Electron interactions in crystalline dibenzotetraazaannulene

The characteristics of intra- and intermolecular electronic processes in crystalline dibenzotetraazaannulene were established based on an analysis of the electronic absorption spectra of thin films. It was shown that the specific spectral characteristics of this substance are due to its stack structure in the solid state.L V. Pisarzhevskii Institute of Physical Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 252039 Kiev, Prosp. Nauki, 31. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Eksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 20–23, January–February, 1996. Original article submitted May 19, 1995.     

Scattering of surface plasmon-polaritons and volume waves by thin gold films

The specific features of elastic scattering of volume waves and surface plasmon polaritons by polycrystalline gold films have been investigated. An analysis of the relative scattered energy, power spectral density of surface roughness, and integral and angular dependences of scattering of waves of different nature indicates a strong nonradiative multiple scattering of surface plasmon polaritons in gold films. When roughness increases, this scattering leads to an increase in scattering isotropy and to a partial loss of structural information about gold films. The analysis of the scattered energy of surface plasmon polaritons with application of the data on multifractal dimension of gold surface indicates also that the radiative scattering of surface plasmon polaritons depends on both the rms surface roughness and the surface wave propagation length.     

Analysis of protein-protein interactions in a complex environment: capture of an analyte-receptor complex with standard additions of the receptor (CARSAR) approach

Traditional methods of analytical chemistry to detect an interaction between certain proteins in multicomponent mixtures (e.g. cell lysates, etc.) have limitations. This is due to difficulties in identification of a specific signal of an analyte (a molecule to be detected) against the background. In the present work, we propose the new analytical protocol for transducer-based sensors with a restricted sensitive area. It uses a combination of analyte-receptor complex precipitation with serial additions of the receptor (CARSAR). To test this new analytical strategy, we used a surface plasmon resonance technique to confirm an interaction between the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded nuclear antigen 6 and the mitochondrial ribosomal protein MRPS18-2.     

Generation of diversiform gold nanostructures inspired by honey's components: Growth mechanism, characterization, and shape separation by the centrifugation-assisted sedimentation

The green synthesis of irregular-shaped nanomaterials used for various applications in nanoplasmonics, medicine, and biotechnology creates an economical and environmental challenge. We describe the rapid wet-chemical approach to synthesis of stable and water-soluble gold nanostructues at room temperature. In addition to spherical and road-like nanoparticles, gold decahedra and triangular plates were grown using the one-step synthesis process of HAuCl(4) in the presence of honey, in which main components act as reducing (glucose) and stabilizing (fructose) agents; the mechanism of the process is discussed in details. The requirements for anisotropic phase boundaries for generation of polyhedral gold nanocrystals in solutions are highlighted. The synthesis, morphology, and separation procedure of gold nanoparticles are examined using the techniques of optical spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. We demonstrate that centrifugation can be used for efficient separation of nanoparticles with different shapes from a mixture. It was found that while centrifuging, the spheres sediment at the bottom of the tube, segregating from rods that form a deposit on the side wall, whereas polygons remain in the solution.     

Amphiphilic macrocyclic nickel(II) complex in a liquid-crystalline matrix: Specific effects of conductivity and self-organization

A study was made of the influence of an amphiphilic macrocyclic nickel(II) complex on the electrical and electro-optic properties of liquid-crystalline systems based on ZhK-440I. It was shown that addition of this complex leads to a decrease in the electrohydrodynamic instability threshold and formation of unusual tetragonal ordered structures in the systems studied.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 29, No. 6, pp. 522–526, November–December, 1993.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Fundamental Research Fund of the General Committee of Science and Technology of the Ukraine for financial support of this investigation (Projects 3/114 and 46/3-2).     

SPR-based immunocapture approach to creating an interfacial sensing architecture: mapping of the MRS18-2 binding site on retinoblastoma protein

Biosensor technologies based on optical readout are widely used in protein–protein interaction studies. Here we describe a fast and simple approach to the creation of oriented interfacial architectures for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) transducers, based on conventional biochemical procedures and custom reagents. The proposed protocol permits the oriented affinity-capture of GST fusion proteins by a specific antibody which is bound to protein A, which in turn has been immobilized on the transducer surface (after the surface has been modified by guanidine thiocyanate). The applicability of the method was demonstrated by studying the interaction between retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRb) and MRS18-2 proteins. The formation of the pRb–MRS18-2 protein complex was examined and the pRb binding site (A-box–spacer–B-box) was mapped. We have also shown that MRS18-2, which was detected as the Epstein–Barr virus-encoded EBNA-6 binding partner using the yeast two-hybrid system, binds to pRb in GST pull-down assays.