DN acknowledges support from EU FP7 projects PEPDIODE (GA 256672) and REGPOT-2012-2013-1(GA 316157), and a personal research grant (No. 268/10) from the Israel Science Foundation. We thank Prof. Shmuel Rubinstein, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA for taking the confocal microscopy images.

1. Preparing Chl a Stock Solutions
<ol>
	<li>CRITICAL STEP: Perform all the steps of chlorophyll preparation in a chemical hood, under green light (520 nm) or in the dark in order to minimize photodamage. Always add Nitrogen or Argon before freezing the pigments for storage. Ensure that all solvents are analytical grade.</li>
	<li>Weigh about 5 mg of lyophilized Spirulina platensis cells or other cyanobacterium cells containing only Chl a in thylakoid membranes and crush it using a mortar and pestle.</li>
	<li>Load crushed cells onto a glass column and wash with about 50-100 ml of 100% acetone in order to remove carotenoids. Discard the eluted orange/green fraction. 
	Note: If the orange fraction is not eluted with 100 ml of acetone continue washing the cells with acetone until green fraction starts to elute.</li>
	<li>Exchange acetone with 100% methanol and collect the green fraction containing Chl a. The volume of eluted fraction may vary between 50-100 ml. At the beginning, the eluted fraction has a dark green color, which changes into pale green at the end of elution. When the color of eluted fraction turns into pale green stop the elution.</li>
	<li>Evaporate the methanol using a rotary evaporator until the extract is completely dry. Do not apply heat to the solution; ensure that the evaporator&#39;s water bath temperature does not exceed 30 &#176;C. 
	Note: The time of evaporation depends on the volume of methanol fraction being evaporated and may vary between 10-60 min. It is important to dry the extract completely.</li>
	<li>Dissolve the pigments from the dried extract in a small volume of diethyl ether (about 5-10 ml), and filter through cotton wool. Ensure that pigments are completely dissolved in ether before filtering.</li>
	<li>Evaporate the diethyl ether until the pigments are completely dry (10-30 min). 
	Note: The dry pigments can be purged with and kept under Nitrogen or Argon at -20 &#176;C, in the dark until further processing.</li>
	<li>Dissolve the dry pigments in the smallest volume possible of 100% methanol (about 1 ml), even if not everything is completely suspended. Add 4 ml of acetone to the solution, and flick the glass gently in order to completely dissolve the pigments.</li>
	<li>Using a Pasteur pipette, load the sample gently onto a column of DEAE sepharose equilibrated in 100% acetone.</li>
	<li>Elute carotenoids (an orange-yellow band) with 100% acetone. Then, elute Chl a (green band) with 3:1 v/v acetone/methanol mixture. 
	Note: The volume of acetone and acetone/methanol mixture is approximately equivalent to the volume of DEAE sepharose loaded on the column.</li>
	<li>Verify Chl a purity by thin layer chromatography using a 68:25:5:2 dichloromethane/n-hexane /isopropanol /methanol (v/v) mixture as eluent 17.</li>
	<li>Evaporate the solvent using a rotary evaporator until the Chl a is completely dry (10-60 min). 
	Note: The dry Chl a can be purged with nitrogen or argon and stored under argon atmosphere at -20 &#176;C in the dark.</li>
	<li>Prepare Chl a stock solution by re-dissolving the dry Chl a in 2-4 ml of 100% ethanol. 
	Note: The extinction coefficient of Chl a at 663 nm is 74,400 cm-1M-1 (83.3 cm-1 (mg/ml)-1) in ethanol. A typical stock solution should have an OD of 1,860 corresponding to a concentration of 25 mM (23 mg/ml). Adding 20 &#181;l of this stock to an emulsion containing 5 ml of organic phase, and 1 mg of WSCP in 1 ml of aqueous phase results in a mixture with 10 fold molar excess of Chl a vs. WSCP.</li>
</ol>
2. Preparing Organic Phase of the Emulsion
Note: The organic phase of the emulsion is composed of mineral oil containing 4.5% (v/v) Span 80, and 0.4% (v/v) Tween 80.
<ol>
	<li>Weigh in a 50 ml tube 0.2 g of Tween 80, 1.8 g of Span 80, and 38 g of mineral oil. Mix well all components and cool down on ice. 
	Note: The organic phase can be stored in 4 &#176;C up to one week.</li>
</ol>
3. Preparing the Aqueous Phase of the Emulsion
Note: The aqueous phase of the emulsion may be composed of either purified WSCP, or crude extract of bacteria overexpressing WSCP.
<ol>
	<li>Preparing an aqueous phase containing purified WSCP.
	<ol>
		<li>Grow E.coli BL21 bacteria containing WSCP plasmid 12 in 1 L of LB medium at 37 &#176;C until OD of 0.3-0.6.</li>
		<li>Induce protein expression by adding 1 mM IPTG. After induction grow bacteria at 30 &#176;C for 12-16 hr.</li>
		<li>Harvest bacteria by centrifugation at 5,000 x g for 10 min at 4 &#176;C.</li>
		<li>Dissolve the pellet in binding buffer and sonicate on ice (30 sec on, 15 sec off, five times). Use 10 ml of buffer for the pellet obtained from centrifugation of 250 ml of LB medium with cells overexpressing the protein. 
		Note: Depending on purification method, the binding buffer may be composed of 100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.2 or 50 mM Tris, pH 7.5, 500 mM NaCl, 5 mM EDTA.</li>
		<li>Spin down the cell lysate at 12,000 x g for 30 min at 4 &#176;C.</li>
		<li>Purify WSCP by affinity chromatography. Depending on the tag fused to WSCP, purify recombinant proteins using the appropriate commercially available affinity chromatography system for protein purification following manufacturer instructions.</li>
		<li>For emulsion preparation, use purified WSCP in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.8. Ensure that the final protein amount used for reconstitution is 0.5-1.0 mg per 1 ml of buffer.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Preparing an aqueous phase containing crude bacterial lysate with WSCP.
	<ol>
		<li>Grow E.coli BL21 cells containing plasmid-expressing WSCP in 250 ml of LB medium at 37 &#176;C until OD 0.3-0.6.</li>
		<li>Induce protein expression with 1 mM IPTG and grow bacteria overnight at 30 &#176;C.</li>
		<li>Harvest bacterial cells by centrifugation at 5,000 x g for 10 min at 4 &#176;C.</li>
		<li>Dissolve the pellet in 1-2 ml of 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.8, sonicate (30 sec on, 15 sec off, three times) and centrifuge at 12,000 x g for 30 min at 4 &#176;C.</li>
		<li>Prepare the aqueous phase of the emulsion by mixing 0.125 ml of supernatant with 0.875 ml of 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.8.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
4. Assembly of WSCP with Chl a in Emulsion
<ol>
	<li>Transfer 5 ml of oil-surfactant mixture into a glass vial and cool it on ice. Before pipetting, verify that all the components of the organic phase are mixed thoroughly and there is no phase separation between surfactants and mineral oil.</li>
	<li>Add 1 ml of ice-cold aqueous phase prepared as in section 3 to 5 ml of organic phase.</li>
	<li>Mix both phases using a tissue homogenizer for 2 min at 9,500 rpm on ice.</li>
	<li>CRITICAL STEP: From this stage on, perform all further steps under green light (520 nm) in order to minimize photodamage. Add 20 &#181;l of 25 mM Chl a stock solution (see section 1.13) to the emulsion. Disperse by flicking and inverting the glass vial. Make sure that the Chl is evenly distributed in the emulsion.</li>
	<li>Incubate the emulsion for 1-2 hr on ice in the dark.</li>
	<li>In order to break down the emulsion and separate water droplets from the organic phase transfer the emulsion to 1.5 ml plastic tubes and centrifuge at 14,000 x g for 5 min at room temperature. 
	Note: If the assembly is successful, the lower aqueous phase should have a green color.</li>
	<li>Dispose the upper oil phase and add 1 ml of mineral oil. Mix well the mineral oil with the pelleted emulsion by vortex or by flipping the tube thoroughly. Spin down the sample at 14,000 x g for 5 min at room temperature. Repeat this step until a clear meniscus separating the aqueous and mineral oil phases, without any intermediate emulsion is obtained.</li>
	<li>Perform this step in a chemical hood. After the aqueous and mineral oil phases are clearly separated, remove mineral oil and add 1 ml of water-saturated diethyl ether. Vortex and spin down the sample at 14,000 x g for 5 min at room temperature. Repeat this step twice.</li>
	<li>After the second centrifugation, remove the diethyl ether and leave the tubes open for 5-20 min in the hood.</li>
	<li>Finally, load the aqueous phase containing the WSCP/Chl a complex onto a desalting column and elute with buffer appropriate for further experiments. 
	Note: The protein is stable in phosphate- and Tris buffers in a broad range of pH (6.0-7.5). The sample can be stored at 4 &#176;C protected from light up to one month.</li>
</ol>

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Res. 100, 79-87 (2009).</li><li>Schulte, T., Johanning, S., Hofmann, E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Structure+and+function+of+native+and+refolded+peridinin-chlorophyll-proteins+from+dinoflagellates.">Structure and function of native and refolded peridinin-chlorophyll-proteins from dinoflagellates.</a> Eur. J. Cell Biol. 89, 990-997 (2010).</li><li>Renger, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Water+soluble+chlorophyll+binding+protein+of+higher+plants:+a+most+suitable+model+system+for+basic+analyses+of+pigment-pigment+and+pigment-protein+interactions+in+chlorophyll+protein+complexes.">Water soluble chlorophyll binding protein of higher plants: a most suitable model system for basic analyses of pigment-pigment and pigment-protein interactions in chlorophyll protein complexes.</a> J. Plant Physiol. 168, 1462-1472 (2011).</li><li>Satoh, H., Uchida, A., Nakayama, K., Okada, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Water-soluble+chlorophyll+protein+in+Brassicaceae+plants+is+a+stress-induced+chlorophyll-binding+protein.">Water-soluble chlorophyll protein in Brassicaceae plants is a stress-induced chlorophyll-binding protein.</a> Plant Cell Physiol. 42, 906-911 (2001).</li><li>Bektas, I., Fellenberg, C., Paulsen, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Water-soluble+chlorophyll+protein+(WSCP)+of+Arabidopsis+is+expressed+in+the+gynoecium+and+developing+silique.">Water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) of Arabidopsis is expressed in the gynoecium and developing silique.</a> Planta. 236, 251-259 (2012).</li><li>Damaraju, S., Schlede, S., Eckhardt, U., Lokstein, H., Grimm, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Functions+of+the+water+soluble+chlorophyll-binding+protein+in+plants.">Functions of the water soluble chlorophyll-binding protein in plants.</a> J. Plant Physiol. 168, 1444-1451 (2011).</li><li>Horigome, D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Structural+mechanism+and+photoprotective+function+of+water-soluble+chlorophyll-binding+protein.">Structural mechanism and photoprotective function of water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein.</a> J. Biol. Chem. 282, 6525-6531 (2007).</li><li>Reinbothe, C., Satoh, H., Alcaraz, J. -. 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Botrys binds various chlorophyll derivatives.</a> Biochemistry. 42, 7427-7433 (2003).</li><li>Takahashi, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Molecular+cloning,+characterization+and+analysis+of+the+intracellular+localization+of+a+water-soluble+Chl-binding+protein+from+Brussels+sprouts+(Brassica+oleracea+var.+gemmifera).">Molecular cloning, characterization and analysis of the intracellular localization of a water-soluble Chl-binding protein from Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera).</a> Plant Cell Physiol. 53, 879-891 (2012).</li><li>Takahashi, S., Ono, M., Uchida, A., Nakayama, K., Satoh, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Molecular+cloning+and+functional+expression+of+a+water-soluble+chlorophyll-binding+protein+from+Japanese+wild+radish.">Molecular cloning and functional expression of a water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein from Japanese wild radish.</a> J. 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Soc. 128, 3649-3658 (2006).</li><li>Bednarczyk, D., Takahashi, S., Satoh, H., Noy, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Assembly+of+water-soluble+chlorophyll-binding+proteins+with+native+hydrophobic+chlorophylls+in+water-in-oil+emulsions.">Assembly of water-soluble chlorophyll-binding proteins with native hydrophobic chlorophylls in water-in-oil emulsions.</a> BBA - Bioenergetics. 1847, 307-313 (2015).</li><li>Fiedor, L., Rosenbach-Belkin, V., Scherz, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+stereospecific+interaction+between+chlorophylls+and+chlorophyllase.+Possible+implication+for+chlorophyll+biosynthesis+and+degradation.">The stereospecific interaction between chlorophylls and chlorophyllase. Possible implication for chlorophyll biosynthesis and degradation.</a> J. Biol. 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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Our goal was to develop a new general system for assembly of water-soluble chlorophyll-binding proteins with hydrophobic pigments. Here it is shown that the new reconstitution system based on W/O emulsion is a general approach proven to work for assembly of WSCP apoproteins from Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Japanese horseradish and Virginia pepperweed recombinantly expressed in E. coli. Here results are presented from reconstitution of 1 mg of WSCP with 10-fold molar excess of Chl a. However it is als...

Hydrophobic pigments such as chlorophylls (Chls), bacteriochlorophylls (BChls) and carotenoids are the primary cofactors in photosynthetic reaction centers and light harvesting proteins that carry out electron transport, and light energy capture and transfer. The reaction centers and most of the Chl-binding light harvesting complexes are transmembrane proteins. The Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) protein of non-oxygenic photosynthetic green-sulfur bacteria 1,2, and the peridinin-Chl protein (PCP) of dinoflagellates 3 are exceptional examples of water soluble light harvesting proteins. The water-soluble chlorophyll binding proteins (WSCPs) of Brassicaceae, Polygonaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae plants 4,5 are another unique example, yet in contrast to FMO and PCP, these are neither involved in light harvesting nor in any of the primary photosynthetic reaction, and their precise physiological functions are yet unclear 5-8. Their high Chl-binding affinity have led to a suggested function as transient carriers of Chls and Chl derivatives 9,10. Alternatively, it was hypothesized that WSCP plays a role in scavenging Chls in damaged cells and protects against Chl-induced photooxidative damage 7,11-13. More recently, it was suggested that WSCP functions as a protease inhibitor and plays a role during herbivore resistance as well regulates cell death during flower development 14. WSCPs are divided into two main classes according to their photophysical properties. The first class (class I, e.g. from Chenopodium album) may undergo photoconversion upon illumination. Class II WSCPs from Brassica plants, that do not undergo photoconversion 5,10, are further subdivided into class IIa (e.g., from Brassica oleracea, Raphanus sativus) and IIb (e.g., from Lepidium virginicum). The structure of class IIb WSCP from Lepidium virginicum was solved by X-ray crystallography at 2.0 &#197; resolution 8. It reveals a symmetric homotetramer in which the protein subunits form a hydrophobic core. Each subunit binds a single Chl which results in a tight arrangement of four closely packed Chls within the core.This simple all Chl arrangement makes WSCPs a potentially useful model system for studying binding and assembly of Chl-protein complexes, and the effects of neighboring Chls and protein environments on the spectral and electronic properties of individual Chls. Furthermore, it may provide templates for constructing artificial Chl-binding proteins that may be used for light-harvesting modules in artificial photosynthetic devices.
Rigorous studies of native WSCPs are not feasible because the complexes purified from plants always contain a heterogeneous mixture of tetramers with different combinations of Chl a and Chl b 9. Thus, a method for assembling recombinantly expressed WSCPs with Chls in vitro is required. This is challenged by the negligible water-solubility of Chls which makes it impossible to assemble the complex in&#160;vitro by simply mixing the water-soluble apoproteins with pigments in aqueous solutions. In&#160;vitro assembly by mixing the apoproteins with thylakoid membranes 15 was demonstrated, but this method is limited to the native Chls present in the thylakoids. Schmidt et al. reported on assembling several Chl and BChl derivatives with WSCP from cauliflower (CaWSCP) by recombinantly expressing a histidine-tagged protein in E. coli immobilizing it onto a Ni-affinity column and introducing Chl derivatives solubilized in detergents 11. Successfully reconstitution of recombinant WSCPs from A. thaliana 6, and Brussels sprouts (BoWSCP), Japanese wild radish (RshWSCP) and Virginia pepperweed (LvWSCP) by a similar method were also reported.
Here, we present a novel, general, straightforward method for assembling Chls with WSCP that does not require tagging or immobilizing the proteins. It relies on preparing emulsions from their aqueous solutions of the water-soluble apoproteins in mineral oil. The proteins are thus encapsulated in water-in-oil (W/O) microdroplets with very high surface to volume ratio 16. The hydrophobic cofactors are then dissolved in the oil and are readily introduced into the droplets from the oil phase. We report on using the method for assembling of several variants of WSCP apoproteins recombinantly expressed in E. coli with Chl a. We demonstrate the assembly from crude lysate of WSCP-overexpressing bacteria which may be used as a screening system for developing novel Chl binding proteins.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="614">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Mineral oil</td>
			<td style="width:83px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">M5904</td>
			<td style="width:196px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Span80</td>
			<td style="width:83px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">85548</td>
			<td style="width:196px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Tween80</td>
			<td style="width:83px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">P8074</td>
			<td style="width:196px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:216px;">Bio-Scale Mini Profinity eXact Cartridges</td>
			<td style="width:83px;">Bio Rad</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">10011164</td>
			<td style="width:196px;">Affinity chromatography for WSCP purification with native sequence.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="84">
			<td height="84" style="height:84px;width:216px;">His Trap HF column</td>
			<td style="width:83px;">GE Healthcare Life Science</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">17-5248-02</td>
			<td style="width:196px;">Affinity chromatography for WSCP purification with His-tag</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="84">
			<td height="84" style="height:84px;width:216px;">DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow</td>
			<td style="width:83px;">GE Healthcare Life Science</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">17-0709-01</td>
			<td style="width:196px;">Chromatography medium for chlorophyll purification</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

water in oil emulsions: a new system for assembling water-soluble chlorophyll-binding proteins with hydrophobic pigments

Chlorophylls (Chls) and bacteriochlorophylls (BChls) are the primary cofactors that carry out photosynthetic light harvesting and electron transport. Their functionality critically depends on their specific organization within large and elaborate multisubunit transmembrane protein complexes. In order to understand at the molecular level how these complexes facilitate solar energy conversion, it is essential to understand protein-pigment, and pigment-pigment interactions, and their effect on excited dynamics. One way of gaining such understanding is by constructing and studying complexes of Chls with simple water-soluble recombinant proteins. However, incorporating the lipophilic Chls and BChls into water-soluble proteins is difficult. Moreover, there is no general method, which could be used for assembly of water-soluble proteins with hydrophobic pigments. Here, we demonstrate a simple and high throughput system based on water-in-oil emulsions, which enables assembly of water-soluble proteins with hydrophobic Chls. The new method was validated by assembling recombinant versions of the water-soluble chlorophyll binding protein of Brassicaceae plants (WSCP) with Chl a. We demonstrate the successful assembly of Chl a using crude lysates of WSCP expressing E. coli cell, which may be used for developing a genetic screen system for novel water-soluble Chl-binding proteins, and for studies of Chl-protein interactions and assembly processes.

Recombinant WSCP apoproteins were assembled with Chl a in W/O emulsions according to the protocol described in the previous section. The protocol was implemented using aqueous phases containing either pure WSCPs, or lysates E.coli cells overexpressing WSCP (Figure 1). The protocol is simple, fast and does not require any special equipment except a tissue homogenizer.
The absorbance and CD spect...

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Emulsje typu woda w oleju: nowy system łączenia rozpuszczalnych w wodzie białek wiążących chlorofil z pigmentami hydrofobowymi | Chemia | Wideo

Water in Oil Emulsions: A New System for Assembling Water-soluble Chlorophyll-binding Proteins with Hydrophobic Pigments

This manuscript describes a simple and high-throughput method for assembling water-soluble proteins with hydrophobic pigments that is based on water-in-oil emulsions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in the assembly of native chlorophylls with four variants of recombinant water-soluble-chlorophyll binding proteins (WSCPs) of Brassica plants expressed in E. coli.

Chlorophylls (Chls) and bacteriochlorophylls (BChls) are the primary cofactors that carry out photosynthetic light harvesting and electron transport. ...

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14.5K Views.  Weizmann Institute of Science. This manuscript describes a simple and high-throughput method for assembling water-soluble proteins with hydrophobic pigments that is based on water-in-oil emulsions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in the assembly of native chlorophylls with four variants of recombinant water-soluble-chlorophyll binding proteins (WSCPs) of Brassica plants expressed in E. coli.

Video: Water in Oil Emulsions: A New System for Assembling Water-soluble Chlorophyll-binding Proteins with Hydrophobic Pigments

High-pressure Sapphire Cell for Phase Equilibria Measurements of CO2/Organic/Water Systems

The high pressure sapphire cell apparatus was constructed to visually determine the composition of multiphase systems without physical sampling. Specifically, the sapphire cell enables visual data collection from multiple loadings to solve a set of material balances to precisely determine phase composition. Ternary phase diagrams can then be established to determine the proportion of each component in each phase at a given condition. In principle, any ternary system can be studied although ternary systems (gas-liquid-liquid) are the specific examples discussed herein. For instance, the ternary THF-Water-CO2 system was studied at 25 and 40&#160;&#176;C and is described herein. Of key importance, this technique does not require sampling. Circumventing the possible disturbance of the system equilibrium upon sampling, inherent measurement errors, and technical difficulties of physically sampling under pressure is a significant benefit of this technique. Perhaps as important, the sapphire cell also enables the direct visual observation of the phase behavior. In fact, as the CO2 pressure is increased, the homogeneous THF-Water solution phase splits at about 2 MPa. With this technique, it was possible to easily and clearly observe the cloud point and determine the composition of the newly formed phases as a function of pressure.
The data acquired with the sapphire cell technique can be used for many applications. In our case, we measured swelling and composition for tunable solvents, like gas-expanded liquids, gas-expanded ionic liquids and Organic Aqueous Tunable Systems (OATS)1-4. For the latest system, OATS, the high-pressure sapphire cell enabled the study of (1) phase behavior as a function of pressure and temperature, (2) composition of each phase (gas-liquid-liquid) as a function of pressure and temperature and (3) catalyst partitioning in the two liquid phases as a function of pressure and composition. Finally, the sapphire cell is an especially effective tool to gather accurate and reproducible measurements in a timely fashion.

High-pressure Sapphire Cell for Phase Equilibria Measurements of CO2/Organic/Water Systems

The high pressure sapphire cell apparatus is a unique tool to study, without sampling, phase behavior under a wide range of pressures. Using a cathetometer, very precise volume measurements can be recorded to measure liquid expansion and phase composition. Thus, this synthetic method enables the study of (1) phase equilibria of multi-component mixtures and (2) the partition behavior of catalyst or model compounds as a function of pressure.

The high pressure sapphire cell apparatus was constructed to visually determine the composition of multiphase systems without physical sampling. ...

In Situ Characterization of Hydrated Proteins in Water by SALVI and ToF-SIMS

This work demonstrates in situ characterization of protein biomolecules in the aqueous solution using the System for Analysis at the Liquid Vacuum Interface (SALVI) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The fibronectin protein film was immobilized on the silicon nitride (SiN) membrane that forms the SALVI detection area. During ToF-SIMS analysis, three modes of analysis were conducted including high spatial resolution mass spectrometry, two-dimensional (2D) imaging, and depth profiling. Mass spectra were acquired in both positive and negative modes. Deionized water was also analyzed as a reference sample. Our results show that the fibronectin film in water has more distinct and stronger water cluster peaks compared to water alone. Characteristic peaks of amino acid fragments are also observable in the hydrated protein ToF-SIMS spectra. These results illustrate that protein molecule adsorption on a surface can be studied dynamically using SALVI and ToF-SIMS in the liquid environment for the first time.

In Situ Characterization of Hydrated Proteins in Water by SALVI and ToF-SIMS

This work presents a protocol for liquid handling and sample introduction to a microchannel for in situ time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis of protein biomolecules in an aqueous solution.

This work demonstrates in situ characterization of protein biomolecules in the aqueous solution using the System for Analysis at the Liquid Vacuum ...

Synthesis of Protein Bioconjugates via Cysteine-maleimide Chemistry

The chemical linking or bioconjugation of proteins to fluorescent dyes, drugs, polymers and other proteins has a broad range of applications, such as the development of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and nanomedicine, fluorescent microscopy and systems chemistry. For many of these applications, specificity of the bioconjugation method used is of prime concern. The Michael addition of maleimides with cysteine(s) on the target proteins is highly selective and proceeds rapidly under mild conditions, making it one of the most popular methods for protein bioconjugation.
We demonstrate here the modification of the only surface-accessible cysteine residue on yeast cytochrome c with a ruthenium(II) bisterpyridine maleimide. The protein bioconjugation is verified by gel electrophoresis and purified by aqueous-based fast protein liquid chromatography in 27% yield of isolated protein material. Structural characterization with MALDI-TOF MS and UV-Vis is then used to verify that the bioconjugation is successful. The protocol shown here is easily applicable to other cysteine - maleimide coupling of proteins to other proteins, dyes, drugs or polymers.

Synthesis of Protein Bioconjugates via Cysteine-maleimide Chemistry

This protocol details the important steps required for the bioconjugation of a cysteine containing protein to a maleimide, including reagent purification, reaction conditions, bioconjugate purification and bioconjugate characterization.

The chemical linking or bioconjugation of proteins to fluorescent dyes, drugs, polymers and other proteins has a broad range of applications, such as the ...

Synthesis of a Water-soluble Metal&#8211;Organic Complex Array

We demonstrate a method for the synthesis of a water-soluble multimetallic peptidic array containing a predetermined sequence of metal centers such as Ru(II), Pt(II), and Rh(III). The compound, named as a water-soluble metal-organic complex array (WSMOCA), is obtained through 1) the conventional solution-chemistry-based preparation of the corresponding metal complex monomers having a 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-protected amino acid moiety and 2) their sequential coupling together with other water-soluble organic building units on the surface-functionalized polymeric resin by following the procedures originally developed for the solid-phase synthesis of polypeptides, with proper modifications. Traces of reactions determined by mass spectrometric analysis at the representative coupling steps in stage 2 confirm the selective construction of a predetermined sequence of metal centers along with the peptide backbone. The WSMOCA cleaved from the resin at the end of stage 2 has a certain level of solubility in aqueous media dependent on the pH value and/or salt content, which is useful for the purification of the compound.

A potential general method for the synthesis of water-soluble multimetallic peptidic arrays containing a predetermined sequence of metal centers is presented.

We demonstrate a method for the synthesis of a water-soluble multimetallic peptidic array containing a predetermined sequence of metal centers such as ...

NMR Spectroscopy as a Robust Tool for the Rapid Evaluation of the Lipid Profile of Fish Oil Supplements

The western diet is poor in n-3 fatty acids, therefore the consumption of fish oil supplements is recommended to increase the intake of these essential nutrients. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the qualitative and quantitative analysis of encapsulated fish oil supplements using high-resolution 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy utilizing two different NMR instruments; a 500 MHz and an 850 MHz instrument. Both proton (1H) and carbon (13C) NMR spectra can be used for the quantitative determination of the major constituents of fish oil supplements. Quantification of the lipids in fish oil supplements is achieved through integration of the appropriate NMR signals in the relevant 1D spectra. Results obtained by 1H and 13C NMR are in good agreement with each other, despite the difference in resolution and sensitivity between the two nuclei and the two instruments. 1H NMR offers a more rapid analysis compared to 13C NMR, as the spectrum can be recorded in less than 1 min, in contrast to 13C NMR analysis, which lasts from 10 min to one hour. The 13C NMR spectrum, however, is much more informative. It can provide quantitative data for a greater number of individual fatty acids and can be used for determining the positional distribution of fatty acids on the glycerol backbone. Both nuclei can provide quantitative information in just one experiment without the need of purification or separation steps. The strength of the magnetic field mostly affects the 1H NMR spectra due to its lower resolution with respect to 13C NMR, however, even lower cost NMR instruments can be efficiently applied as a standard method by the food industry and quality control laboratories.

Here, high-resolution 1H and 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used as a rapid and reliable tool for quantitative and qualitative analysis of encapsulated fish oil supplements.

The western diet is poor in n-3 fatty acids, therefore the consumption of fish oil supplements is recommended to increase the intake of these essential ...

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy

Water/solid interfaces are ubiquitous and play a key role in many environmental, biophysical, and technological processes. Resolving the internal structure and probing the hydrogen-bond (H-bond) dynamics of the water molecules adsorbed on solid surfaces are fundamental issues of water science, which remains a great challenge owing to the light mass and small size of hydrogen. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is a promising tool for attacking these problems, thanks to its capabilities of sub-&#197;ngstr&#246;m spatial resolution, single-bond vibrational sensitivity, and atomic/molecular manipulation. The designed experimental system consists of a Cl-terminated tip and a sample fabricated by dosing water molecules in situ onto the Au(111)-supported NaCl(001) surfaces. The insulating NaCl films electronically decouple the water from the metal substrates, so the intrinsic frontier orbitals of water molecules are preserved. The Cl-tip facilitates the manipulation of the single water molecules, as well as gating the orbitals of water to the proximity of Fermi level (EF) via tip-water coupling. This paper outlines the detailed methods of submolecular resolution imaging, molecular/atomic manipulation, and single-bond vibrational spectroscopy of interfacial water. These studies open up a new route for investigating the H-bonded systems at the atomic scale.

Here, we present a protocol to investigate the structure and dynamics of interfacial water at the atomic scale, in terms of submolecular resolution imaging, molecular manipulation, and single-bond vibrational spectroscopy.

Water/solid interfaces are ubiquitous and play a key role in many environmental, biophysical, and technological processes. Resolving the internal ...

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction

A highly efficient transition metal catalyst removal method is developed. The water-soluble catalyst contains a newly-designed NHC ligand for the catalyst removal via host-guest interactions. The new NHC ligand possesses an adamantyl (guest) tethered linear ethylene glycol units for hydrophobic inclusion into the cavity of a &#946;-cyclodextrin (&#946;-CD) host compound. The new NHC ligand was applied to a Ru-based olefin metathesis catalyst. The Ru catalyst demonstrated excellent activity in representative ring-closing metathesis (RCM) and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) reactions in aqueous media as well as organic solvent, CH2Cl2. After the reaction was complete, the lingering Ru residue was removed from the aqueous solution with the efficiency of more than 99% (53 ppm of Ru residue) by simple filtration utilizing a host-guest interaction between insoluble silica-grafted &#946;-CD (host) and the adamantyl moiety (guest) on the catalyst. The new Ru catalyst also demonstrated high removal efficiency via extraction when the reaction is run in organic solvent by partitioning the crude reaction mixture between layers of diethyl ether and water. In this way, the catalyst stays in aqueous layer only. In organic layer, the residual Ru amount was only 0.14 ppm in the RCM reactions of diallyl compounds.

A removable water-soluble N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand in aqueous media via host-guest interaction has been developed. We demonstrated representative olefin metathesis reactions in water as well as in dichloromethane. Via either host-guest interaction or extraction, the residual ruthenium (Ru) catalyst was as low as 0.14 ppm after the reaction.

A highly efficient transition metal catalyst removal method is developed. The water-soluble catalyst contains a newly-designed NHC ligand for the catalyst ...

Stereolithographic 3D Printing with Renewable Acrylates

The accessibility of cost-competitive renewable materials and their application in additive manufacturing is essential for an efficient biobased economy. We demonstrate the rapid prototyping of sustainable resins using a stereolithographic 3D printer. Resin formulation takes place by straightforward mixing of biobased acrylate monomers and oligomers with a photoinitiatior and optical absorber. Resin viscosity is controlled by the monomer to oligomer ratio and is determined as a function of shear rate by a rheometer with parallel plate geometry. A stereolithographic apparatus charged with the biobased resins is employed to produce complex shaped prototypes with high accuracy. The products require a post-treatment, including alcohol rinsing and UV irradiation, to ensure complete curing. The high feature resolution and excellent surface finishing of the prototypes is revealed by scanning electron microscopy.

A protocol for additive manufacturing with renewable photopolymer resins on a stereolithography apparatus is presented.

The accessibility of cost-competitive renewable materials and their application in additive manufacturing is essential for an efficient biobased economy. ...

A New Straightforward Method for Lipophilicity (logP) Measurement using 19F NMR Spectroscopy

Fluorination has become an effective tool to optimize physicochemical properties of bioactive compounds. One of the applications of fluorine introduction is to modulate the lipophilicity of the compound. In our group, we are interested in the study of the impact of fluorination on lipophilicity of aliphatic fluorohydrins and fluorinated carbohydrates. These are not UV-active, resulting in a challenging lipophilicity determination. Here, we present a straightforward method for the measurement of lipophilicity of fluorinated compounds by 19F NMR spectroscopy. This method requires no UV-activity. Accurate solute mass, solvent and aliquot volume are also not required to be measured. Using this method, we measured the lipophilicities of a large number of fluorinated alkanols and carbohydrates.

A New Straightforward Method for Lipophilicity logP Measurement using 19F NMR Spectroscopy

A novel and straightforward variation of the shake-flask method was developed for accurate lipophilicity measurement of fluorinated compounds by 19F NMR spectroscopy.

Fluorination has become an effective tool to optimize physicochemical properties of bioactive compounds. One of the applications of fluorine introduction ...

Synthesis and Bioconjugation of Thiol-Reactive Reagents for the Creation of Site-Selectively Modified Immunoconjugates

Maleimide-bearing bifunctional probes have been employed for decades for the site-selective modification of thiols in biomolecules, especially antibodies. Yet maleimide-based conjugates display limited stability in vivo because the succinimidyl thioether linkage can undergo a retro-Michael reaction. This, of course, can lead to the release of the radioactive payload or its exchange with thiol-bearing biomolecules in circulation. Both of these processes can produce elevated activity concentrations in healthy organs as well as decreased activity concentrations in target tissues, resulting in reduced imaging contrast and lower therapeutic ratios. In 2018, we reported the creation of a modular, stable, and easily accessible phenyloxadiazolyl methyl sulfone reagent &#8212; dubbed &#8216;PODS&#8217; &#8212; as a platform for thiol-based bioconjugations. We have clearly demonstrated that PODS-based site-selective bioconjugations reproducibly and robustly create homogenous, well-defined, highly immunoreactive, and highly stable radioimmunoconjugates. Furthermore, preclinical experiments in murine models of colorectal cancer have shown that these site-selectively labeled radioimmunoconjugates exhibit far superior in vivo performance compared to radiolabeled antibodies synthesized via maleimide-based conjugations. In this protocol, we will describe the four-step synthesis of PODS, the creation of a bifunctional PODS-bearing variant of the ubiquitous chelator DOTA (PODS-DOTA), and the conjugation of PODS-DOTA to the HER2-targeting antibody trastuzumab.

In this protocol, we will describe the synthesis of PODS, a phenyoxadiazolyl methyl sulfone-based reagent for the site-selective attachment of cargos to the thiols of biomolecules, particularly antibodies. In addition, we will describe the synthesis and characterization of a PODS-bearing bifunctional chelator and its conjugation to a model antibody.

Maleimide-bearing bifunctional probes have been employed for decades for the site-selective modification of thiols in biomolecules, especially antibodies. ...

Water in Oil Emulsions: A New System for Assembling Water-soluble Chlorophyll-binding Proteins with Hydrophobic Pigments

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High-pressure Sapphire Cell for Phase Equilibria Measurements of CO₂/Organic/Water Systems

In Situ Characterization of Hydrated Proteins in Water by SALVI and ToF-SIMS

Synthesis of Protein Bioconjugates via Cysteine-maleimide Chemistry

Synthesis of a Water-soluble Metal–Organic Complex Array

NMR Spectroscopy as a Robust Tool for the Rapid Evaluation of the Lipid Profile of Fish Oil Supplements

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction

Stereolithographic 3D Printing with Renewable Acrylates

A New Straightforward Method for Lipophilicity (logP) Measurement using ¹⁹F NMR Spectroscopy

Synthesis and Bioconjugation of Thiol-Reactive Reagents for the Creation of Site-Selectively Modified Immunoconjugates