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Biomaterials such as spider silk and mussel byssi are fabricated by the dynamic manipulation of intra- and intermolecular biopolymer interactions. Organisms modulate solution parameters, such as pH and ion co-solute concentration, to effect these processes. These biofabrication schemes provide a conceptual framework to develop new dynamic and responsive abiotic soft material systems. Towards these ends, the chemical diversity of readily available ionic compounds offers a broad palette to manipulate the physicochemical properties of polyelectrolytes via ion-specific interactions. In this study, we show for the first time that the ion-specific interactions of biomimetic polyelectrolytes engenders a variety of phase separation behaviors, creating dynamic, thermal and ion responsive soft matter. that exhibits a spectrum of physical properties, spanning viscous fluids, to viscoelastic and viscoplastic solids. These ion dependent characteristics are further rendered general by the merger of lysine and phenylalanine into a single, amphiphilic vinyl monomer. The unprecedented breadth, precision, and dynamicity in the reported ion dependent phase behaviors thus introduce a broad array of opportunities for the future development of responsive soft matter, properties that are poised to drive developments in critical areas such as chemical sensing, soft robotics, and additive manufacturing.

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The separation of impurities in phosphorothioate diester (PS) oligonucleotides is complicated by (1) the presence of a very large number of diastereoisomers, e.g., 219 for a 20-mer oligonucleotide, (2) peak broadening due to the hydrophobic character of the sulfur atom, and (3) the chemical similarity of the impurities to the parent oligonucleotide and each other. Further difficulties arise due to the chemical nature of oligonucleotides, which display a complex mixture of ionic, hydrophobic, H-bonding, and other functionalities. To minimize hydrophobic interactions and peak broadening due to the PS modification, we have developed a novel method that combines a weak anion exchange (WAX) column with a mobile phase elution system designed to maximize separation by a single ionic/electrostatic interaction. We found that although chaotropes are helpful, the most significant beneficial effect of the hydrophilic WAX column is that high-organic, low-salt mobile phase is required for product elution. Separations are also benefitted by pH gradient effects on stationary phase electrostatic potential and analyte ionization. An extraordinary degree of separation is achieved by the new WAX method in comparison to SAX (strong anion exchange) chromatography. For the first time, the extent of deamination of PS oligonucleotides is directly determined by a chromatography-only method. The approach, representative results, and the mechanisms of separation are discussed.

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To maintain osmotic balance, cells usually produce neutral solutes (i.e., osmolytes), together with charged species to cope with salinity stress. Osmolytes are known to be important in stabilizing/destabilizing macromolecules (e.g., proteins) via depletion /accumulation around their surfaces. To better understand the physiological fate of nanoparticles (NPs), we investigated the effect of osmolytes [(urea and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)] and specific anions (NO3- and F-) on the interactions between NPs and supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). Carboxylated polystyrene NPs (60 nm) and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) were chosen as model NPs and lipid. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) was used to quantify NP deposition dynamics. Microscale thermophoresis (MST) was used to characterize the affinity between DOPC vesicles (or NPs) and osmolytes. Our results show that osmolytes are capable of protecting SLBs from NP-induced disruption. Upon NP deposition onto supported vesicle layers (SVLs), the leakage of encapsulated dyes decreased with the addition of osmolytes. The combination of kosmotropes (TMAO and F-) are more efficient than that of chaotropes (urea and NO3-) in weakening the hydrophobic interaction between NPs and SLBs by preferential binding to NPs and/or SLBs.

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Previous studies have reported a substantial decline in in vitro digestibility of proso millet protein upon cooking. In this study, several processing techniques and cooking solutions were tested with the objective of preventing the loss in pepsin digestibility. Proso millet flour was subjected to the following processing techniques: high pressure processing (200 and 600 MPa for 5 and 20 min); germination (96 h); fermentation (48 h); roasting (dry heating); autoclaving (121 °C, 3 h), and treatment with transglutaminase (160 mg/g protein, 37 °C, 2 h). To study the interaction of millet proteins with solutes, millet flour was heated with sucrose (3-7 M); NaCl (2-6 M); and CaCl2 (0.5-3 M). All processing treatments failed to prevent the loss in pepsin digestibility except germination and treatment with transglutaminase, which resulted in 23 and 39% increases in digestibility upon cooking, respectively, when compared with unprocessed cooked flours. Heating in concentrated solutions of sucrose and NaCl were effective in preventing the loss in pepsin digestibility, an effect that was attributed to a reduction in water activity (aw). CaCl2 was also successful in preventing the loss in digestibility but its action was similar to chaotrops like urea. Thus, a combination of enzymatic modification and cooking of millet flour with either naturally low aw substances or edible sources of chaotropic ions may be useful in processing of proso millet for development of novel foods without loss in digestibility. However, more research is required to determine optimum processing conditions.

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There is a widespread belief that salts promote retention of solutes in hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) by expanding the volume of the immobilized layer of water on the surface of the stationary phase. To date, all studies of this premise have had flaws or limitations that left the question open. This study explored the effects of salt type and concentration. The effect of the anion was studied with four triethylammonium salts, ranging from the kosmotropic sulfate to the chaotropic perchlorate, at pH values of both 3 and 6. Concentrations ranged from 5-120 mM. All analytes were neutral except for cytosine and cytidine, which had (+) charge at pH 3. Sulfate markedly promoted retention of cytosine, cytidine and phloroglucinol. At high sulfate levels retention of cytosine and cytidine decreased again, presumably due to a "salting-out" effect. With perchlorate anion, retention of cytosine decreased steadily as salt concentration increased, while retention of other standards increased or was unchanged. The effect of the cation was examined by comparing the retention of a tryptic peptide containing either phosphoserine or aspartic acid at the same position. Salts of methylphosphonic acid were used at pH 2.5. The higher the hydration number of the cation, the better the selectivity between the two peptides. The best separation was obtained with the magnesium salt and the worst with the tetramethylammonium salt. The retention contributed by a highly hydrated cation exceeded retention due to electrostatic attraction. These results demonstrate that counterions that are well hydrated serve to promote partitioning of charged solutes into the immobilized aqueous layer in HILIC, while poorly hydrated counterions have the opposite effect. Effects on neutral solutes were more modest; retention times remained unchanged or increased modestly with an increase in concentration of any salt.

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Direct analysis of melamine using reverse phase chromatography is a challenge because this compound's small size and strong polar nature leads to abnormal peak symmetry as well as poor retention. Here, we introduce a simple and reliable reverse phase liquid chromatographic method using sodium hexafluorophosphate to modify an acidic aqueous eluent, resulting in improved chromatographic behaviors of melamine in complex food matrices. Variables affecting the retention mechanism, including chaotrope type, concentration and stationary phase, were investigated. Under optimum conditions, melamine retention, separation efficiency, peak shape and reproducibility were significantly improved as compared to other methods that use ionic liquids or a micellar mobile phase. No interference affected melamine detection when infant formula was applied as the food matrix. Analytical reliability was demonstrated through estimation of validation parameters such as specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy and recovery. This method is suitable for routine analysis of melamine in infant formula. More noteworthy, this is the first time that an organic solvent-free mobile phase using chaotropic salt, meeting the concept of green chemistry, has been proposed.

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In the present study, we recognized progressively high immunological cross-reactivity between Pseudocerastes persicus fieldi (Pf) venom and six other medically important Egyptian snake venoms belonging to families Viperidae and Elapidae. Antibodies with a range of bonding strengths were shown to be involved in such cross-reactivity. Two strategies have been tried to access specificity; (i) using affinity purified species-specific anti-Pf antivenom antibodies, (ii) conducting the assay in the presence of ammonium thiocyanate (NH4SCN). The discrimination power of the prepared species-specific antivenom was demonstrated by its ability to detect Pf venom over a range of Pf concentrations (2.5 ng-2.5 µg) in a variety of body fluids. The assay could distinguish circulating Pf antigens from other viper antigens in the whole blood of experimentally envenomed mice. What seems promising in our work is the use of the chaotrope, NH4SCN, which renders the reaction medium more favorable for the specific homologous antigen-antibody interactions, primarily via preventing lower avid antibodies to share and, to a bit lesser extent, by decreasing non-specific absorbance signals frequently encountered with ELISA assays. The ELISA described herein may be useful for clinicians for identification of snake bites inflicted by Pf snake species. Balancing between specificity and sensitivity has to be considered for best results.

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Vaccines that protect against viral infections generally induce neutralizing antibodies. When vaccines are evaluated, the need arises to assess the affinity maturation of the antibody responses. Binding titers of polyclonal sera depend not only on the affinities of the constituent antibodies but also on their individual concentrations, which are difficult to ascertain. Therefore an assay based on chaotrope disruption of antibody-antigen complexes was designed for measuring binding strength. This assay works well with many viral antigens but gives differential results depending on the conformational dependence of epitopes on complex antigens such as the envelope glycoprotein of HIV-1. Kinetic binding assays might offer alternatives, since they can measure average off-rate constants for polyclonal antibodies in a serum. Here, potentials and fallacies of these techniques are discussed.

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Chemical activities of hydrophobic substances can determine the windows of environmental conditions over which microbial systems function and the metabolic inhibition of microorganisms by benzene and other hydrophobes can, paradoxically, be reduced by compounds that protect against cellular water stress (Bhaganna et al. in Microb Biotechnol 3:701-716, 2010; Cray et al. in Curr Opin Biotechnol 33:228-259, 2015a). We hypothesized that this protective effect operates at the macromolecule structure-function level and is facilitated, in part at least, by genome-mediated adaptations. Based on proteome profiling of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida, we present evidence that (1) benzene induces a chaotrope-stress response, whereas (2) cells cultured in media supplemented with benzene plus glycerol were protected against chaotrope stress. Chaotrope-stress response proteins, such as those involved in lipid and compatible-solute metabolism and removal of reactive oxygen species, were increased by up to 15-fold in benzene-stressed cells relative to those of control cultures (no benzene added). By contrast, cells grown in the presence of benzene + glycerol, even though the latter grew more slowly, exhibited only a weak chaotrope-stress response. These findings provide evidence to support the hypothesis that hydrophobic substances induce a chaotropicity-mediated water stress, that cells respond via genome-mediated adaptations, and that glycerol protects the cell's macromolecular systems. We discuss the possibility of using compatible solutes to mitigate hydrocarbon-induced stresses in lignocellulosic biofuel fermentations and for industrial and environmental applications.

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The isolation of the target protein from inclusion bodies (IBs) is a preliminary step to increase protein titer and to maintain its biological activity. In the present study, the effects of various cell lysis methods and the expression temperature was investigated on the improvement of the subsequent purification steps of mecasermin produced in IB. We also investigated the solubilization profile of the top-notch IB in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn-HCl) and 8 M urea at different pH ranges. Mecasermin was expressed at various temperatures (25, 28, 30, and 37 °C) and the Escherichia coli cells were lysed by different cell lysis methods. The purity and quality of harvested IBs was evaluated with sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Finally, mecasermin was refolded and purified using gel filtration chromatography. The profile of SDS-PAGE analysis showed higher quality and purity after application of sonication coupled with lysozyme pretreatment for expressed mecasermin at 37 °C. Besides, from dithiothreitol application in washing step, we achieved a manifold enriched secondary IB for further purification of mecasermin. Mecasermin exhibited optimized solubility in 6 M Gdn-HCl at pH of 5.4. The findings of this study indicate an important role for cell disruption techniques to efficient purification of mecasermin. The study presents the most efficient techniques for improvement of downstream purification of mecasermin.

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Aqueous salt solutions play an important role in nature because of their effects on environmental biogeochemical processes and on structural properties of biomolecules. Upon dissolution, salts split in ions that are solvated. Water in hydration shells is subjected to molecular motions that can be monitored by (1)H T1 NMR relaxometry. This technique allowed the evaluation of the nature of the interactions between water and ions via variable temperature experiments. Examination of relaxometry properties of aqueous solutions at variable salt concentrations allowed acknowledgement of the role played by ions in either structuring or destructuring water aggregates. A mathematical model has been applied on six environmentally relevant salts: NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, CaCO3, NaNO3, and NH4NO3. It was linear only for the concentration dependence of KCl-R1. This model accorded with the one reported in literature where it has been considered valid only for diluted solutions. However, in the present study, the range of linearity for KCl was extended up to the saturation point. The model was modified for NaCl, CaCl2, and CaCO3 by using it as an exponential form in order to account for the nonlinearity of the R1-versus-concentration curves. Nonlinearity was explained by the nonnegligible ion-ion interactions occurring as concentration was increased. Finally, further modification was needed to account for the asymmetric distribution of water around nitrate (in NaNO3 and NH4NO3) and ammonium (in NH4NO3). This study is preliminary to the comprehension of the diffusion mechanisms of ions in water solutions at the equilibrium condition with solid surfaces such as soils and biochar-amended soils.

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Expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli (E. coli) remains the most popular and cost-effective method for producing proteins in basic research and for pharmaceutical applications. Despite accumulating experience and methodologies developed over the years, production of recombinant proteins prone to aggregate in E. coli-based systems poses a major challenge in most research applications. The challenge of manufacturing these proteins for pharmaceutical applications is even greater. This review will discuss effective methods to reduce and even prevent the formation of aggregates in the course of recombinant protein production. We will focus on important steps along the production path, which include cloning, expression, purification, concentration, and storage.

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Anion and cation effects on the structural stability of lysozyme were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry. At low concentrations (<5 mM) anions and cations alter the stability of lysozyme but they do not follow the Hofmeister (or inverse Hofmeister) series. At higher concentrations protein stabilization follows the well-established Hofmeister series. Our hypothesis is that there are three mechanisms at work. At low concentrations the anions interact with charged side chains where the presence of the ion can alter the structural stability of the protein. At higher concentrations the low charge density anions perchlorate and iodide interact weakly with the protein. Their presence however reduces the Gibbs free energy required to hydrate the core of the protein that is exposed during unfolding therefore destabilizing the structure. At higher concentrations the high charge density anions phosphate and sulfate compete for water with the protein as it unfolds increasing the Gibbs free energy required to hydrate the newly exposed core of the protein therefore stabilizing the structure.

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Ordered, fibrous, self-seeding aggregates of misfolded proteins known as amyloids are associated with important diseases in mammals and control phenotypic traits in fungi. A given protein may adopt multiple amyloid conformations, known as variants or strains, each of which leads to a distinct disease pattern or phenotype. Here, we study the effect of Hofmeister ions on amyloid nucleation and strain generation by the prion domain-containing fragment (Sup35NM) of a yeast protein Sup35p. Strongly hydrated anions (kosmotropes) initiate nucleation quickly and cause rapid fiber elongation, whereas poorly hydrated anions (chaotropes) delay nucleation and mildly affect the elongation rate. For the first time, we demonstrate that kosmotropes favor formation of amyloid strains that are characterized by lower thermostability and higher frangibility in vitro and stronger phenotypic and proliferation patterns effectively in vivo as compared with amyloids formed in chaotropes. These phenomena point to inherent differences in the biochemistry of Hofmeister ions. Our work shows that the ionic composition of a solution not only influences the kinetics of amyloid nucleation but also determines the amyloid strain that is preferentially formed.

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