Urea

About: Urea is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 21394 publications have been published within this topic receiving 382444 citations. The topic is also known as: carbamide & carbonic acid diamide.

Synthesis of gallium oxide hydroxide crystals in aqueous solutions with or without urea and their calcination behavior

Abstract: Gallium oxide hydroxide (GaOOH·xH2O) single crystals were synthesized in aqueous solutions by using two different precipitation techniques: homogeneous decomposition of urea and forced hydrolysis in pure water. Precipitation of crystals started at exactly the same pH value (i.e., 2.05 at 85°C) in both cases. The morphology of crystals turned out to be quite different (zeppelin-like with urea, rodlike without urea) in each of the above methods. Calcination of these gallium oxide hydroxide crystals in air at temperatures ≥500°C transformed them into Ga2O3. Characterization of the samples was performed by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ICP, carbon, and nitrogen analyses.

Effect of Water on the Density, Viscosity, and CO2 Solubility in Choline Chloride/Urea

Abstract: To study the effect of water on the properties of choline chloride (ChCl)/urea mixtures (1:2 on a molar basis), the density and viscosity of ChCl/urea (1:2) with water were measured at temperatures from 298.15 K to 333.15 K at atmospheric pressure, the CO2 solubility in ChCl/urea (1:2) with water was determined at 308.2 K, 318.2 K, and 328.2 K and at pressures up to 4.5 MPa. The results show that the addition of water significantly decreases the viscosity of ChCl/urea (1:2), whereas the effects on their density and CO2 solubility are much weaker. The CO2 solubility in ChCl/urea (1:2) with water was represented with the Nonrandom-Two-Liquid Redlich–Kwong (NRTL-RK) model. The excess molar volume and excess molar activation energy were further determined. The CO2 absorption enthalpy was calculated and dominated by the CO2 dissolution enthalpy, and the magnitude of the CO2 dissolution enthalpy decreases with the increase of water content.

How a protein can remain stable in a solvent with high content of urea: insights from molecular dynamics simulation of Candida antarctica lipase B in urea : choline chloride deep eutectic solvent

Abstract: Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are utilized as green and inexpensive alternatives to classical ionic liquids. It has been known that some of DESs can be used as solvent in the enzymatic reactions to obtain very green chemical processes. DESs are quite poorly understood at the molecular level. Moreover, we do not know much about the enzyme microstructure in such systems. For example, how some hydrolase can remain active and stable in a deep eutectic solvent including 9 M of urea? In this study, the molecular dynamics of DESs as a liquid was simulated at the molecular level. Urea : choline chloride as a well-known eutectic mixture was chosen as a model DES. The behavior of the lipase as a biocatalyst was studied in this system. For comparison, the enzyme structure was also simulated in 8M urea. The thermal stability of the enzyme was also evaluated in DESs, water, and 8M urea. The enzyme showed very good conformational stability in the urea : choline chloride mixture with about 66% urea (9 M) even at high temperatures. The results are in good agreement with recent experimental observations. In contrast, complete enzyme denaturation occurred in 8M urea with only 12% urea in water. It was found that urea molecules denature the enzyme by interrupting the intra-chain hydrogen bonds in a “direct denaturation mechanism”. However, in a urea : choline chloride deep eutectic solvent, as a result of hydrogen bonding with choline and chloride ions, urea molecules have a low diffusion coefficient and cannot reach the protein domains. Interestingly, urea, choline, and chloride ions form hydrogen bonds with the surface residues of the enzyme which, instead of lipase denaturation, leads to greater enzyme stability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which the microstructural properties of a macromolecule are examined in a deep eutectic solvent.

Molecular cloning and characterization of the vasopressin-regulated urea transporter of rat kidney collecting ducts.

Abstract: Absorption of urea in the renal inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) contributes to hypertonicity in the medullary interstitium which, in turn, provides the osmotic driving force for water reabsorption. This mechanism is regulated by vasopressin via a cAMP-dependent pathway and activation of a specialized urea transporter located in the apical membrane. We report here the cloning of a novel urea transporter, designated UT1, from the rat inner medulla which is functionally and structurally distinct from the previously reported kidney urea transporter UT2. UT1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes mediated passive transport of urea that was inhibited by phloretin and urea analogs but, in contrast to UT2, was strongly stimulated by cAMP agonists. Sequence comparison revealed that the coding region of UT1 cDNA contains the entire 397 amino acid residue coding region of UT2 and an additional 1,596 basepair-stretch at the 5' end. This stretch encodes a novel 532 amino acid residue NH2-terminal domain that has 67% sequence identity with UT2. Thus, UT1 consists of two internally homologous portions that have most likely arisen by gene duplication. Studies of the rat genomic DNA further indicated that UT1 and UT2 are derived from a single gene by alternative splicing. Based on Northern analysis and in situ hybridization, UT1 is expressed exclusively in the IMCD, particularly in its terminal portion. Taken together, our data show that UT1 corresponds to the previously characterized vasopressin-regulated urea transporter in the apical membrane of the terminal IMCD which plays a critical role in renal water conservation.