Search results for "Microscopy"

New perspectives for the design of molecular actuators: thermally induced collapse of single macromolecules from cylindrical brushes to spheres.

2004

Temperature triggered self-assembly of polypeptides into multivalent spherical micelles.

2007

We report herein thermally responsive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) in a linear AB diblock architecture with an N-terminal peptide ligand that self-assemble into spherical micelles when heated slightly above body temperature. A series of 10 ELP block copolymers (ELP(BC)'s ) with different molecular weights and hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic block ratios were genetically synthesized by recursive directional ligation. The self-assembly of these polymers from unimers into micelles was investigated by light scattering, fluorescence spectroscopy, and cryo-TEM. These ELP(BC)'s undergo two phase transitions as a function of solution temperature: a unimer-to-spherical micelle transition at an interm…

Multi-photon imaging of amine-functionalized silica nanoparticles.

2012

A convenient and simple strategy for preparing water soluble, photoluminescent functionalized silica nanoparticles (M-dots) in the absence of fluorophores or metal doping is demonstrated. These M-dots can be used for bioimaging using one and two-photon microscopy. Because of their high photostability, low toxicity and high biocompatibility compared with Lumidot™ CdSe/ZnS quantum dots, functionalized silica particles are superior alternatives for current bioimaging platforms. Moreover, the presence of a free amine group at the surface of the M-dots allows biomolecule conjugation (e.g. with antibodies, proteins) in a single step for converting these photoluminescent SiO(2) nanoparticles into …

Tetra-alkoxy substituted PPV derivatives: a new class of highly soluble liquid crystalline conjugated polymers

2011

Two first examples of highly soluble tetra-alkoxy substituted PPV derivatives, poly(2,3,5,6-tetrahexyloxy-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (TH-PPV) and poly[2,3,5,6-tetra(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] TEH-PPV, are presented. Both polymers have been fully characterized and the solubility and UV-Vis absorption characteristics have been studied in various organic solvents. Due to the symmetric nature of the repeating unit, TH-PPV and TEH-PPV have an inherently regioregular nature, which is unusual for PPV-type polymers. Observations from polarized light microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry indicate that TH-PPV exhibits thermally induced order resulting in a liquid crystalline m…

Composite soy lecithin–decylpolyglucoside vesicles: A theoretical and experimental study

2008

In the present work, vesicles made with soy lecithin and a commercial mixture of alkyl polyglucosides were prepared and characterized. Vesicles with a constant amount of soy lecithin and an increasing amount of a decylpolyglucoside surfactant, (OrNS10), were formulated and their physicochemical properties were studied with the aim to design a drug delivery system suitable for different applications. To this purpose, morphology, size distribution, ζ-potential and apparent viscosity of the prepared vesicles were studied. Vesicles were also characterized by using optical and light polarized microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and photon correlation spectroscopy. A stability study was …

Topology-Dependent Swichability of Peptide Secondary Structures in Bioconjugates with Complex Architectures

2013

Peptide sequences, which exhibit a reversible pH-responsive coil to α-helix secondary structure transition, are conjugated to polymer precursors to yield linear AB and graft ABA peptide-poly(ethylene oxide) conjugates. While the PEO B-block is comparable, the conjugates differ in topologies of the peptide bearing A-blocks. The influences of topology on the structure transitions in the peptide segments are investigated, comparing linear AB-bioconjugates with graft ABA-bioconjugates having multiple peptide segments combined in star or pom-pom topologies.

Anisotropic Stick-slip friction of highly oriented thin films of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) at the molecular level

1996

Lateral force microscopy (LFM) studies of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films with molecular resolution are reported. Thin PTFE layers with a high degree of orientation were obtained by pressing and sliding a block of polymer on a clean, heated muscovite mica substrate. LFM nanographs obtained on these films by scanning at directions between ca. 40 and 90° with respect to the film orientation direction, i.e. with respect to the direction of the polymer chains, showed a “stick-slip” type frictional motion of the LFM probe tip at the molecular level. The friction force observed at constant load decreased with decreasing scan angles. Chain-chain packing distances obtained by LFM and contact…

Controlled cleavage of KLH1 and KLH2 by the V8 protease from Staphylococcus aureus reassociation, electrophoretic and transmission electron microscop…

1999

The reassociation behaviour of protease V8-cleaved peptides from KLH1 and KLH2, the two hemocyanin isoforms from the giant keyhole limpet Megathura crenulata, has been studied by transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained specimens and SDS/PAGE. Reassociation of the complete mixture of protease cleavage products and of combinations of peptide fragments purified by HPLC was performed in the presence of 100 mm CaCl2 and 100 mm MgCl2 at pH 7.4, over a period of 1 to 4 weeks. The V8 protease splits KLH1 into peptide fragments containing the functional units abc, def, defg, defgh, g and h. This mixture of peptide fragments reassociated to form helical tubular polymers, with a diamete…

Electrochemical monitoring of ROS generation by anticancer agents: the case of chartreusin

2017

Solution phase and solid-sate electrochemical techniques centered in the voltammetry of microparticles approach are applied for testing the cytotoxic activity of anticancer drugs. The possibility of electrochemical generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is exploited for evaluating their contribution to cellular damage. The described methodology is applied to the case of chartreusin (Ch) whose electrochemistry in non-aqueous solutions and in the solid state in contact with aqueous electrolytes is described in the absence (experimental data were confirmed by theoretical calculations) and in the presence of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). In parallel, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SEC…

Reactive oxygen species mediate angiotensin II-induced leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions in vivo

2001

Abstract Chronically elevated angiotensin II (Ang-II)-induced hypertension is partly mediated by superoxide production. In this study, we have investigated whether the leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions elicited by Ang-II involve reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Intravital microscopy within the rat mesenteric microvessels was used. Superfusion (60 min) with Ang-II (1 nM) induced significant increases in leukocyte rolling flux, adhesion, and emigration, which were inhibited by pretreatment with superoxide dismutase or catalase. Dihydrorhodamine-123 oxidation indicated that ROS are primarily produced by the vessel wall. Administration of dimethylthiourea, desferrioxamine, or N-a…