Polymer translocation through a nanopore induced by adsorption: Monte Carlo simulation of a coarse-grained model

Dynamic Monte Carlo simulation of a bead-spring model of flexible macromolecules threading through a very narrow pore in a very thin rigid membrane are presented, assuming at the cis side of the membrane a purely repulsive monomer-wall interaction, while the trans side is attractive. Two choices of monomer-wall attraction epsilon are considered, one choice is slightly below and the other slightly above the "mushroom to pancake" adsorption threshold epsilon(c) for an infinitely long chain. Studying chain lengths N=32, 64, 128, and 256 and varying the number of monomers N(trans) (time t=0) that have already passed the pore when the simulation started, over a wide range, we find for epsilonepsilon(c) a finite number N(trans)(t=0) suffices that the translocation probability is close to unity. In the case epsilonepsilon(c), we find that the translocation time scales as tau proportional, variant N(1.65+/-0.08). We suggest a tentative scaling explanation for this result. Also the distribution of translocation times is obtained and discussed.     

Effects of thermosensitivity of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel upon the duration of a lag phase at the beginning of drug release from the hydrogel

The release rates of three kinds of drugs, with different charges, from poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels were studied. The release rate was observed to be temperature dependent for the types of drug. When the temperature was lower than the phase transition temperature, the release rate was higher at lower temperatures and increased as the temperature rose. The amount of drugs released from a poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel disk was plotted against the square root of time. It was found that the amount of drugs released was proportional to the square root of time over a certain time interval. A lag phase was observed before the amount of drug released became proportional to the square root of time. The longest time lag was observed at the phase transition temperature of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide); LCST (33°C). This suggests that the penetration rate of water into the hydrogels is lowest at the phase transition temperature and drastically changes around it. The release rates of drugs was also affected by the charges of the drug molecules. This may be caused by the interaction of drug molecules with polymer chains. When anionic drugs are released, the electrostatic repulsion seems to act between polymer chains and drug molecules. Therefore, the lag phase observed at the beginning of the release of anionic drugs was shorter, as compared with other kinds of drugs at any temperatures between 25 and 40°C. On the other hand, when cationic drugs are released, the time lag was longer at temperatures higher than 33°C as compared with the time lag at lower temperatures. At temperatures higher than 33°C, drugs are released from the surface skin layer of the hydrogel where water molecules are less mobile than those in bulk distilled water. The drug release thus shows a long lag phase.     

Kinetics of polymer translocation through a pore

We theoretically study kinetics of a polymer threading through a pore embedded in a flat membrane. We numerically solve three coupled kinetic equations for the number n(1) of polymer segments in one side of the membrane and expansion factors of the polymer chain in each side of the membrane. We find the time evolution n(1) proportional to t(1/(1+nu)) at late stages and the translocation time tau(t) is scaled as tau(t) proportional to 1+nu) for large number n of the polymer segments, where nu is the effective size exponent of the radius of gyration of the polymer. When the polymer is translocated into a region with a good solvent condition (nu=3/5), we obtain n(1) proportional to t(5/8) and tau(t) proportional to n(8/5).     

Adsorption properties of amidoximated porous acrylonitrile/methyl acrylate copolymer beads for Ag (I)

Porous a crylonitrile (AN)/methyl acrylate (MA) copolymer beads were synthesized by suspended emulsion polymerization and amidoximated for the purpose of Ag⁺ adsorption. Optimum amidoximation temperature and time were determined by following the adsorption capacity for Ag⁺. The results showed that amidoximated AN/MA (AO AN/MA) with the amidoximation temperature 70°C and amidoximation time 20 hr had a relatively higher adsorption capacity for Ag⁺. The effect of pH on adsorption for Ag⁺ was studied; the highest adsorption capacity presented at pH 5.0. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms of AO AN/MA copolymer beads for Ag⁺ were also investigated. The kinetics data indicated that the adsorption process was governed by the film diffusion and followed both pseudo‐first‐order and pseudo‐second‐order rate model. The isotherms indicated that adsorption capacities increased with equilibrium concentration and temperature. The Langmuir model and Sips model could describe the isothermal process. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption behaviors of Ag⁺ ions on AO AN/MA could be considered as endothermic and physical sorption process. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adsorption kinetics with time delay

A theory of adsorption kinetics of solutes onto a solid surface from the solution phase is proposed in which a time delay is introduced into the solute concentration on the surface. Equations governing the adsorption kinetics are similar to those for membrane transport with time delay (Ohshima and Kondo, Biophys. Chem. (1989) 33: 303). It is found that introduction of time delay causes, under certain conditions, overshoot or oscillation in the solute concentrations, both in the solution phase and on the surface. The criterion for oscillation depends on the scaled delay time , the ratio of the possible maximum amount of solutes adsorbed on the surface to the total solute amountR, and the scaled binding constantK. When the number of the binding sites is small, the criterion for oscillation is expressed as >exp(–1), where =(/K) exp().     

Density functional theory investigation of benzenethiol adsorption on Au(111)

We have studied the adsorption of benzenethiol molecules on the Au(111) surface by using first principles total energy calculations. A single thiolate molecule is adsorbed at the bridge site slightly shifted toward the fcc-hollow site, and is tilted by 61 degrees from the surface normal. As for the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) structures, the (2 square root of 3 x square root of 3)R30 degrees herringbone structure is stabilized against the (square root 3 x square root 3)R30 degrees structure by large steric relaxation. In the most stable (2 square root 3 x square root 3)R30 degrees SAM structure, the molecule is adsorbed at the bridge site with the tilting angle of 21 degrees, which is much smaller compared with the single molecule adsorption. The van der Waals interaction plays an important role in forming the SAM structure. The adsorption of benzenethiolates induces the repulsive interaction between surface Au atoms, which facilitates the formation of surface Au vacancy.     

Two-site adsorption model for the (square root 3 x square root 3)-R30 degrees dodecanethiolate lattice on Au(111) surfaces

The surface structure of dodecanethiolate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111) surfaces, formed from the liquid phase, have been studied by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and electrochemical techniques. STM images show that the surface structure consists of (square root 3 x square root 3)-R30 degrees domains with only a few domains of the c(4 x 2) lattice. The best fitting of GIXRD data for the (square root 3 x square root 3)-R30 degrees lattice is obtained with alkanethiolate adsorption at the top sites, although good fittings are also obtained for the fcc and hcp hollow sites. On the basis of this observation, STM data, electrochemical measurements, and previously reported data, we propose a two-site model that implies the formation of incoherent domains of alkanethiolate molecules at top and fcc hollow sites. This model largely improves the fitting of the GIXRD data with respect to those observed for single adsorption sites and, also, for the other possible two-site combinations. The presence of alkanethiolate molecules adsorbed at the less favorable top sites could result from the adsorption pathway that involves an initial physisorption step which, for steric reasons, takes place at on top sites. Once the molecules are chemisorbed, the presence of energy barriers for alkanethiolate surface diffusion, arising mostly from chain-chain interactions, "freezes" some of them at the on top sites, hindering their movement toward fcc hollow sites. By considering the length of the hydrocarbon chain and the adsorption time, the two-site model could be a tool to explain most of the controversial results on this matter reported in the literature.     

Adsorbate-geometry specific subsurface relaxation in the CO/Pt(111) system

A dramatic multilayer substrate relaxation is observed for the (square root 19 x square root 19)-13CO adlayer phase on a Pt(111) electrode by surface X-ray scattering. Within the (square root 19 x square root 19) unit cell, a vertical expansion of 0.28 A was determined for the Pt atoms under near-top-site CO molecules, whereas only 0.04 A was found under near-bridge-site CO molecules. The lateral displacements involve small rotations toward more symmetric bonding. Both the expansions and rotations extend into the bulk with a decay length of 1.8 Pt layers. This nonuniform layer expansion, hitherto unseen, appears to be a manifestation of the differential stress induced by CO adsorption at different sites.     

ADSORPTION AND RELEASING PROPERTIES OF BEAD CELLULOSE

The adsorption of some dyes on samples of bead cellulose obtained in the Unit of Research-Production “Cuba 9“ was studied. Methylene blue, alizarin red and congo red fitted the adsorption isotherm of Langrnuir. Adsorption kinetics at pH = 6 was linear with the square root of time indicating the diffusion is the controlling step. At pH = 12 a non-Fickian trend was observed and adsorption was higher for the first two dyes. Experiments carried out to release the methylene blue occluded in the cellulose beads gave a kinetic behavior of zero order. The study of cytochrome C adsorption was included to test a proteinic material. Crosslinking of bead cellulose was performed with epichlorohydrin decreasing its adsorption capacity in acidic or alkaline solution.     

Atmospheric pressure coated-wall flow-tube study of acetone adsorption on ice

An atmospheric pressure variant of the coated-wall flow-tube technique in combination with a Monte Carlo simulation is presented. In a performance test of simple first-order wall loss, the Monte Carlo simulation, which uses a simplified model of transport in laminar flow, reproduced results of an analytical solution of the transport equations in a flow tube. This technique was then used to investigate the reversible adsorption of acetone on ice films between 203 and 223 K and a surface coverage of below 5% of a formal monolayer. Simulation of the experimental uptake traces allowed retrieving an adsorption enthalpy of -46 +/- 3 kJ mol(-1) for acetone on ice, which is in good agreement with other static and flow-tube methods. For the experimental conditions adopted here, the transport of acetone molecules along the ice film is governed by equilibrium thermodynamics. Therefore, the surface accommodation coefficient, S(0), and the preexponential factor, tau(0), for the activated desorption cannot be independently determined. These two main microphysical parameters describing partitioning can rather be estimated through their relation to the adsorption entropy. A first estimate for S(0) of acetone on ice in the range of 0.004-0.043 is given.     

The critical adsorption point of self-avoiding walks: a finite-size scaling approach

The critical adsorption of self-avoiding polymer chain in a simple cubic lattice onto a flat surface is studied with Monte Carlo simulations. The dependence of number of surface contacts M on chain length N and polymer-surface interaction epsilon is investigated by a finite-size scaling approach. We estimate the critical adsorption point epsilon(c)=0.291+/-0.002 and the exponent phi=0.54+/-0.01. The asymptotic behaviors M proportional variant N for epsilon>epsilon(c) and M proportional variant N(0) for epsilon相似文献   

Deduction of channel-length distribution from isothermal thermogravimetry

A possible deduction is proposed of channel length distribution in one-dimensional porous materials from the kinetic data obtained in isothermal thermogravimetry (TG). The method utilizes the absorption/desorption of small molecules into one-dimensional nano-channel. In the surface-controlled absorption/desorption, the second derivative with respect to time is directly proportional to the channel-length distribution function. Even in the diffusion-controlled case, the second derivative with respect to the square root of time gives rough information on the distribution function.     

Experimental investigation of nanoparticle dispersion by beads milling with centrifugal bead separation

A new type of beads mill for dispersing nanoparticles into liquids has been developed. The bead mill utilizes centrifugation to separate beads from nanoparticle suspensions and allows for the use of small sized beads (i.e. 15-30 microm in diameter). The performance of the beads mill in dispersing a suspension of titanium dioxide nanoparticle with 15 nm primary particles was evaluated experimentally. Dynamic light scattering was used to measure titania particle size distributions over time during the milling process, and bead sizes in the 15-100 microm range were used. It was found that larger beads (50-100 microm) were not capable of fully dispersing nanoparticles, and particles reagglomerated after long milling times. Smaller beads (15-30 microm) were capable of dispersing nanoparticles, and a sharp peak around 15 nm in the titania size distribution was visible when smaller beads were used. Because nanoparticle collisions with smaller beads have lower impact energy, it was found by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy that changes in nanoparticle crystallinity and morphology are minimized when smaller beads are used. Furthermore, inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy was used to determine the level of bead contamination in the nanoparticle suspension during milling, and it was found that smaller beads are less likely to fragment and contaminate nanoparticle suspensions. The new type of beads mill is capable of effectively dispersing nanoparticle suspensions and will be extremely useful in future nanoparticle research.     

Raney镍催化松香加氢反应的机理

催化加氢;反应机理;氢化松香;Raney镍催化松香加氢反应的机理     

Kinetics of Diffusion-Controlled Adsorption of Colloid Particles and Proteins

A theoretical model was developed for describing localized adsorption kinetics of proteins and colloid particles at solid/liquid interfaces. In contrast to previous approaches the adsorption and desorption rate constants as well as the surface blocking function were evaluated explicitly without using empirical parameters. It was also predicted that irreversible adsorption kinetics can unequivocally be characterized in terms of the adsorption rate constant k(a) and the maximum (jamming) coverage Theta(mx) known for various particle shapes from previous Monte-Carlo simulations. The dimensionless constant k(a) was shown to be inversely proportional to the concentration of particles which is usually very low for protein and colloid adsorption measurements. From the theoretical model it was also deduced that in this case the asymptotic adsorption law for large dimensionless time tau can be expressed as Theta(mx)-Theta approximately 1/tau(1/(n-1)) (where n=3 for spheres, n=4 for side-on adsorption of spheroids, n=5 for randomly oriented spheroid adsorption). It was also shown that this limiting adsorption regime occurs for proteins at surface coverage Theta(l) very close to the jamming value Theta(mx), becoming therefore difficult to detect due to limited experimental accuracy. These analytical predictions were found to be in agreement with numerical calculations performed by using the finite-difference scheme, valid for an arbitrary range of adsorption time. Moreover, it was demonstrated that these numerical results adequately reflected the experimental results of Johnson and Lenhoff who determined the kinetics of colloid particle adsorption using atomic force microscopy. Previously used approaches assuming that particle adsorption flux is reduced by the factor B(Theta) were found to be inadequate. It was also demonstrated that due to the similarity of underlying parameters the results obtained for colloid systems can be exploited as well-defined reference data for estimating the adsorption kinetics of proteins. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Structure of nonpolarizable water/nitrobenzene interface: potential distribution, ion adsorption, and interfacial tension

Adsorption of hydrophobic and hydrophilic ions at the nonpolarizable interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions was investigated. The results were analyzed in three different models: (i) Gouy-Chapman model, (ii) ions as hard spheres, and (iii) ion pair formation at the interface. In the Gouy-Chapman model, an analytical expression for the interfacial tension was obtained. It predicts that interfacial tension should be proportional to the square root of the electrolyte concentration, which does not agree with experimental data. Modeling ions as hard spheres only slightly improves the agreement. The third model of interfacial ion pairing as the main origin of adsorption was analyzed using the amphiphilic isotherm (Markin-Volkov isotherm). A good agreement between ion-pairing theory and experimental values was achieved. The MV isotherm takes into account the limited number of adsorption sites, final size of molecules, complex formation at the interface, and interaction between adsorbed particles. The analysis revealed repulsion between adsorbed tetraalkylammonium ions at the nitrobenzene/water interface and demonstrated linear dependence between adsorption site area and the size of a molecule.     

Environmentally induced quantum dynamical phase transition in the spin swapping operation

Quantum information processing relies on coherent quantum dynamics for a precise control of its basic operations. A swapping gate in a two-spin system exchanges the degenerate states |(up arrow, down arrow)> and |(down arrow, up arrow)>. In NMR, this is achieved turning on and off the spin-spin interaction b=DeltaE that splits the energy levels and induces an oscillation with a natural frequency DeltaE/Planck's. Interaction of strength Planck's/tau(SE), with an environment of neighboring spins, degrades this oscillation within a decoherence time scale tau(phi). While the experimental frequency omega and decoherence time tau(phi) were expected to be roughly proportional to b/Planck's and tau(SE), respectively, we present here experiments that show drastic deviations in both omega and tau(phi). By solving the many spin dynamics, we prove that the swapping regime is restricted to DeltaEtau(SE) similar or greater than Planck's. Beyond a critical interaction with the environment the swapping freezes and the decoherence rate drops as 1/tau(phi) proportional to (b/Planck's)2tau(SE). The transition between quantum dynamical phases occurs when omega proportional to sqrt (b/Planck's)2-(k/tau(SE)2 becomes imaginary, resembling an overdamped classical oscillator. Here, 0< or =k2< or =1 depends only on the anisotropy of the system-environment interaction, being 0 for isotropic and 1 for XY interactions. This critical onset of a phase dominated by the quantum Zeno effect opens up new opportunities for controlling quantum dynamics.     

Optical Study of Interactions of Glass Beads ER Particles

The amount of ER effect is determined by the difference of dielectric constants of ER particles base liquid.The intensity of ER fluids can be characterized by the interaction of two particles. A double optical tweezers system suitable to study particle interaction is used to measure the particle aggregation time, and it is found that the particle aggregation time is proportional to the square of the electric field. This is the first time to directly measure the interaction of the electric dipoles of ER particles. A method is developed to use high speed CCD in measuring diffusing-wave spectroscopy (DWS), and, for the first time, the auto-correlation functions of nonegordic system of particle structure are measured to study the ER mechanism. Structure response time and force response time are obtained for glass beads ER fluid, and the time variation of characteristic decay times of system correlation functions under different electric fields is also measured. Diffusing coefficients under different fields imply that the interaction is proportional to the square of fields.     

Kinetics of loop formation in polymer chains

We investigate the kinetics of loop formation in ideal flexible polymer chains (the Rouse model), and polymers in good and poor solvents. We show for the Rouse model, using a modification of the theory of Szabo, Schulten, and Schulten, that the time scale for cyclization is tau(c) approximately tau(0)N(2) (where tau(0) is a microscopic time scale and N is the number of monomers), provided the coupling between the relaxation dynamics of the end-to-end vector and the looping dynamics is taken into account. The resulting analytic expression fits the simulation results accurately when a, the capture radius for contact formation, exceeds b, the average distance between two connected beads. Simulations also show that when a < b, tau(c) approximately N(alpha)(tau), where 1.5 < alpha(tau) < or = 2 in the range 7 < N < 200 used in the simulations. By using a diffusion coefficient that is dependent on the length scales a and b (with a < b), which captures the two-stage mechanism by which looping occurs when a < b, we obtain an analytic expression for tauc that fits the simulation results well. The kinetics of contact formation between the ends of the chain are profoundly effected when interactions between monomers are taken into account. Remarkably, for N < 100, the values of tau(c) decrease by more than 2 orders of magnitude when the solvent quality changes from good to poor. Fits of the simulation data for tau(c) to a power law in N (tau(c) approximately N(alpha)(tau)) show that alpha(tau) varies from about 2.4 in a good solvent to about 1.0 in poor solvents. The effective exponent alpha(tau) decreases as the strength of the attractive monomer-monomer interactions increases. Loop formation in poor solvents, in which the polymer adopts dense, compact globular conformations, occurs by a reptation-like mechanism of the ends of the chain. The time for contact formation between beads that are interior to the chain in good solvents changes nonmonotonically as the loop length varies. In contrast, the variation in interior loop closure time is monotonic in poor solvents. The implications of our results for contact formation in polypeptide chains, RNA, and single-stranded DNA are briefly outlined.     

High density gradients in the (square root 3 x square root 3)R30 degrees-CO layer on Ru(0001)

The coverage regime just beyond 0.33 ML, representative of a perfectly ordered (square root 3 x square root 3)R30 degrees-CO layer on Ru(0001), has been investigated using infrared-absorption spectroscopy. Different isotopic mixtures of CO have been employed to derive a profound understanding of structural properties of such layers. It is found that extra CO molecules incorporated into the (square root 3 x square root 3)R30 degrees-CO layer affect their nearest neighbor molecules only, and the associated density gradient extends over no more than a few angstroms. Contrary to existing belief, the model system CO on Ru(0001) does not represent a case of an unusually shallow adsorption potential corrugation. Rather, CO experiences an exceptionally strong site preference when adsorbed on Ru(0001). Annealing causes the local distortion of the overlattice to propagate laterally, most probably in a density wave-like manner. Incipient motion on the atomic scale thereby has been detected by means of isotopic labeling of inequivalent molecules within the high density areas. All major conclusions are based on observations of (isotopically labeled) minority CO species which feature negligible dynamical lateral coupling. The majority CO species, on the other hand, provide laterally averaged, unspecific information on the status of the layer.