Nanogram nitrite and nitrate determination in environmental and biological materials by vanadium (III) reduction with chemiluminescence detection

Nitrite in environmental water samples is reduced at room temperature to nitric oxide in acidic medium containing vanadium (III). Nitrate is also rapidly reduced after heating to 80-90 degrees C. Nitric oxide is removed from the reaction solution by scrubbing with helium carrier gas and is detected by means of a chemiluminescence NOx analyzer. Nanogram detection limits are obtained. The method has the advantage of not requiring highly acidic solutions for nitrate reduction and has been applied to the analysis of a variety of environmental waters, sediment, plant materials, and human urine and blood serum.

X-ray structure of a vanadium-containing enzyme: chloroperoxidase from the fungus Curvularia inaequalis

The chloroperoxidase (EC 1.11.1.-) from the fungus Curvularia inaequalis belongs to a class of vanadium enzymes that oxidize halides in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to the corresponding hypohalous acids. The 2.1 A crystal structure (R = 20%) of an azide chloroperoxidase complex reveals the geometry of the catalytic vanadium center. Azide coordinates directly to the metal center, resulting in a structure with azide, three nonprotein oxygens, and a histidine as ligands. In the native state vanadium will be bound as hydrogen vanadate(V) in a trigonal bipyramidal coordination with the metal coordinated to three oxygens in the equatorial plane, to the OH group at one apical position, and to the epsilon 2 nitrogen of a histidine at the other apical position. The protein fold is mainly alpha-helical with two four-helix bundles as main structural motifs and an overall structure different from other structures. The helices pack together to a compact molecule, which explains the high stability of the protein. An amino acid sequence comparison with vanadium-containing bromoperoxidase from the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum shows high similarities in the regions of the metal binding site, with all hydrogen vanadate(V) interacting residues conserved except for lysine-353, which is an asparagine.

Effects of inhibitors on the plasma membrane and mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatases of Neurospora crassa

A comparative study has been made of the effects of a variety of inhibitors on the plasma membrane ATPase and mitochondrial ATPase of Neurospora crassa. The most specific inhibitors proved to be vanadate and diethylstilbestrol for the plasma membrane ATPase and azide, oligomycin, venturicidin, and leucinostatin for mitochondrial ATPase. N,N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, octylguanidine, triphenylsulfonium chloride, and quercetin and related bioflavonoids inhibited both enzymes, although with different concentration dependences. Other compounds that were tested (phaseolin, fusicoccin, deoxycorticosterone, alachlor, salicyclic acid, N-1-napthylphthalamate, triiodobenzoic acid, cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP, theobromine, theophylline, and histamine) had no significant effect on either enzyme. Overall, the results indicate that the plasma membrane and mitochondrial ATPases are distinct enzymes, in spite of the fact that they may play related roles in H+ transport across their respective membranes.

Short-term and long-term exposures to fine particulate matter constituents and health: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Fine particulate matter (Particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) is associated with multiple health outcomes, with varying effects across seasons and locations. It remains largely unknown that which components of PM_2.5 are most harmful to human health.

METHODS

We systematically searched all the relevent studies published before August 1, 2018, on the associations of fine particulate matter constituents with mortality and morbidity, using Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed and EMBASE. Studies were included if they explored the associations between short term or long term exposure of fine particulate matter constituents and natural, cardiovascular or respiratory health endpoints. The criteria for the risk of bias was adapted from OHAT and New Castle Ottawa. We applied a random-effects model to derive the risk estimates for each constituent. We performed main analyses restricted to studies which adjusted the PM_2.5 mass in their models.

RESULTS

Significant associations were observed between several PM_2.5 constituents and different health endpoints. Among them, black carbon and organic carbon were most robustly and consistently associated with all natural, cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Other potential toxic constituents including nitrate, sulfate, Zinc, silicon, iron, nickel, vanadium, and potassium were associated with adverse cardiovascular health, while nitrate, sulfate and vanadium were relevant for adverse respiratory health outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis suggests that black carbon and organic carbon are important detrimental components of PM_2.5, while other constituents are probably hazardous to human health. However, more studies are needed to further confirm our results.

Corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, corrosion fatigue strength and cytocompatibility of new Ti alloys without Al and V

The effects of various metallic ions using various metallic powders on the relative growth ratio of fibroblasts L929 and osteoblasts MC3T3-E1 cells were carried out. Ti, Zr, Sn, Nb and Ta had evidently no effect on the relative growth ratios of cells. Otherwise, Al and V ions exhibit cytotoxicity from a concentration of > or = 0.2 ppm. This Al effect on cells tend to be stronger in medium containing small quantity of V ions (< or = 0.03 ppm). The new Ti-15%Zr-4%Nb-4%Ta-0.2%Pd alloy exhibited a higher corrosion resistance in physiological saline solution. The addition of 0.02%O and 0.05%N to Ti-Zr alloy improved the mechanical properties at room temperature and corrosion fatigue strength. The relative growth ratios for the new Ti alloy plate and the alloy block extraction were unity. Further, the relative growth ratios were almost unity for the new Ti alloy against apatite ceramic pins up to 10(5) wear cycles in Eagle's MEM solution. However, there was a sharp decrease for Ti-6%Al-4%V ELI alloy from 3 x 10(4) wear cycles as V ion was released during wear into the wear test solution since the pH of the Eagle's MEM increases with increasing wear cycles.

The effect of plasma-sprayed calcium phosphate ceramic coatings on the metal ion release from porous titanium and cobalt-chromium alloys

Bone tissue ingrowth in porous materials is enhanced by the deposition of bioactive calcium phosphate ceramic linings onto the pore walls. These bioactive coatings can be deposited using several methods which yield a variety of coating efficiencies and thereby influence the mechanisms and kinetics of ion release from the metal. We analyzed the effect of plasma-spraying hydroxyapatite onto titanium and cobalt-chromium alloys by measuring the release of Ti, Al, V, Co, and Cr in vitro. Plasma-sprayed coatings significantly reduced the Ti and Al release from titanium-based alloy specimens. The tendencies of release from the cobalt-based specimens are less pronounced. The data substantiate that neither localized enhanced passive dissolution of metal ions nor ceramic shielding of the metal occurs. The Scanning Auger Electron Microprobe Spectroscopic data suggest that the dissipation of thermal and kinetic energy of the ceramic particle at the time of impact can produce compositional and structural changes in the metal surfaces. The resulting effects are significant for the titanium alloy but less significant for the Co-Cr alloy system.

One-pot, two-step, practical catalytic synthesis of 2,5-diformylfuran from fructose

[reaction: see text] A practical, one-pot, two-step catalytic method is described for the synthesis of 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) from fructose via dehydration to 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF), followed by in situ catalytic air-oxidation.

Improved NO x Reduction in the Presence of SO2 by Using Fe2O3-Promoted Halloysite-Supported CeO2-WO3 Catalysts

Currently, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO _x with NH₃ in the presence of SO₂ by using vanadium-free catalysts is still an important issue for the removal of NO _x for stationary sources. Developing high-performance catalysts for NO _x reduction in the presence of SO₂ is a significant challenge. In this work, a series of Fe₂O₃-promoted halloysite-supported CeO₂-WO₃ catalysts were synthesized by a molten salt treatment followed by the impregnation method and demonstrated improved NO _x reduction in the presence of SO₂. The obtained catalyst exhibits superior catalytic activity, high N₂ selectivity over a wide temperature range from 270 to 420 °C, and excellent sulfur-poisoning resistance. It has been demonstrated that the Fe₂O₃-promoted halloysite-supported CeO₂-WO₃ catalyst increased the ratio of Ce³⁺ and the amount of surface oxygen vacancies and enhanced the interaction between active components. Moreover, the SCR reaction mechanism of the obtained catalyst was studied using in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. It can be inferred that the number of Brønsted acid sites is significantly increased, and more active species could be produced by Fe₂O₃ promotion. Furthermore, in the presence of SO₂, the Fe₂O₃-promoted halloysite-supported CeO₂-WO₃ catalyst can effectively prevent the irreversible bonding of SO₂ with the active components, making the catalyst exhibit desirable sulfur resistance. The work paves the way for the development of high-performance SCR catalysts with improved NO _x reduction in the presence of SO₂.

X-ray crystal structures of active site mutants of the vanadium-containing chloroperoxidase from the fungus Curvularia inaequalis

The X-ray structures of the chloroperoxidase from Curvularia inaequalis, heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, have been determined both in its apo and in its holo forms at 1.66 and 2.11 A resolution, respectively. The crystal structures reveal that the overall structure of this enzyme remains nearly unaltered, particularly at the metal binding site. At the active site of the apo-chloroperoxidase structure a clearly defined sulfate ion was found, partially stabilised through electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds with positively charged residues involved in the interactions with the vanadate in the native protein. The vanadate binding pocket seems to form a very rigid frame stabilising oxyanion binding. The rigidity of this active site matrix is the result of a large number of hydrogen bonding interactions involving side chains and the main chain of residues lining the active site. The structures of single site mutants to alanine of the catalytic residue His404 and the vanadium protein ligand His496 have also been analysed. Additionally we determined the structural effects of mutations to alanine of residue Arg360, directly involved in the compensation of the negative charge of the vanadate group, and of residue Asp292 involved in forming a salt bridge with Arg490 which also interacts with the vanadate. The enzymatic chlorinating activity is drastically reduced to approximately 1% in mutants D292A, H404A and H496A. The structures of the mutants confirm the view of the active site of this chloroperoxidase as a rigid matrix providing an oxyanion binding site. No large changes are observed at the active site for any of the analysed mutants. The empty space left by replacement of large side chains by alanines is usually occupied by a new solvent molecule which partially replaces the hydrogen bonding interactions to the vanadate. The new solvent molecules additionally replace part of the interactions the mutated side chains were making to other residues lining the active site frame. When this is not possible, another side chain in the proximity of the mutated residue moves in order to satisfy the hydrogen bonding potential of the residues located at the active site frame.

Insulin-enhancing vanadium(III) complexes

Simple, high-yield, large-scale syntheses of the V(III) complexes tris(maltolato)vanadium(III), V(ma)3, tris(ethylmaltolato)vanadium(III), V(ema)3, tris(kojato)vanadium(III) monohydrate, V(koj)3-H2O, and tris(1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyridinonato)vanadium(III) dodecahydrate, V(dpp)3-12H2O, are described; the characterization of these complexes by various methods and, in the case of V(dpp)3-12H2O, by an X-ray crystal structure determination, is reported. The ability of these complexes to normalize glucose levels in the STZ-diabetic rat model has been examined and compared with that of the benchmark compound BMOV (bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV)), an established insulin-enhancing agent.

Vanadium K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy of bromoperoxidase from Ascophyllum nodosum

Bromoperoxidase from Ascophyllum nodusum was the first vanadium-containing enzyme to be isolated. X-ray absorption spectra have now been collected in order to investigate the coordination of vanadium in the native, native plus bromide, native plus hydrogen peroxide, and dithionite-reduced forms of the enzyme. The edge and X-ray absorption near-edge structures show that, in the four samples studied, it is only on reduction of the native enzyme that the metal site is substantially altered. In addition, these data are consistent with the presence of vanadium(IV) in the reduced enzyme and vanadium(V) in the other samples. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure data confirm that there are structural changes at the metal site on reduction of the native enzyme, notably a lengthening of the average inner-shell distance, and the presence of terminal oxygen together with histidine and oxygen-donating residues.

Structure of the vanadate-induced crystals of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

The projected structure of the vanadate-induced crystalline aggregates of Ca2+-ATPase molecules in isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes has been determined. The molecules form tubular crystals with an oblique surface lattice having cell dimensions a = 65.9 A, b = 114.4 A and gamma = 77.9 degrees. The space group is P2. The crystalline tubules are formed through lateral aggregation of chains made up of dimers of Ca2+-ATPase molecules.

Autotrophic Vanadium(V) Bioreduction in Groundwater by Elemental Sulfur and Zerovalent Iron

Vanadium (V) is an emerging contaminant in groundwater that can adversely affect human health. Although bioremediation has been shown effective, little is known on autotrophic V(V) bioreduction in the context of oligotrophic characteristics of groundwater. In this study, we demonstrate that efficient V(V) bioreductions can be coupled with bio-oxidation of elemental sulfur (S(0)) or zerovalent iron (Fe(0)), and the V(V) removal efficiencies reached 97.5 ± 1.2% and 86.6 ± 2.5% within 120 h using S(0) and Fe(0), respectively. V(IV) is the main reduction product and precipitates naturally in near-neutral conditions. Microbial community, functional gene, and metabolites analyses reveal that synthetic metabolisms among autotrophs and heterotrophs played major roles in V(V) reduction using S(0) and Fe(0). These results demonstrate a new approach for V(V) contaminated groundwater remediation.

Mechanisms of oxidation with oxygen

SEVERAL TOPICS ARE DEALT WITH IN DISCUSSING THE REACTIONS OF MOLECULAR OXYGEN, BUT A COMMON GOAL IS PURSUED IN EACH: to try to understand the reactions in terms of the fundamental properties of the oxygen molecule, and of the other reactants. The paper first describes the electronic structure of oxygen and of two low-lying electronically excited states. Concern with the low-lying electronically excited states is no longer the sole property of spectroscopists; recently, evidence has been presented for the participation of such activated molecules in chemical reactions. The chemistry of oxygen is dominated by the fact that the molecule in the ground state has two unpaired electrons, whereas the products of oxidation in many important reactions have zero spin. In its reactions with transition metal ions the restrictions imposed by the spin state of the oxygen molecule are easily circumvented. A number of reactions of oxygen with metal ions have been studied in considerable detail; conclusions on basic aspects of the reaction mechanism are outlined. Among the most interesting reactions of oxygen are those in which it is reversibly absorbed by reducing agents. Reversible absorption to form a peroxide in the bound state is possible; some of the conditions which must be fulfilled by a reducing system to qualify as storing oxygen in this way are reasonably well understood and are here enunciated. Little has been done on the formation of oxygen from water; some factors involved in this process are discussed.

Porous Ti6Al4V scaffold directly fabricating by rapid prototyping: Preparation and in vitro experiment

Three-dimensional (3D) fiber deposition (3DF), a rapid prototyping technology, was successfully directly applied to produce novel 3D porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds with fully interconnected porous networks and highly controllable porosity and pore size. A key feature of this technology is the 3D computer-controlled fiber depositing of Ti6Al4V slurry at room temperature to produce a scaffold, consisting of layers of directionally aligned Ti6Al4V fibers. In this study, the Ti6Al4V slurry was developed for the 3D fiber depositing process, and the parameters of 3D fiber depositing were optimized. The experimental results show how the parameters influence the structure of porous scaffold. The potential of this rapid prototyping 3DF system for fabricating 3D Ti6Al4V scaffolds with regular and reproducible architecture meeting the requirements of tissue engineering and orthopedic implants is demonstrated.

Heterologous expression of the vanadium-containing chloroperoxidase from Curvularia inaequalis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and site-directed mutagenesis of the active site residues His(496), Lys(353), Arg(360), and Arg(490)

The vanadium-containing chloroperoxidase from the fungus Curvularia inaequalis is heterologously expressed to high levels in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals that this behaves very similar to the native chloroperoxidase. Site-directed mutagenesis is performed on four highly conserved active site residues to examine their role in catalysis. When the vanadate-binding residue His(496) is changed into an alanine, the mutant enzyme loses the ability to bind vanadate covalently resulting in an inactive enzyme. The negative charges on the vanadate oxygens are compensated by hydrogen bonds with the residues Arg(360), Arg(490), and Lys(353). When these residues are changed into alanines the mutant enzymes lose the ability to effectively oxidize chloride but can still function as bromoperoxidases. A general mechanism for haloperoxidase catalysis is proposed that also correlates the kinetic properties of the mutants with the charge and the hydrogen-bonding network in the vanadate-binding site.

A density functional theory study of the mechanism of free radical generation in the system vanadate/PCA/H2O2

Experimental studies by Shul'pin and co-workers have shown that vanadate anions in combination with pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid (PCA identical with pcaH) produce an exceptionally active complex that promotes the oxidation of alkanes and other organic molecules. Reaction of this complex with H2O2 releases HOO* free radicals and generates V(IV) species, which are capable of generating HO* radicals by reaction with additional H2O2. The oxidation of alkanes is initiated by reaction with the HO* radicals. The mechanism of hydrocarbon oxidation with vanadate/PCA/H2O2 catalyst has been studied using density functional theory. The proposed model reproduces the major experimental observations. It is found that a vanadium complex with one pca (PCA identical with pcaH) and one H2O2 ligand is the precursor to the species responsible for HOO* generation. It is also found that species containing two pca ligands and an H2O2 molecule do not exist in the solution, in contradiction to previous interpretations of experimental observations. Calculated dependences of the oxidation rate on initial concentrations of PCA and H2O2 have characteristic maxima, the shapes of which are determined by the equilibrium concentration of the active species. Conversion of the precursors requires hydrogen transfer from H2O2 to a vanadyl group. Our calculations show that direct transfer has a higher barrier than pca-assisted indirect transfer. Indirect transfer occurs by migration of hydrogen from coordinated H2O2 to the oxygen of a pca ligand connected to the vanadium atom. The proposed mechanism demonstrates the important role of the cocatalyst in the reaction and explains why H2O2 complexes without pca are less active. Our work shows that the generation of HOO* radicals cannot occur via cleavage of a V-OOH bond in the complex formed directly from the precursors, as proposed before. The activation barrier for this process is too high. Instead, HOO* radicals are formed via a sequence of additional steps involving lower activation barriers. The new mechanism for free radical generation underestimates the observed rate of hexane oxidation by less than an order of magnitude; however, the calculated activation energy (67-81 kJ/mol) agrees well with that determined experimentally (63-80 kJ/mol).