Search results for "surface properties"
showing 10 items of 421 documents
The Escherichia coli Envelope Stress Sensor CpxA Responds to Changes in Lipid Bilayer Properties
2015
The Cpx stress response system is induced by various environmental and cellular stimuli. It is also activated in Escherichia coli strains lacking the major phospholipid, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). However, it is not known whether CpxA directly senses changes in the lipid bilayer or the presence of misfolded proteins due to the lack of PE in their membranes. To address this question, we used an in vitro reconstitution system and vesicles with different lipid compositions to track modulations in the activity of CpxA in different lipid bilayers. Moreover, the Cpx response was validated in vivo by monitoring expression of a PcpxP-gfp reporter in lipid-engineered strains of E. coli. Our comb…
The gold-sulfur interface at the nanoscale.
2012
Thiolate-protected gold surfaces and interfaces, relevant for self-assembled monolayers of organic molecules on gold, for passivated gold nanoclusters and for molecule-gold junctions, are archetypal systems in various fields of current nanoscience research, materials science, inorganic chemistry and surface science. Understanding this interface at the nanometre scale is essential for a wide range of potential applications for site-specific bioconjugate labelling and sensing, drug delivery and medical therapy, functionalization of gold surfaces for sensing, molecular recognition and molecular electronics, and gold nanoparticle catalysis. During the past five years, considerable experimental …
Energy Transfer between Surface-Immobilized Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b Complex (LHCII) Studied by Surface Plasmon Field-Enhanced Fluorescence S…
2010
The major light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex (LHCII) of the photosynthetic apparatus in green plants can be viewed as a protein scaffold binding and positioning a large number of pigment molecules that combines rapid and efficient excitation energy transfer with effective protection of its pigments from photobleaching. These properties make LHCII potentially interesting as a light harvester (or a model thereof) in photoelectronic applications. Most of such applications would require the LHCII to be immobilized on a solid surface. In a previous study we showed the immobilization of recombinant LHCII on functionalized gold surfaces via a 6-histidine tag (His tag) in the protein moiety. …
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…
Finely Tuned Temperature-Controlled Cargo Release Using Paraffin-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
2011
[EN] Trapped: Mesoporous silica nanoparticles were loaded with a fluorescent guest and functionalized with octadecyltrimethoxysilane. The alkyl chains interact with paraffins, which build a hydrophobic layer around the particle (see picture). Upon melting of the paraffin, the guest molecule is released, as demonstrated in cells for the guest doxorubicin. The release temperature can be tuned by choosing an appropriate paraffin. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Temperature-controlled release by changes in the secondary structure of peptides anchored onto mesoporous silica supports
2014
Changes in the conformation of a peptide anchored onto the external surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been used to design novel temperature-controlled delivery systems.
Surface plasmons and vibrations of self-assembled silver nanocolumns
2006
6 pags. ; 5 figs. 1 tab.
Mechanically interlocked calix[4]arene dimers display reversible bond breakage under force.
2009
The physics of nanoscopic systems is strongly governed by thermal fluctuations that produce significant deviations from the behaviour of large ensembles1,2. Stretching experiments of single molecules offer a unique way to study fundamental theories of statistical mechanics, as recently shown for the unzipping of RNA hairpins3. Here, we report a molecular design based on oligo calix[4]arene catenanes—calixarene dimers held together by 16 hydrogen bridges—in which loops within the molecules limit how far the calixarene nanocapsules can be separated. This mechanically locked structure tunes the energy landscape of dimers, thus permitting the reversible rupture and rejoining of the individual n…
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.