Search results for "Analytical"
showing 10 items of 9586 documents
Effects of solvent perturbation on gelation driven by spinodal demixing
1999
We study effects of solvent perturbation on kinetic competition between spinodal demixing and gelation in agarose solutions at a concentration of 5 g/l. Two different cosolutes (tert-butyl alcohol and trimethyl amine N-oxide) known for altering in opposite way solvent-mediated interactions are chosen. By rheometry, static and dynamic light scattering experiments, we show that the cosolute presence shifts the boundary of the instability region of solution leaving unaffected temperature and polymer concentration values required for percolation. Results suggest that an appropriate choice of quenching temperature and solvent allows controlling the gelation time and the gel structural properties.
Binding of water-soluble, globular proteins to anionic model membranes
2009
Abstract The role of electrostatics is studied in the adsorption of proteins to negatively charged (phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylglycerol, PC/PG) and neutral (PC) small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs). For model proteins the interaction is monitored vs . pH at low ionic strength. The adsorption behaviour of lysozyme, myoglobin and albumin (isoelectronic point, p I 5–11) is investigated in SUVs, along with changes of the fluorescence emission spectra of the charged proteins, via their adsorption on SUVs. Significant adsorption of the proteins to negatively charged SUVs is found only at pH values, where the number of positive charge moieties exceeds the number of negative charge moieties on th…
Straightforward synthesis of bioconjugatable azo dyes. Part 1: Black Hole Quencher-1 (BHQ-1) scaffold
2014
Abstract Azo dyes are currently used to quench the fluorescence of energy donors in bioassays through Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) phenomenon. Common examples of such dark quenchers are DABCYL and the three members of Black Hole Quencher® (BHQ) family. Yet, only carboxylic acid and phosphoramidite derivatives of such azo dyes are presently commercially available. This Letter presents a straightforward synthesis method to novel bioconjugatable quenchers derived from BHQ-1 scaffold and equipped with a reactive group being either azido, terminal alkyne, or maleimide. The potential utility of the ‘clickable’ azido and thiol-reactive derivatives was notably demonstrated through the p…
Innovative Combination of Three Alternating Current Relaxation Techniques: Electrical Charge, Mass, and Color Impedance Spectroscopy. Part I: The Tool
2009
Technical details concerning the simultaneous acquisition of three impedance functions (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, alternating current electrogravimetry or mass impedance, and alternating current colorimetry or color impedance) are presented. The analysis of each type of impedance function gives interesting information about the species participating during the electrochemical processes. Furthermore, obtaining three impedance functions in situ allows the crossed impedance functions to be calculated. These functions are especially useful in detecting delays between the color, mass, and electrical charge response of the system to the same perturbation, and it allows species parti…
Ion size effects on the current efficiency of narrow charged pores
2001
Abstract The effects of ion size on the current efficiency (CE) of charged membranes with narrow pores are studied theoretically. The CE is a measure of the membrane permselectivity defined as the ratio between the counterion flux and the sum of the counterion and coion fluxes when an electric potential difference is applied between the two solutions bathing the membrane. It is studied here as a function of two relevant experimental parameters: the ratio between the ionic radius and the pore radius, and the ratio between the external salt concentration and the membrane fixed charge concentration. The ratio of the CE values corresponding to the point and finite size ions is also calculated a…
Polymer-induced shape changes and capping in giant liposomes
1995
We studied the coupling of a polymeric amphiphile undergoing a transition from an expanded to a collapsed state of the hydrophilic polymer chain upon heating above 29°C with free and solid supported lipid bilayers. Lateral diffusion measurements and studies of vesicle shape-changes confirmed previous calorimetric studies, suggesting that the amphiphile remains incorporated in the giant vesicles and the supported bilayer during the transition. The two-dimensional hydrodynamic radii of the amphiphile in the expanded and collapsed state was measured by making use of the strong quadratic dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the radius of the diffusant (D ∞ r−2) due to the frictional coupl…
Conformational properties of oxazoline-amino acids
2016
Abstract Oxazoline-amino acids (Xaa-Ozn) occur in natural peptides of potentially important bioactivity. The conformations of the model compounds: Ac-(S)-Ala-Ozn(4R-Me), Ac-(S)-Ala-Ozn(4S–Me), and (gauche+, gauche−, anti) Ac-(S)-Val-Ozn(4R-Me) were studied at meta-hybrid M06-2X/6–311++G(d,p) method including solvent effect. Boc- l -Ala- l -Ozn-4-COOMe and Boc- l -Val- l -Ozn-4-COOMe were synthesized and studied by FT-IR and NMR-NOE methods. The conformations in crystal state were gathered from the Cambridge Structural Data Base. The main conformational feature of the oxazoline amino acids is the conformation β2 (ϕ,ψ ∼ −161°, −6°), which predominates in weakly polar environment and still is …
Decomposer animal communities in forest soil along heavy metal pollution gradient
1996
Responses of soil decomposer animals to heavy metal contamination and to concomitant changes in organic matter quality and quantity and in soil microbial biomasses have been studied along a pollution gradient from a Cu-Ni smelter. Samples have been taken separately for nematodes, enchytraeids and microarthropods 0.5, 2 and 8 km from the smelter. Special attention has been paid to the changes in the collembolan fauna. The sampling sites have been located in homogeneous Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris) forests with podsolic soil profiles. In addition, an experiment has been carried out in which intact soil cores have been transferred in mesh baskets between the sites 2 and 8 km from the smelter…
Characterization of Micelles of Polyisobutylene-block-poly(methacrylic acid) in Aqueous Medium
2000
Four amphiphilic block copolymers polyisobutylene-block-poly(methacrylic acid) (IBm-MAAn; m = 70−134, n = 52−228) were synthesized and transferred into aqueous medium at pH 10−12. Their structure in solution was characterized by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), static and dynamic light scattering (SLS, DLS), analytical ultracentrifuge (AUC), and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with freeze-fracturing and staining techniques. DLS data, AUC sedimentation traces, and TEM images indicate at least two different kinds of particles. TEM shows spherical micelles; however, especially for polymers with larger hydrophobic blocks, additional particles are observed. FCS shows extrem…
Molecular dynamics of solid polymers as revealed by deuteron NMR
1983
Pulsed deuteron NMR spectroscopy is described, which has recently been developed to become a powerful tool for studying molecular dynamics in solid polymers. It is shown that by analyzing the line shapes of2H absorption spectra and spectra obtained via solid echo and spin alignment, respectively, both type and timescale of rotational motions can be determined over an extraordinary wide range of characteristic frequencies, approximately 10 MHz to 1 Hz. By applying these techniques to selectively deuterated polymers, motional mechanisms involving different segments of the monomer unit can be monitored. In addition, motional heterogeneities in glassy polymers can be detected. The information a…