0000000000324822
AUTHOR
Orlando L. Sánchez-muñoz
N-Propyl-N′-2-pyridylurea-modified silica as mixed-mode stationary phase with moderate weak anion exchange capacity and pH-dependent surface charge reversal
Herein, we present a novel silica-based stationary phase modified with N-propyl-N'-2-pyridylurea selector. Due to the weakly basic properties of the pyridine selector and the presence of residual silanols after selector immobilization, a zwitterionic surface with a pI observed at approximately pH 5.5 was measured by electrophoretic light scattering in pH-dependent ζ-potential determinations. The capability of the new N-propyl-N'-2-pyridylurea-modified silica to serve as mixed-mode stationary phase was investigated. For this purpose, it was characterized under RP and HILIC conditions using test mixtures. Subsequent classification of this stationary phase in comparison to in-house and commerc…
Synthesis and Physical Stability of Novel Au-Ag@SiO<SUB>2</SUB> Alloy Nanoparticles
The present study describes the synthesis of nanoparticles of silver-gold alloys and with their electrokinetic and spectroscopic characterisation. The synthesis was made in two steps. In the first step silver nanoparticles coated with silica (Ag@SiO2) were synthesised using a novel method assisted by laser ablation. The second step consisted on the introduction of KAuCl4 in the colloidal solution of Ag@ SiO2 nanoparticles in order to obtain silica-coated silver-gold alloy nanoparticles. The changes of colour and mean diameter of Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles caused by the introduction of the gold salt were found dependent on its concentration. Upon increasing (KAuCl4) the diameter of nanoparticles …
Pores Formed by Baxα5 Relax to a Smaller Size and Keep at Equilibrium
AbstractPores made by amphipathic cationic peptides (e.g., antimicrobials and fragments of pore-forming proteins) are typically studied by examining the kinetics of vesicle leakage after peptide addition or obtaining structural measurements in reconstituted peptide-lipid systems. In the first case, the pores have been considered transient phenomena that allow the relaxation of the peptide-membrane system. In the second, they correspond to equilibrium structures at minimum free energy. Here we reconcile both approaches by investigating the pore activity of the α5 fragment from the proapoptotic protein Bax (Baxα5) before and after equilibrium of peptide/vesicle complexes. Quenching assays on …
Surface charge fine tuning of reversed-phase/weak anion-exchange type mixed-mode stationary phases for milder elution conditions.
A series of new mixed-mode reversed-phase/weak anion-exchange (RP/WAX) phases have been synthesized by immobilization of N-undecenyl-3-α-aminotropane onto thiol-modified silica gel by thiol-ene click chemistry and subsequent introduction of acidic thiol-endcapping functionalities of different type and surface densities. Click chemistry allowed to adjust a controlled surface concentration of the RP/WAX ligand in such a way that a sufficient quantity of residual thiols remained unmodified which have been capped by thiol click with either 3-butenoic acid or allylsulfonic acid as co-ligands. In another embodiment, performic acid oxidation of N-undecenyl-3-α-aminotropane-derivatized thiol-modifi…
A lipocentric view of peptide-induced pores
Although lipid membranes serve as effective sealing barriers for the passage of most polar solutes, nonmediated leakage is not completely improbable. A high activation energy normally keeps unassisted bilayer permeation at a very low frequency, but lipids are able to self-organize as pores even in peptide-free and protein-free membranes. The probability of leakage phenomena increases under conditions such as phase coexistence, external stress or perturbation associated to binding of nonlipidic molecules. Here, we argue that pore formation can be viewed as an intrinsic property of lipid bilayers, with strong similarities in the structure and mechanism between pores formed with participation …
Influence of surface porosity and pH on bacterial adherence to hydroxyapatite and biphasic calcium phosphate bioceramics
Hydroxyapatite (HA) and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) ceramic materials are widely employed as bone substitutes due to their porous and osteoconductive structure. Their porosity and the lowering of surrounding pH as a result of surgical trauma may, however, predispose these materials to bacterial infections. For this reason, the influence of porosity and pH on the adherence of common Gram-positive bacteria to the surfaces of these materials requires investigation. Mercury intrusion porosimetry measurements revealed that the pore size distribution of both bioceramics had, on a logarithmic scale, a sinusoidal frequency distribution ranging from 50 to 300 nm, with a mean pore diameter of 20…
Surface-anchored counterions on weak chiral anion-exchangers accelerate separations and improve their compatibility for mass-spectrometry-hyphenation
In the present work we propose new variants of chiral stationary phases (CSP) with tert-butylcarbamoylquinine (tBuCQN) as chiral selector molecule. Four tBuCQN-CSPs with distinct bonding chemistries are compared in terms of their pH-dependent surface charge by ζ-potential determinations, by achiral and chiral liquid chromatographic tests and LC-ESI-MS hyphenation. In one embodiment tBuCQN was immobilized on 3-mercaptopropylmethylsilyl-modified silica by thiol-ene click reaction (brush type CSP with selector coverage of 0.38mmol/g). In another embodiment, poly-(3-mercaptopropyl)-methylsiloxane was coated onto vinylized silica particles in presence of tBuCQN and radical initiator. The tBuCQN …
Switchable Bactericidal Effects from Novel Silica-Coated Silver Nanoparticles Mediated by Light Irradiation
Here we report on the triggering of antibacterial activity by a new type of silver nanoparticle coated with porous silica, Ag@silica, irradiated at their surface plasmon resonant frequency. The nanoparticles are able to bind readily to the surface of bacterial cells, although this does not affect bacterial growth since the silica shell largely attenuates the intrinsic toxicity of silver. However, upon simultaneous exposure to light corresponding to the absorption band of the nanoparticles, bacterial death is enhanced selectively on the irradiated zone. Because of the low power density used for the treatments, we discard thermal effects as the cause of cell killing. Instead, we propose that …
Stable-bond polymeric reversed-phase/weak anion-exchange mixed-mode stationary phases obtained by simultaneous functionalization and crosslinking of a poly(3-mercaptopropyl)methylsiloxane-film on vinyl silica via thiol-ene double click reaction.
Abstract A polymeric reversed-phase/weak anion exchange (Poly-RP/WAX) mixed-mode stationary phase has been prepared by coating of a poly(3-mercaptopropyl)methylsiloxane film on vinyl-modified silica (100 A, 5 μm) and simultaneous in situ functionalization with N-(10-undecenoyl)-3-aminoquinuclidine as well as crosslinking to the vinyl silica surface by solventless thiol-ene double click reaction. Such bonding chemistry showed greatly enhanced stability compared to brush-type analogs with bifunctional siloxane bonding to silica. Solid-state 29Si-CP/MAS NMR confirmed the immobilization of the siloxane layer. pH-Dependent ζ-potential determinations revealed a high anion-exchange capacity over t…
Canonical azimuthal rotations and flanking residues constrain the orientation of transmembrane helices.
AbstractIn biological membranes the alignment of embedded proteins provides crucial structural information. The transmembrane (TM) parts have well-defined secondary structures, in most cases α-helices and their orientation is given by a tilt angle and an azimuthal rotation angle around the main axis. The tilt angle is readily visualized and has been found to be functionally relevant. However, there exist no general concepts on the corresponding azimuthal rotation. Here, we show that TM helices prefer discrete rotation angles. They arise from a combination of intrinsic properties of the helix geometry plus the influence of the position and type of flanking residues at both ends of the hydrop…
Direct Observation of Nanometer-Scale Pores of Melittin in Supported Lipid Monolayers
Melittin is the most studied membrane-active peptide and archetype within a large and diverse group of pore formers. However, the molecular characteristics of melittin pores remain largely unknown. Herein, we show by atomic force microscopy (AFM) that lipid monolayers in the presence of melittin are decorated with numerous regularly shaped circular pores that can be distinguished from nonspecific monolayer defects. The specificity of these pores is reinforced through a statistical evaluation of depressions found in Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers in the presence and absence of melittin, which eventually allows characterization of the melittin-induced pores at a quantitative low-resolution leve…