Search results for "Microscope"
showing 10 items of 1412 documents
Bioorganic/inorganic hybrid composition of sponge spicules: matrix of the giant spicules and of the comitalia of the deep sea hexactinellid Monorhaph…
2007
The giant basal spicules of the siliceous sponges Monorhaphis chuni and Monorhaphis intermedia (Hexactinellida) represent the largest biosilica structures on earth (up to 3 m long). Here we describe the construction (lamellar organization) of these spicules and of the comitalia and highlight their organic matrix in order to understand their mechanical properties. The spicules display three distinct regions built of biosilica: (i) the outer lamellar zone (radius: >300 mu m), (ii) the bulky axial cylinder (radius: <75 mu m), and (iii) the central axial canal (diameter: <2 mu m) with its organic axial filament. The spicules are loosely covered with a collagen net which is regularly perforated …
Silica-protein composite layers of the giant basal spicules from Monorhaphis: Basis for their mechanical stability
2010
The hexactinellid sponge Monorhaphis chuni possesses with its giant basal spicules the largest biosilica structure on Earth. The approximately 8.5-mm-thick spicules are composed of up to 800 lamellae. By application of high-resolution electron microscopy (HR-SEM), it is shown that within the siliceous lamellae a proteinaceous scaffold exists which is composed of one protein of a size of 27 kDa. Analyses with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) emission and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy support this localization of the protein. No evidence for the presence of protein on the surfaces of the lamellae could be obtained. Heating the giant basal spicule to 600 °C destroys and eliminat…
Axial growth of hexactinellid spicules: Formation of cone-like structural units in the giant basal spicules of the hexactinellid Monorhaphis
2008
The glass sponge Monorhaphis chuni (Porifera: Hexactinellida) forms the largest bio-silica structures on Earth; their giant basal spicules reach sizes of up to 3 m and diameters of 8.5 mm. Previously, it had been shown that the thickness growth proceeds by appositional layering of individual lamellae; however, the mechanism for the longitudinal growth remained unstudied. Now we show, that the surface of the spicules have towards the tip serrated relief structures that are consistent in size and form with the protrusions on the surface of the spicules. These protrusions fit into the collagen net that surrounds the spicules. The widths of the individual lamellae do not show a pronounced size …
Effect of structural and compositional inhomogeneities on spin-glass transition in Hg1−x−yCrxMnySe crystals
2004
Abstract We report experimental results on the growth of Hg 1 −x−y Cr x Mn y Se crystals and their magnetic susceptibility χ ( T ) in dependence on the crystal structure and composition. It was found that the crystals with the Mn composition y =0.01–0.08 exhibit the spin-glass transition temperature T g =100–110 K. An increase of y value leads to the saturation of the χ max and T g characteristics in the composition ranges of y >0.06 and y >0.02, respectively. This phenomenon is explained as a result of phase-separated magnetic behavior caused by the formation of HgCr 2 Se 4 inclusions and textures.
Observations on a new species of Unicapsula (Myxosporida) in the fish Maena smaris (L.) by conventional and electronmicroscopy
1975
A myxosporidian parasite believed to be congeneric with Unicapsula muscularis Davis (1924), type (and only) species of this genus, was found in the dorsal muscles of the fish Maena smaris (L.) at Banyuls-sur-Mer, France. The spores were tripartite, with corresponding components of the three parts differentially developed. One part consisted of a small shell valve overlying no more than a trace of sporoplasm but covering a polar apparatus with well-developed polar capsule. Each of the other two parts consisted of a long shell valve covering a large sporoplasm and a polar apparatus with only the rudiment of a polar capsule. Electron microscope pictures of the trophozoite showed evidence of pi…
GFP immunogold staining, from light to electron microscopy, in mammalian cells.
2012
GFP has emerged as an important reporter for monitoring gene expression, protein localization, cell transformation and cell lineage. The development of GFP as a marker in many different biological systems has emphasized the need to image GFP at high resolution. GFP immunogold labeling with colloidal gold particles becomes essential for electron microscopy (EM) ultrastructural detection. Because of the small size, colloidal gold particles require silver enhancement, a procedure to increase the size of the particle as well as gold toning to stabilize the silver layer. GFP preembedding immunogold staining enables high quality cellular-ultrastructural EM analysis mainly for two reasons, on one …
Thickness measurement of soft thin films on periodically patterned magnetic substrates by phase difference magnetic force microscopy
2013
The need for accurate measurement of the thickness of soft thin films is continuously encouraging the development of techniques suitable for this purpose. We propose a method through which the thickness of the film is deduced from the quantitative measurement of the contrast in the phase images of the sample surface acquired by magnetic force microscopy, provided that the film is deposited on a periodically patterned magnetic substrate. The technique is demonstrated by means of magnetic substrates obtained from standard floppy disks. Colonies of Staphylococcus aureus adherent to such substrates were used to obtain soft layers with limited lateral (a levy microns) and vertical (hundreds of n…
Hydroxypropylcellulose as a novel green reservoir for the synthesis, stabilization, and storage of silver nanoparticles
2015
Muhammad Ajaz Hussain,1 Abdullah Shah,1 Ibrahim Jantan,2 Muhammad Raza Shah,3 Muhammad Nawaz Tahir,4 Riaz Ahmad,5 Syed Nasir Abbas Bukhari2 1Department of Chemistry, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan; 2Drug and Herbal Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 3International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan; 4Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Guttenberg University, Duesbergweg, Mainz, Germany; 5Centre for Advanced Studies in Physics (CASP), GC University, Lahore, Pakistan Abstract: Polysaccharides are attracting the vigil eye of…
Control of biofilm formation by poly-ethylene-co-vinyl acetate films incorporating nisin.
2010
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of poly-ethylene-co-vinyl acetate (EVA) films incorporating different concentrations (0.1%, 0.5% and 1%) of nisin on the biofilm-forming ability of Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644, Staphylococcus aureus 815 and Staphylococ-cus epidermidis ATCC 35984. Nisin was incorporated into two grades of EVA (EVA14 and EVA28) in the melt during a common film-blowing operation. The efficacy of EVA/nisin films was evaluated by biofilm biomass measurements and Live/Dead staining in combination with fluorescence microscopy. In order to evaluate whether the nisin incorporation could modify the film surface properties, contact angle measurements and scanning e…
Effect of Cholesterol on Electrostatics in Lipid−Protein Films of a Pulmonary Surfactant
2010
We report the changes in the electrical properties of the lipid-protein film of pulmonary surfactant produced by excess cholesterol. Pulmonary surfactant (PS) is a complex lipid-protein mixture that forms a molecular film at the interface of the lung's epithelia. The defined molecular arrangement of the lipids and proteins of the surfactant film gives rise to the locally highly variable electrical surface potential of the interface, which becomes considerably altered in the presence of cholesterol. With frequency modulation Kelvin probe force microscopy (FM-KPFM) and force measurements, complemented by theoretical analysis, we showed that excess cholesterol significantly changes the electri…