Effects of newcastle disease virus glycoproteins on the structural and thermal behaviour of 1,2-dihexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine lipid membranes under osmotic stress conditions

The interaction of hem agglutininneuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) glycoproteins with swollen vesicles of 1,2-dihexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DHPC) was investigated under transition from gel to fluid phase. X-ray studies of the structure of lipid/HN-F mixtures in normal and swollen vesicles have shown that the lamellar bilayer structure predominate in the gel and liquid crystalline phases. A swollen lipid phase, in which the mean repeat distance of lipid bilayers is larger than in the other phases was found. The nature of this phase is similar to the anomalous bilayer swelling reported in literature. The presence of HN and F in the vesicles led to the coexistence of structures with low and high lamellar order, showing larger repeat distance in comparison with the pure lipid. This finding was attributed to the increase in the lipid bilayer thickness due to the HN-F included in the free water layer. The thermal behaviour of the system was not affected by the vesicle swelling. The data showed the existence of gel and liquid crystalline lamellar phases and changes in lipid/HN-F specific heats, mainly due to the concentration effect of the HN-F and its location in the free water layer.     

Observations on the swelling characteristics of the zwitterionic hydrogel of poly(1-3-sulfopropyl)-2-vinyl-pyridinium-betaine hydrogel

Samples of poly[1-(3-sulfopropyl)-2-vinyl-pyridinium-betaine] (PSPV) have been synthesized to high conversion by free radical polymerization in aqueous solution of the zwitterionic monomer SPV with several concentrations of the crosslinker N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA). The densities of the resultant xerogels increased regularly with the content of MBA. Hydrogels obtained by swelling them in water and aqueous KSCN solution were examined by gravimetric and dimensional analysis. The water contents increased with decreasing content of MBA, the value of 92.7 wt% at the lowest MBA content being higher than that for other zwitterionic hydrogels. Enhanced swelling occurred in 1 M aq. KSCN at each MBA content, the total swelling being 98.1 wt% at the lowest crosslinker content. Swelling increased with increasing temperature. An approximate procedure to formulating swelling equilibrium in term of the volume fraction of water in hydrogel, in conjunction with the van’t Hoff equation, yields a small positive value for the enthalpy of swelling. This is compared with values derived similarly for other hydrogels.     

Hydration of dimethyldodecylamine-N-oxide: enthalpy and entropy driven processes

Dimethyldodecylamine-N-oxide (DDAO) has only one polar atom that is able to interact with water. Still, this surfactant shows very hydrophilic properties: in mixtures with water, it forms normal liquid crystalline phases and micelles. Moreover, there is data in the literature indicating that the hydration of this surfactant is driven by enthalpy while other studies show that hydration of surfactants and lipids typically is driven by entropy. Sorption calorimetry allows resolving enthalpic and entropic contributions to the free energy of hydration at constant temperature and thus directly determines the driving forces of hydration. The results of the present sorption calorimetric study show that the hydration of liquid crystalline phases of DDAO is driven by entropy, except for the hydration of the liquid crystalline lamellar phase which is co-driven by enthalpy. The exothermic heat effect of the hydration of the lamellar phase arises from formation of strong hydrogen bonds between DDAO and water. Another issue is the driving forces of the phase transitions caused by the hydration. The sorption calorimetric results show that the transitions from the lamellar to cubic and from the cubic to the hexagonal phase are driven by enthalpy. Transitions from solid phases to the liquid crystalline lamellar phase are entropically driven, while the formation of the monohydrate from the dry surfactant is driven by enthalpy. The driving forces of the transition from the hexagonal phase to the isotropic solution are close to zero. These sorption calorimetric results are in good agreement with the analysis of the binary phase diagram based on the van der Waals differential equation. The phase diagram of the DDAO-water system determined using DSC and sorption calorimetry is presented.     

Driving forces of phase transitions in surfactant and lipid systems

In aqueous surfactant and lipid systems, different liquid crystalline phases are formed at different temperatures and water contents. The "natural" phase sequence implies that phases with higher curvature are formed at higher water contents. On the other hand, there are exceptions to this rule, such as the monoolein/water system. In this system an anomalous transition from lamellar to reverse cubic phase upon addition of water is observed. The calorimetric data presented here show that the hydration-induced transitions to phases with higher curvature are driven by enthalpy, while the transitions to phases with lower curvature are driven by entropy. It is shown that the driving forces of phase transitions can be determined from the appearance of the phase diagram using the approach based on van der Waals differential equation. From this approach it follows that the slope of the phase boundary should be positive with respect to water content if the phase diagram obeys the "natural" phase sequence. The increase of entropy, which drives the anomalous phase transitions, arises from the increase of disorder of the hydrocarbon chains.     

Thermodynamic properties of the binary mixture of water and <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-butanol

The molar heat capacities of the binary mixture composed of water and n-butanol were measured with an adiabatic calorimeter in the temperature range 78–320 K. The functions of the heat capacity with respect to thermodynamic temperature were established. A glass transition, solid–solid phase transition and solid–liquid phase transition were observed. The corresponding enthalpy and entropy of the solid–liquid phase transition were calculated, respectively. The thermodynamic functions relative to a temperature of 298.15 K were derived based on the relationships of the thermodynamic functions and the function of the measured heat capacity with respect to temperature.     

Thermodynamics of water sorption in acrylic homonetworks and IPNs

The equilibrium thermodynamic properties of poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate) and poly(ethyl acrylate)-i-poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate) hydrogels are investigated starting from the water sorption isotherms of the systems. Partial enthalpy and entropy of the sorbed water in the gel differ markedly from the values of pure water at the lowest water contents, and tend to those of liquid water as saturation is approached. The residual mixing free energy is calculated, as a means of assessing the intensity of the water-polymer interaction. Its small positive magnitude shows that water-polymer hydrogen bonds are labile compared to water-water and polymer-polymer hydrogen bonds, and thus the stability of the gel state is still mainly due to the combinatorial entropic contribution to the mixing free energy. An equation correctly describing the sorption isotherms, when combined with the thermodynamic equations, can deliver the true water-polymer interaction parameter and its dependence on the polymer volume fraction in the gel.     

Phase behavior of cetyltrimethylammonium surfactants with oligo carboxylate counterions mixed with water and decanol: attraction between charged planes or spheres with oligomeric counterions

Cetyltrimethylammonium surfactants with a range of oligo carboxylate anions bearing 2, 3, or 4 negative charges have been synthesized, and their respective behaviors in binary mixtures with water and in ternary mixtures with added decanol have been investigated. In binary mixtures with water, all surfactants formed nearly spherical micelles at high water contents; however, the interactions between micelles varied strongly with the number of charges in the counterion. Micelles with divalent counterions were generally miscible with water, whereas micelles with tri- or tetravalent counterions demixed in one concentrated and one dilute phase. Addition of decanol resulted in all cases in the appearance of a lamellar phase, and all investigated oligo carboxylate anions (di-, tri-, and tetravalent) gave rise to a strong attraction between the lamellar planes, resulting in a limited swelling (up to 35-40 wt % water) of the lamellar phase in contact with excess water. These experiments confirm the theoretically predicted influence of aggregate geometry (spheres or planes) on the attraction between colloidal aggregates neutralized by multivalent counterions. Further addition of decanol resulted in the appearance of a second birefringent phase in equilibrium with the lamellar phase. SWAXS showed this phase to be lamellar and to display short-range order that disappeared upon heating. This phase is identified as a lamellar gel phase (Lbeta-phase).     

Glassy crystalline state and water sorption of alkyl maltosides

A differential scanning calorimetric and sorption calorimetric study of two alkyl maltosides, C8G2 and C10G2, was performed. In the dry state, C8G2 and C10G2 do not form solid crystals but undergo a glass transition upon temperature change. The glass is partly ordered and has the same lamellar structure as the liquid crystals formed by the two maltosides. To reflect the presence of the glass transition and the structure, the terms "glassy crystals" and "glassy liquid crystals" can be used. A mechanism of the relaxation of the glassy crystals based on the results of small-angle X-ray scattering experiments is proposed. Experiments on water sorption showed that the glassy crystals turn into lyotropic liquid crystals upon sorption of water at constant temperature. This isothermal glass transition can be characterized by water content and change of partial molar enthalpy of mixing of water. A method to calculate the phase diagram liquid crystals-glassy liquid crystals is proposed.     

层状液晶凝胶对微泡沫的稳定作用

以非离子表面活性剂单硬脂酸甘油酯(GMS)制备出稳定的微泡沫. 采用偏光显微镜、冷冻断裂蚀刻透射电子显微镜(FF-TEM)、差示扫描量热仪(DSC)和流变仪对其表面活性剂溶液相态、泡沫体系的微观结构、相变行为和流变性进行研究以探索微泡沫的稳定机理. 实验结果表明, 表面活性剂分子吸附在气泡界面, 发生晶化形成有序、紧密排列的层状液晶凝胶相液膜, 该液膜具有较强的刚性, 能抵抗由Laplace附加压力驱使的气泡溶解和聚并行为. 微泡沫可稳定10个月, 无明显的相分离和气泡破裂现象. 其稳定作用机理是通过影响泡沫排液过程, 增强Gibbs-Marangoni效应, 从而提高了气泡液膜强度, 减缓了气相扩散速率.     

Swelling of N-isopropyl acrylamide hydrogels in aqueous solutions of sodium chloride

Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks of hydrophilic polymer chains. Hydrogels can absorb/desorb water and hydrophilic solutes. This behavior is called swelling/shrinking, as it is accompanied by a volume change. The amounts of absorbed substances depend on the structure of the hydrogel and the composition of the coexisting liquid phase. This paper deals with experimental investigations of the swelling behavior of nonionic, chemically crosslinked, synthetic hydrogels of N-isopropyl acrylamide. The swelling equilibrium of some hydrogels in aqueous solutions of sodium chloride was investigated at 298 K. The experimental results are presented, discussed and correlated/predicted with a thermodynamic model which combines an expression for the Gibbs energy of a liquid phase with an expression for the Helmholtz energy of an elastic network.     

The gaseous enthalpy of formation of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide from combustion calorimetry, vapor pressure measurements, and ab initio calculations

Ionic liquids are attracting growing interest as alternatives to conventional molecular solvents. Experimental values of vapor pressure, enthalpy of vaporization, and enthalpy of formation of ionic liquids are the key thermodynamic quantities, which are required for the validation and development of the molecular modeling and ab initio methods toward this new class of solvents. In this work, the molar enthalpy of formation of the liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide, 206.2 +/- 2.5 kJ.mol-1, was measured by means of combustion calorimetry. The molar enthalpy of vaporization of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide, 157.2 +/- 1.1 kJ.mol-1, was obtained from the temperature dependence of the vapor pressure measured using the transpiration method. The latter method has been checked with measurements of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, where data are available from the effusion technique. The first experimental determination of the gaseous enthalpy of formation of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide, 363.4 +/- 2.7 kJ.mol-1, from thermochemical measurements (combustion and transpiration) is presented. Ab initio calculations of the enthalpy of formation in the gaseous phase have been performed for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide using the G3MP2 theory. Excellent agreement with experimental results has been observed. The method developed opens a new way to obtain thermodynamic properties of ionic liquids which have not been available so far.     

Molecular packing in sphingomyelin bilayers and sphingomyelin/phospholid mixtures

The molecular packing properties of sphingomyelin (SM) from egg yolk were studied. The influence of the spontaneous curvature of SM on the phase behaviour of SM/dodecane/water systems was investigated. A comparison was made to a previous study by Lindblom et al. (Liq. Cryst. 3 (1988) 783), of the phase behaviour of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC)/dodecane/water systems, where a reversed hexagonal liquid crystalline was shown to form at high water contents (60-80%, w/w). In contrast, SM/dodecane/water systems mainly maintained a lamellar liquid crystalline phase at all compositions and temperatures >35 degrees C. This suggests that the spontaneous curvature of SM is larger than for DPPC. To further examine the packing properties of SM and DPPC, the phase behaviour of SM/dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE)/water and DPPC/DOPE/water systems were investigated. Aqueous dispersions of DOPE normally form a reversed hexagonal liquid crystalline phase, while an isotropic phase was formed at small additions (20 mol.%) of SM or DPPC and a lamellar liquid crystalline phase was maintained at higher fractions (>35 mol.%) of SM or DPPC.     

水与正丁醇二元体系最低共沸混合物的热容

Molar heat capacities of n-butanol and the azeotropic mixture in the binary system [water （x=0.716） plus n-butanol （x=0.284）] were measured with an adiabatic calorimeter in a temperature range from 78 to 320 K. The functions of the heat capacity with respect to thermodynamic temperature were estabhshed for the azeotropic mixture. A glass transition was observed at （111.9±1.2） K. The phase transitions took place at （179.26±0.77） and （269.69±0.14） K corresponding to the solid-hquid phase transitions of n-butanol and water, respectively. The phase-transition enthalpy and entropy of water were calculated. A thermodynamic function of excess molar heat capacity with respect to temperature was estabhshed, which took account of physical mixing, destructions of self-association and cross-association for n-butanol and water, respectively. The thermodynamic functions and the excess thermodynamic ones of the binary systems relative to 298.15 K were derived based on the relationships of the thermodynamic functions and the function of the measured heat capacity and the calculated excess heat capacity with respect to temperature.     

Transition State Thermodynamics of Lipid Bilayers Characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

The laboratory experiment presented in this paper focuses on using differential scanning calorimetry to determine the calorimetric enthalpy and cooperativity of the gel to liquid crystalline phase transition in hydrated lipid bilayers as a function of cholesterol content. The procedure and analysis are appropriate for junior-and senior-level physics and biophysical chemistry courses in the undergraduate curriculum. The laboratory is used to emphasize the use of thermodynamic data to obtain information about structure-function relationships in biological systems. The experimental results are directly related to the authors ongoing research in lipid bilayer structure characterization and applications of hydrated lipid bilayers as model systems for the interpretation of MRI contrast. The laboratory is easily modified to study the effects of other conditions, such as degree of hydration, pH, and composition, on the thermodynamic behavior of lipid bilayers.     

纳米氧化锌的标准摩尔生成焓

采用微乳液-水热辅助法合成了尺寸、形貌均匀的ZnO纳米棒,其长度约400 nm,直径约50 nm。基于将纳米ZnO与块体ZnO的标准摩尔生成焓相关联,依据热力学势函数法设计热化学循环,获得了纳米ZnO与块体ZnO标准摩尔生成焓的关系。结合微量热技术求算出了下所制备的ZnO纳米棒在298.15 K下的标准摩尔生成焓为(-331.70±0.42)kJ.mol-1。     

Distortion of the lamellar arrangement of phospholipids by deep rough mutant lipopolysaccharide from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella minnesota</Emphasis>

Summary The concentration dependent effects of deep rough mutant lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Salmonella minnesota (R595) on two different phospholipid model membranes was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). At low concentrations of LPS the well ordered multilamellar arrangement of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicles is strongly distorted resulting in a loss of positional correlation of the lipid lamellae and smaller domain sizes within the lamellae. The pre-transition of DPPC was abolished at a LPS/DPPC molar ratio of 0.1:1 and the main or chain melting transition was strongly broadened. Moreover, the enthalpy was significantly decreased and a transition was hardly detected at an equimolar mixture of LPS/DPPC. LPS also affected the lamellar arrangement of a mixture of dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG). Furthermore, a phase separation was observed for this phospholipid mixture resulting in DPPE enriched and depleted domains. Similarly to DPPC, only a weak phase transition was observed at the highest LPS concentration used (LPS/DPPE-DPPG 1:1 mol/mol). SAXS measurements showed that for both systems increasing the concentration of LPS resulted in a concomitant increase of the formation of cubic structures, which are predominant at an equimolar mixture of LPS/phospholipid. However, because of the small number of peaks it was not possible to unambiguously identify the space group of the cubic structure, complicated by the coexistence with a lamellar phase, which was particularly detectable for the LPS/DPPC mixture.     

野草状纳米氧化锌的制备及标准摩尔生成焓

本文采用反相微乳液法制备了尺寸均匀的野草状ZnO纳米结构. 依据热力学势函数法获得了纳米ZnO与块体ZnO标准摩尔生成焓的关系, 并结合微量热技术求得了所制备产物的标准摩尔生成焓, 为研究其它纳米材料的标准摩尔生成焓提供了一种广泛适用的新方法.     

Structural Phase Behavior of High-Concentration,Alignable Biomimetic Bicelle Mixtures

The structures of bicelle mixtures composed of dimyristoyl and dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholines (DMPC and DHPC) with DMPC/DHPC molar ratios of 3.2 and 5 are characterized using polarized optical microscopy (POM) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Three phases, isotropic (I), chiral nematic (N^*) and smectic (S) are observed as temperature (T) varies from 10 to 70 °C. The structure of the magnetically alignable N^* phase, which was previously considered to be made up of discoidal micelles, is found to be composed of “ribbons”. Doping with the charged lipid, dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG), which has the same 14:0 hydrocarbon chains as DMPC, results in a structural change of the aggregates where only the isotropic and smectic phases are observed. The smectic phase for the mixtures doped with DMPG is shear-alignable and follows one-dimensional swelling. However, at high-T zwitterionic DMPC/DHPC mixtures form multi-lamellar vesicles (MLV) with a relatively constant lamellar spacing of 66 Å, independent of water content.     

Solubility of 1-Butene in Water and in a Medium for Cultivation of a Bacterial Strain

Solubility measurements of 1-butene in water, from 20 to 50°C and at atmospheric pressure, were carried out using a Ben-Naim/Baer-type apparatus. The experimental results have a precision of about ±0.3%. Using accurate thermodynamic relations, the Ostwald coefficients at the experimental conditions and at infinite dilution, the mole fractions of the dissolved gas at the gas partial pressure of 101.325 kPa and the Henry coefficients at the water vapor pressure were calculated. The mole fraction of dissolved gas were fitted to the Clarke, Glew, and Weiss equation and thermodynamic quantities, standard molar Gibbs energy, entropy, and enthalpy changes, for the process of transferring the 1-butene molecules from the gaseous to the water phase, were computed. Moreover, solubility measurements of 1-butene in an aqueous medium for the cultivation of Xanthobacter Py2 in the same temperature range were also performed at atmospheric pressure. These solubility data are approximately 2.6% lower than those observed in pure water.