• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.624-631
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• 2005

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, continues to be one of the main diseases to mankind. It is urgent to discover novel drug targets for appropriate antimicrobial agents against this human pathogen. The shikimate pathway is onsidered as an attractive target for the discovery of novel antibiotics for its essentiality in bacteria and absence in mammalian cells. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis aroE-encoded shikimate dehydrogenase was cloned, expressed and purified. Sequence alignment analysis shows that shikimate dehydrogenase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis exhibit the pattern of G-X-(N/S)-V-(T/S)-X-PX-K, which is highly conserved within the shikimate dehydrogenase family. The recombinant shikimate dehydrogenase spectrum determined by CD spectroscopy showed that the percentages for $\alpha$-helix, $\beta$-sheet, $\beta$-turn, and random coil were 29.2%, 9.3%, 32.7%, and 28.8%, respectively. The enzymatic characterization demonstrates that it appears to be fully active at pH from 9.0 to 12, and temperature $63^{\circ}C$. The apparent Michaelis constant for shikimic acid and $NADP^+$ were calculated to be about $29.5\;{\mu}M$ and $63\;{\mu}M$. The recombinant shikimate dehydrogenase catalyzes the substrate in the presence of $NADP^+$ with an enzyme turnover number of $399\;s^{-1}$. Zymological studies suggest that the cloned shikimate dehydrogenase from M. tuberculosis has a pretty activity, and the work should help in the discovery of enzyme inhibitors and further of possible antimicrobial agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.530-536
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• 2006

Thermal conformational changes of human serum albumin (HSA) in phosphate buffer, 10 mM at pH = 7 are investigated using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), circular dichroism (CD) and UV spectroscopic methods. The results indicate that temperature increment from $25^{\circ}C$ to $55^{\circ}C$ induces reversible conformational changes in the structure of HSA. Conformational change of HSA are shown to be a three-step process. Interestingly, melting temperature of the last domain is equal to the maximum value of fever in pathological conditions, i.e. $42^{\circ}C$. These conformational alterations are accompanied by a mild alteration of secondary structures. Study of HSA-SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) interaction at $45^{\circ}C$ and $35^{\circ}C$ reveals that SDS affects the HSA structure at least in three steps: the first two steps result in more stabilization and compactness of HSA structure, while the last one induces the unfolding of HSA. Since HSA has a more affinity for SDS at $45^{\circ}C$ compared to $35^{\circ}C$, It is suggested that the net negative charge of HSA is decreased in fever, which results in the decrease of HSA-associated cations and plasma osmolarity, and consequently, heat removal via the increase in urine volume.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.246-255
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• 1977

The adsorption of methylmethacylate on layer silicates containing various interlayer cations has been studied by means of infrared spectroscopy and X-Ray. Several characteristic carbonyl bands of adsorbed methylmethacrylate appeared differently at the region of 1723∼1547$cm^{-1}$depending on the species of cation and the dehydration temperature. The carbonyl stretching band shifted about 190$cm^{-1}$ to lower frequencies has been observed only for polyvalent cations, which has been attributed to $>C=O{\cdot}{\cdot}{\cdot}M^{n+}$ complex formation. The band appeared at 1703∼1640$cm^{-1}$ is responsible for hydrogen bonding between carbonyl oxygen and cationic water or cationic hydroxyl group, and the degree of shift indicates good correlation with the polarizing power of the interlayer cations. However, the band appeared at 1723$cm^{-1}$ has not been correlated with the species of cation but assigned to the carbonyl stretching which reacted with the surface hydroxyl group. On the basis of interlamellar spacing, it is suggested that the molecular plane of MMA molecule is parallel to silicate layers.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3495-3501
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• 2014

A novel crystal, the mono-protonated metformin acetate (1), was obtained and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. It was found that one of the imino group in the metformin cation was protonated along with the proton transfer from the secondary amino group to the other imino group. Its crystal structure was then compared with the previously reported diprotonated metformin oxalate (2). The difference between them is that the mono-protonated metformin cations can be linked by hydrogen bonding to form dimers while the diprotonated metformin cations cannot. Both of them are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds to assemble a 3-D supermolecular structure. The four potential tautomer of the mono-protonated metformin cation (tautomers 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d) were optimized and their single point energies were calculated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) B3LYP method based on the Polarized Continuum Model (PCM) in water, which shows that the most likely existed tautomer in human cells is the same in the crystal structure. Based on the optimized structure, their Wiberg bond orders, Natural Population Analysis (NPA) atomic charges, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) maps were calculated to analyze their electronic structures, which were then compared with the corresponding values of the diprotonated metformin cation (cation 2) and the neutral metformin (compound 3). Finally, the possible tautomeric mechanism of the mono-protonated metformin cation was discussed based on the observed phenomena.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.2505-2511
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• 2014

Indium oxide nanocrystals ($In_2O_3$ NCs) with sizes of 5.5 nm-10 nm were synthesized by hot injection of the mixture precursors, indium acetate and oleic acid, into alcohol solution (1-octadecanol and 1-octadecence mixture). Field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), High resolution X-Ray diffraction (X-ray), Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were employed to investigate the size, surface molecular structure, and crystallinity of the synthesized $In_2O_3$ NCs. When covered by oleic acid as a capping group, the $In_2O_3$ NCs had a high crystallinity with a cubic structure, demonstrating a narrow size distribution. A high mobility of $2.51cm^2/V{\cdot}s$ and an on/off current ratio of about $1.0{\times}10^3$ were observed with an $In_2O_3$ NCs thin film transistor (TFT) device, where the channel layer of $In_2O_3$ NCs thin films were formed by a solution process of spin coating, cured at a relatively low temperature, $350^{\circ}C$. A size-dependent, non-monotonic trend on electron mobility was distinctly observed: the electron mobility increased from $0.43cm^2/V{\cdot}s$ for NCs with a 5.5 nm diameter to $2.51cm^2/V{\cdot}s$ for NCs with a diameter of 7.1 nm, and then decreased for NCs larger than 7.1 nm. This phenomenon is clearly explained by the combination of a smaller number of hops, a decrease in charging energy, and a decrease in electronic coupling with the increasing NC size, where the crossover diameter is estimated to be 7.1 nm. The decrease in electronic coupling proved to be the decisive factor giving rise to the decrease in the mobility associated with increasing size in the larger NCs above the crossover diameter.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.2391-2399
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• 2014

Novel dual responsive pectin hydrogels composed from poly(acrylamidoglycolic acid-co-vinylcaprolactam)/Pectin (PAV-PC) and also PAV-PC hydrogels are used as templates for the production of silver nanoparticles. 5-Fluorouracil is an anticancer drug and has been loaded in situ into PAV-PC hydrogels. Structure and morphology characterization of PAV-PC hydrogels were investigated by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermo gravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction studies, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results revealed a molecular level dispersion of the drug in PAV-PC hydrogels. In vitro release of 5-fluorouracil from the PAV-PC hydrogels has been carried out in GIT fluids as well as in various temperatures. 5-Fluorouracil released from PAV-PC hydrogels was 50% at pH 1.2, and 85% at pH 7.4 within 24 h. The release profile was characterized with PAV-PC hydrogels and initial burst effect was significantly reduced in two buffer media (1.2 and 7.4), followed by a continuous and controlled release phase, the drug release mechanism from polymer was due to Fickian diffusion. In situ fabrication of silver nanoparticles inside the hydrogel network via the reduction of sodium borohydrate by PAV-PC chains led to hydrogel nanocomposites. The diameter of the nanocomposites was about 50-100 nm, suitable for uptake within the gastrointestinal tract due to their nanosize range and mucoadhesive properties. These nanocomposite PAV-PC hydrogels showed strong antimicrobial activity towards Bacillus subtilis (G+ve) and Escherichia coli (G-ve).

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.140-140
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• 1999

Ti/Ni multilayered films (MLF) are ideal for neutron optics particularly in neutron guides and focusing devices. This system also possesses the tendency of amorphization through a solid-state reaction (SSR). This behaviors are closely related to the electronic structures and both magneto-optical (MO) and optical properties of metals depend strongly on their electron energy structures. Mutual inter-diffusion of the Tin and Ni atoms in the MLF caused by a low temperature annealing should decrease the thickness of pure Ni, as well as change the chemical and atomic order in the reactive zone. The application of the MO spectroscopy to the study of SSR in the MLF allows us to obtain an additional information on the changes in the atomic and chemical orders in the interface region. The optical one has no restriction on the magnetic state of the constituent sublayers. Therefore, the changes in magnetic, MO and optical properties of the Ti/Ni MLF due to SSR can be expected. To the best of our knowledge, the MO and optical spectroscopies were not used for this purpose. SSR has been studied in the series of the Ti/Ni MLFs with bilayer periods of 0.65-22.2nm and constant ratio of the Ti to Ni sublayers thickness by using MO and optical spectroscopies as well as an x-ray diffraction. The experimental MO and optical spectra are compared with the computer-simulated spectra, assuming various interface models. The relative changes in the x-ray diffraction spectra and MO properties of the Ti/Ni MLF caused by annealing are bigger for the multilayers with "thick" sublayers, or the SSR with the formation of amorphous alloy takes place mainly in the Ti/Ni multilayers with "thick" sublayers, while in the nominal threshold thickness of the Ni-sublayer for the observation of the equatorial Kerr effect in the as-deposited and annealed Ti/Ni MLFs of about 3.0 and 4.5nm thick is explained by the formation of amorphous alloy during the deposition or the formation of the nonmagnetic alloyed regions between pure components as a result of the SSR. For the case of Ti/Ni MLF the MO approach is more sensitive for the determination of the thickness of the reacted zone, while x-ray diffraction is more useful for structural analyses.structural analyses.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.552-557
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• 2003

Oligomers with $\alpha$-aminooxy acids are reported to form very stable turn and helix structures, and they are supposed to be useful peptidomimetics for drug design. A recent report suggested that homochiral oxa-peptides form a strong eight-member-ring structure by a hydrogen bond between adjacent aminooxy-acid residues in a $CDCl_3$ solution. In order to design an $\alpha$-MSH analog with a stable turn conformation, we synthesized four tetramers and one pentamer, based on $\alpha$-MSH sequence, and determined the solution structures of the molecules by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and simulated annealing calculations. The solution conformations of the three peptidomimetic molecules (TLV, TDV, and TLL) in DMSO-$d_6$ contain a stable 7-membered-ring structure that is similar to a $\gamma$-turn in normal peptides. Newly-designed tetramer TDF and pentamer PDF have a ball-type rigid structure that is induced by strong hydrogen bonds between adjacent amide protons and carbonyl oxygens. In conclusion, the aminooxy acids, easily prepared from natural or unnatural amino acids, can be employed to prepare peptidomimetic analogues with well-defined turn structures for pharmaceutical interest.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4357-4361
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• 2015

Thunbergia Laurifolia Linn. (TL) is one of the most familiar plants in Thai traditional medicine that is used to treat various conditions, including cancer. However, the antitumor activity of TL or its constituents has never been reported at the molecular level to support the folklore claim. The present study was designed to investigate the antitumor effect of an aqueous extract of TL in human breast cancer cells and the possible mechanism(s) of action. An aqueous crude extract was prepared from dried leaves of TL. Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric assays were used to determine the total phenolic content. Antiproliferative and cell cycle effects were evaluated in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells by MTT reduction assay, cell growth inhibition, clonogenic cell survival, and flow cytometric analysis. Free radical generation by the extracts was detected using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The exposure of human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells to a TL aqueous extract resulted in decreases in cell growth, clonogenic cell survival, and cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner with an $IC_{50}$ value of $843{\mu}g/ml$. Treatments with extract for 24h at $250{\mu}g/ml$ or higher induced cell cycle arrest as indicated by a significant increase of cell population in the G1 phase and a significant decrease in the S phase of the cell cycle. The capability of the aqueous extract to generate radical intermediates was observed at both high pH and near-neutral pH conditions. The findings suggest the antitumor bioactivities of TL against selected breast cancer cells may be due to induction of a G1 cell cycle arrest. Cytotoxicity and cell cycle perturbation that are associated with a high concentration of the extract could be in part explained by the total phenolic contents in the extract and the capacity to generate radical intermediates to modulate cellular proliferative signals.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.478-483
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• 2011

An antimicrobial material was purified from the acidified whole body extract of the jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai by using C18 reversed phase and cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Whole body extract and the purified compound (JAP-1) showed potent antimicrobial activities against a wide range of microorganisms including Escherichia coli D31, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus iniae and Candida albicans, without significant hemolytic activity. Treatment of JAP-1 with trypsin completely abolished all antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, suggesting that JAP-1 is likely to be a proteinaceous antibiotic. The molecular weight of JAP-1 was determined to be 680.10 Da by MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy.