Laccase/caffeic acid-catalyzed crosslinking coupled with galactomannan alters the conformational structure of ovalbumin and alleviates Th2-mediated allergic asthma

Ovalbumin(OVA)is the major allergenic protein that can induce T helper 2(Th2)-allergic reactions,for which current treatment options are inadequate.In this study,we developed a polymerized hypoallergenic OVA product via laccase/caffeic acid(Lac/CA)-catalyzed crosslinking in conjunction with galactomannan(Man).The formation of high molecular weight crosslinked polymers and the Ig G-binding were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE)and Western blotting.The study indicated that Lac/CA-catalyzed crosslinking plus Man conjugation substantially altered secondary and tertiary structures of OVA along with the variation in surface hydrophobicity.Gastrointestinal digestion stability assay indicated that crosslinked OVA exhibited less resistance in simulated gastric fluid(SGF)and simulated intestinal fluid(SIF).Mouse model study indicated that Lac-Man/OVA ameliorated eosinophilic airway inflammatory response and efficiently downregulated the expression of Th2-related cytokines(interleukin(IL)-4,IL-5,and IL-13),and upregulated IFN-γand IL-10 expression.Stimulation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells with Lac-Man/OVA suppressed the expression of phenotypic maturation markers(CD80 and CD86)and MHC class II molecules,and suppressed the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines.The knowledge obtained in the present study offers an effective way to acquire a hypoallergenic OVA product that can have a therapeutic effect in alleviating OVA-induced allergic asthma.

A Bifunctional-Modulated Conformal Li/Mn-Rich Layered Cathode for Fast-Charging,High Volumetric Density and Durable Li-Ion Full Cells

Lithium-and manganese-rich(LMR)layered cathode materials hold the great promise in designing the next-generation high energy density lithium ion batteries.However,due to the severe surface phase transformation and structure collapse,stabilizing LMR to suppress capacity fade has been a critical challenge.Here,a bifunctional strategy that integrates the advantages of surface modification and structural design is proposed to address the above issues.A model compound Li_(1.2)Mn_(0.54)Ni_(0.13)Co_(0.13)O_(2)(MNC)with semi-hollow microsphere structure is synthesized,of which the surface is modified by surface-treated layer and graphene/car-bon nanotube dual layers.The unique structure design enabled high tap density(2.1 g cm^(−3))and bidirectional ion diffusion pathways.The dual surface coatings covalent bonded with MNC via C-O-M linkage greatly improves charge transfer efficiency and mitigates electrode degradation.Owing to the synergistic effect,the obtained MNC cathode is highly conformal with durable structure integrity,exhibiting high volumetric energy density(2234 Wh L^(−1))and predominant capacitive behavior.The assembled full cell,with nanograph-ite as the anode,reveals an energy density of 526.5 Wh kg^(−1),good rate performance(70.3%retention at 20 C)and long cycle life(1000 cycles).The strategy presented in this work may shed light on designing other high-performance energy devices.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, Fluorescent Property and DFT Calculations of a New Zn(Ⅱ) Complex Based on 3-(2-Pyridyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole

A new coordination compound Zn（2,4＇-bpt）2（H2O）（1） based on the versatile ligand 2,4＇-Hbpt（2,4？-Hbpt = 3-（2-pyridyl）-5-（4-pyridyl）-1H-1,2,4-triazole） was prepared by hydrothermal reactions. The structure of complex 1 has been characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction, elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, IR spectrum analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the complex belongs to monoclinic system, space group C2/c with a = 23.877（3）, b = 0.7483（9）, c = 1.2492（2） A, b = 92.681（2）°, V = 2230.6（4） A^3, Z = 4, Dc = 1.572 g/cm^3, m = 1.143 mm^-1, Mr = 527.85 and F（000） = 1080. The final R = 0.0581 and wR = 0.0898 with I 〉 2s（I）. 1 is a 0D motif which is connected by hydrogen bonds to form a corrugated 1D pattern. In addition, 1 shows strong photoluminescent emissions in the solid state at room temperature which can be used as potential optical materials. Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory（DFT） were employed in order to explicate the stability and chemical reactivity of 2,4＇-Hbpt with different conformations. The results indicated that conformation I is more stable and prior to coordination in the reactions.

Dietary polyphenols reduced the allergenicity ofβ-lactoglobulin via non-covalent interactions:a study on the structure-allergenicity relationship

Studies showed that complexation of polyphenols with milk allergens reduced their immunogenic potential.However,the relationship between structures of polyphenols and their hypoallergenic effects on milk allergens in association with physiological and conformational changes of the complexes remain unclear.In this study,polyphenols from eight botanical sources were extracted to prepare non-covalent complexes withβ-lactoglobulin(β-LG),a major allergen in milk.The dominant phenolic compounds bound toβ-LG with a diminished allergenicity were identified to investigate their respective role on the structural and allergenic properties ofβ-LG.Extracts from Vaccinium fruits and black soybeans were found to have great inhibitory effects on the IgE-and IgG-binding abilities ofβ-LG.Among the fourteen structure-related phenolic compounds,flavonoids and tannins with larger MWs and multi-hydroxyl substituents,notably rutin,EGCG,and ellagitannins were more potent to elicit changes on the conformational structures ofβ-LG to decrease the allergenicity of complexedβ-LG.Correlation analysis further demonstrated that a destabilized secondary structure and protein depolymerization caused by polyphenol-binding were closely related to the allergenicity property of formed complexes.This study provides insights into the understanding of structure-allergenicity relationship ofβ-LG-polyphenol interactions and would benefit the development of polyphenol-fortified matrices with hypoallergenic potential.

The crystal structure and conformation of N-[2,2-dimethyl-3-(2-methylpropenyl)-cyclopropylcarbonyl]-5-methylisoxazolin-3-one

The title compound has been synthesized and its crystal structure was determined by X-ray crystallographic method.The crystal is triclinic,space group P-1,with unit cell dimensions a=6.146 (5),b=8.473(6),c=14.383(5)(?);a=77.47(4),β=82.84(4),γ=69.00(8)°and Z=2.The results obtained reveal that the molecule of the title compound keeps a long conjugative system in- volving C=C double bond,cyclopropane ring,carbonyl group and isoxazolinone ring and adopts a low energy conformation including s-trans of C=C double bond,s-cis of carbonyl group with respect to the three-membered ring and like-s-trans of carbonyl group with the carbonyl group within the heterocyclic moiety.

The crystal structure and conformation of 15phenyl-bicyclo[10.3.0]pentadec-1(12)-en-13-one

The title compound has been synthesized and its crystal structure determined by X-ray crystal- lographic method.The crystal is monoclinic,space group C2/c,with unit cell dimensions a=19.260 (3),b=11.217(1),c=15.997(1)(?);β=92.08(2)°and Z=8. This is the first crystal structure determined in the series of bicyclo[10.3.0]pentadec-1(12)-en- 13-one derivatives.The structure and the conformation of the cis-cyclododecene moiety in this compound is demonstrated to be closely similar to the lowest energy conformer[lene 2333].

Impact of particle size and pH on protein corona formation of solid lipid nanoparticles:A proof-of-concept study

When nanoparticles were introduced into the biological media,the protein corona would be formed,which endowed the nanoparticles with new bio-identities.Thus,controlling protein corona formation is critical to in vivo therapeutic effect.Controlling the particle size is the most feasible method during design,and the infuence of media pH which varies with disease condition is quite important.The impact of particle size and pH on bovine serum albumin(BSA)corona formation of solid lipid nanoparticles(SLNs)was studied here.The BSA corona formation of SLNs with increasing particle size(120-480 nm)in pH 6.0 and 7.4 was investigated.Multiple techniques were employed for visualization study,conformational structure study and mechanism study,etc."BSA corona-caused aggregation"of SLN2-3 was revealed in pH 6.0 while the dispersed state of SLNs was maintained in pH 7.4,which signifcantly affected the secondary structure of BSA and cell uptake of SLNs.The main interaction was driven by van der Waals force plus hydrogen bonding in p H 7.4,while by electrostatic attraction in pH 6.0,and size-dependent adsorption was confrmed.This study provides a systematic insight to the understanding of protein corona formation of SLNs.

Mechanistic Insights into the Shear Effects on Isotactic Polypropylene Crystallization Containingβ-Nucleating Agent

The crystalline structures and crystallization behaviors of iPP containing β nucleation agent TMB-5 （iPP/TMB-5） were investigated by synchrotron radiation wide angel X-ray diffraction （SR-WAXD）, differential scanning calorimeter （DSC） and polarized light microscope （PLM）. It was found that α-crystallization lagged behind β-crystallization at normal temperatures, but the discrepancy reduced with increasing temperature. TMB-5 could not induce β-iPP when the nucleation agent is wrapped up with α-crystal that crystallized at high temperatures. The polymorphic composition of iPP/TMB-5 was susceptible to the introductory moment of shear. New crystallization process of β-nucleated iPP was proposed to understand the experimental phenomena which could not be explained by those reported in the literature. It was supposed that polymer crystallization initiated from mesophase, and the formations of iPP crystals involved the organization of helical conformation ordering within rnesophase. It was proposed that the iPP melt contained mesophases with stereocomplex-type ordering of right-handed and left-handed helical chains which could be disturbed by shear or TMB-5, leading to different polymorphic structures.

Improving the accuracy of pose prediction in molecular docking via structural fltering and conformational clustering

Structure-based virtual screening（molecular docking）is now one of the most pragmatic techniques to leverage target structure for ligand discovery.Accurate binding pose prediction is critical to molecular docking.Here,we describe a general strategy to improve the accuracy of docking pose prediction by implementing the structural descriptor-based fltering and KGS-penalty function-based conformational clustering in an unbiased manner.We assessed our method against 150 high-quality protein–ligand complex structures.Surprisingly,such simple components are suffcient to improve the accuracy of docking pose prediction.The success rate of predicting near-native docking pose increased from 53%of the targets to 78%.We expect that our strategy may have general usage in improving currently available molecular docking programs.