11 research outputs found
The Application of Nanoparticles of Waste Tires in Remediating Boron from Desalinated Water
A waste tire rubber (WTR) collected from the remains discarded tires has exhibited a noteworthy capacity to adsorb Boron. In the current study, the boron adsorption remediation from water at selected pH values, initial boron concentration, contact time, adsorbent dosage and particle size were examined using the WTR, the chemically modified WTR, and nano-WTR. The adsorption isotherms were best fitted to the Freundlich model with a high correlation coefficient (R2 :0.89-0.99), while the adsorption kinetics were satisfactorily described by the pseudo second order kinetic equation with correlation coefficient (R2: 1).The boron remediation using the WTR, the chemically modified-WTR and nano-WTR at low boron concentration (≤ 17.7 mg/L) were comparable with other adsorbents. The highest adsorption capacities for WTR, chemically modified-WTR and nano-WTR at initial concentration of 17.5 mg/L were 16.7 ± 1.3 mg/g, 13.8 ± 1.9 mg/g and 12.7 ± 1.8mg/g, respectively.This publication was made possible by UREP # (19-171-1-031) from the Qatar National
Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)
Examination of Glycan Profiles from IgG-Depleted Human Immunoglobulins Facilitated by Microscale Affinity Chromatography
Among the most important proteins involved in disease
and healing
processes are the immunoglobulins (Igs). Although many of the Igs
have been studied through proteomics, aside from IgG, immunoglobulin
carbohydrates have not been extensively characterized in different
states of health. It seems valuable to develop techniques that permit
an understanding of changes in the structures and abundances of Ig
glycans in the context of disease onset and progression. We have devised
a strategy for characterization of the glycans for the Ig classes
other than IgG (i.e., A, D, E, and M) that contain kappa light chains
that requires only a few microliters of biological material. First,
we designed a microcolumn containing recombinant Protein L that was
immobilized on macroporous silica particles. A similarly designed
Protein G microcolumn was utilized to first perform an online depletion
of the IgG from the sample, human blood serum, and thereby facilitate
enrichment of the other Igs. Even though only 3 ÎĽL of serum
was used in these analyses, we were able to recover a significantly
enriched fraction of non-IgG immunoglobulins. The enrichment properties
of the Protein L column were characterized using a highly sensitive
label-free quantitative proteomics LC-MS/MS approach, and the glycomic
profiles of enriched immunoglobulins were measured by MALDI-TOF MS.
As a proof of principle, a comparative study was conducted using blood
serum from a small group of lung cancer patients and a group of age-matched
cancer-free individuals to demonstrate that the method is suitable
for investigation of glycosylation changes in disease. The results
were in agreement with a glycomic investigation of whole blood serum
from a much larger lung cancer cohort
Isolation and Purification of Glycoconjugates from Complex Biological Sources by Recycling High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
Among
of the most urgent needs of the glycobiology community is
to generate libraries of pure carbohydrate standards. While many oligosaccharides
have recently been synthesized, some glycans of biomedical importance
are still missing in existing collections or are available in only
limited amounts. To address this need, we demonstrate the use of the
relatively unexplored technique of recycling high-performance liquid
chromatography (R-HPLC) to isolate and purify glycoconjugates from
several natural sources. We were able to routinely achieve purities
greater than 98%. In several cases, we were able to obtain isomerically
pure substances, particularly for glycans with different positional
isomerism. These purified substances can then be used in different
analytical applications, for example, as standards for mass spectrometry
(MS) and capillary-based separations. Moreover, using a bifunctional
aromatic amine, the same derivatization agent can be used to enable
UV detection of oligosaccharides during their purification and link
the isolated molecules to functionalized surfaces and potentially
create glycan arrays
Oxidation of Dissolved Elemental Mercury by Thiol Compounds under Anoxic Conditions
Mercuric ion, Hg<sup>2+</sup>, forms strong complexes with thiolate compounds that commonly
dominate HgÂ(II) speciation in natural freshwater. However, reactions
between dissolved aqueous elemental mercury (Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub>) and
organic ligands in general, and thiol compounds in particular, are
not well studied although these reactions likely affect Hg speciation
and cycling in the environment. In this study, we compared the reaction
rates between Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> and a number of selected organic
ligands with varying molecular structures and sulfur (S) oxidation
states in dark, anoxic conditions to assess the role of these ligands
in Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> oxidation. Significant Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> oxidation
was observed with all thiols but not with ligands containing no S.
Compounds with oxidized S (e.g., disulfide) exhibited little or no
reactivity toward Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> either at pH 7. The rate and
extent of Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> oxidation varied greatly depending on
the chemical and structural properties of thiols, thiol/Hg ratios,
and the presence or absence of electron acceptors. Smaller aliphatic
thiols and higher thiol/Hg ratios resulted in higher Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> oxidation rates than larger aromatic thiols at lower thiol/Hg ratios.
The addition of electron acceptors (e.g., humic acid) also led to
substantially increased Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> oxidation. Our results
suggest that thiol-induced oxidation of Hg(0)<sub>aq</sub> is important
under anoxic conditions and can affect Hg redox transformation and
bioavailability for microbial methylation
Identification of Mercury and Dissolved Organic Matter Complexes Using Ultrahigh Resolution Mass Spectrometry
The
chemical speciation and bioavailability of mercury (Hg) is
markedly influenced by its complexation with naturally dissolved organic
matter (DOM) in aquatic environments. To date, however, analytical
methodologies capable of identifying such complexes are scarce. Here,
we utilize ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance
mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) coupled with electrospray ionization
to identify individual Hg–DOM complexes. The measurements were
performed by direct infusion of DOM in a 1:1 methanol:water solution
at a Hg to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) molar ratio of 3 Ă—
10<sup>–4</sup>. Heteroatomic molecules, especially those containing
multiple S and N atoms, were found to be among the most important
in forming strong complexes with Hg. Major Hg–DOM complexes
of C<sub>10</sub>H<sub>21</sub>N<sub>2</sub>S<sub>4</sub>Hg<sup>+</sup> and C<sub>8</sub>H<sub>17</sub>N<sub>2</sub>S<sub>4</sub>Hg<sup>+</sup> were identified based on both the exact molecular mass and
patterns of Hg stable isotope distributions detected by FTICR-MS.
Density functional theory was used to predict the solution-phase structures
of candidate molecules. These findings represent the first step to
unambiguously identify specific DOM molecules in Hg binding, although
future studies are warranted to further optimize and validate the
methodology so as to explore detailed molecular compositions and structures
of Hg–DOM complexes that affect biological uptake and transformation
of Hg in the environment
Global Proteome Response to Deletion of Genes Related to Mercury Methylation and Dissimilatory Metal Reduction Reveals Changes in Respiratory Metabolism in <i>Geobacter sulfurreducens</i> PCA
<i>Geobacter sulfurreducens</i> PCA can reduce, sorb,
and methylate mercury (Hg); however, the underlying biochemical mechanisms
of these processes and interdependent metabolic pathways remain unknown.
In this study, shotgun proteomics was used to compare global proteome
profiles between wild-type <i>G. sulfurreducens</i> PCA
and two mutant strains: a Δ<i>hgcAB</i> mutant, which
is deficient in two genes known to be essential for Hg methylation
and a Δ<i>omcBESTZ</i> mutant, which is deficient
in five outer membrane <i>c</i>-type cytochromes and thus
impaired in its ability for dissimilatory metal ion reduction. We
were able to delineate the global response of <i>G. sulfurreducens</i> PCA in both mutants and identify cellular networks and metabolic
pathways that were affected by the loss of these genes. Deletion of <i>hgcAB</i> increased the relative abundances of proteins implicated
in extracellular electron transfer, including most of the <i>c</i>-type cytochromes, PilA-C, and OmpB, and is consistent
with a previously observed increase in Hg reduction in the Δ<i>hgcAB</i> mutant. Deletion of <i>omcBESTZ</i> was
found to significantly increase relative abundances of various methyltransferases,
suggesting that a loss of dissimilatory reduction capacity results
in elevated activity among one-carbon (C1) metabolic pathways and
thus increased methylation. We show that <i>G. sulfurreducens</i> PCA encodes only the folate branch of the acetyl-CoA pathway, and
proteins associated with the folate branch were found at lower abundance
in the Δ<i>hgcAB</i> mutant strain than the wild type.
This observation supports the hypothesis that the function of HgcA
and HgcB is linked to C1 metabolism through the folate branch of the
acetyl-CoA pathway by providing methyl groups required for Hg methylation
Indexing Permafrost Soil Organic Matter Degradation Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry
<div><p>Microbial degradation of soil organic matter (SOM) is a key process for terrestrial carbon cycling, although the molecular details of these transformations remain unclear. This study reports the application of ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry to profile the molecular composition of SOM and its degradation during a simulated warming experiment. A soil sample, collected near Barrow, Alaska, USA, was subjected to a 40-day incubation under anoxic conditions and analyzed before and after the incubation to determine changes of SOM composition. A CHO index based on molecular C, H, and O data was utilized to codify SOM components according to their observed degradation potentials. Compounds with a CHO index score between –1 and 0 in a water-soluble fraction (WSF) demonstrated high degradation potential, with a highest shift of CHO index occurred in the N-containing group of compounds, while similar stoichiometries in a base-soluble fraction (BSF) did not. Additionally, compared with the classical H:C vs O:C van Krevelen diagram, CHO index allowed for direct visualization of the distribution of heteroatoms such as N in the identified SOM compounds. We demonstrate that CHO index is useful not only in characterizing arctic SOM at the molecular level but also enabling quantitative description of SOM degradation, thereby facilitating incorporation of the high resolution MS datasets to future mechanistic models of SOM degradation and prediction of greenhouse gas emissions.</p></div
Heatmaps for CHO index as a function of molecular mass of extracted SOM compounds before and after the soil warming experiment.
<p>The color bar represents the relative abundance of compounds identified in each of the SOM extract: <b>(a)</b> WSF0, <b>(b)</b> WSF40, <b>(c)</b> BSF0, and <b>(d)</b> BSF40. A positive correlation between CHO index and mass can be observed for mass > 600 Da.</p
Molecular distribution of extracted SOM compounds from a 40-day soil warming incubation experiment.
<p>(a) Box-and-whisker plots of the mass distribution of SOM compounds, including the base-soluble fraction (BSF) at day 0 (BSF0) and day 40 (BSF40) and the water-soluble fraction (WSF) at day 0 (WSF0) and day 40 (WSF40). <b>(b and c)</b> van Krevelen diagram along with CHO index showing the molecular distribution of WSF SOM compounds before (b) and after (c) incubation. <b>(d)</b> Percentages of molecular formulae identified with CHO index values between -2 and 2 before and after soil incubation and are normalized to the total number of formulae displayed in (b) and (c). Compound classes are labeled above colored bars as follows: (A) lipids, (B) unsaturated hydrocarbons, (C) peptides, (D) aminosugars, (E) carbohydrates, (F) lignin, (G) condensed hydrocarbons, (H) tannins.</p
Heatmaps for CHO index as a function of the number of N atoms in extracted SOM compounds identified in (a) WSF0, (b) WSF40, (c) BSF0, and (d) BSF40.
<p>The color bar represents the relative abundance of compounds identified in each of the extract. Note the “island” formations observed for even numbers of N atoms in the BSF samples.</p