Osmotic Pressure, Small-Angle X-Ray, and Dynamic Light Scattering Studies of Human Serum Albumin in Aqueous Solutions

Osmotic pressure measurements of human serum albumin (HSA) dissolved in water and in 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 M phosphate buffer are reported as a function of the protein concentration. Two different forms of the protein were studied: defatted HSA (HSA1) and HSA with fatty acids (HSA2). The measured values of the osmotic coefficient were well below 1, indicating large deviations from ideality even for dilute protein solutions. The measured values increased with increasing HSA concentration and the increase was a function of pH. For higher concentrations of added phosphate buffer, the pH of solution had less influence on the measured osmotic pressure. The osmotic pressure of HSA1 in water was found to be considerably lower than that of the HSA2 modification. This effect was ascribed to formation of dimers in the HSA1 solution. The osmotic measurements were complemented by the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies of dilute HSA solutions in water. The SAXS and DLS data confirmed the dimerization of HSA1 molecules under these conditions. Detailed analysis of the SAXS data suggested a parallel orientation of two protein molecules in a dimer. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Counterion-counterion correlation in the double layer around cylindrical polyions: counterion size and valency effects

Monte Carlo simulation and Poisson-Boltzmann results on some aspects of structure and thermodynamics of aqueous polyelectrolyte solutions are presented. The polyelectrolyte solution is described by an infinitely long cylindrical polyion surrounded by counterions modeled as rigid ions moving in a continuum dielectric. Ion-ion correlations in the form of volume average of the counterion-counterion distribution function in the double layer surrounding the polyion are reported for mono- and divalent counterions and for a range of polyion concentrations and charge density parameters in each case. These results confirm again strong influence of the charge density parameter of polyions on properties of polyelectrolyte solutions. The structural information is supplemented by the calculated thermodynamic properties such as osmotic coefficients and heats of dilutions; the latter quantity has not been examined yet in detail by computer simulations. The results are discussed in view of the existing experimental data from the literature for these properties.     

Self-diffusion coefficients of ions in the presence of charged obstacles

The self-diffusion coefficient of ions of the charge- and size-symmetric +1:-1 (or +2:-2) electrolyte was studied in the presence of ionic obstacles (matrix) representing disordered media. For this purpose the Brownian dynamics method was used, complemented with the replica Ornstein-Zernike theory for the partly-quenched systems. The matrix was prepared by a rapid quench of the size-symmetric +1:-1 (in few cases also of +2:-2) electrolyte solution being in equilibrium at (temperature, relative permittivity) T0, epsilon. Within the matrix the charge- and size-symmetric (+1:-1 or +2:-2) electrolyte at T1, epsilon1 was distributed. This component was fully mobile (annealed) and in thermodynamic equilibrium with the matrix. In this study a special attention was paid to the self-diffusion of the annealed ions. The ratio D/D degrees, where D degrees is the self-diffusion coefficient of ions at infinite dilution, has been studied for various model parameters varying the concentration of all species in the system. The presence of charged obstacles decreases the self-diffusion of the annealed electrolyte; the D/D degrees values are lower in the partly-quenched mixtures than in the fully annealed electrolyte of the same concentration. In the investigated range of concentrations and solvent dielectric constants, the D/D degrees values first increased with the increased concentration of annealed electrolyte present and then decreased. An increase of the strength of the Coulomb interaction between annealed ions, or between annealed and quenched charges, yielded a decrease of the self-diffusion. In the range of concentrations investigated in this work, the decrease is mainly due to the Coulomb interaction with the matrix, since the presence of neutral obstacles did not modify the diffusion properties with respect to the situation without obstacles.     

The riddle of aesthetic principles

The problem of aesthetic principles and that of the nature of aesthetic reasons get confronted. If aesthetic reasons play an important role in our aesthetic evaluations and judgments, then both some general aesthetic principles and rules could support them (aesthetic generalism) or again their nature may be particularistic (aesthetic particularism). A recent argument in support of aesthetic generalism as proposed by Oliver Conolly and Bashshar Haydar is presented and criticized for its misapprehension of particularism. Their position of irreversible aesthetic generalism is questioned. Aesthetic particularism is restated by the help of proposals by Jonathan Dancy’s version of moral particularism.     

On thermodynamics and mobility of ions enclosed within charged nanoporous system

New simulations and integral equation results are presented for a model partly quenched system composed of monovalent ions. Static and dynamic properties of the system are explored using the replica Ornstein–Zernike theory in the hypernetted chain approximation and Brownian dynamic simulations. The model system consists of two subsystems: one is a collection of charged obstacles (matrix), and the other is an invading electrolyte. The overall system is electroneutral, while the subsystems are not. Charged species are represented by Lennard–Jones spheres of equal size, with either positive or negative charge in the center. The solvent is treated as a continuous dielectric. The purpose of this study is to correlate the mobility of ions (self-diffusion coefficients) with their individual activity coefficients. In addition, the effects of the matrix preparation and of the conditions of observation (dielectric constant of solvent, temperature) are investigated. For the first time, the effect of the charged obstacles on the excess internal energy of the electrolyte solution is also examined.     

Thermodynamic analysis of the interaction of partially hydrophobic cationic polyelectrolytes with sodium halide salts in water

Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to determine the temperature and concentration dependence of the enthalpy of mixing of 3,3- and 6,6-ionene fluorides, bromides, and iodides with low molecular weight salts (NaF, NaCl, NaBr, and NaI) in water. The magnitudes of the enthalpies, measured in the temperature range from 273 to 318 K, depended on the number of methylene groups on the ionene polyion (hydrophobicity), and on the anion of the added salt (ion-specificity). All enthalpies of mixing of 3,3- and 6,6-ionene fluorides with low molecular weight salts (NaCl, NaBr, and NaI) were negative, which is in contrast to the predictions of standard theories of polyelectrolyte solutions. This fact was interpreted in the light of the ion–water short-range interactions that are not accounted for in those theories. In contrast, the enthalpies of mixing of 3,3- and 6,6-ionene bromides and iodides with NaF were positive, being in accord with theory. Using the calorimetric data, we performed a model thermodynamic analysis of the polyelectrolyte–salt mixing process to obtain changes in the apparent standard Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity relative to the pure ionene fluorides in water. The results prove that halide ions replace fluoride counterions with a strength increasing in the order chloride < bromide < iodide. The process is enthalpy governed, accompanied by a positive change in the heat capacity.     

Solubilization of methacrylic acid based polymers by surfactants in acidic solutions

The effect of various surfactants on the solubility of methacrylic acid based polyelectrolytes that are insoluble in water at low pH, i.e. isotactic poly(methacrylic acid), i-PMA, Luviflex Soft and Luviflex Silk, was studied by surface tension, fluorescence spectroscopy, potentiometric titration and dynamic light scattering, DLS, measurements. Results show that Luviflex Silk and Luviflex Soft form polymeric micelles in aqueous solutions above a well-defined concentration, whereas both i-PMA and Luviflex Soft undergo a pH-induced conformational transition. The critical association concentration values for each surfactant in the presence of completely ionized polyions were determined. Potentiometric and DLS measurements show that the addition of an anionic and a nonionic surfactant significantly increases the solubility of the polymers at low pH, while the presence of a cationic surfactant results in a formation of an insoluble polymer-surfactant aggregate. The present results could help in regulating the removal of hair-setting polymers by water.     

Influence of Talc and SEBS-g-MA on PP/SEBS-g-MA/Talc Composites under Gamma Irradiation Sterilization Conditions

Among thermoplastics, polypropylene is outstanding with respect to its attractive combination of low cost, low weight, heat distortion temperature above 100°C, and extraordinary versatility in terms of properties and applications. With the appropriate modification, it is possible to improve the existing properties of the polypropylene, or even obtain the new ones. As a result of its originally superior properties, polypropylene is commonly used in medical purposes, where it has to undergo the process of sterilization beforehand. The sterilization of the polypropylene in medicine is most often being carried out with low dose of gamma irradiation, which can influence the changes of properties of both the polymeric matrix and modifiers. Therefore, the purpose of our research work was to determine the mechanical properties of unirradiated and gamma irradiated isotactic polypropylene (iPP) composites with talc filler and poly-(styrene-b-ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) block copolymer, grafted with maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA) as elastomeric modifier, as well as of corresponding binary blends. Unirradiated and gamma irradiated composites and blends were characterized by tensile measurements, measurements of notched impact strength and FTIR spectroscopy. The effects of composition and gamma irradiation on the properties of the iPP composites and blends are discussed, with emphasis on the study of the stabilizing effect of talc in irradiated iPP composites.     

Highly Asymmetric Electrolytes in the Associative Mean-Spherical Approximation

The associate mean-spherical approximation (AMSA) is used to derive the closed-form expressions for the thermodynamic properties of an (n+m)-component mixture of sticky charged hard spheres, with m components representing polyions and n components representing counterions. The present version of the AMSA explicitly takes into account association effects due to the high asymmetry in charge and size of the ions, assuming that counterions bind to only one polyion, while the polyions can bind to an arbitrary number of counterions. Within this formalism an extension of the Ebeling–Grigo choice for the association constant is proposed. The derived equations apply to an arbitrary number of components; however, the numerical results for thermodynamic properties presented here are obtained for a system containing one counterion and one macroion (1+1 component) species only. In our calculation the ions are pictured as charged spheres of different sizes (primitive model) embedded in a dielectric continuum. Asymmetries in charge of –10:+1, –10:+2, –20:+1, and –20:+2 and asymmetries in diameter of 2:0.4nm and 3:0.4nm are studied. Monte Carlo simulations are performed for the same model solution. By comparison with new and existing computer simulations it is demonstrated that the present version of the AMSA provides semiquantitative or better predictions for the excess internal energy and osmotic coefficient in the range of parameters where the regular hypernetted chain (HNC) and improved (associative) HNC do not yield convergent solutions. The AMSA liquid–gas phase diagram in the limit of complete association (infinitely strong sticky interaction) is calculated for models with different degrees of asymmetry.     

How ions affect the structure of water

We model ion solvation in water. We use the MB model of water, a simple two-dimensional statistical mechanical model in which waters are represented as Lennard-Jones disks having Gaussian hydrogen-bonding arms. We introduce a charge dipole into MB waters. We perform (NPT) Monte Carlo simulations to explore how water molecules are organized around ions and around nonpolar solutes in salt solutions. The model gives good qualitative agreement with experiments, including Jones-Dole viscosity B coefficients, Samoilov and Hirata ion hydration activation energies, ion solvation thermodynamics, and Setschenow coefficients for Hofmeister series ions, which describe the salt concentration dependence of the solubilities of hydrophobic solutes. The two main ideas captured here are (1) that charge densities govern the interactions of ions with water, and (2) that a balance of forces determines water structure: electrostatics (water's dipole interacting with ions) and hydrogen bonding (water interacting with neighboring waters). Small ions (kosmotropes) have high charge densities so they cause strong electrostatic ordering of nearby waters, breaking hydrogen bonds. In contrast, large ions (chaotropes) have low charge densities, and surrounding water molecules are largely hydrogen bonded.