Recent discoveries from brassinosteroid-deficient mutants led to the recognition that plants, like animals, use steroids to regulate their growth and development. We describe the characterization of one member of a Brassica napus sulfotransferase gene family coding for an enzyme that catalyzes the O-sulfonation of brassinosteroids and of mammalian estrogenic steroids. The enzyme is specific for...

The ability to chemically wire ionomer films to electrode surfaces can promote transport near interfaces and impact a host of energy-related applications. Here, we demonstrate proof-of-concept principles for the surface-initiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization (SI-ROMP) of norbornene (NB), 5-butylnorbornene (NBH4), and 5-perfluorobutylnorbornene (NBF4) from Pt-modified gold substrates a...

Sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) with a low degree of sulfonation (DS = 40%) was prepared for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) was sulfonated in concentrated H2SO4 under N2 atmosphere and characterized by the hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) technique. After preparation of the SPEEK polymer, the obtained polymer was dissolved i...

Protein sulfonation on serine and threonine residues is described for the first time. This post-translational modification is shown to occur in proteins isolated from organisms representing a broad span of eukaryote evolution, including the invertebrate mollusk Lymnaea stagnalis, the unicellular malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and humans. Detection and structural characterization of thi...

In this study electrospun nanofibers of partially sulfonated polyether ether ketone have been produced as a preliminary step for a possible development of composite proton exchange membranes for fuel cells. Response surface methodology has been employed for the modelling and optimization of the electrospinning process, using a Box-Behnken design. The investigation, based on a second order polyn...

Sulfotransferases (SULTs) are involved in the phase II metabolism of endogenous and exogenous compounds including drugs, thyroid and steroid hormones, catecholamines and procarcinogenic agents (Falany, 1997; Richard et al., 2001). Sulfotransferase 1A1 (SULT1A1), an important member of this enzyme superfamily, has high activity towards a wide range of substrates including environmental and tobac...