Search results for "PHASE"
showing 10 items of 6344 documents
Stability of Asymmetric Lipid Bilayers Assessed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations
2009
The asymmetric insertion of amphiphiles into biological membranes compromises the balance between the inner and outer monolayers. As a result, area expansion of the receiving leaflet and curvature strain may lead to membrane permeation, shape changes, or membrane fusion events. We have conducted both atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers to study the effect of an asymmetric distribution of lipids between the two monolayers on membrane stability. Highly asymmetric lipid bilayers were found to be surprisingly stable within the submicrosecond time span of the simulations. Even the limiting case of a monolayer immersed in …
Partition of Indicaxanthin in Membrane Biomimetic Systems. A Kinetic and Modeling Approach
2009
The solubilization site of indicaxanthin (Ind) in lipid bilayers was investigated by the kinetics of Ind oxidation by peroxyl radicals in water and in aqueous/L-alpha-dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicles, pH 7.4, and 37.0 and 48.0 degrees C, that is, in a gel-like and a crystal liquidlike bilayer state, respectively. The time-dependent Ind absorbance decay, matched with a successful simulation of the reaction kinetic mechanism by Gepasi software, supported a multistep pathway. Computer-assisted analysis allowed calculation of the rate constants associated with the reactions involved, the values of which decreased with increasing DPPC concentration. The binding constant calculated…
Influence of Centerline Intermetallic Stringers on Pitting Corrosion Resistance of Superduplex Stainless Steel
2021
Superduplex stainless steel UNS S32750 / EN 1.4410 is commonly used in marine environment, petrochemical, oil and gas, chemical and desalination industries, requiring materials with superior corrosion and mechanical properties. Very few residual intermetallic particles may be present under the form of centerline stringers whose effects on corrosion properties are not well documented. A previous study demonstrated the negligible influence of the intermetallic phases in centerline stringers (typically < 0.1% over thickness) on the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of superduplex stainless steel [1]. The present study aims at highlighting the impact of centerline intermetallic stringers on…
Influence of the exchange and correlation functional on the structure of amorphous InSb and In3SbTe2 compounds
2016
We have investigated the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of the amorphous phase of InSb and In3SbTe2 compounds of interest for applications in phase change non-volatile memories. Models of the amorphous phase have been generated by quenching from the melt by molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory. In particular, we have studied the dependence of the structural properties on the choice of the exchange-correlation functional. It turns out that the use of the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr functional provides models with a much larger fraction of In atoms in a tetrahedral bonding geometry with respect to previous results obtained with the most commonly used P…
Stability of the human microbiome. Health and disease imprinted in the time variability of the human microbiota.
2019
Animal microbiota plays an essential role in keeping the physiological status of the host healthy. This microbiota consists of hundreds of different species that inhabit the host, and whose composition varies on a daily basis due to multiple factors as diets, medicine intakes, lifestyle or diseases. It is a highly dynamical system that shows variability even when the host is in a healthy condition, but visible changes happen when the system is perturbed. Thus, the main objective of this thesis aimed to study the temporal variability of human microbiota, and link it to the health status of the host. For this, we proposed a formal definition of stability in microbial systems based on the use …
Substituted Dibenzothiophenes I: Synthesis, Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry and Structure Elucidation by1H NMR Spectroscopy
1992
Abstract Some polychlorinated and polymethylated dibenzothiophenes have been synthesized to serve as model compounds in environmental analysis. In order to obtain pure isomers, the synthesis mixtures have been fractionated with reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. In spite of a high sensitivity, mass spectrometry does not provide any reliable way to determine the precise structures of different isomers. Therefore, 1H NMR spectroscopy has been utilized as an aid in their analysis. The structures for two isomeric tetramethyldibenzothiophenes could be suggested on the basis of their 1H NMR spectra. Also some proposals for possible structures of two isomeric trimethyldibenzoth…
Synthesis, antiproliferative activity and possible mechanism of action of novel 2-acetamidobenzamides bearing the 2-phenoxy functionality.
2015
Several new 2-(2-phenoxyacetamido)benzamides 17a-v, 21 and 22 were synthesized by stirring in pyridine the acid chlorides 16a-e and the appropriate5-R-4-R1-2-aminobenzamide 15a-e and initially evaluated in vitro for antiproliferative activity against the K562 (human chronic myelogenous leukemia) cell line. Some of synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against the full NCI tumor cell line panel derived from nine clinically isolated cancer types (leukemia, non-small cell lung, colon, CNS, melanoma, ovarian, renal, prostate and breast). The most active compounds caused an arrest of K562 cells in the G0-G1 phase of cell cycle and induction of apoptos…
Double Flow Bioreactor for In Vitro Test of Drug Delivery.
2015
In this work, double-structured polymeric scaffolds were produced, and a double flow bioreactor was designed and set up in order to create a novel system to carry out advanced in vitro drug delivery tests. The scaffolds, consisting of a cylindrical porous matrix, are able to host cells, thus mimicking a three-dimensional tumor mass: moreover, a âpseudo-vascularâ structure was embedded into the matrix, with the aim of allowing a flow circulation. The structure that emulates a blood vessel is a porous tubular-shaped scaffold prepared by Diffusion Induced Phase Separation (DIPS), with an internal lumen of 2 mm and a wall thickness of 200 micrometers. The as-prepared vessel was incorporated…
PEG 400/Cerium Ammonium Nitrate Combined with Microwave-Assisted Synthesis for Rapid Access to Beta-Amino Ketones. An Easy-to-Use Protocol for Discov…
2018
Compound libraries are important requirement in target-based drug discovery. In the present work, a small focused compound library based on β-aminoketone scaffold has been prepared combining microwave-assisted organic synthesis (MAOS) with polymer-assisted solution phase synthesis (PASPS) and replacing reaction workup standard purification procedures with solid phase extraction (SPE). Specifically, the effects of solvent, such as dioxane, dimethylformamide (DMF), polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400), temperature, irradiation time, stoichiometric ratio of reagents, and catalysts (HCl, acetic acid, cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN)) were investigated to maximize both conversion and yield. The optimi…
PLLA scaffolds with controlled architecture as potential microenvironment for in vitro tumor model
2019
Abstract The "microenvironment" where a tumor develops plays a fundamental role in determining its progression, the onset of metastasis and, eventually, its resistance to therapies. Tumor cells can be considered more or less invasive depending both on the nature of the cells and on the site where they are located. Commonly adopted laboratory culture protocols for the investigation of tumor cells take usually place on standard two-dimensional supports. However, such cultures do not allow for reproduction of the biophysical properties of the tumor’s microenvironment, thus causing the cells to lose most of their relevant characteristics. In this work MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells were cultiva…