Search results for "polymers"

Ionic conduction, rectification, and selectivity in single conical nanopores

2006

Modern track-etching methods allow the preparation of membranes containing a single charged conical nanopore that shows high ionic permselectivity due to the electrical interactions of the surface pore charges with the mobile ions in the aqueous solution. The nanopore has potential applications in electrically assisted single-particle detection, analysis, and separation of biomolecules. We present a detailed theoretical and experimental account of the effects of pore radii and electrolyte concentration on the current-voltage and current-concentration curves. The physical model used is based on the Nernst-Planck and Poisson equations. Since the validity of continuum models for the descriptio…

Unexpected multivalent display of proteins by temperature triggered self-assembly of elastin-like polypeptide block copolymers

2012

We report herein the unexpected temperature triggered self-assembly of proteins fused to thermally responsive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) into spherical micelles. A set of six ELP block copolymers (ELP(BC)) differing in hydrophilic and hydrophobic block lengths were genetically fused to two single domain proteins, thioredoxin (Trx) and a fibronectin type III domain (Fn3) that binds the α(v)β(3) integrin. The self-assembly of these protein-ELP(BC) fusions as a function of temperature was investigated by UV spectroscopy, light scattering, and cryo-TEM. Self-assembly of the ELP(BC) was unexpectedly retained upon fusion to the two proteins, resulting in the formation of spherical micelles …

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 1-Methyl-2-(3',4',5'-trimethoxybenzoyl)-3-aminoindoles as a New Class of Antimitotic Agents and Tubulin Inhibi…

2008

The 2-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoyl)-2-aminoindole nucleus was used as the fundamental structure for the synthesis of compounds modified with respect to positions C-4 to C-7 with different moieties (chloro, methyl, or methoxy). Additional structural variations concerned the indole nitrogen, which was alkylated with small alkyl groups such as methyl or ethyl. We have identified 1-methyl-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoyl)-3-amino-7-methoxyindole as a new highly potent antiproliferative agent that targets tubulin at the colchicine binding site and leads to apoptotic cell death.

Electrical Conductivity and Luminescence in Coordination Polymers Based on Copper(I)-Halides and Sulfur-Pyrimidine Ligands

2011

The solvothermal reactions between pyrimidinedisulfide (pym(2)S(2)) and CuI or CuBr(2) in CH(2)Cl(2):CH(3)CN lead to the formation of [Cu(11)I(7)(pymS)(4)](n) (pymSH = pyrimidine-2(1H)-thione) (1) and the dimer [Cu(II)(μ-Br)(Br)L](2) (L = 2-(pyrimidin-2-ylamino)-1,3-thiazole-4-carbaldehyde) (2). In the later reaction, there is an in situ S-S, S-C(sp(2)), and C(sp(2))-N multiple bond cleavage of the pyrimidinedisulfide resulting in the formation of 2-(pyrimidin-2-ylamino)-1,3-thiazole-4-carbaldehyde. Interestingly, similar reactions carried out just with a change in the solvent (H(2)O:CH(3)CN instead of CH(2)Cl(2):CH(3)CN) give rise to the formation of coordination polymers with rather diffe…

Combining reactive triblock copolymers with functional cross-linkers: A versatile pathway to disulfide stabilized-polyplex libraries and their applic…

2017

Therapeutic nucleic acids such as pDNA hold great promise for the treatment of multiple diseases. These therapeutic interventions are, however, compromised by the lack of efficient and safe non-viral delivery systems, which guarantee stability during blood circulation together with high transfection efficiency. To provide these desired properties within one system, we propose the use of reactive triblock copolypept(o)ides, which include a stealth-like block for efficient shielding, a hydrophobic block based on reactive disulfides for cross-linking and a cationic block for complexation of pDNA. After the complexation step, bifunctional cross-linkers can be employed to bio-reversibly stabiliz…

Polycationic Mn12Single-Molecule Magnets as Electron Reservoirs withS>10 Ground States

2004

Single layers of a multifunctional laminar Cu(I,II) coordination polymer.

2010

A multifunctional bidimensional mixed-valence copper coordination polymer [Cu2Br(IN)2]n (IN = isonicotinato) has been characterized in crystal phase and isolated on graphite surface as single sheets.

Telechelic Star Polymers as Self-Assembling Units from the Molecular to the Macroscopic Scale

2012

By means of multiscale molecular simulations, we show that telechelic-star polymers are a simple, robust, and tunable system, which hierarchically self-assembles into soft-patchy particles and mechanically stabilizes selected, open crystalline structures. The self-aggregating patchy behavior can be fully controlled by the number of arms per star and by the fraction of attractive monomeric units at the free ends of the arms. Such self-assembled soft-patchy particles while forming, upon augmenting density, gel-like percolating networks, preserve properties as particle size, number, and arrangement of patches per particle. In particular, we demonstrate that the flexibility inherent in the soft…

Active surfaces engineered by immobilizing protein-polymer nanoreactors for selectively detecting sugar alcohols.

2016

We introduce active surfaces generated by immobilizing protein-polymer nanoreactors on a solid support for sensitive sugar alcohols detection. First, such selective nanoreactors were engineered in solution by simultaneous encapsulation of specific enzymes in copolymer polymersomes, and insertion of membrane proteins for selective conduct of sugar alcohols. Despite the artificial surroundings, and the thickness of the copolymer membrane, functionality of reconstituted Escherichia coli glycerol facilitator (GlpF) was preserved, and allowed selective diffusion of sugar alcohols to the inner cavity of the polymersome, where encapsulated ribitol dehydrogenase (RDH) enzymes served as biosensing e…

Ion transport and selectivity in nanopores with spatially inhomogeneous fixed charge distributions

2007

Polymeric nanopores with fixed charges show ionic selectivity when immersed in aqueous electrolyte solutions. The understanding of the electrical interaction between these charges and the mobile ions confined in the inside nanopore solution is the key issue in the design of potential applications. The authors have theoretically described the effects that spatially inhomogeneous fixed charge distributions exert on the ionic transport and selectivity properties of the nanopore. A comprehensive set of one-dimensional distributions including the skin, core, cluster, and asymmetric cases are analyzed on the basis of the Nernst-Planck equations. Current-voltage curves, nanopore potentials, and tr…