Denaturation of human serum albumin under the action of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide according to fluorescence polarization data of protein

Denaturation of human serum albumin (HSA) under the action of cationic detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is studied at different pH values by estimating the rotational diffusion of protein via fluorescence polarization. The degree of polarization of HSA tryptophan fluorescence, the rotational relaxation time, the rotational diffusion coefficient and the effective Einstein radius of the HSA molecules in solutions with different CTAB concentrations at different pH values are determined. The obtained rotational diffusion parameters of the HSA molecules show that under the action of CTAB, HSA denaturation has a one-stage character and proceeds more intensely and effectively at pH values higher than the pI value of protein (4.7).     

Relaxation time, diffusion, and viscosity analysis of model asphalt systems using molecular simulation

Molecular dynamics simulation was used to calculate rotational relaxation time, diffusion coefficient, and zero-shear viscosity for a pure aromatic compound (naphthalene) and for aromatic and aliphatic components in model asphalt systems over a temperature range of 298-443 K. The model asphalt systems were chosen previously to represent real asphalt. Green-Kubo and Einstein methods were used to estimate viscosity at high temperature (443.15 K). Rotational relaxation times were calculated by nonlinear regression of orientation correlation functions to a modified Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts function. The Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation was used to analyze the temperature dependences of relaxation time, viscosity, and diffusion coefficient. The temperature dependences of viscosity and relaxation time were related using the Debye-Stokes-Einstein equation, enabling viscosity at low temperatures of two model asphalt systems to be estimated from high temperature (443.15 K) viscosity and temperature-dependent relaxation time results. Semiquantitative accuracy of such an equivalent temperature dependence was found for naphthalene. Diffusion coefficient showed a much smaller temperature dependence for all components in the model asphalt systems. Dimethylnaphthalene diffused the fastest while asphaltene molecules diffused the slowest. Neat naphthalene diffused faster than any component in model asphalts.     

Studies of the micro-brownian motion of a polymer chain by the fluorescence polarization method. III. Fluorescent conjugates of polyethyleneimine

Fluorescent conjugates of polyethyleneimine (PEI) were prepared by conjugation of fluorescent dyes, fluorescein isocyanate (FIC), and 1-dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulfonyl chloride (DNS), to PEI. The degree of polarization of the fluorescence was measured as a function of temperature and solvent viscosity on aqueous solutions of the conjugates and the data thus obtained were analyzed in terms of an equation of the Perrin type to calculate the mean relaxation time of the conjugate. The mean relaxation times obtained for the two types of the conjugates, which differ in the excited lifetime by a factor of about three, practically agree with one another and are about 2.5 X 10^?8 sec. The relaxation time of the DNS conjugate increases with increasing molecular weight of the conjugate from 2 X 10^?8 to 4 X 10^?8 sec. These values are much larger than those of the PAA conjugates reported in Part I of this series. The relaxation time of this order may correspond to that for the cooperative rotary motion of about ten monomeric residues on the PEI chain, that is, for the motion of an intermediate segment of the PEI molecule in solution. Finally, relaxation time–molecular weight relationships for various types of fluorescent conjugates are compared. It is suggested that these data may serve as a basis for elucidating the mode of motion of a given molecule in solution from the polarization data.     

A two-state stochastic model for the dynamics of constrained water in reversed micelles

Translational diffusion leads the tagged water molecule to explore regions of the reversed micelle with a varying degree of space hindrance, thereby modulating the rotational relaxation process. A two-state modulation is shown to result in satisfactory agreement with the NMR experimental data on the rotational correlation time as a function of the micelle radius.     

考拉维酸对人血清白蛋白结构的影响

利用多种荧光光谱法、紫外光谱法并结合分子模拟等方法,表征了模拟生理条件下一种植物药活性组分考拉维酸(KA)影响人血清白蛋白(HSA)的结构信息.同步荧光及紫外光谱证实考拉维酸的存在影响了HSA的微环境;二维及三维荧光光谱表明考拉维酸可以猝灭HSA的内源荧光,使其构象发生变化.荧光偏振的测定提供了考拉维酸与HSA作用后生成的配合物弛豫时间与聚集特性的信息,揭示KA的存在使HSA的流动性和微粘度发生变化.定量求得不同温度下(298、308和318 K)考拉维酸与HSA作用的键合参数和热力学参数.分子模拟表明考拉维酸键合位点于HSA分子的疏水腔内,并与赖氨酸Lys195和天冬氨酸Asp451形成三个氢键,与HSA的键合模式主要是疏水作用;位点竞争实验证明考拉维酸在HSA亚结构域的位点II位发生作用.另外,获得的相关物理化学参数从分子水平上揭示了考拉维酸与HSA相互作用的机制.结果表明,HSA对考拉维酸有较强的结合能力,提示人血清白蛋白对考拉维酸可起到储存和转运的作用.     

考拉维酸对人血清白蛋白结构的影响

利用多种荧光光谱法、紫外光谱法并结合分子模拟等方法, 表征了模拟生理条件下一种植物药活性组分考拉维酸(KA)影响人血清白蛋白(HSA)的结构信息. 同步荧光及紫外光谱证实考拉维酸的存在影响了HSA的微环境; 二维及三维荧光光谱表明考拉维酸可以猝灭HSA的内源荧光, 使其构象发生变化. 荧光偏振的测定提供了考拉维酸与HSA作用后生成的配合物弛豫时间与聚集特性的信息, 揭示KA的存在使HSA的流动性和微粘度发生变化. 定量求得不同温度下(298、308 和318 K)考拉维酸与HSA作用的键合参数和热力学参数. 分子模拟表明考拉维酸键合位点于HSA分子的疏水腔内, 并与赖氨酸Lys195 和天冬氨酸Asp451 形成三个氢键, 与HSA的键合模式主要是疏水作用; 位点竞争实验证明考拉维酸在HSA亚结构域的位点Ⅱ位发生作用. 另外, 获得的相关物理化学参数从分子水平上揭示了考拉维酸与HSA相互作用的机制. 结果表明, HSA对考拉维酸有较强的结合能力, 提示人血清白蛋白对考拉维酸可起到储存和转运的作用.     

Diffusivity of asphaltene molecules by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) we measure the translational diffusion coefficient of asphaltene molecules in toluene at extremely low concentrations (0.03-3.0 mg/L): where aggregation does not occur. We find that the translational diffusion coefficient of asphaltene molecules in toluene is about 0.35 x 10(-5) cm(2)/s at room temperature. This diffusion coefficient corresponds to a hydrodynamic radius of approximately 1 nm. These data confirm previously estimated size from rotational diffusion studied using fluorescence depolarization. The implication of this concurrence is that asphaltene molecular structures are monomeric, not polymeric.     

Electroptical and dynamic properties of sulfonated polystyrene molecules and their associates in chloroform

The behavior of sulfonated PS containing 0.5, 1.35, 2.6, and 5.8 mol % of sodium sulfonate groups in chloroform solutions has been studied by static and dynamic light scattering, viscometry, and electric birefringence. The molecular mass of ionomers is measured, and their translational diffusion coefficient, intrinsic viscosity, and free relaxation times are estimated. It has been shown that association in solutions of ionomers containing more than 1.35 mol % of sodium sulfonate groups proceeds according to the open association model. Analysis of autocorrelation functions of scattered light intensity and electric birefringence decay makes it possible to determine translational diffusion coefficients and relaxation times for individual ionomer molecules, their pair associates, and higher multiplicity associates. With an increase in the fraction of sodium sulfonate groups, the hydrodynamic radius of individual ionomer molecules decreases from 8 to 5.8 nm, while the ratio between the hydrodynamic radius of pair associates and individual sulfonated PS molecules increases.     

Characteristic behavior of short-term dynamics in reorientation for Gay-Berne particles near the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature

A specific transition behavior was found in the tumbling motion near the nematic-isotropic phase boundary using molecular dynamics simulations of the Gay-Berne mesogenic model under isobaric conditions at a reduced pressure P* of 2.0. The relaxation time for the motion obtained from the second-rank orientational time correlation function and the rotational diffusion coefficient showed a clear jump at the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature. Regardless of the temperature dependence of the relaxation time, the change in the rotational diffusion coefficient evaluated from the orientational order parameters and the relaxation time agreed qualitatively with that of real mesogens. The rotational viscosity coefficients gamma(1) and gamma(2) were obtained from the simulation data for the relaxation time for the short-term dynamics and for the rotational diffusion coefficients. gamma(1) was proportional to (2), where is the second-rank orientational parameter. Furthermore, the rotational behavior of the model was compared with that of the Debye approximation in the isotropic phase.     

Studies of micro-brownian motion of a polymer chain by the fluorescence polarization method. II. Segmental motions in concentrated polymer solutions

The fluorescence polarization method has been used to study the micro-Brownian motion of a terminal segement of a polymer chain in concentrated solutions. A new apparatus for determining the fluorescence intensity and its polarization degree was designed. By using this apparatus, the rotational relaxation time 〈ρ〉 of the terminal segment of the fluorescent conjugates of polyacrylamide in aqueous polyacrylamide solutions was obtained as a function of polymer concentration from 0 to 65%, molecular weight of the conjugate from 3.5 × 10⁴ to 3 × 10⁵, and temperature from 10 to 30°C. The logarithm of 〈ρ〉 increased approximately linearly with increasing polymer concentration. This increase in 〈ρ〉, amounting to a factor of 20 times, was less marked than that in macroscopic viscosity. At concentrations less than 30%, 〈ρ〉 depended appreciably on the molecular weight of the conjugate.     

Constants of the Formation of Complexes with Nanomarkers of the Fluorescein Family and Bovine Serum Albumin in Aqueous Solutions

Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry A - The formation of complexes with nanomarkers of the fluorescein family and BSA in aqueous solutions is studied and its constants are determined. Three...     

Anisotrophy of rotational diffusion of excited molecules in solution

The principal values of the rotational diffusion tensor of perylene and 9,10-dimethylanthracene in ethanol are evaluated from temperature-dependence measurements of the degree of fluorescence polarization upon exciting the molecules into two perpendicularly polarized transitions.     

Rotational brownian motion and fluorescence intensify fluctuations

A theory, which connects rotational brownian motion with intensity fluctuations of the light emitted from fluorescent molecules excited by linearly polarized light, is given. Analysis of rotational diffusion in this way does not depend on the close relationship between fluorescence lifetime and rotational relaxation times, which is necessary in present methods and thus makes an enlarged time range available for fluorescence spectroscopy.When short fluorescence lifetimes are used the rotational diffusion of the molecule in its ground state will be observed.     

Rotational diffusion of bovine serum albumin denaturated by sodium dodecylsulfate,According to data from tryptophan fluorescence

The rotational diffusion of bovine serum albumin (BSA) molecules in solutions with different concentrations of the anionic detergent sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) at different pH values is investigated, yielding information on the denaturation of BSA under the action of SDS. It is found from the increased degree of polarization in the tryptophan fluorescence of BSA and the registered parameters for the rotational diffusion of BSA molecules that the denaturation of BSA under the action of SDS at pH values less than the isoelectric point (pI) of BSA (4–9) is a two-stage process. It is shown that the first stage of BSA denaturation common for all pH values is the decondensation of BSA globules, while the second stage of BSA denaturation at pH greater than the pI of BSA is the unfolding of the protein’s amino acid chain. It is concluded that the denaturation of BSA under the action of SDS proceeds more deeply at pH values greater than the pI of BSA.     

Fluorescence polarization studies of the conformation of soil fulvic acid

The conformation of soil fulvic acid was studied by fluorescence polarization as a function of pH, concentration, and ionic strength. Rotational relaxation times were measured from the slopes of plots of polarization vs. the ratio of temperature to viscosity. The rotational relaxation time did not change over the pH range 5–8 or over the concentration range 3.3 X 10^-5–3.3 × 10^-4 M fulvic acid. This suggests that fulvic acid does not aggregate or change conformation. Changes in ionic strength also do not cause a measurable change in rotational relaxation time. A net rotational relaxation of 2.0 ns was calculated for fulvic acid. This value is based on a fluorescence lifetime of 2.1 ns which is the best single exponential fit to the observed fluorescence decay. A molecular weight of 2400 was calculated for fulvic acid assuming that fulvic acid is spherical. The discrepancy between this value and the true number-average molecular weight of 990 suggests that fulvic acid exists in a flat extended conformation.     

Preparation of amylose gel and probe diffusion through the gel membranes

Hydro‐swollen amylose gels were prepared by chemical crosslinking with a polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether. The degree of swelling of the amylose gel (q_w) increases with increasing the amount of crosslinker in the preparation, which is a result contrary to other cases of chemically crosslinked polymer gels. The diffusion coefficient of a fluorescein and a fluorescein‐dextran conjugate in the gel membranes was determined by the time lag method and increases as q_w of the gels increases.     

Photophysics and Rotational Dynamics of a Hydrophilic Molecule in a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid

We have studied the photophysics and rotational diffusion of hydrophilic solute 7‐(N, N′‐diethylamino)coumarin‐3‐carboxylic acid (7‐DCCA) in a room temperature ionic liquid methyltrioctylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([N₁₈₈₈][NTf₂]). Comparison of activation energies of viscous flow and nonradiative decay shows that the photophysical properties of 7‐DCCA are not guided by the bulk viscosity of the medium but are dependent on the specific solute solvent interaction and structural heterogeneity of the medium. The rotational relaxation behaviour of 7‐DCCA in [N₁₈₈₈][NTf₂] shows significant deviation from the Stokes Einstein Debye hydrodynamic model of rotational diffusion. This is indicative of the influence of specific solute solvent interaction on the rotational relaxation behaviour of 7‐DCCA. Comparison of activation energy of rotational relaxation with activation energy of viscous flow clearly reinforces our assumption that the structural heterogeneity of the medium and specific solute solvent interaction plays a dominant role on the rotational diffusion instead of bulk viscosity.     

NMR diffusion and relaxation study of drug-protein interaction.

In this work, NMR diffusion and relaxation measurements are applied to the study of the interaction between the anti-inflammatory drug salicylate and the human serum albumin (HSA) in solutions. The self-diffusion coefficients and the spin-lattice relaxation rates of salicylate are measured as a function of the concentration. The dissociation constant, Kd, for drug/HSA complexes and the number of binding sites, n, are evaluated.     

Amylase substrate based on fluorescence energy transfer

A fluorigenic substrate for measuring α-amylase (E.C. 3.2.1.1) activity was prepared by double labeling soluble starch with 5-(4,6-dichlorotrizain-2-yl)aminofluorescein and Procion Red MX8B. Because the absorption spectrum of Procion Red MX8B overlaps the fluorescein emission spectrum, Procion Red efficiently quenches fluorescein emission when it is closer than the critical radius for fluorescence energy transfer. When amylase catalyzes cleavage of a starch molecule between a fluorescein and a Procion Red MX8B, the distance between the two labels increases and the degree of quenching decreases. The rate at which the fluorescence intensity increases is proportional to amylase activity. To maximize the sensitivity it is critical to maximize the amount of Procion Red MX 8B coupled to the starch and to use a high-precision spectrofluorimeter which can measure a small rate of increase in fluorescence above a large constant background.     

Self-diffusion of rodlike and spherical particles in a matrix of charged colloidal spheres: a comparison between fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

The fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) method and the fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) have been applied on suspensions of highly charged colloidal spheres with a small content of rod-shaped tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles. Since these methods only determine the self-diffusion coefficient of the fluorescently labeled species, D(S) of the rods and the spheres could independently be measured. The ionic strength of the dispersion medium has been varied to measure self-diffusion of rods and spheres in dependence on the degree of order of the matrix spheres. In contrast to FRAP, which allows the determination of the long-time self-diffusion coefficient D(S) (L), FCS measures self-diffusion on a shorter time scale. Thus a comparison of the results that were obtained by FCS and FRAP, in combination with Brownian Dynamics simulations, gives insight into the time dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient of an interacting colloidal system. As the mean interparticle distance of the matrix is of the same order of magnitude as the length of a TMV rod, the rotational motion is influenced by the assembly of spheres around a TMV particle. Since FCS is sensitive both to translational and rotational motion, whereas FRAP, which probes the diffusion at much larger length scales, is only sensitive to the translational motion of TMV, the comparison of diffusion coefficients measured employing FRAP and FCS can give some insights in the rotational diffusion: the experimental data indicate a slowing down of the rotational motion of a TMV rod with increasing structural order of the matrix spheres.