Display of Potassium Channel–Blocking Tertiapin‐Q Peptides on Gold Nanoparticles Enhances Depolarization of Cellular Membrane Potential

The use of nanoparticle (NP) systems to control cellular physiology, including membrane potential, can facilitate furthered understanding of many disparate cellular processes ranging from cellular proliferation to tissue regeneration. A gold NP (AuNP) bioconjugate system based on the honeybee venom peptide, tertiapin‐Q (AuNP‐TPN‐Q), that depolarizes membrane potential by targeting inward rectifier potassium channels (Kir), is developed. The conjugate elicits, in a peptide concentration–dependent manner, a greater and more rapid depolarization response compared to the free peptide alone. The specificity of the interaction of the AuNP‐TPN‐Q conjugate with the Kir channel using immunocytochemistry and competition binding assays is confirmed. It is further shown that membrane depolarization is photothermally reversible via the laser‐induced plasmonic heating of the AuNP, providing a level of control over Kir channels not afforded by currently available drugs. The functional nanobioconjugate described herein provides a new research tool for understanding the intricacies of ion channel activity and the modulation of cellular membrane potential.     

Mycorrhizal fungi influence on silver uptake and membrane protein gene expression following silver nanoparticle exposure

The rapid growth of nanotechnology and the high demand for nanomaterial use have greatly increased the risk of particle release into the environment. Understanding nanomaterial interactions with crop species and their associated microorganisms is critical to food safety and security. In the current study, tomato was inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi and subsequently exposed to 12, 24, or 36 mg/kg of 2- or 15-nm silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). Mycorrhizal (M) and non-mycorrhizal (NM) tomatoes exposed to 36 mg/kg of 2-nm Ag-NPs accumulated 1300 and 1600 μg/g silver in their tissues, respectively. Mycorrhizal plants accumulated 14% less silver compared to non-mycorrhizal plants. To begin to understand the mechanisms by which plants accumulate NPs, the expression of two aquaporin channel genes, the plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) and the tonoplast membrane intrinsic protein (TIP), and one potassium channel (KC) gene were studied. In non-mycorrhizal plants, the expression of KC, PIP, and TIP was eight, five, and nine times higher than the control, respectively. These expressions for mycorrhizal plants were 5.8, 3.5, and 2 times higher than controls, respectively. The expression of KC and PIP, which are located on the plasma membrane, was 3.5 and 2.5, respectively, times higher than TIP, which is located on the tonoplast. PIP expression was significantly higher in NM tomatoes exposed to 12 mg/kg of 2-nm Ag-NPs compared to M plants. These results show that mycorrhizal colonization decreases Ag accumulation in NP-exposed plants and also moderates changes in expression level of membrane transport proteins.     

凝血酶适体DNA四螺旋构象去折叠机制的NMR研究

凝血酶适体DNA\[thrombin binding DNA aptamer d (G₁G₂T₃T₄G₅G₆T₇G₈T₉G₁₀G₁₁T₁₂T₁₃G₁₄G₁₅),TBA]是对凝血酶有极高亲和性、并能有效抑制凝血酶凝血功能的单链DNA适体. 凝血酶适体DNA在K⁺等离子存在时呈现出椅式构象,其中2个堆积的四碱基体（G-quartet）构成椅子的主体部分,而1个TGT loop环和2个TT loop环分别构成椅子的靠背和椅脚. 我们测定了在K⁺存在时凝血酶适体DNA中亚氨基质子的交换速率, 发现位于TGT loop环和TT loop环内的亚氨基质子G6、G5和G14由于受TGT loop环和TT loop环的保护有比较小的交换速率,而位于环之外的亚氨基质子G2、G11和G15有较大的交换速率;TGT loop环稳定性同TT loop环相似;碱基T4、T13和T9在稳定凝血酶适体DNA结构中起着很大的作用. 这些证据进一步支持了凝血酶适体DNA的去折叠机制：位于TGT loop环和TT loop环之外的碱基对G1G15、G2G14和G5G11首先断裂其Hoogsteen氢键,而TGT loop环、TT loop环和其内的Hoogsteen氢键保持完好;当温度进一步升高时,TGT loop环和两个TT loop环打开环状结构,凝血酶适体DNA的椅式构象彻底解体,转变为自由单链.      

Quantitative simulations of ratchet potential in a dusty plasma ratchet

Using a dusty plasma ratchet, one can realize the rectification of charged dust particle in a plasma. To obtain the ratchet potential dominating the rectification, here we perform quantitative simulations based on a two-dimensional fluid model of capacitively coupled plasma. Plasma parameters are firstly calculated in two typical cross sections of the dusty plasma ratchet which cut vertically the saw channel at different azimuthal positions. The balance positions of charged dust particle in the two cross sections then can be found exactly. The electric potentials at the two balance positions have different values. Using interpolation in term of a double-sine function from previous experimental measurement, an asymmetrical ratchet potential along the saw channel is finally obtained. The asymmetrical orientation of the ratchet potential depends on discharge conditions. Quantitative simulations further reproduce our previous experimental phenomena such as the rectification of dust particle in the dusty plasma ratchet.     

Numerical investigation on thermal conductivity and thermal rectification in graphene through nitrogen-doping engineering

The aim of this article is to provide a systematic evaluation to perform characteristics on the thermal conductivity and thermal rectification of nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG). Two different structural models about nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG) are constructed by considering nitrogen atomic arrangement. It indicates that thermal conductivity of the graphene decreases because of N-doping and different doped configurations. Thermal rectification of the triangular single-nitrogen-doped graphene (SNDG) decreases with an increasing temperature. However, thermal rectification of the parallel various–nitrogen-doped graphene (VNDG) remains unchanged. The phenomenon of thermal rectification exits in SNDG. It implies that the SNDG might be a potential promising structure for thermal rectifier by controlling the nitrogen-doped model.     

High-field EPR-detected shifts of magnetic tensor components of spin label side chains reveal protein conformational changes: The proton entrance channel of bacteriorhodopsin

Continuous-wave high-field electron paramagnetic resonance (95 GHz, 3.4 T) is performed on a spin label side chain located at residue position 171 in the proton entrance channel of bacterior-hodopsin The conformational differences of three bacteriorhodopsin mutants, the single mutant F171C, the double mutant D96G/F171C, and the triple mutant D96G/F171C/F219L, are reflected in different g_xx and A_zz tensor component shifts of the nitroxide side chain. The most polar microenvironment is found in the single mutant, whereas the open proton entrance channel reported for the triple mutant allows a reorientation of the nitroxide group towards a microenvironment of lower polarity and/or reduced hydrogen bonding. The experimental data of the double mutant are explained by a light-independent equilibrium of two nitroxide orientations with different polarities of the local microenvironment. Upon illumination the spectrum of the single mutant revealsg _xx andA _zz tensor component shifts which resemble those determined for the triple mutant in the dark. This result provides strong evidence for a light-induced opening of the proton entrance channel of the single mutant similar to that found in the unilluminated triple mutant, in agreement with electron diffraction data.     

Noisy saltatory spike propagation: The breakdown of signal transmission due to channel noise

Noisy saltatory spike propagation along myelinated axons is studied within a stochastic Hodgkin-Huxley model. The intrinsic noise (whose strength is inversely proportional to the nodal membrane size) arising from fluctuations of the number of open ion channels influences the dynamics of the membrane potential in a node of Ranvier where the sodium ion channels are predominantly localized. The nodes of Ranvier are linearly coupled. As a measure for the signal propagation reliability, we focus on the ratio between the number of initiated spikes and the transmitted spikes. This work supplements our earlier study [A. Ochab-Marcinek, G. Schmid, I. Goychuk and P. Hänggi, Phys. Rev E 79, 011904 (2009)] towards stronger channel noise intensity and supra-threshold coupling. For strong supra-threshold coupling the transmission reliability decreases with increasing channel noise level until the causal relationship is completely lost and a breakdown of the spike propagation due to the intrinsic noise is observed.     

Influence of amphotericin B on liquid crystal state of the Cholesterol/Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine monolayer in the presence of different metal cations

Amphotericin B is a very effective antifungal drug,but it has an adverse reaction to the membrane of mammals' cells.The interaction between Am B and cholesterol(Chol) causes the formation of pores on the membrane to destroy its integrity.In particular,Am B has a significant effect on the permeability of membrane for K~+ions.It has been reported that Na+ions and Ca~(2+)ions may have some influence on the interaction between amphotericin B and lipid molecules.In this work,the effects of these metal cations on the physical state and intermolecular interaction of the Cholesterol/Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine(Chol/DPPC) monolayer with and without Am B have been investigated.The addition of Am B induces the change of physical state of the lipid monolayer from liquid-gel phase to liquid phase.Different metal cations could influence the phase transition of the Am B-lipid monolayer.The K~+ions and Ca2+ions make the obvious phase transition disappear.However,the presence of Na+ions has little influence on the phase transition of the Am B-lipid monolayer.The addition of Am B and the presence of different metal cations weaken the attractive force on the monolayers.After addition of Am B,the force between the molecules is the strongest in the environment of K+ions,thus is the weakest in the environment of Ca~(2+)ions,which may be due to the distribution of these metal cations inside and outside of cells.A large number of K+ions distribute inside of the cells,thus most of Na+and Ca~(2+)ions exist out of the cells.Hence,it may be possible that when Am B molecules are out of the cells,the reaction between the drug and lipid molecules is weaker than that inside the cells.These results may have a great reference value for further studying the toxicity mechanism of Am B and the influence of metal cations on the membrane.     

孤子中的再激发研究

本文在准一维紧束缚近似下,研究了孤子中的再激发。得到 , ,, , , 。其中 , 和 分别代表中性孤子、带电孤子和带电极化子, 表示链中出现的扭结。     

Rectification effect in a quantum contact

The rectification of current has been observed in a quasi-one-dimensional ballistic quantum channel. The effect is explained by the asymmetry of the potential profile in the channel. The dependence of the rectified current on the height of the potential barrier in the channel exhibits sharp maxima, which are associated with conductance quantization steps. A model of the rectification is proposed.     

The Kv2.1 K<Superscript>+</Superscript> channel targets to the axon initial segment of hippocampal and cortical neurons in culture and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis>

Background  

The Kv2.1 delayed-rectifier K⁺ channel regulates membrane excitability in hippocampal neurons where it targets to dynamic cell surface clusters on the soma and proximal dendrites. In the past, Kv2.1 has been assumed to be absent from the axon initial segment.     

Inclusion of electric octupole contributions explains the fast radiative decays of two metastable states in Ar+

A laser probing investigation has yielded the lifetimes of the 3s(2)3p(4)(1D)3d (2)G(7/2,9/2) metastable doublet states of Ar+. The results, obtained with the CRYRING ion storage ring of Stockholm, are 3.0+/-0.4 and 2.1+/-0.1 s, respectively. Comparisons with theoretical values calculated with two independent theoretical approaches, i.e., the pseudorelativistic Hartree-Fock method and the multiconfiguration Breit-Pauli approach, have allowed us to establish the unexpected and extraordinary strong contribution of an electric octupole (E3) transition to the ground state, in addition to the M1 decay channels to the 3d ;{2,4}F states and the E2 contributions to the 4s 2P, 2D states.     

Effect of interaction between loop bases and ions on stability of G-quadruplex DNA

G-quadruplexes(GQs) are guanine-rich, non-canonical nucleic acid structures that play fundamental roles in biological processes. The topology of GQs is associated with the sequences and lengths of DNA, the types of linking loops, and the associated metal cations. However, our understanding on the basic physical properties of the formation process and the stability of GQs is rather limited. In this work, we employed ab initio, molecular dynamics(MD), and steered MD(SMD)simulations to study the interaction between loop bases and ions, and the effect on the stability of G-quadruplex DNA, the Drude oscillator model was used in MD and SMD simulations as a computationally efficient manner method for modeling electronic polarization in DNA ion solutions. We observed that the binding energy between DNA bases and ions(K⁺/Na⁺)is about the base stacking free energies indicates that there will be a competition among the binding of M⁺-base, H-bonds between bases, and the base-stacking while ions were bound in loop of GQs. Our SMD simulations indicated that the side loop inclined to form the base stacking while the loop sequence was Thy or Ade, and the cross-link loop upon the G-tetrads was not easy to form the base stacking. The base stacking side loop complex K+was found to have a good stabilization synergy. Although a stronger interaction was observed to exist between Cyt and K+, such an interaction was unable to promote the stability of the loop with the sequence Cyt.     

Empirical study of nonlinearity tensor dominating THz generation in barium borate crystal through optical rectification

The optical rectification is an important optical method to generate the THz wave. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the properties of the nonlinearity tensor which governs the optical rectification process. In this work, we demonstrate that some key information of the nonlinearity tensor of barium borate (BBO) crystal could be revealed by 2-dimensional time-domain spectroscopic measurements. The experimental results indicate that d ₂₂ of the nonlinearity tensor coefficients of BBO crystal plays negligible role during the THz generation by optical rectification. At the same time, a proportional relationship among three other nonzero nonlinearity tensor coefficients, i.e., d ₃₃, d ₃₁, and d ₁₅, could be obtained empirically. It is worth noting that our method is also applicable to similar nonlinearity study in THz region of other types of crystals.     

Optical rectification in CdS

Optical rectification non-linear process in CdS single crystals at the Nd-YA1G and CO₂ frequencies is reported. V_OR signal measurements versus θ angle, between radiation E-field and crystal c-axis, give non-zero terms values of the optical rectification tensor. The frequency dispersion effect of this non-linear process is discussed.     

Direct observation of rectified motion of vortices in a niobium superconductor

Using Lorentz microscopy to directly image vortices, we investigate vortex motion control and rectification in a niobium superconductor. We directly observe a net motion of vortices along microfabricated channels with a spatially asymmetric potential, even though the vortices were driven by an oscillatory field. By observing the individual motion of vortices, we clarify elementary processes involved in this rectification. To further demonstrate the ability to control the motion of vortices, we created a tiny vortex "racetrack" to monitor the motion of vortices in a closed circuit channel.     

戊二烯基与氧分子反应的理论研究

用G3B3//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)方法计算了戊二烯基与氧分子反应的势能面．计算结果显示，反应的第一步为戊二烯基与氧分子结合形成两种过氧化加成物，过氧基分别连结在末端C1位置和中间C3位置．在反应的第二步，两种过氧化加成物分别发生一系列氢转移异构化反应和成环异构化反应．最后，这些氢转移异构体和环化异构体分别经过单分子分解通道，生成不饱和醛酮和羟基．共计算了20个稳定态和14个过渡态的结构和能量，通过比较各反应通道的能垒和反应热，提出以C2H3O和C3H4O为最终产物的通道可能是整个反应的主要通道．此外，计算结果还表明一些过C5H7O2自由基可能作为反应体系的长寿命中间体而存在，这与Zils等人的实验观测结果一致．     

Effects of channel noise on firing coherence of small-world Hodgkin-Huxley neuronal networks

We investigate the effects of channel noise on firing coherence of Watts-Strogatz small-world networks consisting of biophysically realistic HH neurons having a fraction of blocked voltage-gated sodium and potassium ion channels embedded in their neuronal membranes. The intensity of channel noise is determined by the number of non-blocked ion channels, which depends on the fraction of working ion channels and the membrane patch size with the assumption of homogeneous ion channel density. We find that firing coherence of the neuronal network can be either enhanced or reduced depending on the source of channel noise. As shown in this paper, sodium channel noise reduces firing coherence of neuronal networks; in contrast, potassium channel noise enhances it. Furthermore, compared with potassium channel noise, sodium channel noise plays a dominant role in affecting firing coherence of the neuronal network. Moreover, we declare that the observed phenomena are independent of the rewiring probability.     

Barrier fluctuations and stochastic resonance in membrane transport

The role of barrier fluctuations in membrane enzymatic processes, in particular in the active transport of ions through cell membranes, is examined. For enzymes embedded in the cell membrane the role of the barrier height (activation energy) is played by the membrane electric potential. This barrier height can be modulated either by internal fluctuations or by external electrical fields, either random or periodic. Existing experimental data on active transport of Na(+) and Rb(+) in human erythrocytes (catalyzed by Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase) can be interpreted as evidence of stochastic resonance between the external ac field and the fluctuations of the membrane potential. The obtained results suggest that the significant part of these fluctuations is supplied by the stimulated action of neighbor voltage-gated ionic channels. This supports the idea that intrinsic noise plays a constructive role in one of most important and most frequent biophysical processs, viz. ion transmission through cell membranes. Means of further experimental verification of this conjecture are proposed. (c) 1998 American Institute of Physics.     

Molecular rectification of thiol-linked Au|PTCDI-[CH2]n|Au junctions

The electronic transport properties of the PTCDI-[CH₂]_n(0≤n≤6) molecular junctions with different molecular lengths are theoretically investigated via the first-principles density functional theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method. Our results show that the transport properties depend on molecular lengths. The equilibrium conductance of the probed systems decreases exponentially with the increasing number n of the CH₂ unit. With n≥1, the rectifying effect has been found. In the n=6 case, a significant rectification ratio of 72.6 is achieved at the bias of ±2.1 V in our probed voltage range. The rectification effect arises from asymmetric molecular structures. Our results suggest these molecules have great potential application in the molecular-scale device.