Search results for "Actant"
showing 10 items of 473 documents
Synthetic Pulmonary Surfactant Preparations: New developments and future trends
2008
Pulmonary surfactant is a lipid-protein complex that coats the interior of the alveoli and enables the lungs to function properly. Upon its synthesis, lung surfactant adsorbs at the interface between the air and the hypophase, a capillary aqueous layer covering the alveoli. By lowering and modulating surface tension during breathing, lung surfactant reduces respiratory work of expansion, and stabilises alveoli against collapse during expiration. Pulmonary surfactant deficiency, or dysfunction, contributes to several respiratory pathologies, such as infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) in premature neonates, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in children and adults. The ma…
The Surfactant Peptide KL4 Sequence Is Inserted with a Transmembrane Orientation into the Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane
2008
AbstractSurfactant protein B (SP-B) is an essential component of pulmonary surfactant. Synthetic surfactant peptide KL4, a peptide based on a C-terminal amphipathic helical region of human SP-B, efficiently mimics some functional properties of SP-B and is included in therapeutic surfactant preparations used in trials to treat respiratory distress syndrome. The membrane orientation of this peptide is controversial. We used an in vitro transcription-translation system to study the insertion of hydrophobic sequences into microsomal membranes, and showed that the KL4 sequence integrates efficiently with a transmembrane orientation despite the presence of intermittent lysines throughout the sequ…
Morphology of hybrid polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) micelles: Analytical ultracentrifugation and SANS studies
2006
Abstract Morphology and structure of aqueous block copolymer solutions based on polystyrene- block -poly(ethylene oxide) (PS- b -PEO) of two different compositions, a cationic surfactant, cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC), and either platinic acid (H 2 PtCl 6 ⋅6H 2 O) or Pt nanoparticles were studied using a combination of analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). These studies combining methods contributing supplemental and analogous structural information allowed us to comprehensively characterize the complex hybrid systems and to discover an isotope effect when H 2 O was replaced with D 2 O. In particular, TEM s…
Mechanistic insights into the phosphoryl transfer reaction in cyclin-dependent kinase 2: a QM/MM study
2019
AbstractCyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) is an important member of the CDK family exerting its most important function in the regulation of the cell cycle. It catalyzes the transfer of the gamma phosphate group from an ATP (adenosine triphosphate) molecule to a Serine/Threonine residue of a peptide substrate. Due to the importance of this enzyme, and protein kinases in general, a detailed understanding of the reaction mechanism is desired. Thus, in this work the phosphoryl transfer reaction catalyzed by CDK2 was revisited and studied by means of hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations. Our results show that the base-assisted mechanism is preferred over the substrat…
Interfacial behavior of recombinant forms of human pulmonary surfactant protein SP-C.
2012
The behavior at air-liquid interfaces of two recombinant versions of human surfactant protein SP-C has been characterized in comparison with that of native palmitoylated SP-C purified from porcine lungs. Both native and recombinant proteins promoted interfacial adsorption of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers to a limited extent, but catalyzed very rapid formation of films from different lipid mixtures containing both zwitterionic and anionic phospholipids. Once at the interface, the recombinant variants exhibited compression-driven structural transitions, consistent with changes in the orientation of the deacylated N-terminal segment, which were not observed in the native protein. Com…
Dynamical Properties of Self-Assembled Surfactant-Based Mixtures: Triggering of One-Dimensional Anomalous Diffusion in Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric Ac…
2013
The dynamic features of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP)/n-octylamine (NOA) mixtures have been investigated as a function of the NOA mole fraction and temperature by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and rheometry. All data consistently suggest a composition-induced glass-forming behavior. The microscopic factors responsible for this behavior have been highlighted and have been explained in terms of driving forces given by HDEHP-to-NOA proton transfer, the tendency of the resulting species to establish H bonds and to spatially segregate the alkyl chains. The study sheds light on the molecular mechanism responsible for the peculiar behavior of transport properties in such systems and furnishes b…
Heat capacities, volumes and solubilities of pentanol in aqueous surfactant solutions
1989
Apparent molar heat capacities and volumes of pentanol (PentOH) 0.05m in dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC), dodecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC) and dodecylamine hydrochloride (DAC) micellar solutions were measured at 25°C. They were assumed to approach the standard infinite dilution values and rationalized by means of previously reported equations. The distribution constant between the aqueous and the micellar phase and heat capacity and volume of pentanol in both phases were thus derived. The results show that the presence of methyl groups on the surfactant head group does not appreciably influence the apparent molar volume and heat capacity of pentanol in micellar phase and the…
Calorimetric investigation of the formation of ZnS nanoparticles in w/o microemulsions
1998
The enthalpies of precipitation of ZnS nanoparticles within water containing reversed micelles of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) solfosuccinate, L-α phosphatidylcholine, tetraethyleneglycol-mono-n-dodecyl ether and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide as a function of the molar concentration ratioR (R=[water]/[surfactant]) were measured by calorimetric technique. The results indicate that the energetic state of ZnS nanoparticles confined in the aqueous core of the reversed micelles is different from that in bulk water. Effects due to nanoparticle size, adsorption of HS− ions on the nanoparticle surface and interactions between nanoparticles and water/surfactant interfaces are discussed.
Precipitation of slightly soluble silver salts in reversed AOT micelles: Calorimetric investigation
1991
The enthalpies of precipitation, of AgCl, Agl, Ag2S and silver tetraphenylborate (AgTPB) in water containing reversed sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) micelles as a function of the molar concentration ratio R (R=[water]/[AOT]) at various concentrations of AOT and reagent salts, were measured by a calorimetric technique. The molar enthalpies of precipitation are independent of the surfactant concentration but are dependent on the concentration of the reagent salts and the R value. The molar enthalpies for the same processes in bulk water are not approached even at the highest R value. Effects due to the smallness of the microcrystals and to the interactions between ions and mice…
Molecular Association of a Nonionic and an Ionic-Induced Surfactant: Cryptand (221D) NaCl in Water
2003
The cryptand 5-decyl-4,7,13,16,21-pentaoxa-1,10-diazabicyclo-[8.8.5] tricosane [221D] strongly resembles a surfactant in its characteristics: it contains a hydrophilic headgroup, the cryptand unit, and a hydrophobic unit, the decyl chain. It is insoluble in water, but in the presence of an appropriate amount of NaCl, as a consequence of the complex formation between 221D and Na+, it becomes soluble and forms aggregates. The aggregates, depending on the NaCl-221D molar ratio, can be considered as mixed ionic nonionic micelles or ionic micelles. The evolution of the aggregate dimensions and their shape has already been studied at two NaCl-221D molar ratios as a function of the 221D concentra…