Search results for " microscopy"
showing 10 items of 1617 documents
Au-40(SR)(24) Cluster as a Chiral Dimer of 8-Electron Superatoms: Structure and Optical Properties
2012
We predict and analyze density-functional theory (DFT)-based structures for the recently isolated Au(40)(SR)(24) cluster. Combining structural information extracted from ligand-exchange reactions, circular dichroism and transmission electron microscopy leads us to propose two families of low-energy structures that have a chiral Au-S framework on the surface. These families have a common geometrical motif where a nonchiral Au(26) bi-icosahedral cluster core is protected by 6 RS-Au-SR and 4 RS-Au-SR-Au-SR oligomeric units, analogously to the "Divide and Protect" motif of known clusters Au(25)(SR)(18)(-/0), Au(38)(SR)(24) and Au(102)(SR)(44). The strongly prolate shape of the proposed Au(26) c…
Self-assembly of janus dendrimers into uniform dendrimersomes and other complex architectures
2010
Janus Drug Delivery Vehicle Efficient drug delivery vehicles need to be produced in a limited size range and with uniform size distribution. The self-assembly of traditional small-molecule and polymeric amphiphiles has led to the production of micelles, liposomes, polymeric micelles, and polymersomes for use in drug delivery applications. Now, Percec et al. (p. 1009 ) describe the self-assembly of Janus-type (i.e., two-headed) dendrimers to produce monodisperse supramolecular constructs, termed “dendrimersomes,” and other complex architectures. The structures, which showed long-term stability as well as very narrow size distributions, were easily produced by the injection of an ethanolic so…
Extracellular Albumin and Endosomal Ions Prime Enterovirus Particles for Uncoating That Can Be Prevented by Fatty Acid Saturation
2019
ABSTRACT There is limited information about the molecular triggers leading to the uncoating of enteroviruses under physiological conditions. Using real-time spectroscopy and sucrose gradients with radioactively labeled virus, we show at 37°C, the formation of albumin-triggered, metastable uncoating intermediate of echovirus 1 without receptor engagement. This conversion was blocked by saturating the albumin with fatty acids. High potassium but low sodium and calcium concentrations, mimicking the endosomal environment, also induced the formation of a metastable uncoating intermediate of echovirus 1. Together, these factors boosted the formation of the uncoating intermediate, and the infectiv…
Electron Microscopy of Human Erythrocyte Catalase: New Two-Dimensional Crystal Forms
1993
Abstract Using the mica-spreading "negative staining-carbon film" procedure, human erythrocyte catalase has been shown to create a number of different periodic or crystalline two-dimensional (2-D) arrays which differ in the arrangement of molecules in the repeating units and the lattice type. Digital image processing has been performed with a 2-D array which contains regularly arranged "undulating" rows of molecules and also with a 2-D crystal form, exhibiting pgg (p22 1 2 1 ) symmetry and lattice parameters of a = 12.7 nm, b = 44 nm, and γ= 92°. The data are compared with our previous analysis of a different human erythrocyte catalase 2-D crystal, and the effect of partial-depth negative s…
Evolution of molluscan hemocyanin structures
2013
AbstractHemocyanin transports oxygen in the hemolymph of many molluscs and arthropods and is therefore a central physiological factor in these animals. Molluscan hemocyanin molecules are oligomers composed of many protein subunits that in turn encompass subsets of distinct functional units. The structure and evolution of molluscan hemocyanin have been studied for decades, but it required the recent progress in DNA sequencing, X-ray crystallography and 3D electron microscopy to produce a detailed view of their structure and evolution. The basic quaternary structure is a cylindrical decamer 35nm in diameter, consisting of wall and collar (typically at one end of the cylinder). Depending on th…
Subphthalocyanines: addressing water-solubility, nano-encapsulation, and activation for optical imaging of B16 melanoma cells
2014
Water-soluble disulfonato-subphthalocyanines (SubPcs) or hydrophobic nano-encapsulated SubPcs are efficient probes for the fluorescence imaging of cells. 20 nm large liposomes (TEM and DLS) incorporated about 13% SubPc. Moreover, some of these fluorophores were found to be pH activatable.
Finely Tuned Temperature-Controlled Cargo Release Using Paraffin-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
2011
[EN] Trapped: Mesoporous silica nanoparticles were loaded with a fluorescent guest and functionalized with octadecyltrimethoxysilane. The alkyl chains interact with paraffins, which build a hydrophobic layer around the particle (see picture). Upon melting of the paraffin, the guest molecule is released, as demonstrated in cells for the guest doxorubicin. The release temperature can be tuned by choosing an appropriate paraffin. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Tuning molecular self-assembly on bulk insulator surfaces by anchoring of the organic building blocks.
2013
Molecular self-assembly constitutes a versatile strategy for creating functional structures on surfaces. Tuning the subtle balance between intermolecular and molecule-surface interactions allows structure formation to be tailored at the single-molecule level. While metal surfaces usually exhibit interaction strengths in an energy range that favors molecular self-assembly, dielectric surfaces having low surface energies often lack sufficient interactions with adsorbed molecules. As a consequence, application-relevant, bulk insulating materials pose significant challenges when considering them as supporting substrates for molecular self-assembly. Here, the current status of molecular self-ass…
Impact of local compressive stress on the optical transitions of single organic dye molecules
2012
The ability to mechanically control the optical properties of individual molecules is a grand challenge in nanoscience and could enable the manipulation of chemical reactivity at the single-molecule level. In the past, light has been used to alter the emission wavelength of individual molecules or modulate the energy transfer quantum yield between them. Furthermore, tensile stress has been applied to study the force dependence of protein folding/unfolding and of the chemistry and photochemistry of single molecules, although in these mechanical experiments the strength of the weakest bond limits the amount of applicable force. Here, we show that compressive stress modifies the photophysical …
Limulus polyphemus Hemocyanin: 10 Å Cryo-EM Structure, Sequence Analysis, Molecular Modelling and Rigid-body Fitting Reveal the Interfaces Between th…
2007
Abstract The blue copper protein hemocyanin from the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus is among the largest respiratory proteins found in nature (3.5 MDa) and exhibits a highly cooperative oxygen binding. Its 48 subunits are arranged as eight hexamers (1×6mers) that form the native 8×6mer in a nested hierarchy of 2×6mers and 4×6mers. This quaternary structure is established by eight subunit types (termed I, IIA, II, IIIA, IIIB, IV, V, and VI), of which only type II has been sequenced. Crystal structures of the 1×6mer are available, but for the 8×6mer only a 40 A 3D reconstruction exists. Consequently, the structural parameters of the 8×6mer are not firmly established, and the molecular inte…