safely to patients who have sinus tachycardia or tachyarrhythmia and who require heart rate reduction. This study aimed to investigate whether intraoperative administration of landiolol could reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery. METHODS: Of the 200 consecutive patients whose records could be retrieved between October 2006 and September 2007, we retrospectively reviewed a total of 105 patients who met the inclusion criteria: no previous permanent/persistent AF, no permanent pacemaker, no renal insufficiency requiring dialysis, and no reactive airway disease, etc. Landiolol infusion was started after surgery had commenced, at an infusion rate of 1 µg/kg/min, titrated upward in 3-5 µg/kg/min increments. The patients were divided into 2 groups: those who received intraoperative ß-blocker therapy with landiolol (landiolol group) and those who did not receive any ß-blockers during surgery (control group). An unpaired t test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare between-group differences in mean values and categorical data, respectively. RESULTS: Seventeen of the 105 patients (16.2%) developed postoperative atrial fibrillation: 5/57 (8.8%) in the landiolol group and 12/48 (25%) in the control group. There was a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.03). The incidence of AF after valve surgery and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting was lower in the landiolol group, although the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our retrospective review demonstrated a marked reduction of postoperative AF in those who received landiolol intraoperatively. A prospective study of intraoperative landiolol for preventing postoperative atrial fibrillation is warranted.

The discoidin domain of Bacillus circulans ß-galactosidase plays an essential role in repressing galactooligosaccharide production.

The recently cloned ß-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans ATCC 31382, designated BgaD, contains a multiple domain architecture including a F5/8 type C domain or a discoidin (DS) domain in the C-terminal peptide region. Here we report that the DS domain plays an essential role in repressing the production of galactooligosaccharides (GOSs). We prepared deletion mutants and point-mutated forms of rBgaD-A (deletion of the BgaD signal peptide) to compare their reaction behaviors. The yields of GOSs for all of the point-mutated forms as well as the deletion mutants of rBgaD-As increased as compared to rBgaD-A. In particular, W1540A mutant BgaD-A (rBgaD-A_W1540A) produced much more GOSs than rBgaD-A. Surface plasmon resonance experiments indicated that both the wild-type and the W1540A mutant DS domains showed high affinity for galactosyllactose. rBgaD-A, which has a wild-type DS domain, showed high hydrolytic activity toward galactosyllactose, while the hydrolytic activities of rBgaD-D, without a DS domain, and rBgaD-A_W1540A, with a mutant DS domain were extremely low. The findings obtained in this study indicate that the wild-type DS domain of rBgaD-A has a function that aids galactosyllactose molecules to be properly oriented within the active site, so that they can be hydrolyzed efficiently to produce galactose/glucose by inhibiting the accumulation of GOSs.

Heterogeneity of the state and functionality of water molecules sorbed in an amorphous sugar matrix.

An amorphous matrix, comprised of sugar molecules, is frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry. An amorphous sugar matrix exhibits high hygroscopicity, and it has been established that the sorbed water lowers the glass transition temperature T(g) of the amorphous sugar matrix. It is naturally expected that the random allocation and configuration of sugar molecules would result in heterogeneity of states for sorbed water. However, most analyses of the behavior of water, when sorbed to an amorphous sugar matrix, have implicitly assumed that all of the sorbed water molecules are in a single state. In this study, the states of water molecules sorbed in an amorphous sugar matrix were analyzed by Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy and a Fourier self-deconvolution technique. When sorbed water molecules were classified into five states, according to the extent to which they are restricted, three of the states resulted in a lowering of T(g) of an amorphous sugar matrix, while the other two were independent of the plasticization of the matrix. This finding provides an explanation for the paradoxical fact that compression at several hundreds of MPa significantly decreases the equilibrium water content at a given RH, while the T(g) remains unchanged.

Cloning and expression of a ß-galactosidase gene of Bacillus circulans.

A gene of ß-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans ATCC 31382 was cloned and sequenced on the basis of N-terminal and internal peptide sequences isolated from a commercial enzyme preparation, Biolacta(®). Using the cloned gene, recombinant ß-galactosidase and its deletion mutants were overexpressed as His-tagged proteins in Escherichia coli cells and the enzymes expressed were characterized.

Causes of the production of multiple forms of ß-galactosidase by Bacillus circulans.

The presence of multiple types of ß-galactosidases in a commercial enzyme preparation from Bacillus circulans ATCC 31382 and differences in their transgalactosylation activity were investigated. Four ß-galactosidases, ß-Gal-A, ß-Gal-B, ß-Gal-C, and ß-Gal-D, which were immunologically homologous, were isolated and characterized. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of all of the enzymes were identical and biochemical characteristics were similar, except for galactooligosaccharide production. ß-Gal-B, ß-Gal-C, and ß-Gal-D produced mainly tri- and tetra saccharides at maximum yields of 20-30 and 9-12%, while ß-Gal-A produced trisaccharide with 7% with 5% lactose as substrate. The Lineweaver-Burk plots for all of the enzymes, except for ß-Gal-A, showed biphasic behavior. ß-Gal-A was truncated to yield multiple ß-galactosidases by treatment with protease isolated from the culture broth of B. circulans. Treatment of ß-Gal-A with trypsin yielded an active 91-kDa protein composed of 21-kDa and 70-kDa proteins with characteristics similar to those for ß-Gal-D.

Influence of compression on water sorption, glass transition, and enthalpy relaxation behavior of freeze-dried amorphous sugar matrices.

An amorphous matrix comprised of sugar molecules are frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry. The compression of the amorphous sugar matrix improves the handling. Herein, the influence of compression on the water sorption of an amorphous sugar matrix was investigated. Amorphous sugar samples were prepared by freeze-drying, using several types of sugars, and compressed at 0-443 MPa. The compressed amorphous sugar samples as well as uncompressed samples were rehumidified at given RHs, and the equilibrium water content and glass transition temperature (T(g)) were then measured. Compression resulted in a decrease in the equilibrium water content of the matrix, the magnitude of which was more significant for smaller sized sugars. Diffusivity of water vapor in the sample was also decreased to one-hundredth by the compression. The T(g) value for a given RH remained unchanged, irrespective of the compression. Accordingly, the decrease in T(g) with increasing water content increased as the result of compression. The structural relaxation of the amorphous sugar matrices were also examined and found to be accelerated to the level of a non-porous amorphous sugar matrix as the result of the compression. The findings indicate that pores contained in freeze-dried sugar samples interfere with the propagation of structural relaxation.

Water sorption, glass transition, and protein-stabilizing behavior of an amorphous sucrose matrix combined with various materials.

The effects of various additives on the physical properties of an amorphous sugar matrix were compared. Amorphous, sugar-additive mixtures were prepared by freeze-drying and then rehumidified at given RHs. Sucrose and eighteen types of substances were used as the sugar and the additive, respectively, and water sorption, glass-to-rubber transition, and protein stabilization during freeze-drying for the various sucrose-additive mixtures were examined. The additives were categorized into two groups according to their effects on T(g) and water sorption. Presence of polysaccharides, cyclodextrins, and polymers (large-sized additives) resulted in a decrease in equilibrium water content from the ideal value calculated from individual water contents for sucrose and additive, and in contrast, low MW substances containing ionizable groups (small-ionized additives) resulted in an increase. The increase in T(g) by the addition of large-sized additives was significant at the additive contents >50 wt.% whereas the T(g) was markedly increased in the lower additive content by the addition of small-ionized additives. The addition of small-ionized additives enhanced the decrease in T(g) with increasing water content. The protein stabilizing effect was decreased with increasing additive content in the cases of the both groups of the additives.

Development of a highly efficient indigo dyeing method using indican with an immobilized beta-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger.

A highly efficient method for dyeing textiles with indigo is described. In this method, the substrate, indican is first hydrolyzed at an acidic pH of 3 using an immobilized beta-glucosidase to produce indoxyl, under which conditions indigo formation is substantially repressed. The textile sample is then dipped in the prepared indoxyl solution and the textile is finally exposed to ammonia vapor for a short time, resulting in rapid indigo dyeing. As an enzyme, we selected a beta-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger, which shows a high hydrolytic activity towards indican and was thermally stable at temperatures up to 50-60 degrees C, in an acidic pH region. The A. niger beta-glucosidase, when immobilized on Chitopearl BCW-3001 by treatment with glutaraldehyde, showed an optimum reaction pH similar to that of the free enzyme with a slightly higher thermal stability. The kinetics for the hydrolysis of indican at pH 3, using the purified free and immobilized enzymes was found to follow Michaelis-Menten type kinetics with weak competitive inhibition by glucose. Using the immobilized enzyme, we successfully carried out repeated-batch and continuous hydrolyses of indican at pH 3 when nitrogen gas was continuously supplied to the substrate solution. Various types of model textiles were dyed using the proposed method although the color yield varied, depending on the type of textile used.

Influences of properties of protein and adsorption surface on removal kinetics of protein adsorbed on metal surface by H2O2-electrolysis treatment.

"H(2)O(2)-electrolysis" treatment is an alternative method for removing proteinaceous materials that are adsorbed to metal surfaces. The method is based on the generation of hydroxyl radicals by electrolysis of hydrogen peroxide and the subsequent decomposition of organic substances adhering to the metal surface. We herein investigated the influence of some parameters on the kinetics of protein removal by H(2)O(2)-electrolysis. These parameters included the properties of proteins and the type of metal surface. Sixteen types of proteins and nine types of metal surfaces were used. The removal of adsorbed protein from a metal surface during the treatment was monitored by ellipsometry. Apparent first-order rate constants for removal, k(c)(l), for various adsorption and treatment conditions were determined. The k(c)(l) value varied markedly with the type of protein and was also influenced by the pH used in the adsorption. The isoelectric point (pI) of protein used was found to be a major factor. The amount of adsorbed protein removed by a unit amount of (·)OH was larger for a metal surface with a lower pI. The impact of the properties of the protein and metal surface on the removal kinetics are discussed, focusing on relationships with the adsorption characteristics of the protein.

Cultivation characteristics and gene expression profiles of Aspergillus oryzae by membrane-surface liquid culture, shaking-flask culture, and agar-plate culture.

We cultivated a filamentous fungus, Aspergillus oryzae IAM 2706 by three different cultivation methods, i.e., shaking-flask culture (SFC), agar-plate culture (APC), and membrane-surface liquid culture (MSLC), to elucidate the differences of its behaviors by different cultivation methods under the same media, by measuring the growth, secretion of proteases and alpha-amylase, secreted protein level, and gene transcriptional profile by the DNA microarray analysis. The protease activities detected by MSLC and APC were much higher than that by SFC, using both modified Czapek-Dox (mCD) and dextrin-peptone-yeast extract (DPY) media. The alpha-amylase activity was detected in MSLC and APC in a much larger extent than that in SFC when DPY medium was used. On the basis of SDS-PAGE analyses and N-terminal amino acid sequences, 6 proteins were identified in the supernatants of the culture broths using DPY medium, among which oryzin (alkaline protease) and alpha-amylase were detected at a much higher extent for APC and MSLC than those for SFC while only oryzin was detected in mCD medium, in accordance with the activity measurements. A microarray analysis for the fungi cultivated by SFC, APC, and MSLC using mCD medium was carried out to elucidate the differences in the gene transcriptional profile by the cultivation methods. The gene transcriptional profile obtained for the MSLC sample showed a similar tendency to the APC sample while it was quite different from that for the SFC sample. Most of the genes specifically transcribed in the MSLC sample versus those in the SFC sample with a 10-fold up-regulation or higher were unknown or predicted proteins. However, transcription of oryzin gene was only slightly up-regulated in the MSLC sample and that of alpha-amylase gene, slightly down-regulated.

A case of cancer pain management by long-term intrathecal PCA.

Titration of oral or intravenous medication is the preferred method of pain management for most patients with cancer pain. However, some patients experience insufficient pain relief or considerable adverse effects from systemic opioids. For these reasons, the control of severe cancer pain continues to present a variety of challenges to clinicians. We report our experience of successfully managing cancer pain in a patient by means of long-term intrathecal administration of morphine, bupivacaine, and racemic ketamine via a patient-controlled delivery system. This therapy reduced the patient's nausea, vomiting, and somnolence, led to early hospital discharge, and increased her level of daily activity. There were no signs of motor paralysis, psychomimetic alteration, neurological dysfunction, or infection related to the intrathecal route during treatment. Intrathecal therapy is an effective treatment in terminally ill patients.

Impacts of compression on crystallization behavior of freeze-dried amorphous sucrose.

An amorphous matrix comprised of sugar molecules is used as excipient and stabilizing agent for labile ingredients in the pharmaceutical industry. The amorphous sugar matrix is often compressed into a tablet form to reduce the volume and improve handling. Herein, the effect of compression on the crystallization behavior of an amorphous sucrose matrix was investigated. Amorphous sucrose samples were prepared by freeze-drying and compressed under different conditions, followed by analyses by differential scanning calorimetry, isothermal crystallization tests, X-ray powder diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas pycnometry. The compressed sample had a lower crystallization temperature and a shorter induction period for isothermal crystallization, indicating that compression facilitates the formation of the critical nucleus of a sucrose crystal. Based on FTIR and molecular dynamics simulation results, the conformational distortion of sucrose molecules due to the compression appears to contribute to the increase in the free energy of the system, which leads to the facilitation of critical nucleus formation. An isothermal crystallization test indicated an increase in the growth rate of sucrose crystals by the compression. This can be attributed to the transformation of the microstructure from porous to nonporous, as the result of compression.

Purification, characterization, molecular cloning, and expression of a new aminoacylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis that can hydrolyze N-(middle/long)-chain-fatty-acyl-L-amino acids as well as N-short-chain-acyl-L-amino acids.

We report here on the purification, characterization, molecular cloning, and expression of a new aminoacylase, initially isolated from the supernatant of Streptomyces mobaraensis (Sm-AA). Purified wild-type Sm-AA was found to be a monomeric protein with a molecular mass of 55 kDa. The cloned gene of Sm-AA contained an ORF of 1,383 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 460 amino acids. A BLAST search revealed that Sm-AA belongs to the peptidase M20 family, with identities to a hypothetical protein from Streptomyces pristinaespiralis, a putative peptidase from Streptomyces avermitilis, peptidase M20 from Frankia sp., succinyl-diaminopimelate desuccinylase from Hemophilus influenzae, and aminoacylase-1 from porcine kidney at 89, 88, 67, 29, and 25% respectively. The Sm-AA gene was subcloned into an expression vector, pSH19, and was expressed in Streptomyces lividans TK24. The amount of the recombinant Sm-AA expressed in the S. lividans cells was approximately 42-fold higher than that of Sm-AA found in the supernatant of S. mobaraensis. Sm-AA showed high hydrolytic activity towards various N-acetyl-L-amino acids and N-(middle/long)-chain-fatty-acyl-L-amino acids, with a preference for the acyl derivatives of L-Met, L-Ala, L-Cys, etc. with an optimum pH and temperature for reaction of about 7.5 and 50 degrees Celsius (at pH 7.5).

Efficient Nepsilon-lauroyl-L-lysine production by recombinant epsilon-lysine acylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis.

epsilon-Lysine acylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis (Sm-ELA), which specifically catalyzes hydrolysis of the epsilon-amide bond in various Nepsilon-acyl-L-lysines, was cloned and sequenced. The Sm-ELA gene consists of a 1617-bp open reading frame that encodes a 538-amino acid protein with a molecular mass of 55,816Da. An NCBI protein-protein BLAST search revealed that the enzyme belongs to the YtcJ-like metal-dependent amidohydrolase family, which is further characterized as the metallo-dependent hydrolase superfamily. The Sm-ELA gene was ligated into a pUC702 vector for expression in Streptomyces lividans TK24. Expression of recombinant Sm-ELA in S. lividans was approximately 300-fold higher than that in wild-type S. mobaraensis. The recombinant Sm-ELAs from the cell-free extract and culture supernatant were purified to homogeneity. The specific activities of the purified Sm-ELAs were 2500-2800U/mg, which were similar to that obtained for the wild-type Sm-ELA. Using the cell-free extract of the recombinant S. lividans cells, Nepsilon-lauroyl-L-lysine was synthesized from 500mM L-lysine hydrochloride and 50, 100, or 250mM lauric acid in an aqueous buffer solution at 37 degrees C. The yields were close to 100% after 6 and 9h of reaction for 50 and 100mM lauric acid, respectively, and 90% after 24h for 250mM lauric acid.

Adsorption characteristics of various proteins to a titanium surface.

Adsorption characteristics of 18 proteins, with different sizes and isoelectric points, to a titanium oxide surface were studied. The adsorption isotherms were categorized based on protein type and pH: type 1, irreversible adsorption; type 2, Langmuir-type reversible adsorption; and type 3, reversible and irreversible adsorption. Most of the proteins tested were irreversibly adsorbed in the pH range of 3-8, whereas most adsorbed reversibly at pH 8.5-9.4. Protamine, with a pI value of 12, adsorbed reversibly in the pH range of 3-9. pH values that gave maximal sums of irreversibly and reversibly adsorbed proteins were in the pH range of 3-8 and tended to increase slightly with the pI value of the corresponding protein. pH values that gave maximal quantities of irreversibly adsorbed protein ranged between 4-6 and were nearly independent of pI.

True density analysis of a freeze-dried amorphous sugar matrix.

True density of an amorphous matrix represents the state of molecular packing in the matrix, which is closely related to the physical/chemical properties of the material. Dry gas pycnometry is one possible technique for measuring the true density of an amorphous sugar matrix prepared by freeze-drying. We herein report on the influence of conditions used for pycnometry on the measured density value and propose a protocol for obtaining the true density. The technique is sufficiently accurate to permit values for matrices comprised of different types of sugar to be compared. Using the protocol, the true densities of several amorphous sugar samples containing different types of sugar, freeze-drying conditions (temperature and sugar concentration at the time of freezing of an aqueous sugar solution), pretreatment (compaction and grind) were determined and the results were compared. A model for simulating an amorphous matrix of sugar (trehalose) was constructed using molecular dynamics/mechanics calculations, and the true density of the simulated sugar matrix was found to agree with the value experimentally determined using the proposed protocol. The relationship among the true density, the states of intermolecular interactions, and strain of sugar molecules in the matrix are discussed using the simulated amorphous sugar matrix.