两亲性分子聚集体的相变及其协同性

两亲性分子聚集体是一类重要的软物质,它们有着丰富而复杂的相行为.本文主要从两个方面综述了作者所在的研究组在两亲性分子聚集体相变研究方面的工作进展.(1)磷脂相关体系相变热力学:归纳了多种小分子(二甲基亚砜、甘油、海藻糖、尿素等)对于磷脂体系相行为的调控,比较并讨论了固醇类分子和葡萄糖神经酰胺分子诱导磷脂分子形成液态有序相的能力,还介绍了计算机模拟磷脂相行为的工作进展.(2)两亲性分子聚集体相变的协同性:先介绍了相变协同性(即分子头部、尾部、界面等基团在相变过程中的一致性)问题的提出,然后通过双十八烷基二甲基溴化铵分子和硬脂酰溶血卵磷脂两个体系的研究实例,说明两亲性分子聚集体相变过程中存在着头尾不一致的现象.对这个问题的研究,将为我们打开挑战相态转变的一系列重大问题(如相变动力学、相态多型性、相态稳定性以及相变可逆性等)的新窗口.     

退火过程中聚乳酸中间相的形成和结构演化

采用淬火法制备聚乳酸(PLA)非晶薄膜,并利用原位显微红外光谱在线研究PLA非晶薄膜在不同退火温度下的结构演化.结果表明,PLA非晶薄膜存在一个临界结晶温度,当退火温度高于临界结晶温度时,PLA非晶薄膜可以通过分子链的局部调整实现冷结晶,反之,不能发生冷结晶;在冷结晶过程中先出现中间相,随后发生中间相-晶体相的转变;中间相是通过分子链的构象调整和分子链间的堆砌调整产生的,退火温度越高,中间相出现得越早,最终得到的晶体结构越规整.     

DOPC,DOPE和神经酰胺对鞘磷脂/胆固醇双层膜结构的影响

用LB技术和原子力显微镜(AFM)研究了1,2-二油酸甘油-3-磷脂酰胆碱(DOPC)、1,2-二油酸甘油-3-磷脂酰乙醇胺(DOPE)和神经酰胺(Ceramide)对鞘磷脂(SM)/胆固醇(Chol)结构的影响. 实验结果表明, 在表面压力较低时, 每种混合脂双层膜都呈现均匀分布的脂双层结构. 随着表面压力的增加, 形态发生了明显的变化: (1) SM/Chol二元组分双层膜形成均一的液态有序相微区结构, 衬底覆盖率达到80%; (2) DOPC的加入促使SM/Chol双层膜出现相分离现象, SM/Chol形成的液态有序相 “岛状” 微区结构漂浮在液态无序相的DOPC上部, 约占总面积的30%; (3) DOPE与SM/Chol形成的双层膜明显不同于DOPC/SM/Chol, 呈现出液态无序相、液态有序相及凝胶相3相共存的结构; (4) Ceramide诱导了SM/Chol双层膜结构发生重排, 两层脂分子间发生翻转形成囊泡结构, 部分神经酰胺从液态有序相中分离形成小颗粒结构. 在较高膜压下, 各系统都呈现出具有特定形态的双层膜结构. 分子官能团的成键能力决定了双层膜形态结构.     

Langmuir-Blodgett膜超分子SM/DOPC/Chol三元脂系的原子力显微镜观察

用原子力显微镜研究了胆固醇(Chol)对鞘磷脂(SM)/1,2-二油酸甘油-3-磷脂酰胆碱(DOPC)二元脂系统结构的影响和神经酰胺对SM/DOPC/Chol三元脂系统结构的影响. 实验发现, 在SM/DOPC二元脂系统中, 胆固醇和带饱和脂肪酸链的磷脂发生相互作用形成微区结构, 随着胆固醇含量的增加, 微区的面积逐渐增大, 形成了稳定的片层结构. 当把神经酰胺加入到等摩尔配比的SM/DOPC/Chol三元脂系统中时, 随着神经酰胺比例的增加, 先形成紧密的聚集态结构, 然后逐渐演变成具有特定微区的网状结构. 研究结果表明, 微区的形成主要是由分子不同的官能团之间的相互作用所决定, 这可能在细胞信号传导等生理活动中起到重要的作用.     

长链正烷烃的受限结晶研究进展

聚合物的结晶过程和最终凝聚态结构直接影响材料的加工使用性能.作为高分子材料的最大品种,聚烯烃由于分子量大,分子量分布较宽,结晶过程中形成多种亚稳态,因而从分子水平上阐明其结晶机理存在困难.与聚乙烯链结构相似的长链正烷烃可作为聚烯烃的模型化合物,研究其受限结晶行为能为复杂的聚合物受限结晶提供理想的模型体系.长链正烷烃的受限空间可以分为一维受限薄膜、二维受限微孔、三维受限微乳液或微胶囊等.相对于本体,长链正烷烃在每个受限体系中的结晶行为各不相同,这主要来源于受限体系对成核、结晶以及相转变的影响.本文重点综述了长链正烷烃在3种受限体系中的结晶特点,并结合各个体系中聚合物的结晶特点,阐述了长链正烷烃作为聚合物模型化合物的合理性.     

结晶动力学策略在非富勒烯体系太阳能电池形貌调控领域的应用

非富勒烯体系太阳能电池具有吸收范围宽、半透明及可大面积溶液加工等优势,已在清洁能源领域占据重要地位。在高性能材料开发、活性层形貌及器件工艺优化的推动下,器件能量转换效率已经突破19%。非富勒烯体系太阳能电池的基本结构包括阴极、阳极、相应的界面层及活性层,其中活性层形貌对器件性能有着重要影响。然而,由于活性层中给体与受体分子均为半晶性分子,在成膜过程中两者结晶存在竞争耦合;此外,活性层的结晶和相分离往往同时发生,导致形貌可控性差。针对上述问题,本专论系统总结了通过控制共混体系结晶动力学,精细调控活性层形貌的相关进展,详细介绍了共混体系中分子扩散速率、成核与晶粒生长相对速率、结晶顺序等动力学行为对活性层相分离结构、相区尺寸、结晶度及分子取向等的影响,建立了活性层多层次结构与器件光物理过程间的构效关系,为制备高性能有机太阳能电池器件奠定了基础。     

超支化聚酯对聚乙二醇非等温结晶行为的影响

利用差示扫描量热法(DSC)、偏光显微镜(POM)以及傅里叶变换红外(FTIR)光谱研究了一种超支化聚酯(HBP)对聚乙二醇(PEG)非等温结晶行为的影响,用Ozawa法、Jeziorny法和莫志深法对非等温结晶动力学进行了分析.结果表明:PEG和HBP/PEG的非等温结晶过程可用Ozawa和莫志深动力学方程描述,与Jeziorny动力学方程不符;超支化聚酯的加入改变了PEG的结晶成核和生长机理,对PEG的结晶有一定的延缓作用.超支化聚酯中的羰基与PEG的端羟基形成的氢键以及超支化聚酯自身较大的分子体积和高度支化的结构所导致的位阻效应是超支化聚酯延缓PEG结晶的主要原因.     

单克隆抗体依那西普融合蛋白的活性结构保护

采用拉伸模拟和伞状采样的方法, 利用Gromacs软件和Amber99sb-ildn分子力场研究了不同浓度的海藻糖体系和海藻糖-甘露醇复合体系中单克隆依那西普融合蛋白二聚体的解离过程. 结果表明, 海藻糖能显著增强依那西普二聚体活性结构的稳定性, 且海藻糖-甘露醇的复合保护优于海藻糖的单一保护; 保护剂的种类及其选择性吸附保护的特定位置对依那西普蛋白二聚体活性结构保护效果的影响显著.     

氮化硼诱导聚乙烯分子结晶的分子动力学模拟

采用分子动力学方法(MD)研究熔体条件下聚乙烯分子在氮化硼纳米管表面和氮化硼片层表面的结晶机理。通过对聚乙烯分子结晶过程中晶体构象的演变、空间内分子分布的变化以及分子扩散特性的研究,从微观角度比较了两种结构氮化硼纳米材料对聚乙烯结晶的影响。结果表明一维结构的氮化硼纳米管诱导聚乙烯结晶的能力远高于二维片层状的氮化硼,说明纳米材料的维度影响着高分子材料的结晶性能。     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯的分子构型对淬火过程中聚偏氟乙烯(PVF_2)β相生成的影响

<正> 聚偏氟乙烯(PVF_2)是一种半结晶聚合物,它至少存在α、β、γ和δ四种晶相结构。其中β相由于其与PVF_2的压电性和热电性直接相关而引起人们的广泛关注。在以前的工作中,我们研究了超速淬火对PVP_2晶相结构的影响。本工作用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)技术研究了聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)分子构型对淬火过程中PVF_2β相生成温度的影响.     

Drying and rehydration of DLPC/DSPC symmetric and asymmetric supported lipid bilayers: a combined AFM and fluorescence microscopy study

This work characterizes the impact of lipid symmetry/asymmetry on drying/rehydration reorganization in phase-separated dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC)/distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) at the submicron and micron-scale. In addition the prevention of major drying/rehydration reorganization by the use of trehalose is demonstrated. Even though it was found using fluorescence microscopy that micrometer scale structure is preserved in the presence and absence of trehalose upon drying/rehydration, AFM and FRAP experiments successfully revealed major changes in the phase-separated structure such as defects, obstructions, lipid condensation, collapse structures, and complex incomplete DLPC-DSPC mixing/exchange in the absence of trehalose. In the presence of trehalose the membrane preserves its structure at the nanometer scale and mobility. We found that SLBs with asymmetric domain configurations underwent major rearrangements during drying and rehydration, whereas the symmetric domain configuration mainly rearranged during rehydration, that we hypothesize is related to lower transmembrane cohesiveness or lack of anchoring to the substrate in the case of the asymmetric domains.     

海藻糖和氨基酸之间相互作用的分子动力学模拟

虽然海藻糖已经广泛用于蛋白质稳定性研究,但海藻糖稳定蛋白质的作用机理尚不清晰.本文利用全原子分子动力学模拟研究了20种常见氨基酸和海藻糖之间的分子机理.结果表明,所有氨基酸,尤其是极性和带电氨基酸,均优先与水分子结合.相反,仅有疏水性氨基酸与海藻糖发生相互作用,尤其是芳香族和疏水性氨基酸的侧链更易于和海藻糖接触.所有氨基酸的主链与水分子接触的趋势一致.虽然氨基酸和海藻糖与水之间均形成氢键,但氨基酸和海藻糖之间的氢键相互作用要弱于氨基酸和水之间的氢键相互作用.上述分子模拟的结果对于海藻糖稳定蛋白质作用机理的解析及高效蛋白质稳定剂的理性设计具有非常重要的理论指导意义.     

海藻糖和氨基酸之间相互作用的分子动力学模拟

虽然海藻糖已经广泛用于蛋白质稳定性研究,但海藻糖稳定蛋白质的作用机理尚不清晰. 本文利用全原子分子动力学模拟研究了20种常见氨基酸和海藻糖之间的分子机理. 结果表明,所有氨基酸,尤其是极性和带电氨基酸,均优先与水分子结合. 相反,仅有疏水性氨基酸与海藻糖发生相互作用,尤其是芳香族和疏水性氨基酸的侧链更易于和海藻糖接触. 所有氨基酸的主链与水分子接触的趋势一致. 虽然氨基酸和海藻糖与水之间均形成氢键,但氨基酸和海藻糖之间的氢键相互作用要弱于氨基酸和水之间的氢键相互作用. 上述分子模拟的结果对于海藻糖稳定蛋白质作用机理的解析及高效蛋白质稳定剂的理性设计具有非常重要的理论指导意义.     

Analysis of sugar bioprotective mechanisms on the thermal denaturation of lysozyme from Raman scattering and differential scanning calorimetry investigations

Sugar-induced thermostabilization of lysozyme was analyzed by Raman scattering and modulated differential scanning calorimetry investigations, for three disaccharides (maltose, sucrose, and trehalose) characterized by the same chemical formula (C(12)H(22)O(11)). This study shows that trehalose is the most effective in stabilizing the folded secondary structure of the protein. The influence of sugars on the mechanism of thermal denaturation was carefully investigated by Raman scattering experiments carried out both in the low-frequency range and in the amide I band region. It was determined that the thermal stability of the hydrogen-bond network of water, highly dependent on the presence of sugars, contributes to the stabilization of the native tertiary structure and inhibits the first stage of denaturation, that is, the transformation of the tertiary structure into a highly flexible state with intact secondary structure. It was found that trehalose exhibits exceptional capabilities to distort the tetra-bonded hydrogen-bond network of water and to strengthen intermolecular O-H interactions responsible for the stability of the tertiary structure. Trehalose was also observed to be the best stabilizer of the folded secondary structure, in the transient tertiary structure, leading to a high-temperature shift of the unfolding process (the second stage of denaturation). This was interpreted from the consideration that the transient tertiary structure is less flexible and inhibits the solvent accessibility around the hydrophobic groups of lysozyme.     

Production of ceramide with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The possibility of producing the biologically active material of the skin, ceramide, was studied using yeasts. The yeast strain that produced the most ceramide, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (KCCM 50515), was selected, and the optimal conditions for ceramide production were determined using shakeflask culture and batch fermentation. By measuring the production rate of ceramide at various pH values and temperatures, the optimal conditions for ceramide production were found to be pH 6.0 and 30°C. When heat shock was applied to the cells for 1 h by increasing the culture temperature from 30 to 40°C after cell growth, the amount of ceramide produced was increased 5.9-fold. A cell growth and ceramide production model was developed with Monod kinetics and the Leudecking-Piret model. It showed that ceramide production was increased when the cells were in the stationary phase.     

A low-dose electron diffraction assay for protection of protein structure against damage from drying.

A new assay using low-dose electron diffraction to measure the protection of protein structure against damage from drying is described. When thin single crystals of catalase are dried within water alone, low-dose electron diffraction yields no Bragg spots. Drying within an experimental aqueous solution that permits detection of diffraction spots thereby indicates a positive result, and the extent of these Bragg reflections into the high angle range gives a quantitative measure of the degree of protection. Bragg spots out to 3.73.9 are recorded for drying within 100 mM solutions of the known structure-preserving sugars, sucrose, tannin, and trehalose. The ability of trehalose to maintain native protein structure during drying starts between 10 and 25 mM, and changes only slightly at concentrations above this threshold; with drying in 150-mM trehalose, catalase crystals yield diffraction spots out to 3.7. Drying within the organic nonsugar polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone gives Bragg spots to 4.0. This new assay should be useful to measure the unexamined structure-preserving capabilities of modified sugars, other nonsugars, and mixtures to identify which protective matrix maintains native protein structure to the greatest extent during drying; electron crystallography using that optimal matrix should yield protein structure at improved levels of high resolution.     

Mutual interactions in a ternary protein/bioprotectant/water system

The dynamics of hydration water play a key role in many biological processes. The activity and function of proteins are strongly affected by the presence of water, which interacts primarily by means of hydrogen bonding. These interactions are examined in this work by a comparison of neutron vibrational spectra (Inelastic Neutron Scattering, INS) of dry lysozyme and hydrated lysozyme at h = 0.7 (g of H₂O/g of protein) with those of a lysozyme/water mixture at the same hydration value in the presence of the glass-forming bioprotectant trehalose. A difference spectrum, obtained by subtracting the dry lysozyme spectrum from that of the lysozyme/water mixture, yields the hydration water spectrum which is compared to the INS spectra of different kinds of ice in order to determine the changes induced by lysozyme on the hydrogen-bonded network of water. An additional comparison is performed by using a double-difference spectrum obtained by subtracting both the dry lysozyme and the trehalose spectra from the lysozyme/trehalose/water ternary spectrum. The effects of the mutual interactions among the three components, i.e. protein, disaccharide and water, are determined by comparison of the spectra of the dry systems (lysozyme, trehalose) with the difference spectra obtained from subtraction of the dry systems from the binary systems. It is concluded that the interfacial water more strongly affects the intermolecular mode region at low frequencies, whereas the vibrational spectra at high frequencies are more influenced by lysozyme and trehalose.     

Heterogeneous drying of colloidal polymer films: dependence on added salt

Using magnetic resonance profiling coupled with dynamic light scattering, we have investigated the mechanisms leading to the formation of a partly coalesced surface layer, or "open skin", during film formation from waterborne polymer dispersions. We present the first use of the skewness of the distribution of free water as a model-free indicator of the spatial nonuniformity of drying. The skewness reaches a maximum at the same time at which a strong, static component, presumably originating from a skin at the film/air interface, appears in the light scattering data. Addition of salt to the dispersion increases both the skewness of the distribution of free water and the propensity for skin formation. Surprisingly, the drying is influenced not only by the concentration and valency of the ions in the salt but also by the particular ion. At intermediate particle densities, added salt strongly lowers the cooperative diffusion coefficient, Dcoop. When the particles reach close packing, Dcoop sharply increases. If the particles readily coalesce, the effects of the increased diffusivity will be counteracted, thereby inducing the formation of a skin. A modified Peclet number, Pe, using Dcoop, is proposed, so that the presence of salt is explicitly considered. This modified Pe is able to predict the nonuniformity in drying that leads to skin formation.     

Nanoscale properties of mixed fengycin/ceramide monolayers explored using atomic force microscopy

To gain insight into the interactions between fengycin and skin membrane lipids, mixed fengycin/ceramide monolayers were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) (monolayers supported on mica) and surface pressure-area isotherms (monolayers at the air-water interface). AFM topographic images revealed phase separation in mixed monolayers prepared at 20 degrees C/pH 2 and composed of 0.25 and 0.5 fengycin molar ratios, in the form of two-dimensional (2-D) hexagonal crystalline domains of ceramide surrounded by a fengycin-enriched fluid phase. Surface pressure-area isotherms as well as friction and adhesion AFM images confirmed that the two phases had different molecular orientations: while ceramide formed a highly ordered phase with crystalline chain packing, fengycin exhibited a disordered fluid phase with the peptide ring lying horizontally on the substrate. Increasing the temperature and pH to values corresponding to the skin parameters, i.e., 37 degrees C/pH 5, was found to dramatically affect the film organization. At low fengycin molar ratio (0.25), the hexagonal ceramide domains transformed into round domains, while at higher ratio (0.5) these were shown to melt into a continuous fengycin/ceramide fluid phase. These observations were directly supported by the thermodynamic analysis (deviation from the additivity rule, excess of free energy) of the monolayer properties at the air-water interface. Accordingly, this study demonstrates that both the environmental conditions (temperature, pH) and fengycin concentration influence the molecular organization of mixed fengycin/ceramide monolayers. We believe that the ability to modulate the formation of 2-D domains in the skin membrane may be an important biological function of fengycin, which should be increasingly investigated in future pharmacological research.     

Gemini surfactants with a disaccharide spacer.

A gemini surfactant is an amphiphile possessing (in sequence) the following: hydrocarbon tail/polar group/spacer/polar group/hydrocarbon tail. Widespread interest in geminis has emerged recently from both industrial and academic laboratories. In the present contribution, two related families of geminis have been synthesized, both with trehalose, a disaccharide, as a polar spacer. One family, Series-A, is nonionic and has amide groups separating the long chains from the trehalose spacer. The other family, Series-B, has quaternary ammonium ions connecting the long chains to the trehalose spacer. It was found that Series-A geminis are water insoluble despite the two amides and multiple hydroxyls. When hydrated or extruded, these geminis form microscopically visible vesicular and tubular structures above their transition temperatures (which were determined calorimetrically). Insoluble monomolecular films, constructed from these geminis, have interfacial areas that are dominated by the sugar spacer although intermolecular chain/chain interactions seem to stabilize the films. Thus, the behavior of Series-A geminis in many ways parallels that of phospholipids and simple double-chain surfactants. It is as if the trehalose is less of a spacer than a large but conventional headgroup. In contrast, cationic Series-B geminis are water soluble and form micelles with critical micelle concentrations an order of magnitude lower than that of corresponding conventional surfactants. Molecular modeling using the Amber force field explains the difference in properties between the two families of geminis. Series-A are tubular in shape and thus prefer bilayer packing as do other amphiphiles in which the headgroups are similar in width to the sum of the tail diameters. Series-B geminis are conical-shaped and pack more readily into spherical micelles. This work entails synthesis, tensiometry, conductance, microscopy, surface balance studies, calorimetry, light scattering, and molecular modeling. In colloid chemistry, a balanced perspective cannot be achieved by one methodology alone but only through the pursuit of consilience among multiple approaches.