Resonance Energy Transfer in a Genetically Engineered Polypeptide Results in Unanticipated Fluorescence Intensity

The fluorescence intensity of a C-terminal acceptor chromophore, N-(7-dimethylamino-4-methyl coumarin (DACM), increased proportionally with 280 nm irradiation of an increasing number of donor tryptophan residues located on a β-sheet forming polypeptide. The fluorescence intensity of the acceptor chromophore increased even as the length of the β-sheet edge approached 256 Å, well beyond the Förster radius for the tryptophan–acceptor chromophore pair. The folding of the peptides under investigation was verified by circular dichroism (CD) and deep UV resonance Raman experiments. Control experiments showed that the enhancement of DACM fluorescence occurred concomitantly with peptide folding. In other control experiments, the DACM fluorescence intensity of the solutions of tryptophan and DACM did not show any enhancement of DACM fluorescence with increasing tryptophan concentrations. Formation of fibrillar aggregates of the substrate peptides prepared for the fluorescence studies was undetectable by thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence.     

Raman Scattering in Langasite-Family Crystals

Crystallography Reports - Raman scattering spectra have been investigated in La3Ga5SiO14 langasite crystals with Cr and Fe impurities and La3Ga5.25Ta0.25Si0.5O14 crystalline solid solution. It is...     

Synthesis and Investigation of Copolymers of Glycidyl Methacrylate and Methyl Pheophorbide a in a Solution

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - Copolymers of glycidyl methacrylate and methyl pheophorbide a of different compositions were synthesized by radical copolymerization in toluene and THF...     

Alkylation of 6-Polyfluoroalkyl-2-thiouracils with Haloalkanes

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - The structure of 6-polyfluoroalkyl-2-thiouracils and reactivity of nucleophilic centers in their molecules were analyzed by quantum chemical calculations....     

Detection of Weak Optical Anisotropy in Strontium Tetraborate Activated by Ytterbium Ions

Optics and Spectroscopy - A technique for detecting and measuring the weak optical anisotropy has been proposed and experimentally implemented. The strontium tetraborate activated by ytterbium...     

On the swelling behavior of poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels exposed to perfluoroalkyl acids

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have rapidly accumulated in the environment due to their widespread use prior to commercial discussion in the early 21st century, and their slow degradation has magnified concerns of their potential toxicity. Monitoring their distribution is, therefore, necessary to evaluate and control their impact on the health of exposed populations. This investigation evaluates the capability of a simple polymeric detection scheme for PFAS based on crosslinked, thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogels. Surveying swelling perturbations induced by several hydrotropes and comparable hydrocarbon analogs, tetraethylammonium perfluorooctane sulfonate (TPFOS) showed a significantly higher swelling ratio on a mass basis (65.5 ± 8.8 at 15°C) than any of the other analytes tested. Combining swelling with the fluorimetric response of a solvachromatic dye, nile red, revealed the fluorosurfactant to initiate observable aggregation (i.e., its critical aggregation concentration) at 0.05 mM and reach saturation (i.e., its charge neutralization concentration) at 0.5 mM. The fluorosurfactant was found to homogeneously distribute throughout the polymer matrix with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, marking the swelling response as a peculiar nexus of fluorinated interfacial positioning and delocalized electrostatic repulsion. Results from the current study hold promise for exploiting the physiochemical response of PNIPAM to assess TPFOS's concentration.     

Boundary Conditions in the Source of an Electron Beam on the Surface of the Anode Plasma with a Supersonic Ion Flow

Russian Physics Journal - A solution for the one-dimensional Poisson problem for a layer on the surface of a plasma ion emitter is obtained. The case of plasma with a directed ion velocity greater...     

DETERMINATION OF THRESHOLD N-FACTORS OF THE LAMINAR–TURBULENT TRANSITION IN A SUBSONIC BOUNDARY LAYER ON A PROLATE SPHEROID

Journal of Applied Mechanics and Technical Physics - Results of a numerical study of the laminar-turbulent transition in the boundary layer of a prolate spheroid obtained with the use of the ANSYS...