• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.446-451
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• 2022

In this study, to improve capacity and cycle stability, the pitch coated nano silicon sheets/CNT composites were prepared through electrostatic bonding of nano silicon sheets and CNT. Silica sheets were synthesized by hydrolyzing TEOS on the crystal planes of NaCl, and then nano silicon sheets were prepared by using magnesiothermic reduction method. To fabricate the nano silicon sheets/CNT composites, the negatively charged CNT after the acid treatment was used to assemble the positively charged nano silicon sheets modified with APTES. THF as a solvent was used in the coating process of PFO pitch. The physical properties of the prepared anode composites were analysed by FE-SEM, XRD and EDS. The electrochemical performances of the synthesized anode composites were performed by current charge/discharge, rate performances, differential capacity and EIS tests in the electrolyte LiPF₆ dissolve solvent (EC:DMC:EMC = 1:1:1 vol%). It was found that the anode material with high capacity and stability could be synthesized when high composition of silicon and conductivity of CNT were used. The pitch coated nano silicon sheets/CNT anode composites showed initial discharge capacity of 2344.9 mAh/g and the capacity retention ratio of 81% after 50 cycles. The electrochemical property of pitch coated anode material was more improved than that of the nano silicon sheets/CNT composites.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.260-265
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• 2020

Scorpion venom comprises a cocktail of toxins that have proven to be useful molecular tools for studying the pharmacological properties of membrane ion channels. HelaTx1, a short peptide neurotoxin isolated recently from the venom of the scorpion Heterometrus laoticus, is a 25 amino acid peptide with two disulfide bonds that shares low sequence homology with other scorpion toxins. HelaTx1 effectively decreases the amplitude of the K⁺ currents of voltage-gated Kv1.1 and Kv1.6 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and was identified as the first toxin member of the κ-KTx5 subfamily, based on a sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis. In the present study, we report the NMR solution structure of HelaTx1, and the major interaction points for its binding to voltage-gated Kv1.1 channels. The NMR results indicate that HelaTx1 adopts a helix-loop-helix fold linked by two disulfide bonds without any β-sheets, resembling the molecular folding of other cysteine-stabilized helix-loop-helix (Cs α/α) scorpion toxins such as κ-hefutoxin, HeTx, and OmTx, as well as conotoxin pl14a. A series of alanine-scanning analogs revealed a broad surface on the toxin molecule largely comprising positively-charged residues that is crucial for interaction with voltage-gated Kv1.1 channels. Interestingly, the functional dyad, a key molecular determinant for activity against voltage-gated potassium channels in other toxins, is not present in HelaTx1.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.121-125
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of decision tree for the classification of antimicrobial peptides. The classification was based on the activities of known antimicrobial peptides against common microbes including Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. A feature selection was employed to select an effective subset of features from available attribute sets. Sequential applications of decision tree with 17 nodes with 9 leaves and 13 nodes with 7 leaves provided the classification rates of $76.74\%$ and $74.66\%$ against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. Angle subtended by positively charged face and the positive charge commonly gave higher accuracies in both E. coli and S. aureusdatasets. In this study, we describe a successful application of decision tree that provides the understanding of the effects of physicochemical characteristics of peptides on bacterial membrane.

• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.397-402
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• 1997

A thiol-specific spin label was attached to cysteine-102 of yeast cytochrome c and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra were measured as a function of added cytochrome c oxidase concentration. The intensity decreased due to line broadening as cytochrome c formed a complex with cytochrome c oxidase and reached a minimum when the ratio of cytochrome c to cytochrome c oxidase became one. Replacement of either Lys-72 or Lys-87 of cytochrome c by Glu did not result in a significant change in binding affinity. Interestingly the K72E mutant, unlike K87E, had a much lower rate of electron transfer than the wild type. These results indicate that many positively charged residues as a group participate in complex formation but Lys-72 might be important for cytochrome c to be locked in an orientation for an efficient electron transfer. A stoichiometry of 1 was also confirmed by optical absorption of the cytochrome c-cytochrome c oxidase complex which had been run through a gel chromatography cloumn to remove unbound cytochrome c. The EPR spectrum of this 1:1 complex, however, was a mixture of two components. This explains a biphasic kinetics for a single binding site on cytochrome c oxidase without invoking conformational transition.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.41-50
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• 1993

The iontophoretic delivery across rat skin of quaternary ammonium salts (isopropamide: ISP, pyridostigmine: PS), which are positively charged over a wide pH range, was measured ill vitro. The study showed that: (a) iontophoresis significantly enhanced delivery of ISP and PS compared to respective passive transport; (b) delivery of ISP and PS was directly proportional to the applied continuous direct current density over the range of $0-0.69\;mA/cm^2;$ (c) delivery of ISP and PS was also proportional to the drug concentration in the donor compartment over the range of $0-2{\time}l0^{-2}M:$ (d) sodium ion in the donor compartment inhibited the drug transport possibly due to decreasing the electric transference number of the drug; (e) delivery of ISP and PS increased as the pH of the donor solution increased over the pH range 2-7 suggesting permselective nature of the epidermis, and inhibition of the transference number of the drugs by hydronium ion; (f) some organic anions such as taurodeoxycholate, salicylate and benzoate which form lipophilic ion-pair complexes with ISP inhibited the delivery of ISP. The degree of inhibition by the organic anions was linearly proportional to the extraction coefficient $(K_e)$ of ISP from the partition system with each counteranion between phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and n-octanol. For PS, however, taurodeoxycholate, but not salicylate and benzoate inhibited the iontophoretic delivery. It suggests that not only sodium ion and hydronium ion but also the counteranions which form lipophilic ion-pairs with quaternary ammonium drugs are not favorable components in formulating the donor solution of the drugs to achieve an effective iontophoretic delivery.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 1982

Natural zeolite rock was pulverized and dispersed in water. Clay fraction was collected by sedimentation method. The dominant clay mineral was Clinoptiolite with some Mordenite and Smectite. $P^{32}$ adsorption on Na-zeolite was determined in different ionic strengths using $P^{32}$ isotope by sludge method. The lower the pH of suspension, the longer the contact time, and the more the amount of zeolite, the more inorganic P was adsorbed by Na-zeolite, whereas the more P adsorption per unit gram of zeolite was observed at a 100mg addition than a 200mg in same volume of P-NaCl solution (20ml), indicating that the whole positively charged surface of Na-zeolite was not occupied by inorganic P. Furthermore, the more P adsorption on Na-zeolite was observed in higher ionic strength than in the lower. The maximum P adsorption on Na-zeolite was about 1me/g, and the zero point charge (ZPC) is assumed to be below pH 3.7.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.352-356
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• 2007

A Lactobacillus sp. has been isolated from infant feces and characterized according to its physiological properties and identified as Lactobacillus acidophilus KLA1012. A gene coding surface layer protein (SLP) has been cloned and the sequence has been determined. The nucleotide sequence of slpA was 1,338 bp in size and was identical to that of L. acidophilus ATCC 4356 (100%). Amino acid sequence of SLP-A was deduced from the nucleotide sequence and it had signal sequence at N-terminal, consisting of positively charged amino acid mainly lysine. slpA was cloned and heterologously expressed in E. coli M15 and the 45.2 kDa surface-layer protein band was examined by SDS-PAGE and confirmed by Western blotting using polyclonal antibody against L. acidophilus KLA 1012 SLP-A protein.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.3665-3670
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• 2013

The R3V6 peptide includes a hydrophilic arginine stretch and a hydrophobic valine stretch. In previous studies, the R3V6 peptide was evaluated as a gene carrier and was found to have low cytotoxicity. However, the transfection efficiency of R3V6 was lower than that of poly-L-lysine (PLL) in N2A neuroblastoma cells. In this study, the transfection efficiency of R3V6 was improved in combination with high mobility group box 1A domain (HMGA). HMGA is originated from the nuclear protein and has many positively-charged amino acids. Therefore, HMGA binds to DNA via charge interaction. In addition, HMGA has a nuclear localization signal peptide and may increase the delivery efficiency of DNA into the nucleus. The ternary complex with HMGA, R3V6, and DNA was prepared and evaluated as a gene carrier. First, the HMGA/DNA complex was prepared with a negative surface charge. Then, R3V6 was added to the complex to coat the negative charges of the HMGA/DNA complex, forming the ternary complex of HMGA, R3V6, and DNA. A physical characterization study showed that the ternary complex was more stable than the PLL/DNA complex. The HMGA/R3V6/DNA complex had a higher transfection efficiency than the PLL/DNA, HMGA/DNA, or R3V6/DNA complexes in N2A cells. Furthermore, the HMGA/R3V6/DNA complex was not toxic to cells. Therefore, the HMGA/R3V6/DNA complex may be a useful gene delivery carrier.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.661-664
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• 1999

Proteins were extracted from an aqueous phase with reversed micelles. The effect of pH, and salt concentration on the solubilization of lysozyme in AOT/isooctane solution was studied to explore the potential for employing this solvent system in the large-scale recovery and concentration of proteins using liquid extraction. For pH values below the isoelectric point, pl of the protein, solubilization was high, probably owing to strong electrostatic interactions between the positively charged proteins and the anionic surfactant heads forming the inner micelle wall. At low ionic strength complete solubilization of the protein was observed. A pH higher than the pl of lysozyme and a salt concentration lower than that of the water pool were required for the recovery aqueous phase to ensure the back extraction of lysozyme from the AOT reversed micelles.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.595-601
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• 2005

In this study, we have isolated a rice (Oryza sativa L.) glutamate decarboxylase (RicGAD) clone from a root cDNA library, using a partial Arabidopsis thaliana GAD gene as a probe. The rice root cDNA library was constructed with mRNA, which had been derived from the roots of rice seedlings subjected to phosphorus deprivation. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicated that the RicGAD clone was 1,712 bp long, and harbors a complete open reading frame of 505 amino acids. The 505 amino acid sequence deduced from this RicGAD clone exhibited 67.7% and 61.9% identity with OsGAD1 (AB056060) and OsGAD2 (AB056061) in the database, respectively. The 505 amino acid sequence also exhibited 62.9, 64.1, and 64.2% identity to Arabidopsis GAD (U9937), Nicotiana tabacum GAD (AF020425), and Petunia hybrida GAD (L16797), respectively. The RicGAD was found to possess a highly conserved tryptophan residue, but lacks the lysine cluster at the C-proximal position, as well as other stretches of positively charged residues. The GAD sequence was expressed heterologously using the high copy number plasmid, pVUCH. Our activation analysis revealed that the maximal activation of the RicGAD occurred in the presence of both $Ca^{2+}$ and calmodulin. The GAD-encoded 56~58 kDa protein was identified via Western blot analysis, using an anti-GAD monoclonal antibody. The results of our RT-PCR analyses revealed that RicGAD is expressed predominantly in rice roots obtained from rice seedlings grown under phosphorus deprivation conditions, and in non-germinated brown rice, which is known to have a limited phosphorus bioavailability. These results indicate that RicGAD is a $Ca^{2+}$/calmodulin-dependent enzyme, and that RicGAD is expressed primarily under phosphate deprivation conditions.