Search results for "conformational transition"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
The CdCl2 effects on synthetic DNAs encaged in the nanodomains of a cationic water-in-oil microemulsion
2011
The present work is dedicated to the study of the interactions of CdCl(2) with the synthetic polynucleotides polyAT and polyGC confined in the nanoscopic aqueous compartment of the water-in-oil microemulsion CTAB/pentanol/hexane/water, with the goal to mimic in vitro the situation met by the nucleic acids in vivo. In biological structures, in fact, very long strings of nucleic acids are segregated into very small compartments having a radius exceedingly smaller than the length of the encapsulated macromolecule. For comparison, the behaviour of polyGC was also studied in aqueous solutions of matched composition. The conformational and thermal stabilities of both polynucleotides enclosed in t…
Immobilization of proteins in silica gel: Biochemical and biophysical properties
2015
The development of silica-based sol-gel techniques compatible with the retention of protein structure and function started more than 20 years ago, mainly for the design of biotechnological devices or biomedical applications. Silica gels are optically transparent, exhibit good mechanical stability, are manufactured with different geometries, and are easily separated from the reaction media. Biomolecules encapsulated in silica gel normally retain their structural and functional properties, are stabilized with respect to chemical and physical insults, and can sometimes exhibit enhanced activity in comparison to the soluble form. This review briefly describes the chemistry of protein encapsulat…