Search results for "Microscopy"
showing 10 items of 3390 documents
Pores Formed by Baxα5 Relax to a Smaller Size and Keep at Equilibrium
2010
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 …
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…
Simple chiral urea gelators, (R)- and (S)-2-heptylurea: their gelling ability enhanced by chirality.
2011
Abstract We present the first report on the synthesis of chiral ureas, ( R )- and ( S )-2-heptylurea, and their gelling behaviors. The ureas were prepared by the reactions of chiral amines and phenyl carbamate in the presence of triethylamine. On cooling from homogeneous solutions, the chiral ureas form gels in water and various nonpolar organic solvents, such as cyclohexane, toluene, and tetrachloromethane, while the racemate gelatinize only toluene and tetrachloromethane among the solvents we examined. The gelling ability of the enantiomeric urea is higher than the racemate, as the critical gelling concentrations in toluene, for example, were 0.2% and 0.7% (wt/wt), respectively. The enhan…
Toward the understanding of DNA fluorescence: The singlet excimer of cytosine
2006
By using the multiconfigurational second-order perturbation method CASPT2, including corrections for the basis set superposition error, the lowest-singlet excited state of the face-to-face π-stacked cytosine homodimer is revealed to be bound by about half an eV, being the source of an emissive feature consistent with the observed redshifted fluorescence. Gloria.Olaso@uv.es Daniel.Roca@uv.es Luis.Serrano@uv.es Manuela.Merchan@uv.es
Mannose-Decorated Multicomponent Supramolecular Polymers Trigger Effective Uptake into Antigen-Presenting Cells
2018
A modular route to prepare functional self-assembling dendritic peptide amphiphiles decorated with mannosides, to effectively target antigen-presenting cells, such as macrophages, is reported. The monomeric building blocks were equipped with tetra(ethylene glycol)s (TEGs) or labeled with a Cy3 fluorescent probe. Experiments on the uptake of the multifunctional supramolecular particles into murine macrophages (Mφs) were monitored by confocal microscopy and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Mannose-decorated supramolecular polymers trigger a significantly higher cellular uptake and distribution, relative to TEG carrying bare polymers. No cytotoxicity or negative impact on cytokine producti…
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.