Elastic properties of chemically modified baker's yeast cells studied by AFM

Chemical pretreatment is widely used to facilitate transformation of living cells when foreign components are introduced into a cell through the cell wall. The influence of appropriate chemicals on the wall properties and mechanism of transformation is still a matter of intensive studies. Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells (also known as baker's yeast) were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The cell walls were modified by lithium acetate and dithiothreitol. The AFM imaging was performed in liquid water‐based environment. The living cells were fixed by trapping into the holes of a polycarbonate membrane. Mechanical and morphological properties of initial intact cells and treated cells were investigated. The increased stiffness of the chemically treated cells was observed. As deduced from the applied theoretical Hertz‐Sneddon model, the treated cells show completely different response mechanism to applied mechanical pressure in comparison with the intact cells. Also, the increased roughness of the cell wall of the treated yeasts was observed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Influence of Nd and Sm on the Structure and Properties of Sol-Gel-Derived TiO2 Powders

TiO₂ nanopowders modified by Nd and Sm were prepared using the sol-gel technique. It was found by XRD analysis that the samples containing Sm are amorphous up to 300 °C, while those with Nd preserve a mixed organic-inorganic amorphous structure at higher temperatures (400 °C). The TiO₂ (rutile) was not detected up to 700 °C in the presence of both modified oxides. TiO₂ (anatase) crystals found at about 400 °C in the Sm-modified sample exhibited an average crystallite size of about 25–30 nm, while doping with Nd resulted in particles of a lower size—5–10 nm. It was established by DTA that organic decomposition is accompanied by significant weight loss occurring in the temperature range 240–350 °C. Photocatalytic tests showed that the samples heated at 500 °C possess photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation toward Malachite green organic dye. Selected compositions exhibited good antimicrobial activity against E. coli K12 and B. subtilis.     

Activation cross sections and isomeric ratios in reactions induced by 14.5 MeV neutrons on152Sm,154Sm and178Hf

Cross sections for the reactions¹⁵²Sm(n, p)^152g,m1,m2 Pm,¹⁵⁴Sm(n, p)^154g,m Pm,¹⁷⁸Hf(n, p)^178m,g Lu,¹⁵⁴Sm(n, d)¹⁵³Pm and¹⁵²Sm(n, α)¹⁴⁹Nd were measured at 14.5 MeV neutron energy by the activation method. On the basis of these cross sections, the associated isomeric ratios in¹⁵⁴Pm,¹⁵²Pm,¹⁷⁸Lu and the comparison with the predictions of different compound and precompound models, conclusions are drawn about the role of the preequilibrium processes in 14.5 MeV neutron induced reactions. Calculations for equal angular momentum removal by equilibrium and preequilibrium emitted particles better reproduced the experimental isomeric ratios, than for higher angular momentum removal in the preequilibrium phase. The isomeric ratios may be used as a source of additional information about the spin of the isomeric states in¹⁵²Pm and¹⁵⁴Pm for which the spectroscopic information is uncertain.     

IR-Spektren von deuteriertem Poly(methylmethacrylat), (-CD2C(CH3)COOCH3)n-

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Spectroscopic and theoretical study of Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Cd(II) complexes of glyoxilic acid oxime

The paper presents a detailed experimental and theoretical study of five metal complexes of glyoxilic acid oxime (gaoH2), Cu(gaoH)2(H2O)2 (1), Zn(gaoH)2(H2O)2 (2), Co(gaoH)2(H2O)2 (3), Ni(gaoH)2(H2O)2 (4) and [Cd(gaoH)2(H2O)2].H2O (5). The electronic and vibrational spectra were measured and discussed as to the most sensitive to the M-L binding bands. Two different types of coordination were considered for gaoH- ligand: bidentate through the carboxylic oxygen and oxime nitrogen in 1-4 and mixed bidentate and bridging through the COO group in 5. It is shown that the spectral behavior of the nu(COO) modes can be used to predict bridging ligand coordination. DFT(B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p)) calculations on model compounds: neutral, anionic and radical forms of gao and Cu(gaoH)2, have been carried out to correlate geometries, electronic and vibrational structures. The results obtained were used to assist the electronic and vibrational analysis of the complexes studied. The effect of the metal-ligand interactions (electrostatic and covalent) on the geometry structure of the ligand was investigated.     

Polyhydroxy fullerenes

Characterization of C₆₀ polyhydroxyfullerenes (PHF) prepared in alkaline media, preparation facilitated by phase-transfer catalyst, presents challenges in determining the chemical structure resulting from the possibility of multiple isomers or analogs with greater or fewer hydroxyl groups from a single reaction mixture. This paper presents the utilization of analytical methods employed in tandem, especially X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for semi-quantitative analysis on the number of hydroxyl groups present in PHF. Capillary Electrophoresis was used for purity estimation of the material. Multiple spectra and electropherograms were analyzed using a new simultaneous curve fitting method. The most accurate estimate of hydroxyl groups for C₆₀ polyhydroxy fullerenes obtained is between 16 and 18 allylic hydroxyl groups by combining analytical methods’ results with 5 % accuracy. High precision (reproducibility) of the experiments is observed. Purity of 98 % is estimated by capillary electrophoresis. The size of PHF nanoparticles or aggregates has been determined by atomic force microscopy to be 7.4–14.2 nm. According to the elemental analysis the average probable empirical formula for the most pure PHF at pH 7.1 is C₆₀O₁₇H₁₂Na₅(NaHCO₃)₃(H₂O)₁₃ and the average formula weight is 1,605.9 g/mol. This is the first thorough characterization of PHF in terms of purity.     

Analytical Scheme for the Direct Graphite-Atomizer/Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Determination of Fifteen Trace Elements in Toenails for Biological Monitoring

An analytical scheme for the determination of up to fifteen trace elements in nails and hair has been proposed. Samples were solubilized by means of aqueous tetraalkylammonium hydroxide (alkyl = methyl or ethyl). Cadmium, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were determined by pulse-nebulization flame AAS, employing the Slotted Tube Atom Trap (STAT) for Cd and Pb. Suitable chemical modifiers have been applied in electrothermal AAS (ETAAS) determinations of Cd and Pb (ammonium hydrogen phosphate), As, Sb, Se and Sn (palladium), while no modifier was needed in determinations of Al, Co, Cr, Mn, Mo and Ni. Calibration was performed by means of matrix-matched standards and the technique was verified by standard additions, comparison with neutron activation and analysis of hair reference material. The usefulness of this technique for occupational exposure monitoring is briefly discussed.     

The thermodynamic properties of 4-pentenoic acid

The enthalpy of formation of liquid 4-pentenoic acid was determined by combustion calorimetry. The vapor pressure and enthalpy of vaporization of the compound were measured by the transfer method over the temperature range 289–324 K. Conformational analysis was performed. The equilibrium structure, fundamental vibrations, moments of inertia, and total energy of the stablest acid conformers were calculated by the B3LYP/6-311G(d, p) and G3MP2 quantum-chemical methods. The experimental IR spectrum and calculated vibrational frequencies were used to assign IR bands. The thermodynamic properties of monomeric 4-pentenoic acid in the ideal gas state were calculated over the temperature range 0–1500 K. Additive and quantum-chemical methods were used to estimate the Δ_f H°(g) and Δ_vap H° values. Close agreement between the calculation results and experimental data was obtained. It was shown that additive and quantum-chemical methods could be used for estimating the enthalpies of formation and vaporization of nonconjugated alkenoic acids.     

Do bacteria have an electric permanent dipole moment?

In the scientific literature in the last 40 years, some data for the permanent dipole moment and the electric polarizability of Escherichia coli can be found [S.P. Stoylov, Colloid Electro-Optics - Theory, Techniques and Application, Academic Press, London, 1991]. In this paper the data based mainly on electro-optic investigation is considered as much as some dipolophoretic (most often called dielectrophoretic) studies. Serious grounds are found to doubt the conclusions made for the electric dipole moments of bacteria by one of the authors of this paper (SPS) and by some other researchers. This concerns both the permanent dipole moment and the electric charge dependent polarizabilities of E. coli. Here, along with the discussion of the old experimental data, new experimental data are shown for a strain of E. coli HB101. The conclusions from the analysis of the old and the new experimental data is that they do not provide correct evidence for the presence of a permanent dipole moment. It seems that all statements for the existence of electric permanent dipole moment in bacteria [S.P. Stoylov, Colloid Electro-Optics - Theory, Techniques and Application, Academic Press, London, 1991; S.P. Stoylov, S. Sokerov, I. Petkanchin, N. Ibroshev, Dokl. AN URSS 180 (1968) 1165; N.A. Tolstoy, A.A. Spartakov, A.A. Trusov, S.A. Schelkunova, Biofizika 11 (1966) 453; V. Morris, B. Jennings, J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. II 71 (1975) 1948; V. Morris, B. Jennings, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 55 (1978) 313; S.P. Stoylov, V.N. Shilov, S.S. Dukhin, S. Sokerov, I. Petkanchin, in: S.S. Dukhin (Ed.), Electro-optics of Colloids, Naukova Dumka, Kiev, 1977 (in Russian).] based on electro-optic studies are result of incorrect interpretation. Therefore, they should be further ignored.