Abstract Symmetry underpins our understanding of physical law. Open systems, those in contact with their environment, can provide a platform to explore parity-time symmetry. While classical symmetric systems have received lot attention, especially because the associated advances generation and control light, there is much more be discovered about quantum counterparts. Here we theory which descr...

Daptomycin is a lipopeptide antibiotic that binds to and depolarizes bacterial cell membranes. Its antibacterial activity requires calcium and correlates with the content of phosphatidylglycerol in the target membrane. Daptomycin has been shown to form oligomers on liposome membranes. We here use perylene excimer fluorescence to further characterize the membrane-associated oligomer. To this end...

Oat spelt xylan was treated with water in a batch reactor at temperaturesof 180 and 200 degrees C. Ion-moderated partition (IMP) chromatography was thenapplied to separate oligomers in solution according to their molecular size. Calibration of the IMP measurements based on peak height was found toquantify dissolved monomer and oligomer yields well. Oligomer concentrationsin the liquid hydrolysa...

The human serotonin transporter (hSERT) mediates uptake of serotonin from the synaptic cleft and thereby terminates serotonergic signalling. We have previously found by single-molecule microscopy that SERT forms stable higher-order oligomers of differing stoichiometry at the plasma membrane of living cells. Here, we report that SERT oligomer assembly at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane f...

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ABSTRACT Aβ oligomer-induced neurotoxicity has become an important area of therapeutic development in treating Alzheimer's disease. Platelet-derived growt...

The global screw-sense preference of an achiral helical oligomer may be controlled by a single chiral monomer located at one terminus. Remarkably, maximal control is induced in oligomers of the achiral quaternary amino acid Aib by a single C-terminal alaninamide residue, probably because the Ala side chain, though small, is compatible with a 310 helical conformation. The presence or absence of ...

Antisense oligonucleotide-mediated exon skipping is able to correct out-of-frame mutations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and restore truncated yet functional dystrophins. However, its application is limited by low potency and inefficiency in systemic delivery, especially failure to restore dystrophin in heart. Here, we conjugate a phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer with a designed cell-pen...

A chemically synthesized single-stranded ribonucleotide tridecamer derived from the 3' end of Escherichia coli alanine tRNA can be charged with alanine in the presence of short complementary RNA oligonucleotides that form duplexes with the 3' fragment. Complementary 5' oligomers of 9, 8, 6, and 4 nucleotides all confer charging of the 3' fragment. Furthermore, in the presence of limiting 5' oli...

In recent years, small protein oligomers have been implicated in the aetiology of a number of important amyloid diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. As a consequence, research efforts are being directed away from traditional targets, such as amyloid plaques, and towards characterization of early oligomer states. Here we present a new analysis method, i...

We examined the structural components of pertussis toxin that are required for efficient export from Bordetella pertussis via the Ptl system, a member of the type IV family of macromolecular transporters. First, we constructed a strain of B. pertussis that contains a functional Ptl system but does not produce pertussis toxin. Plasmids which express either the S1 subunit or the B oligomer were t...